A Ray of Dusk

by AlphatheGriffin17

Crystal Clear?

Signs of a colder climate were becoming more and more evident the further the train travelled. The rich forests became few and far between, fields of grass were replaced by frozen tundra. The warmth of Celestia's sun was smothered by gathering clouds, flakes of snow beginning to drift to the ground and becoming fiercer the further they travelled. Dusk would have been reminded of Hearth's Warming, if everything else wasn't frozen over.

There was a mix of excitement and tension as they neared their destination. None of them had ever ventured to the North of Equestria and certainly not for the discovery of a long lost empire made of crystal. Most of them, especially Rarity, were very much intrigued about the prospect of such a place, along with the added prospect of another adventure. That was more in Rainbow's and Pinkie's area.

While he shared these feelings in a way, Dusk was mainly concerned with two things: that he hadn't brought his scarf in preparation and for Twilight. As he predicted, the enormity of the task that Celestia had given her was really weighing on her. She had been expecting a test, but nothing like this.

She sat across from him, gazing forlornly out of the window.

"I just can't believe this, Dusk," she murmured. "Reciting facts, taking quizzes are one thing, but protecting a whole empire? I wasn't prepared for this."

"Yes, Spike told me I missed out on that," he noted. "Apparently, he has a wonderful singing voice."

"Well, the magic was there, I had to let it out somehow," she replied. "Like I said, I wasn't expecting anything like this."

"I wasn't either," he admitted. "I suppose we were both caught off-guard."

"Yes, but your task is basically like doing a research paper!" she distressed. "I'd give anything to have that to do instead."

"A research paper into a long forgotten empire we knew nothing about?"

"That's what makes it all the more fascinating to research! Besides, we did have some hint of it. Remember back in the castle vault?"

"That's not something one easily forgets," he said. "It would be nice if we could go in there again to see if we could find anything, but we'd be getting a lot more than information if we did."

"I know." She shuddered. "Even if we wanted to, we don't have the key anyway. The Doctor took it."

He nodded and placed his hoof on hers. "Don't worry, Twilight. If Princess Celestia has faith that you can do this, then you can be rest assured that I do."

"I know you do," she said with a sigh, "but I can't stop thinking about what might happen if I fail. Not only will my studies be in doubt, but we'll lose a powerful source of magic that's been lost for a thousand years. What if we need it for when some other powerful rises up? Then we wouldn't have it, we wouldn't be able to stop them and Equestria might be doomed! Or what if-?!"

"Twilight, calm down." His gentle, but firm tone was enough to stop her. "You can do this. Celestia wouldn't have sent you if she didn't think otherwise. And I wouldn't be telling you if I didn't have utter confidence in you."

Her body relaxed a little and she took a few deep breaths. "You're right. Thanks, Dusk. I needed that."

"I know." He smiled teasingly. "See? I am the calm and reasonable one."

She rolled her eyes, but smirked too. "Yes, you've proved your point, don't start that again. Otherwise I might have to prove mine again." She puckered her lips and winked.

"You know, I don't really see any problems with that," he chuckled, returning the wink.

"Didn't think so," she replied, briefly brushing her lips against his. "But when you start freaking out when you need help with your research, don't say I didn't tell you so."

"Glad to know you have so much faith in me then."

"We both know that's your department." Twilight smiled a little easier now. "At least we're not alone."

Dusk looked around at their friends. "At least there's that."

His eyes focused on the sight a few booths away from them. Ray was sitting with Rainbow Dash and talking about her with something, sometimes eliciting the occasional laugh or excited response from her.

Spike, Twilight, and he had their own changes regarding Ray. The little dragon had recovered from his injury as well, though there were still faint scar-like outlines where the Beast's claws had raked across his scales. Still, they were so faint that they were impossible to notice unless you knew they were there. With Ray's help, Spike had taken to looking at the upside of his new feature, saying that the scars made him look tougher and gave him that air of a dark past that girls were attracted to.

Unfortunately, he hadn't had the common sense at the time to avoid saying this last part in front of all of the girls and he was left alone to deal with the backlash as Ray had conveniently teleported out of there once these words left the drake's mouth. He still got a little shaky whenever Wrath was brought up, but he at least understood and acknowledged that Ray wasn't at fault for what happened.

Twilight had been behaving differently around him as well, but hers' was less due to fear or sympathy and more out of academic interest. She was intrigued by the knowledge of Wrath and everything that applied to him. She'd noticed those occasional areas during her studies where there were allusions to some sort of fearsome monster long in the past, as well as things that pointed to some kind of horrible event in history that was never elaborated upon. She was curious about both, but she'd never once put those two things together, much less imagined that it was still among them and living in the head of one of their friends. Of course, her interest wasn't simply out of curiosity. She realized that Wrath couldn't be allowed to accidentally break out again, and being herself, didn't want to take any risks on that front.

