Act II Chp. 1: Status Quo
"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That boiled ruby the sea
They fled thy wrath, but in fire they drowned
All for our children three
'Twas grace that taught our enemies fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did my grace appear
The hour we first conceived
Through families and friends afar
Death I have sown
'Tis grace hath kept me sane thus far
And grace will forge us a throne
How sweet the name of Sombra sounds
In a reaper's ears
It brings rivers of blood, and skulls to pound
and drives the world to tears"
*****
Cold northern wind whistled over the brittle stone landscape Shining Armor now called 'home'. Here and there small tufts of stringy grass forced their way out from the space between the rocks, sparse enough to be called barren by most, but just enough that Shining didn't find himself starved to death by the end of each day. The place held a certain charming melancholy that could always bring a bitter smile to his face. These rocks certainly thought themselves strong and mighty, but all it took was a little time and the right gust of wind to send a tower of granite tumbling back to earth, shattering and bringing down everything nearby along with it.
A more urgent gust shoved its way past the lone unicorn, causing him to shiver and turn back for the comfort of shelter. The moon would be crawling into the night sky soon, and he'd need to be ready for the freezing temperatures and the usual onslaught. Picking out the rocky outcropping that marked his abode, Shining shoved his weight against a precariously balanced boulder. With a grunt of exertion he managed to push the rock up, now wedged just enough between the ground and the angular roof of his home that it allowed him to pass through the now exposed crevice. Entering the small cave (if it could even qualify for such a title being a mere eight paces in diameter) Shining began the tedious ritual that was now his nightly routine.
First things first, he had to make sure he wouldn't suffocate during the night. Letting his magic flow in ethereal tendrils from his horn, he gently prodded around the roof of the cave, locating his chimney and making sure nothing had fallen in to block off airflow. It'd taken him weeks of careful and tedious work to drill out a hole as thick as a pony's hoof up through the granite and limestone; though due to the fact he hadn't managed to bring the unstable rock formation down on his head in the process, he was reasonably proud of it.
Next, the keystone. Kicking a wedge-shaped rock out of his "front door", Shining use his magic to cram it against the boulder outside. It wouldn't do to have his only exit be blocked off by the devilish whim of the wind after all.
Finished securing his door, Shining lit the pile of prepared logs on the far side of his cave. With the freezing temperatures each night brought, he'd quickly realized the need for a fire to continue his survival. About three days east, he'd discovered a small grove of pine trees growing on a hill. It had been too close to a nearby logging village however, so he'd ultimately decided to move past the grove and on to his current abode, keeping the pine trees in mind for whenever he'd need them.
Now, as nighttime officially fell, he performed the final step to his ritual, the one that had never once been successful in all the years he'd lived in solitude. He silently prayed for mercy, for release from this nightmare he could never escape. And as it went every night, his prayers received an equally silent response. It was but a matter of time until the crackling of pine dragged Shining's exhausted mind underneath a black veil of unconsciousness.
It was the perfect day, Celestia's sun beamed merrily down upon them in the cool air of this fine spring afternoon. They lay together beneath the sparse shade of an oak tree, watching the gentle wind guide the verdant branches in the steps of a gentle dance. Shining turned his eyes to the pink blessing in his embrace. She was so perfect, so loving, so...everything. It'd been so long, he couldn't even feel the pain those loving, happy eyes brought him. He'd tried everything over the years; ranging from trying to save Cadence from the gaping stab wound, to simply running away from that picturesque hill. Each time, he would inevitably be faced with her rotting corpse, begging him to remember. It was only through gruesome death would the nightmare release him, sweat-covered and panting heavily in early-morning light.
Recently, he'd adopted the strategy of simply doing nothing. He would not speak, he would not act, he could only close his eyes, shut his ears, and curl up in a ball on the ground to await the inevitable end. First would come the concerned questions from his dead love, wondering what he was doing and if he was ok. Slowly, these would morph into desperate shouts as he was shaken by her hooves, demanding to know what was wrong, and didn't he love her anymore? Then would come the warm splatter of her blood across his side, and Corpse Cadence would take over, her rotting voice begging him over and over again to not forget his promise. Through it all he held firm, locking of his mind as best he could, like a turtle would hide in their shell.
It was as such that on this night it took him many moments to realize something had changed. Tentatively opening his eyes, he peeked out from his fetal position to find Corpse Cadence completely gone, along with the rest of the familiar dreamscape. He was back in his cave, warm fire still burning brightly against the chill in the air. Every hair on his body immediately stood at attention as adrenalin coursed through his veins. The nightmare had never once ended early, and never had it ever deviated so much from the original; therefore whether he was actually awake right now or still dreaming it didn't matter, because something big had changed.
"Oh relax already, before you manage to hurt yourself."