So she'd arranged to have Ray stop by the library once a day so that she could check to make sure that the spell Celestia had placed upon Ray's necklace was still holding. During that time, she'd also ask if there were any problems concerning Wrath, to which the answer was usually no, among other general questions. She often ended up asking Ray for details on Wrath himself, such as how old he really was and what the creature's mind was like, though Ray almost never had any solid answers to these questions. Dusk was fine with her displaying interest, but sometimes it got to the point where she'd start being, in her own terms, a little insensitive about it. When that happened, Dusk was happy to catch her and help rectify the mistake.

Dusk had to admit, he was a fairly interested about the topic himself. Though he'd been fighting for his life at the time, as well as for the lives of those around him, looking back on that fight with Ray in his transformed state raised a lot of questions. The sheer quantity of magical energy that was being given off by the Beast was at a level that he didn't even think was possible.

And Celestia said that what they'd fought hadn't even been the complete form of the Beast, but rather a halfway-point in the transformation. Did that mean that the actual form of Wrath was even more powerful than what they'd fought? The thought alone chilled him. His mind would occasionally wander to the Gates of Tartarus, and the knowledge of where those graves had come from. To think that one lone creature could be powerful enough to cause so much death and destruction...

It scared him, quite honestly. But something else overshadowed that fear. Before all of this, he and Ray had been friends. Best friends, even. But now that he knew all of this about Ray...it had grown beyond that. He now felt a sort of kinship with Ray. After all, is wasn't every day that you met another pony in the same situation as you, with an angry, powerful monster in your head just waiting for the chance to come out. Doom was no longer present in Dusk's head, of course, but that didn't change the fact that he knew how it felt. The girls knew about it and were sympathetic about it, but Ray truly knew what it was like.

For that reason, Dusk knew that he couldn't abandon him. They both knew the same pain. They shared a bond. And it was a bond that Dusk resolved to never let go of. He'd help Ray, however he could. It was the least he could do after Ray helped him.

"You want to go talk to him?" Twilight hadn't missed his wandering attention. "Go on, I don't mind."

"You're sure?"

"Of course," she assured. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. It looks like an interesting conversation they're having anyway."

"With Ray, it usually is." He kissed her cheek and left to join Rainbow and Ray in their booth.

Ray himself seemed to be doing well. According to him, there were no issues concerning Wrath as of late. The beast still liked to simmer away in his mind and speak up every now and again, just to express some negative view of his or to criticize Ray or his friends, but Ray said that it was getting easier to block out. The spell placed upon his necklace wasn't just preventing Wrath's power from influencing Ray, it was reducing the overall effect Wrath was having on his mind. He'd even stopped having headaches, according to him, and the others could see that he was having an easier time of it.

There was still that sadness present on occasion, but at the same time, he generally just looked...happier. He no longer had to hide it, at least not from his friends. That alone seemed to make him happier than any of them had ever seen him.

"Something's tickled you two," he noted on arrival.

Ray chuckled. "Hope it's not Pinkie Pie, like last time." He frowned. "Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure you can get arrested for doing something like that…"

"Anyway," continued Rainbow, "Ray's just showing me some writing work he promised me a while back."

"Yeah, just so you guys don't start thinking that I'm just sitting around and waiting for something to happen," he put in.

"It's awesome," she went on. "He really knows his stuff! Hey, you wanna have a look at it?"

"I confess this does sound intriguing," said Dusk. "That is, if Ray doesn't mind, of course."

Ray shrugged. "Fine by me, as long as you don't go around sharing valuable information," he said, with a grin.

Dusk returned the smile and reached over for the notes that Rainbow was gesturing at. He levitated them before him and began to read.

The Creature was huge and had a scaly hide, covered in a foul-smelling black ooze. It walked on only two legs, both as thick as a stallion and twice as strong. Rather than front legs, this upright-walking monster had a pair of massive claws that looked as though they could shred anything they touched. It's head was like a equine's, but somehow warped as its deformed face smiled and revealed row upon row of sharp, pointed teeth and an unholy stench that this monster dared to call breath.

As the four of them stood before the creature, they could feel their blood run cold. Even Farven, with all of his earlier bragging regarding it, could barely find the courage to face The Creature. The icy grip of fear gripped the hearts of these heroes like a vice and refused to let go. There was an ugliness about this... this THING that was beyond the description of mere words. It was as though nature itself had rejected the evil of this creature, as if something so corrupt could not exist, and yet they stood in its presence. The presence of pure evil.

This was the Creature responsible for destroying so many homes and lives, including some of there own. Families, towns, even cities; there was no limit to where The Creature had brought it's destruction in the past, and all of them had felt the pain caused by it's destruction at least once. Yvel had lost her family and ranch, forcing her into the life of a wanderer. Farven's entire village had been destroyed, making him the last surviving member of the Luminor Clan. Korrana, beneath her happy, bubbly exterior, remembered being there when The Creature laid waste to an entire city district while searching for something, and eliminating quite a few city guards in the process, including her parents, leaving nothing for her but to become a petty thief in the city alleyways. And Zero...he'd been hunted by The Creature for years, not even knowing himself what for, and bringing innocents into harm's way simply by being near them, until he eventually found peace across the border. Was it Fate that the four of them would be the ones to encounter The Creature again, here of all places? Regardless, he was glad that it was just the four of them and that the rest of the group was back at camp. He wanted to be strong, to be confident, but...all he could manage was a strained gasp when The Creature's eyes met his, and glinted red in...excitement?

Suddenly, The Creature was upon them, lashing out with its claws and spilling its vile poison everywhere. Yvel stood her ground, rising up to clobber the beast with her powerful front hooves, but instead being snatched up and thrown aside like a foal's plaything. Farven took the the air briefly and flew in fast circles around The Creature's head, leaving a red-orange afterimage from his speed, but the Creature simply caught him right in mid air as though he were only a bothersome fly, and flung him away toward the remaining two. Korrana rolled to the side as Farven careened past and quickly drew her bow while simultaneously letting off a volley of projectiles, only for the arrows she fired to sink harmlessly into the inky, dark muck that surrounded the beast. The last of them, Zero, galloped forward at the same time and drew his sword, Clarent, before plunging it into the ribs of their foe, but his blade became stuck just like his friend's arrow and he could feel it, and himself, being pulled into the ooze. He could not help but widen his eyes in shock when he saw that Eben the magical flames Clarent produced were being extinguished within The Creature as the monster in question gave him it's horrible, serrated grin and smacked him hard enough to send him flying into the cave wall, where it cracked and he fell to the ground in a heap.

Just as The Creature had charged, all hope seemed lost. These heroes could only watch as all of their attempts to fight back the monster sank harmlessly into the muck, and all their journey seemed to be for naught. The light that had shone upon their quest could not be seen. This was how it would end. No redemption. No heroic acts of valor. No song-worthy tales of exploits and friendship. They wouldn't even reach the Citadel. They would perish here, in this lonely cave, at the hands of this abomination. Alone, forgotten to all but their friends, who would have to forget them or else come down here and suffer the same fate. They had no more future. They had no hope...

Then, as he painfully rose again from another sideswipe courtesy of The Creature, Zero heard a light clink as something hit the ground right below him. Looking down, he saw the amulet around his neck lying in the dirt, with the gem facing up at him and glittering, in spite of the fact that there was no light, as though it had it's own light shining from within...

Then he remembered.

'When in the dark, and all seems lost to despair, you will know when to use this. Keep it with you until then, please.'

Gods above, please don't let this be a mistake...

He didn't quite understand himself how he knew what to do from this point, he simply did. Taking up the necklace given to him by Queen Solaria in his hooves, he fiddled with the mechanism for a few moments and removed the large gem from the center of the amulet, all the while his friends continued struggling fruitlessly against The Creature. Then he raised it above his head, and with a shout, smashed it down against a stone beneath him. As the pendant cracked, a brilliant light pierced the air around them and the black goo around their foe evaporated. A great wind blew through the caves and it seemed as though either a great fire or the sun itself had suddenly been brought into this dark, underground place of wickedness.

Farven stopped mid-flight and looked around with confusion. "What the heck..?"

Yvel and Korrana seemed to be similarly caught off-guard by the sudden change, until they were all cut off by the horrible gurgling shriek of The Creature as it stumbled and fell, it's oozing surface beginning the harden and crack while also starting to flake off in burnt flakes. Zero's eyes widened in realization. In history, The Creature had only ever been recorded to appear at night. As it was just a monster who likely preferred the dark, he'd never really thought too much about it before. But no...it wasn't that The Creature preferred the dark. It was weak to light. Sunlight, to be specific.

All at once, The Creature shrank back in terror. All at once, Zero, Yvel, Farven and Korrana were filled with new strength. All at once, hope returned...

Dusk stopped and blinked several times. He realised he hadn't done so once while reading. He looked up at Ray, who was looking expectantly at him along with Rainbow, waiting for his reaction.

"That was…"

"Yes?" Ray prompted. There was a hint of nerves in his voice.

Dusk slowly smiled and handed the notes back. "It was, for lack of a better word… great. Well-written and enticing, even from the short bit I read there. Definitely impressive."

"Ha!" Rainbow laughed triumphantly and punched Ray's foreleg. "Told you so!"

Ray winced, but let out a sigh of relief. "Whew… thanks, Dusk. I gotta admit, I was a little nervous as to what you would think."

"No need for that now," assured Dusk. "Your writing is superb and there really is nothing you should be worried about."

"Thanks," he said sincerely. "But I need to say, it's not really the writing itself I'm concerned about, more so by the character development."

"Really? How so?"

"Well, there's two main issues," he went on. "First, I'm worried the main villain figure for the story is too generic. Everypony knows about the villain who wants to conquer the world, or destroy everything, or become all-powerful or something like that, but I want my villain to actually have a purpose to his actions."