Instinctively Shining reared up in surprise at the unexpected voice behind him. He would have made a truly majestic sight standing on his back legs and musclebound forelegs waving in the air in front of him, if not for the fact that momentarily his instincts had forgotten that he only had one back leg upon which to stand. With only the right leg to support his entire weight, Shining immediately lost his balance and tipped over into the pine-log fire with an entirely un-stallion like yelp.
The owner of the unannounced voice in Shining's home lay upon a couch-sized red satin pillow, her starry mane billowing softly in a magical wind, and sapphire eyes rolling in exasperation at the stallion's panicked antics. With a single blink of her eyes, he was removed from the fire unharmed, and the inside space of his home expanded to comfortably host five ponies at a time. Red-faced with embarrassment, the former captain of the guard took in all of these details to quickly make his assessment of the situation.
"This is the first time you've visited my dreams in many years Princess Luna. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
This earned him a snort of derision from his guest. "Six years of self-enforced isolation, and yet he still remembers his manners? I wouldst hold thy courtesy if I were you Shining Armor, for I do not guarantee my visit to bring you happiness in the least."
Shining frowned, he didn't like the sound of where this was going. "Then what is your purpose here Princess?"
Luna's eyes hardened as her mouth took the slight downturn of a disapproving frown. "I am here on behalf of my sister's wishes. I don't suppose you are aware of anything of the outside world and the state it's in?" She paused for a moment, just long enough for Shining's affirmation. "Of course not, just as the Ostrich quivering with it's head stuck in the sand will not notice the twister behind it."
Shining Armor narrowed his eyes in anger, glaring at the Lunar princess that had apparently dropped in just to insult him. She returned his glare with one equally fierce. No more would she tolerate this situation, it was going to end tonight.
"My sister believes you need this time alone to come to terms with your wife and child's deaths and to 'rediscover' yourself as she puts it. To this end you were allowed to leave uncontested, and though you would have been an invaluable asset to ending this war in a timely manner, you were allowed your solitude." Shining interrupted her with his own snort now.
"An invaluable asset? Don't make me laugh. What could I have done that anypony else, especially you royal sisters, couldn't do better?"
"Provide safe passage through the gas barrier on the Crystal Empire's border and allowed the war to end before it's third year."
There was complete silence but for the crackling of pine between them as Shining stared at her in surprised non-belief.
"The magical toxins that make the Crystal Empire's border impassible bested hundreds of good ponies who attempted to foil it. Any tunnel would instantly fill with the gas once directly under the border, and it reaches too high in the sky for any wings to fly over it. Any form of attack simply passes through, and even pegasus-formed tornadoes failed to disperse it. One year, 4 months, and 28 days into the war however, Canterlot scientists discovered the weakness to the gas barrier. Very powerful shielding magic could hold the gas at bay, though the level of success varied greatly. For some the shield would hold back the gas for a precious few seconds, while others seemingly had no effect at all."
"A couple of seconds? That's not exactly a weakness your majesty."
Luna gave Shining Armor a freezing glare for his interruption. "Perhaps then you would let me finish my explanation so that you may understand." Satisfied with how the stallion quailed under the intensity of her gaze, Luna continued with her lecture.
"As you well know, each unicorn has a noticeable magical signature. It is most noticeably displayed by the color of their magic when casting a spell. Since the effectiveness of the same shield spell varied so greatly from unicorn to unicorn, it was determined that the magical frequency itself determined the spell's success. Three months of vigorous testing, in which both my sister and I participated, and the correct magical frequency was calculated that would be able to fully repel the gas and allow safe passage of an entire army across the border. How cruel indeed, that the Crystal Empire would leave us the key to their gates, taunting us with its broken teeth."
Shining felt the blood drain from his face. "Why? Why didn't you come sooner? If I'd know I would...I would have..."
"No" proclaimed Luna solemnly, "you would not." She sighed and summoned a smaller, royal blue version of her pillow for Shining to lay upon. "This is not the first time I have visited your dreams Shining Armor, it is merely the first time I've allowed you to be consciously aware of it. You do not remember it, but I approached your subconscious many times to implore your aid. Each time was met with failure. The death of your family haunts you deeply, more deeply than I've seen any pony haunted before. You blame yourself for being unable to save them, and that blame has become a poison in your mind. I very much doubt that you'd be able to cast a shield of any sort in the sorry state you're in."
Letting his body crumple into the soft embrace of his pillow, Shining tried his best to wrap his head around what she was saying. "You specialize in mental magic, so why don't you just...?" he finished lamely with a vague gesture of his hoof.
"A pony's mind is their territory, and theirs alone. To intervene directly would be the blackest of magics and would only cause you harm. No, only you have the key to ending the torment you put yourself through every night, and in doing so recover your magical specialty. But that is not why I am here tonight."
"It's not?" What more could there possibly be?
"My sister is running herself ragged worrying over every detail of this war. She loves each of our subjects like a mother would her children, and to have them all in such grave danger is a burden I dare not imagine."