"What purpose could they have?" asked Rainbow. "They want the world, they try to take it. That's a purpose."

"Yeah, but that's too simple," he dismissed. "I like to think that villainous figures don't view themselves as evil and I want that to reflect in the villain of this story, but I'm not sure how to go about giving the villain a truly meaningful goal."

"I see," nodded Dusk. "And the second concern?"

"Second is there are two protagonist characters I want to build up the relationship between, but I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. Every time I try to make a meaningful moment between them, I feel like I'm doing something wrong in some way or another, and whenever I try to fix it I end up just making it worse. Then I always end up just scrapping the idea altogether, and it's back to square one."

"Aw, come on!" Rainbow put in. "You're not giving yourself enough credit, it's awesome regardless."

Ray smirked. "You would think that. After all, your favourite books are the Daring Do series."

"Hey! What's wrong with Daring Do?" she asked defensively.

"Nothing," he replied. "The books are good, it's just the plots are linear, the villains are bland and there's little-to-no character development in any of the books. Their appeal is almost solely based on action and suspense."

She made a dismissive noise. "Whatever, that's all a book really needs to be great."

"In all fariness," Dusk interjected, "while I can see where Ray is coming from, I do agree with Rainbow. Your writing seems fantastic as it is."

"See? Even the egghead agrees with me," whispered Rainbow.

"Doesn't he read Daring Do too though?" he returned."

"Yes, he does and he's sitting right here," reminded Dusk. "And I mean it. Then again, I haven't' read the whole thing, so I wouldn't know entirely. But if you ever need any help with what you're doing, I'd be happy to provide it."

"Hey, back off!" Rainbow placed a hoof on the table between them and leaned forward. "I offered first!"

Dusk would have been intimidated if she hadn't been smiling when she made this declaration.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ray laughed. "Thanks for the offer, Dusk."

"Anytime," Dusk said with complete honesty.

A few minutes later, the train began to slow down. Ray put away his notebook, tucking it away somewhere in his fur and got up with Rainbow and Dusk, following them out of the booth.

A sharp cold and strong winds greeted them when they stepped off the train. Dusk shivered and once again regretted not picking up his scarf before coming here.

"Ha! And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarves," Rarity remarked, stepping out into the snow.

Spike followed her, carrying some very heavy bags. "I didn't say a word."

There was a loud thud, indicating that he'd dropped them. While he tried to recapture the escaping scarves, Dusk cast his eyes around through the blizzard for any sign of somepony meeting them here. Fortunately, he didn't have to look for long.

"Twilight!"

"Shining Armour?"

A stallion with white fur, a blue mane and black winter wear covering his face struggled towards them. He levitated them off and smiled as Twilight hurried forward and hugged her brother.

"Twily! You made it!" He pulled out of the hug, looking urgent. "We'd better get moving. There are things out here we really don't want to run into after dark."

Fluttershy gulped. "What kind of things?"

"Let's just say the Empire... isn't the only thing that's returned," he answered.

Dusk felt a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Suppressing his fear and keeping his hat from flying off his head, he followed Shining through the snowy gales, making sure Twilight was close by.

"Something keeps trying to get in!" Shining yelled over the wailing wind. "We think it's the unicorn king who originally cursed the place!"

"But Princess Celestia said I was being sent here to find a way to protect the Empire!" replied Twilight. "If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected!"

Before the captain could answer, a low, echoing howl met their ears. Were it not blowing all around them, Dusk would have dismissed it as just being the wind. But that was most certainly not the wind.

"Th-That's one of the things, isn't it?" Fluttershy asked fearfully.

"We have to get to the Crystal Empire! Now!" he commanded.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, a pillar of shadow rose up behind them, the howling now right in their ears. Two glaring eyes opened at the very top, glowing green and vibrant with dark magic. In addition to the howling, a guttural growling mingled with it.

Dusk's affinity of the shadows meant he could feel it. Such hatred, such cruelty… yet there seemed to be something else, buried underneath it all…

Spike was closest to it, his legs shaking as he stared up at it in pure terror. Shining grabbed him with his magic, forcing him to leave Rarity's luggage behind and prompting the others to finally start running. The mass of shadow gathered and gave chase, steadily gaining ground. Dusk didn't look back, he just kept galloping.

"Go, go!" Twilight shouted, bucking Spike onto her back.

Through the storm, Dusk could see something up ahead. It looked like a glowing blue dome, guiding them towards it through the cold and the snow.

"Almost there!" Shining encouraged.

Dusk quickened his pace, vaguely acknowledging what sounded like a magical blast being cast. He pressed himself to keep going, the shimmering surface in sight. He could practically reach out and touch it at this point.

He felt a familiar tingle shoot through his body when they reached it and went through it. The snow was replaced with soft grass and the cold was gone, a comforting warmth taking its place. He gulped down air and took comfort that they were safe.

For now.

"Everypony okay?" asked Twilight, gasping for breath.

The others all panted in general agreement while trying to get their breath back. There was another shimmer and Shining landed next to them, looking like he'd been through an ordeal.

Twilight hurried to him. "Oh, no! Shining Armour, your horn!"

Several growths of black crystal had formed at the end. When he tried to use magic, his own aura was suppressed by a crackle of dark lightning. Seeming to decide silently that there wasn't much they could do about it, they turned around to behold…

"Sparkleriffic!"

Pinkie described what stood before them perfectly. To see it in crystal reflections and hear about it from Luna was one thing, but to actually stand here and see the Crystal Empire… Dusk was hard pressed to remember any other time he saw such a majestic, breath-taking sight. And that was only from a distance.

When they were actually within it, walking down the streets, it was clear the name Crystal Empire hadn't been taken in vain. Everything, everywhere shimmered and sparkled with the distinctive, wondrous sight of pure, uncut, magical crystal. The streets, the lampposts, the houses, everything was made of from it.

And at the very centre, dwarfing the surrounding houses with its glory, what could only be the Crystal Palace. A spire reaching to the sky, shining brightly from the magic that radiated from it. To know that this place had been lost, forgotten for over a thousand years, only to return now… it seemed almost criminal to think of the Empire any less than spectacular.

"It's gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!" But that works too, Dusk thought while Rarity mumbled incoherently. "There are no words!"

"Focus, Rarity. We're here to help Twilight an' Dusk, not admire the scenery," reminded Applejack.

"Eh, I don't see what the big deal is," shrugged Rainbow. "Just looks like another old castle to me."

Rarity seemed flabbergasted at Rainbow's dismissal. "Another old...! Have you lost your mind? Look at the magni-" She stopped when Rainbow and Applejack started laughing. "Very funny."

Shining led them through the hallways, polished so perfectly they could see their reflections in their surface. Dusk felt like he needed to be paying bits just to be standing here.

They arrived at the throne room, where sat upon it was a pink alicorn. Her head was hung and her horn was glowing while she cast a spell, but she brightened when she saw who entered the room.

"Cadence!" Twilight went to meet her foalsitter, now sister-in-law.

Dusk couldn't suppress a smirk when the two of them came together. He knew what was coming.

Sunshine, sunshine,
Ladybugs awake!
Clap your hooves
And do a little shake!

They both fell into gales of laughter… until Cadence grimaced and her horn flickered. Dusk noted that the shield outside also flickered like a candle in a breeze before she regained control of the spell.

There was something else too. Despite how obviously happy she was to see them, she still looked tired. Noticeable bags had formed under her eyes, she looked a lot thinner and she appeared to be just barely staying awake.

"One of these days we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn't hanging in the balance," she sighed, her eyes finding Dusk. "Hey, don't think I've forgotten about you."

"We all have our priorities," joked Dusk, accepting the hug she offered. He noted how weak her grip was. "It's good to see you again, Cadence."

"You too," she said. "Been taking good care of Twilight?"

"I don't think her wellbeing is the main concern right now," he noted.

"Yeah, you don't exactly look your best, princess," agreed Ray, starting forward.

"Hold on, Ray," Shining said, holding up his hoof as the stallion neared. "I'm gonna have to ask you to stay back for a moment."

"Hey, sorry," Ray said, holding up his hooves. "I call it like I see it, didn't mean to offend."

Shining didn't crack a smile. "It's not that. I just to make sure you have your 'friend' under control before I let you near my wife."

"Sorry," said Cadence weakly. "I told Shining about what I knew concerning you, Ray. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, I get it," he said. "Don't start a panic, Shining. My 'friend' is behaving himself."

"We can speak for him," put in Fluttershy. "We haven't had any incidents since last month and we don't intend to have any now."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm not just sure. I'm positive," she said, with utter conviction.

"I'd take that at face value, dude," advised Rainbow. "If Fluttershy is feeling confident about something, that's the best you're gonna get."

Shining considered and relaxed a little. "Alright, I trust your word. Go ahead."

"Great! Thanks, Flutters," Ray added. "I um… I appreciate it."

"No problem, happy to do it," she mumbled, but the corners of her mouth lifted in a smile.

"With that said, Ray's not the main focus here," said Twilight. "Are you okay?"

Shining placed a hoof on his wife's shoulder. "Cadence has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn't slept, barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra."

She breathed deeply. "It's alright Shining Armour, I'm fine."

"She's not fine," he insisted. "She can't go on like this forever, and if her magic were to fade... Well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen."

"That's why we're here," said Twilight.

"Why we're all here," put in Applejack, the others all agreeing with her.

Shining nodded. "Well, with Cadence putting all her strength into keeping her spell going, and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the arctic, we haven't been able to gather much information from the Crystal Ponies."

"Crystal Ponies?! There are Crystal Ponies?!" Rarity saw the looks they were all giving her. "Um, ahem. Please continue."