"So you're here because she worries for me?"
"Of course not. In fact I'd be in for quite the earful if she knew I was disturbing your solitude now. I'm here because she worries for everypony and it is physically impossible for her to help them all nor guarantee their safety. Despite your current state, you are still far more capable than many of our citizens, as is proven by your ability to survive in the middle of a rocky wasteland. Also, on a more personal note, I'm not willing to tolerate a once-great stallion moping around like a lost colt any longer. I know better than any else what good that does, and its gone on long enough, regardless of what Celestia thinks."
Princess Luna stood, rising to her fullest height and banishing everything around them. The pillows, the crackling fire, even his cave, leaving nothing but a starry expanse far above and below them. With a great bellow, she unleashed the full power of the Royal Canterlot Voice upon his sorry mortal ears.
"PRINCE SHINING ARMOR, FORMER CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD AND BY RIGHT OF MARRIAGE PROPER RULER OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE, i CALL UPON YOU TO HONOR THE VOWS YOU ONCE SWORE. i CALL UPON YOU TO CAST ASIDE YOUR SELFISH WALLOWING ABOUT IN THE DULDRUMS AND VENTURE BACK INTO CIVILIZATION ONCE MORE. I CALL UPON YOU TO PROTECT AND SERVE YOUR PRINCESS, YOUR KINGDOM, AND YOUR COUNTRYMEN. EASE THE BURDEN OF WORRY UPON MY SISTER'S BROWN BY GIVING YOUR AID TO ALL WHO NEED IT, I BESEECH YOU!"
As the mighty echoes slowly faded away, Shining caught himself staring at the stars that surrounded his dreamscape. Each speck of sparkling light might as well represent the hundreds, if not thousands, of ponies that Luna was expecting him to help. Him of all ponies. Hadn't she just mentioned that he was blocked off from his shield spells? What use was he in the first place, now even more so without his specialty in magic?
Slowly, a bright white light ate away at the dreamscape, pushing it back and reaching out to envelope the Princess of the Night. Regally, she turned from him and began to walk towards the light, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more. Before the light consumed her and the dream ended however, she gave one final warning.
"As you make your decision on whether to answer my call or not, remember this, a saying most ancient. 'Tis only a fool that repeats the same over and over again and expects the results to be different'. Regardless of how I feel about your actions up to this point, I can say with confidence that I know at least one thing about you Prince Shining." She turned to make eye contact, staring into him through eyes of stars and sapphires as she looked deep into his soul and judged it worthy.
"You are no fool."
*****
Blueish-white light flickered against the rough stone wall. While a far cry from as illuminating as an actual flame, the fire of each mage-light lantern consumed no resources and emitted no smoke. Furthermore, as far as could be detected, they also never emitted heat; a useful feature when trying to evade detection that made them the proffered source of illumination in a top-secret facility such as this. Two silent guards stood vigil by a giant metal door, making for three immovable steel objects at the end of the narrow rocky passage. Carved into the door itself were hundreds of circular patterns mixed with strange blocky writing etched by none other than Princess Luna herself. If one were to douse the mage-lights, they'd find that each carefully placed line would glow as softly as moonlight, pulsing like a heartbeat with unknown arcane power. What's more is that this door had more in common with a wall than any other door. It had no handle, no hinges, and no key, and only two ponies in the world were allowed access; one of which was slowly approaching.
The two guards snapped to attention, holding their hooves in a perfect salute as their ruler and commander in chief strode by them. With a solemn nod, Princess Celestia acknowledged their greeting before turning her full attention upon the door itself. She spoke no words of power, nor was there any sign of magic flowing from her mighty horn, and yet with a deep breath and a confident stride the door welcomed her inside with a nimbus of blinding silver light. The guards watched impassively as she disappeared from sight, resuming their vigilant watch only when the very tip of her tail was gone and the magical light no more.
On the other side of the door two yellow orbs bobbed cheerfully at their unexpected visitor.
"Well well well, look who's come to visit me after so many months. Honestly Celly, is this how you treat a dear friend doing you a favor?"
Celestia simply sighed in response, letting her mane fall limp and the illusion magic upon her face drop now that she was past her subjects. She could not afford to let them see the exhaustion that etched itself upon her features, nor how the many sleepless nights had left discolored bags beneath her eyes. Even so, she could still manage a smile for her old friend and his teasing.
"Good day Discord. I'd offer to bring you freshly baked cookies from the royal kitchens in repentance of my long absences were it not for the mysterious and daily disappearance of our very best confections. Mayhaps I should replace our supply of chocolate chips with raisins to give our thief an unfortunate surprise?"
Discord's tail twitched nervously at the thought, tying itself into a Gordian knot as he struggled to come up for a good reason as to why she shouldn't carry through with the dastardly plan. Celestia chuckled softly to herself, it was a rare chance indeed to get the upper hoof on Discord in wordplay, and despite his many...quirks..., he at least managed to brighten her day some with his antics.
In order to redirect the conversation away from his petty pilfering, Discord gave a cough to clear his throat and got down to business. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
Celestia's smile dropped in an instant, settling into a now-familiar worried frown. "You know why Discord. There are an increasing number of incursions from the Empire, and the number of times our interceptors have arrived in the last possible second to contain the raids are becoming too numerous. I came to check in on you and make sure this task is not taking too much a toll."
Discord blew a raspberry and held his cackling sides. "Take a toll? Oh me, ooh-hahahah. Celly your jokes still surprise me after all these years."
Celestia simply nodded, "Of course." His act fooled none. The draconequus sat upon a throne of mechanical pipes and devices, numerous tubes inserted into his arms and lengthy torso that slowly pulsed with his magical energy. In this circular room in which he sat at the center were countless R.E.C.T.U.M devices specially designed and fitted to the walls for his use. Most of the tubes and pipes led to the powering and maintenance of the magical screens, while the rest led into a focusing orb installed in a pedestal before him. This room, and hundreds of identical bunkers scattered across Equestria all powered by Discord's magical clones provided DUNE's first and foremost line of defense.
Though he had refused to directly participate in any battle of the war; to prevent anything like the Ponyville incident from ever happening again, Discord had offered his services as a counter-measure to the strange crystal-transport system that had caused such devastation. By constantly pulsing his magic throughout the earth, Discord was able to locate the dark crystal like a dolphin would echo-locate a fish. Next came the difficult part. It isn't enough to simply locate the crystal veins, their final destination has to be determined from all the possible target outcomes in Equestria as well. This was further complicated as the Crystal Empire began creating multiple veins at a time, many leading to dead-ends or false targets.
As the avatar of chaos, Discord was the only creature alive able to predict the final destination and level of threat for each and every single crystal vein to 100% accuracy. To accomplish this feat, he would invoke the nature of chaos itself, observing all possible outcomes for every variable at once, and backtracking from there to the current state of the crystal vein to determine it's fate. It was nothing less than creating sense and order from chaos, and despite his bravado Celestia knew all too well that it was killing him bit by bit each time. It was like a dragon trying to use their power over heat to breath ice instead, and yet Discord had been performing these minor miracles of magic hundreds of times over for five years straight, all for the sake of a gentle yellow pegasus.
The silence grew long and awkward between them, both fully aware of his deteriorating state and neither wishing to acknowledge it. It was Discord who broke the silence first, all merriment dropped from his voice. "I know the reason that you're really here Celly, and your words won't make it any better. How could you have let this happen?"
Celestia rubbed her temples, her exhaustion manifesting itself into a headache already (though headaches had ever been an inevitable part of speaking with Discord in the past). "I'm a monarch Discord, not a tyrant. I would not force Fluttershy to join our armed forces, and neither would I force her to change her decision now that she has. You are aware that Captian Applejack is in charge of the armed forces stationed in Ponyville, correct?"
"I'm not the eyes and ears of Equestria for nothing you know." He sassed.
More temple rubbing ensued. "Then perhaps you are also aware that Applejack feels the same way? Now that Fluttershy and Pinkie both have signed up, they are directly under her command. She's seen fit to put them through the basic combat and self-defense training and only the most basic of posts to ensure that neither ever see combat."
Discord's begrudging look informed her that he did in fact know all of that already. "Discord, do not worry. Her friends will look out for her, and by learning basic combat her safety is only more-so guaranteed in the event of something unexpected. She couldn't stay on the sidelines forever, watching as everybody she loved stepped forward to face the struggles of war without her. She's too kind to let them face the darkness without her right there with them."
Discord slouched in defeat, drooping like a limp noodle. Then, with a glint of hot steel in his voice he straightened up and resumed pumping his magic into the machines with a gusto. "Remember this Celestia, every year that goes by is another year we've failed them. Whether we could have stopped this at the beginning or not, every year is another year we've failed to make our friends truly safe. You should leave now. With me stuck down here our fates lie in you and your sister's hooves. Guide us well, and make haste in ending this war, for all our sakes."
*****
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"Subject: Earth Pony, Male.
Place of Origin: Eastern Maretonia"
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"Test #203: Relative Tensile strength of skull, spine, and femurs."
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"Hmm, what do you think big fella? Want to try the sword? Perhaps the spear? Oooh! I know, how about the hammer?"
bdumbdumbdumbdumbdum
"Hammer it is! Let's start with the femurs and work our way up!"
From somewhere far off, King Sombra's voice rumbled through the crystal walls. "Amethyst Marrow get moving young lady, it's time to go!"