"But we have to believe one of them knows how we can protect the Empire without having to use Cadence's magic."

"A research paper!" Twilight said suddenly.

"Huh?" Her brother looked confused.

"That must be part of my test – to gather information from the Crystal Ponies and deliver it to you!" she explained with evident enthusiasm. "This is gonna be great! I love research papers!"

"Yeah, who doesn't?" remarked Rainbow sarcastically.

Pinkie took the question literally. "Oh-oh-oh! Lemme guess! Is it Spike? Nono, Fluttershy! Rarity?"

"Don't worry, big brother. I am really good at this sort of thing," Twilight assured with a confident smile and a wink.

"I hope I will be too," put in Dusk, "considering this is what Luna wanted me to do from the outset."

"So it's true?" Shining asked. "Luna thinks something has made the Empire return?"

"I can see where her concern comes from," he replied. "We've had a few incidents in Ponyville, most of which I discovered were done by Tube and Edge. We also know that they were definitely associated with the Invasion. Having the Empire return now, a month after that, it just seems like too much of a coincidence."

"But wouldn't that mean it would just be Tube on his own?" asked Rainbow. "Cause we know Edge isn't exactly working for him anymore."

"An' what could he gain from bringin' back the Empire an' the king?" chimed in Applejack. "Maybe he could use it's magic, but somethin' tells me Sombra ain't exactly the type who's inta makin' deals with other ponies."

"It might not just be him." Dusk almost regretted saying that, but it was out now. "Before the Invasion, Luna was getting reports from patrols that Tube was travelling in a party of three, including him."

"That's pretty small for a party," remarked Pinkie. "So that's the devilish doctor and the grumpy guard. That leaves a third mystery member."

"A-and… who would that be?" asked Fluttershy.

"I dunno," shrugged Pinkie. "That's why it's a mystery, Fluttershy, but we're going to solve it. Right, Dusk?"

"Correct, Pinkie," he confirmed. "So, I suppose that doesn't leave much else to do other than ask the Crystal Ponies to see if they know anything."

"That seems like a reasonable course of action," agreed Twilight. "Right, everypony, we'll split up once we get into the streets and each take a different part of town. Remember to ask the ponies about a way to defend the Empire and if they know anything about why they would return now, a thousand years after the curse was placed on them. We'll meet back at the Castle in an hour."

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With everypony understanding what they needed to do, they went about their assigned tasks. Fluttershy ended up accompanying Ray, mainly because as per what they'd agreed with Princess Celestia, they felt it best that at least one of them stay with him. It wasn't as if either of them objected to it, with Ray suggesting they play good cop-bad cop with the Crystal Ponies.

Dusk ended up taking the north part of town and the first thing he noticed was that the Crystal Ponies weren't exactly… crystal. It looked like they might have been, once upon a time, but now their coats looked rather dull and lacklustre, their manes hanging limply while they dragged their tails across the ground.

It wasn't just their coats that were dull. The closest comparison he could draw to their current state was that of zombies. They just seemed to trudge around the streets lifelessly, without any sense of purpose of where they were going or what they were doing. Their eyes were dead, their voices dull, dead tones and they just looked… tired. He wouldn't be too surprised if they just collapsed and started snoring.

They weren't exactly helpful in the way of information either, but it wasn't out of fear towards a stranger or anything like that. They just couldn't remember.

"You can't remember anything before Sombra came to power?" he asked a stallion.

"No, I'm sorry," he responded in a dead voice. "I don't know what it is, but… I can't remember…"

"Or you don't want to," Dusk supplied, thinking of the unicorn king. "What about why you're back? After a thousand years, why has your Empire returned?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, I'm afraid," he replied. "A thousand years… it feels like yesterday…"

Dusk felt a stab of pity, not just for him but for all of the Crystal Ponies. In a way, it was a good thing they were so far north. Adjusting to modern times might actually be easier for them, but while their Empire seemed virtually unchanged, the rest of Equestria had moved on. Had any of them even been outside of their home?

He nodded in understanding. "Well, thank you for your time. If you should remember anything or hear anything, come find me and let me know."

"Of course. I hope you find the answers you're looking for." His tone didn't betray any kind of hope and he trudged off aimlessly.

It was virtually the same answer for every pony he asked, to the point where he didn't even go around asking questions for the full hour. Returning to the palace, it looked like most of the others had been met with similar results. The Crystal Ponies all seemed to have some sort of collective amnesia, as Applejack termed it.

"The only thing ah was able ta get from 'em was somethin' about a library," she concluded.

"A library?" Twilight gasped at the mention of the word. "Well, why didn't you say so?!"

"Uh, ah thought ah did."

The library was an easy enough place to find. According the ponies they asked, who were actually able to help this time, it was made of blue crystal and had two carvings of griffins outside the entrance. When they found it, even Dusk found himself awestruck at the sight.