With a sigh, the magenta unicorn slipped her safety goggles up to her forehead and switched on the overhead lights. Bright glaring light filled the rest of her laboratory, causing her rusty-colored test subject to squint and moan around his gag. "I know I know big fella, daddy had to go and spoil the fun I had planned out for us today. But don't you worry, I'll be back in a couple days to continue where we left off. Here, be a gentle-colt and hold this for me while I'm gone." Hefting an impressive 200lb maul as if it were a paperweight, Amethyst gently placed it upon the earth pony's chest and stored away the rest of her tools for later. Finished with her meticulous organization, she all but pranced on the way out, leaving the hapless earth pony to struggle vainly just to breath.
It was a beautiful day in the crystal empire. Celestia's sun glared down upon them with the fury of an angry monarch, but she paid it no heed. Instead she marveled at all her parents had accomplished in the last few years of their reign. To the south lay the industrial quadrant where machines the size of small cities (of her brother's own design) slowly ripped the mountains apart, separating weak stone from the valuable minerals it contained. Forcibly awakened volcanoes belched lava endlessly, providing the empire with an endless source of geothermic energy and, more importantly, pure obsidian.
To the north lay miles upon miles of specially designed greenhouses, growing the tonnes of food the empire needed to sustain itself. Amethyst chuckled to herself, she supposed it would be more appropriate to credit Ponyville in this case, after all it was their plants and seeds that they had generously 'donated' flourishing inside those greenhouses now. To the East was nothing special, just the four-story barracks buildings that housed the Crystal Empire's entire militant population. Though unremarkable to look upon the rows and rows of crystal prisms, it still brought a smile to her face, as far off on the horizon she could just barely make out the signs of further construction adding yet more barracks to the count. It signified the Empire's ever growing strength, and ever growing pool of subjects for her to 'improve'.
To the west of the castle lay her personal pride and joy, the laboratory that she had just come from. She'd formed it herself just two years ago, taking inspiration from the structure of amino acids to form the many-sized domes where she conducted her experiments with covered walkways connecting each dome to another. On the farthest end of her laboratory stood her favorite dome of them all, completely black and stretching deceptively far below ground. This held all the prisoners the Crystal Empire collected over the war, and all the facilities she could ever want to persuade them to loosen their tongues (or to simply have fun with them if they held no significance.) In the middle of that room was her most prized possession, a book detailing all the great tortures ever conceived, a book she has since doubled in size.
Next to that was her brother's own facility. As usual, the twerp had jumped at the opportunity to try and one-up his twin sister and the result could only be described as needlessly complicated. Emerald had pulled out all the stops creating his lab, giant gears constantly churned away to the time of swinging double-pendulums that dragged the gears into new positions, or pumped pistons up and down into the ground. These all served to constantly change the shape and design of his building, spires rising one moment and disappearing the next. As she watched, a massive tower slowly tipped over and unraveled, revealing a cubic building inside with the remnants of the tower in a tilted orbit around it. How he'd managed to construct this endlessly changing monstrosity (let alone find the entrance and actually get any work done inside) was far beyond her, not that she'd ever admit to such a thing.
Beyond both buildings lay the Empire's very own Imperial Academy, a structure that had grown to truly massive proportions since it's founding. Every month, the foals of the next generation entered for incubation and expedited programming. By the end of six months they would leave campus fully-grown to join the ranks of their brother's and sister's in the army, ready to create the next generation of lucky crystal ponies. Stupid Emerald may have gotten his chance to show off his machines in the industrial sector, but it was she, Amethyst Marrow that had worked side by side with their mother to genetically improve her students. Thanks to Amethyst and her extensive knowledge of biology, pregnancy lasted only two months in crystal ponies, and their physical strength and endurance rivaled that of even minotaurs. She'd given her parents an army that would take the world by storm, and they couldn't be more proud.
Trotting up the steps to their castle, she found the rest of her family already gathered in the main hall. Her father stood across from her mother with an exasperated yet loving smile on his face, nodding periodically as she went through a checklist that stretched across the hall. Next to her father was Emerald, already extremely bored and busy fiddling with a simple gyroscope. The very sight of him was somehow aggravating enough to make her want to roll her eyes, so instead she turned her attention to her favorite brother instead, Cobalt Tempest. Only three years old, Cobalt was the odd one out, a pegasus in a family of unicorns (and one alicorn). With very little magical power to call his own, Cobalt had come into the world far more quietly than she and Emerald had, and since then had stuck to his mother's side like glue. Even now he stood slightly behind and under her mother's left foreleg, as if using her to shield himself from the uncertainties of the world.
With a smile, Amethyst crept around her seemingly oblivious mother and snuck up behind her unsuspecting victim. Coiling her muscles, she crouched down, waiting...waiting...waiting for that perfect moment...and THERE! With a giggle and a cry of "Gotcha" she launched herself forward only to find herself crashing into Emerald's terrified face. Disentangling herself from her twin, she looked around to find her intended victim chortling with laughter and her mother giving her a stern and knowing look, horn alight with the distinct bruised-purple aura.
Having paused with her checklist already, Twilight bent her head down to Cobalt and gave him a gentle nudge with her muzzle. "Go on now sweetie, go play with your brother and sister while your father and I finish with the preparations for their trip." Still trying to contain his giggles, Cobalt leapt in their direction, letting his wings keep him afloat till his destination. "Hiya Emerald, Hiya Ammy, you guys are so lucky to get to go with dad to Windigo Peak. I wonder if he'll take me when I'm older?"
Brushing himself off from Amethyst's impromptu lion impersonation, Emerald rolled his eyes. "Dad's taking us to Windigo peak for our monthly magic lessons dummy, why would he ever bring you along?" Tucking his wings closer to his body, the crestfallen Cobalt felt stupid for asking. "Oh, right." Inexplicably, Emerald felt an impending sense of doom. No mystery went unsolved around Emerald however, and seconds later he had his answer as Amethyst's hoof clubbed him across the back of his head, hard enough to plant him face first into the palace floor.
"Don't listen to him Tempy. Remember that while we're gone with dad you get mom all to yourself, and since she's an alicorn you get to learn everything you could want about flying and weather from her. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to come back and find you've gone and found your cutie mark already." As she'd hoped, this brightened Cobalt's mood notably, his wings twitching in excitement and eyes gleaming brightly. "You really think so Ammy?" She couldn't help but smile at his exuberance. Reaching out to ruffle his short silver mane, she looked him straight in his amber eyes and said, "Definitely."
Cobalt pranced in joy, his brother could be a bit mean sometimes, but Ammy always managed to cheer him up. His own cutie mark, wouldn't that be exciting? Both of them had gotten their cutie marks around his age, so that must mean he'd be getting his soon too! Cobalt's happy dance took an unexpected turn however, when an blood-red aura flipped his world upside down and tossed him high in the air. "Beware! Tis' I , the all-powerful King of the Beasts from Underbed, fall back to earth to be my dinner!" His father bellowed playfully.
"NoooOoOOooOOooo" giggled Cobalt gleefully, I'm gunna stay up here, you can't catch me when I'm flying!"
"Bwahahahaha, foolish child, did you not think I would come prepared? Behold my newest ally, the one-horned purple pony eater!" With a whoosh of air Twilight appeared behind her youngest colt and began to tickle him mercilessly. "Yes! Excellent work my fiend, now bring the child to me so we may feast together!"
"Feast? On this beautiful little angel?" Gasped Twilight in mock surprise, "I could never! I think I shall keep him all for myself oh King of the Beasts." To add insult to injury she blew him the biggest, wettest raspberry possible, one mimicked by Cobalt beside her.
"Gah! Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"
Chuckling warmly, Twilight landed upon the floor once more to embrace her husband and their two eldest foals. "Now you three be careful up at Windigo Peak alright? Make sure to keep nice and warm while you're away, and don't hesitate to write back home if you need anything. Remember the windigo population is in no danger of being eliminated at this rate for another few years, so go all out and have fun with your lessons!"
Rolling her eyes, Amethyst hugged her mother back and sighed. "Relax mom, it's only going to be a couple days. You'll barely notice we're gone." Released from her grasp, Sombra gave her a quick kiss goodbye and a wink. "See you soon love. Alright kids, lets go have some fun we've got to get an early start to get there before all the windigos flee the peak again." Without further ado, all three of them disappeared in a flash of ruby light, leaving the Queen and the young prince behind.
"So mommy, Ammy said you'd help me get my cutie mark while they were gone!"
Arching her eyebrow at her littlest angel, Twilight could barely contain her smirk. "Oh, did she now? I don't know, you're still too young to have a cutie mark, don't you think?"
Standing as tall as he possibly could and flaring his wings out to make himself look bigger (and thus older) Cobalt proudly declared "Nope, I'm all growed up see?"
Putting her hoof around him, she tugged him close as they walked out of the main hall. "Hmm, I suppose you are. Your father certainly thinks so, he suggested I give you the talk while he was away."
"The talk? What talk mommy?" Goodness her colt was so adorable when he cocked his head in curiosity like that. "The same talk I gave your brother and sister when they were your age. Come, we'll need the viewing crystal in the throne room for this." Taking to wing, Twilight flew through her castle fast as an arrow, carrying along Cobalt for the ride. Arriving at their destination, she settled her colt down on a soft pillow before turning to the large half-globe set in the floor (Ammy called it the great wart of the castle, much to her parent's chagrin).