Books. Rows and rows of them, a wealth of information on the history, culture, society, everything to do with the Empire. For a self-proclaimed scholar like himself, this was far more valuable than a whole room full of treasure. This was true wealth.

Twilight seemed to be much of the same mind.

"I just... I don't even know what to... There are no words," she gasped.

"Focus, dear," he whispered. "But it is quite a sight, isn't it?"

"I know!" she squealed. "Would you just look at all of this? I mean just… really, really look at all of this?!"

"We could find anything in here. Historical accounts, personal letters, plays, poetry…"

"The hours and hours spent searching through them, documenting and cataloguing everything…"

"Books and records that may not be found anywhere else because they were lost along with the Empire…"

"And now they're here, for us to study as we please!" she finished, with another excited squeal.

"Ahem." A mare wearing round glasses with her mane in a bun caught their attention. "May I help you?"

"Yes. We're looking for a book," said Twilight.

"We have plenty of those," she said, gesturing around.

"You do. You really do…" Twilight sighed, lost in awe at her surroundings.

Applejack took up her line. "We're lookin' for a history book. Somethin' that might tell us how the Empire might've protected itself from danger back in the day."

"Yes. Of course. History, history..." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Ah, yes."

They all beamed expectantly. However, the librarian didn't elaborate.

"Which is where, exactly?" asked Twilight.

"I... I can't seem to remember," she confessed. "I'm not sure I actually work here."

Rainbow slammed her hoof against her face and groaned in exasperation.

"We'll just take a look around," offered Twilight. "I'm sure we can find it on our own."

"Let me know if you find anything," the librarian said, walking away.

"I like her!" announced Pinkie randomly.

Since Dusk's task was closely related to the subject Twilight was looking for, Dusk lent his hoof with the others in trying to find the appropriate section. They all used individual methods for searching, Applejack kicking Rainbow Dash along a ladder while she knocked down books, Ray teleporting around random spots and picking up the first book he saw, Pinkie Pie simply leaping up in odd spots and grabbing the first book within reach.

His experience working in a library put to the test, Dusk systematically moved between shelves, levitating down a book and checking it before putting it back as opposed to just leaving them in piles. Once he was done, he left a colour orb floating as a marker that he'd checked that row and moved on to the next one.

He knew this would be a difficult task, blindly searching through all of these books, but after half an hour and still no progress, his hopes were starting to wear thin. Even with all of them working together, this library was massive, much larger than the Golden Oaks library. He wasn't the only one who thought so.

"Uh, anyone else startin' to think this is a lost cause?" asked Applejack.

"That might be so, but we have to keep looking, no matter how long it takes us," Dusk replied. "Even if it takes us days, months, years-"

"Yes!" came an ecstatic cry from Twilight.

"Or seconds," Ray offered.

They joined her as she set the book down. ""History of the Crystal Empire". I just hope it has the answers we need."

With all of them scanning the pages of a single book, it didn't take them long to find reference to something that was their best chance for protection. A Crystal Faire, an event established by their first queen and held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm.

"This is exactly what we're looking for!" announced Twilight. "I can show this to my brother and Cadence and then we could put it all together so we can protect the Empire."

"Alright, we're getting somewhere!" Rainbow punched the air. "Come on, let's get this thing up and running!"

Dusk shifted uncomfortably. "If you all don't mind, I'm afraid I'm going to have to exclude myself."

"What? Why, whatever for, darling?" asked Rarity.

"I still have a task of my own to fulfil," he explained. "It might be a longshot, but maybe there's something in one of these books that could explain why the Empire has returned. I'm sorry, I would like to help you, but I-"

"It's okay, Dusk. We understand," assured Twilight. "I hope you manage to find what you're looking for."

He tried to smile confidently. "For a number one pony assistant like myself, I'm sure this task will be foal's play."

"That's what I like to hear." She kissed his cheek. "Good luck and if there's anything in this book, I'll make sure to let you know."

The others all left with her. An event as big as a Crystal Faire would surely require all of their combined effort to put together, so that meant Dusk was on his own.

Or so he thought.

"You know, my poor pipe's gonna get rusty now that you're talking about yourself like that," remarked Ray.

"I'm sure you'll find some use for it," Dusk replied. "Aren't you going to go and help the girls?"

"I think they've got all of the hooves they need to pull off this Faire." He saluted. "Consider me your junior library assistant, buddy."

Dusk smiled a lot easier. "Much appreciated, thank you. Come on, let's get to searching."

"But all of these books are from before the Empire fell," said Ray. "Twilight might be able to find something about protecting the Empire, but I don't see how you can find out why it's come back."

"That's a fair point…" Dusk thought for a moment and hit upon a new thought. "But maybe it's because we've been looking in the wrong place."

"How do you mean?" Ray asked.

"The ponies here might not know anything, but who's the reason why they don't? Who's responsible for the Empire's disappearance to begin with? Who is it that his magic is so strong, he was able to return with the Empire he once ruled?"