"Pay close attention now Cobalt, as this is very important." Waiting for her eager cult to nod his head in acknowledgement, Twilight continued. "As you know, we, the Crystal Empire, are currently at war with Equestria and its allies. In fact it might be easier to simply state that we are at war with the world. Like your brother and sister before you, you need to understand our reason why, and that's what we're going to show you today, understand?" Another nod. "Excellent." Twilight slowly let her power flow into the viewing crystal, allowing a view of a quaint and oddly-not-made-of-crystal village to come into focus.
"This is a small town in south-west Maretonia, in fact the farthest gathering of ponies from Equestria's borders that exists, besides ourselves of course." Cobalt's hoof shot up into the air as he thought of a question. "Yes sweetie?".
"Why does it have to be so far away from Equestria mommy? If Equestria is our enemy, should't we be viewing them instead?"
Twilight swelled with pride at her colt's keen mind. "Yes love that's true, but the viewing crystal only works if it can form a crystal bridge between here and the target location. We're not entirely certain how, but Equestria seems to have a system in place that lets them detect every new crystal growth that happens beneath the surface, no matter how low. Furthermore, normal scrying spells are being blocked by the very sun and moon above us so that our enemy can keep us in the dark as to what they are doing. Fortunately, their defenses weaken the farther from Equestria's borders you go, thus why we're able to see into this corner of Maretonia without detection." With a soft "oooooooh" Cobalt settled back down into his pillow and waited for her to continue her lecture.
"Now, I'd planned on showing this to you last night, so I took the time to do a little bit of preparation. You see, in this town there is a popular and handsome young colt running for mayor, and he seems to have gotten the entire town behind him in support of his numerous fake promises. All, but one that is. This filly has actually read the bills that he intends to pass as the new mayor, and found several clauses cleverly worded to fill his own pockets and drive the poor even further below the poverty line. Taking a stand, she's called out his hypocrisy before the entire town only to get booed for hating their beloved candidate. Not one single pony believed her, and now she lives a sole outcast in a society addicted to his sugary words."
"Another advantage of the viewing crystal over traditional scrying is that I'm able to project a small amount of my magic through it and affect objects on the other side. So last night I took the liberty of murdering the pompous fool in his sleep."
"Wait wait wait, you killed him!?" Squeaked Cobalt in surprise.
"Hmm? Oh yes, simply levitated a knife over and slit his throat, I even disintegrated the blade so there would be no evidence of the crime nor who did it. Did them quite the favor really."
"But, why mommy?" Twilight sighed and looked her little angel in the eyes. "Because you need to see this Cobalt, you need to see the ugly truth that they hide beneath their happy lives with your own eyes.." She returned her attention to the viewing crystal, where a shriek of dismay could be heard as the sun crept over the horizon. "Ah, it looks like they've found him. It should only be a matter of time now. Watch closely."
Together they watched as a throng of ponies grew quickly in the streets, shifting about nervously and yelling in loud voices. For the longest time they seemed to mill about in confusion, wondering who did it and why, and what would they do now? Slowly but surely, a decision was made and shared. Confusion turned to anger, panic into outrage, and as one the mob marched on the door of a nearby home and broke down the door and dragged a still half-asleep pony outside.
"That Cobalt, would be our little outcast, the one who spoke out against the pompous fool from the beginning. Now in the case of a murder, the law states that the body is to be examined and the crime scene thoroughly investigated for evidence to determine subjects. Any suspect charged with the crime is innocent until proven guilty through hard evidence and important details such as means, motive, and opportunity. Watch instead what they do."
Struggling vainly against the small horde of ponies holding her captive, the filly seemed to be extremely upset, shaking her head violently whenever she was accused of the crime. This only enraged the crowd even more, a few taking the opportunity to beat her with their hooves before placing her in chains and staking them to the ground. "See my dearest Cobalt? See how they ignore the justice of their own laws simply because she did not share the same view as everybody else. She was the only one to not like the fellow, whether or not she's ever shown a tendency for violence or not, whether she has a valid aliby or not, because she was different from the rest, she's unfairly accused, and unjustly sentenced."
Cobalt felt a growing feeling of dread lay heavy upon his chest as the crowd amped itself up higher and higher. Now gathered in a tight circle around their victim, it was not long before the first stone flew through the air and pelted the poor pony with a loud crack. Soon, more and more followed in its wake, scattering her blood as she reeled in pain. Cobalt wanted to look away, he wanted to hide himself under his mother's wing so that she could tell him that it was all ok, that it wasn't real. But he couldn't, for in the tears that stained the innocent pony's face he saw a pain that went far beyond physical agony. It was a pain that he could not fathom, but now wished with all his heart that he could remove from this world. Just as quickly as it had begun, the spectacle ended as a final rock forcefully caved in her head, and ended her torment.
Twilight's heart wrenched at the sight of her little colt's quaking. He was still so young, still just a baby. Wrapping him tightly in her wings, she picked him up and held him close against her. "There there Cobalt, I'm so sorry you had to see that. But it's important for you to know what we're fighting against. Your father and I were both outcasts in that cruel, unchanging society, but we have the strength to fight back, we have the power to change it."