"Yeah, I get it," Ray said, nodding. "So, if we find out a little more about Sombra and his reign, we might be able to find out why it's returned."

"Exactly. Check royal chronicles, references to the kind of magic he used, reports from diplomatic envoys, anything that could give us insight into Sombra," he instructed.

"Way ahead of you!" He teleported and returned with a stack of books. "While I was looking, I kept an eye out for any that might be useful for you. These ones should be a little more specific in what you're looking for."

Dusk took a moment to acknowledge this. "Ray, I think you could go far in the assisting world."

While Ray went off elsewhere to find more books, Dusk began to search through the ones he had for what information he could on the tyrannical king. Looking at a book on the Empire's lineage, it looked like he was the first king that the kingdom ever had, a line inherited from his mother, who was queen before him. That must have been quite a daunting responsibility. Ponies were based in a matriarchal society, so a male monarch, especially back in those days, wouldn't have been regarded in much favour.

Further reading showed this to be apparently true. While he didn't appear to begin as a tyrant, it was clear he wasn't very popular with his people, regarded as uncompromising and harsh in his decrees. He wasn't very courteous to his servants, held his subjects in contempt and was prone to anger when his actions were questioned by his advisers. This was according to various accounts and documents from members of his court.

Curiously, he did manage to find reference to the Royal Pony Sisters, specifically Luna. She had arrived at the Empire at one point to renew a treaty with the king, but afterwards had begun to frequent Sombra's court a lot more. The reasons were unspecified, as Sombra forbade the documentation of his personal life by any other than himself and there didn't appear to be any royal memoirs or accounts written by him in this regard.

Why keep it secret though? Was this why Luna had been so short with him before coming here? Did they used to be friends? Or perhaps it was something more…

In either case, while he discovered a lot about the king, he learned virtually nothing about the magic he used. Most documentation after he transformed into the monster lurking outside the Empire was practically non-existent. He didn't want dissidents stewing away in the depths of his slaves.

"Yeah, I'd definitely say this is a lost cause," commented Ray after about an hour. "Unless you're planning to write a book yourself on the good king Sombra."

"Not at the moment," replied Dusk. "I suppose we'll have to go somewhere else for the information we need."

Ray sighed. "What else are we meant to do though? There's only so much these books can tell us."

Dusk nodded his head silently. He ended up gazing out of the window, hoping that inspiration might strike him. He saw the trudging, lifeless ponies wandering the streets, the sparkling houses they lived that shimmered like the border of Cadence's barrier. There, he saw the darkness beyond it, waiting for it to be weakened…

That was when it hit him.

"I think, then, that we've done enough background reading," Dusk murmured. "Let's try and get a more personal account."

Comments

[SCI-FIWIZARDMAN]

My Batman reference on Fanfiction would seem repetitive here. Unfortunately, I cannot currently think of any other popular old superhero themes to use in my Ray parody. Oh well.

Ray still awesome. Might I say though, I liked the bit with him and Flutters doing the good-cop-bad-cop deal. RICH. Super-kind and understanding Fluttershy along with "Prone-to-exploding-in-unparalleled-rage" Ray. Probably would have been effective, if their subjects weren't equivocal zombies.

Welp, at least we now get to see Ray and Dusk going off to do something that is probably insanely stupid. BRING IT ON!!!!!!

[Auto-Buscus]

It was great to finally see Ray's writing skills in action in this chapter. I thought the conversation about the piece between RD, Ray and Dusk was awesome and a lot like some fanfic writers would be like.

Still heart warming to see that Dusk and Twilight comforting each other over their tasks. Never seen 2 ponies more right for each other, then they are. :)

I like how Ray and Dusk split off from the mares to go on their own mission while they set up the fair. What they find is sure to be interesting.

I'm hoping we see a flugelhorn in the next chapter, though. Lol.

I have a feeling that this book is gonna give us a ton more Ray awesomeness than ever before!

[Lord Zalgo]

Another update?!
I feel like you're spoiling us, Alpha.
(Please, don't stop)

[alexphoenixwing]

3700247 okay... Who downvoted your comment?

I am getting ticked off

[Lord Zalgo]

3703347
Someone downvoted my-?
...
*Sniff*
B-but... W-why?
*Sniff*
...I just don't know what went wrong...
*Sniff*

[SCI-FIWIZARDMAN]

3703955

LOL.

A week and a day later, I JUST got the Derpy reference.

[SIMIOCAOS]

Books of secrets and books of dreams,
May find a reader from time down the stream,
But truths of the past may they never reveal,
To those eyes those old whispers they seek to conceal.

Yet what is this strange pony we wonder,
Who turned a bright land and his honor asunder?
What kind of answers does he keep in the dark,
And will they now flourish with a questioner's art?

[Stellar_]

Reading a story like this from so long ago is kind of surreal, especially when you brought up Sombras backstory, since we got an official cannon one way after this came out