Cobalt looked up from where his face had been buried in her chest, tears falling big and heavy from his eyes. "How *hic*, how are you gonna fix it mommy?" Twilight sighed deeply and gave him a kiss.
"That's a very difficult question love, and its doesn't necessarily have any right answer. The world is like a great big wound that's been festering for the last thousand years. Only time and the choices of all ponies involved can eventually heal it."
"Then, what can we do? I don't wanna see anypony hurt like that again."
Twilight closed her eyes and held him closely, rocking gently back and forth to soothe her gentle colt. "We do the only thing we can sweetie, just like any wound that's been allowed to fester for so long, we must first burn out the infection and let the body do the rest."
Behind her muffled shouts of panic could be heard from the viewing screen as it filled with Twilight's magic, bursting with brilliant violet light that violently destroyed the images inside. Somewhere in south-west Maretonia, another name was crossed off the map.
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5904153 While your comments have historically been rather insulting to both the way I write and the very premise of the story, I must say I find it equally amusing that you continue to read what you so clearly and vocally dislike.
Perhaps my world holds a strange power over you, a magnetism that draws you in every time, stronger than even your dislike of my story that makes you desire so greatly to know what "forced contrivances" I'll come up with next.
So welcome oh reluctant reader, for this story is my passion and my joy, and you seem bound to this ride like everypony else. Welcome to my world and make of it what you will, but regardless this world shall always be first and foremost mine to do with as I please *malicious laughter and thunder strikes*
Enjoy (or don't, its a free country).
5904234 actually it is the least itnersting bad story i know of. largely because it uses all the evil twilight cliches.
twilight somehow becomign evil, murders friends for no reason at all other than evulz, throw in some forced deaths and killing of canon characters because how else can you create a dour mood than unnecessary and unrealistic death?
also the regal sisters inexplicably not just ending the threat before it gets worse, thats a biggy. can't have character acting with intelligence else the story falls apart, now can we?
i have a low opinion but it does not illicit anger in me like some stories do. its honestly more annoying than anything else. it relies on things happening for the plot rather than it actually making any sense.
spike murdering rarity? of course, we need her dead cause.... reasons i guess. makes sense that spike would anot just knock out twilight to keep he from becoming a monster and all.
cadance killed. makes sense. its not like she managed to repel sombra with a city sized shield three days straight literally without sleep. its not like she had the capacity to at least escape the attack as if she had the competence to fight giant monster worms.
see what i mean? i've seen this all before. no real effort done at all.
Good to see this is back. A compelling chapter as always good sir/madam, and I look forward to more.
Really found this chapter enjoyable.
It's AWSOME to see sombra being such an AWSOME dad
5904259
You need to chill out, close the web browser, and go to the nearest McDonald's. Once there, order a large Kill Yourself with a side of Go Back In Time And Convince Your Mother To Get An Abortion. I promise, if you follow my instructions, your frustration will be over soon.
5905539 you do realize that responding to criticisms with suicide requests isn't exactly a convincing comeback, right?
Woo hoo!! You're back!
Great to see this is back!
This chapter was beautiful, but yet so sad. I feel that Twilight is simply trying to recreate the world to be a better place in the scene with Cobalt, but near the end, you are reminded of what she really is doing. The evil in it all is astounding, yet heart wrenching. This chapter paints the picture of the perfect family until the end. A family that is bound together by love, the greatest treasure in existence, and yet the evil lurks beneath it all. After the opening scene with Amethyst, you are brought out of the dark, tragic story happening within the lab to a picture perfect family, only to be brought back to that dark place at the end. You have a way with words, my friend. I'm excited for more.
I've missed this story :)
i liked it. plz put out more more often....its a sad world with out your
.......sad world.....
5097920 Nightmare moon was a reflection of luna rage against celestia. Her jealousy, hatred, and anger manifested and exaggerated.
If darkness makes someone a dark reflection, then likely even twilight gone mad would not kill her friends. However it would still make her dangerous to them through other ways.
Put simply, her portrayal here is utterly, entirely, and completely unconvincing for me. The story is too reliant on artificial threats. sombra and twilight vs luna and celestia, who all but killed sombra when they were but children, and discord, who is stronger than that duo to some degree even now, could easily just teleport into the empire and drag those two to someplace isolated. And then easily overpowre them. Discord could easily defeat sombra. And it is simple contrivence that Twilight could match either regal sister, let alone both.
They could easily bypass the army, easily gain the advantage, and easily defeat them both. This point became reality when the writer killed off rarity. Twilight is a constant threat to Fluttershy, whom Discord dotes. thus motivation to just end this before she gets hurt. Otherwise he may simply want to watch how things unfold.
When you have to dance around the most obvious and easiest course, you've certainly made some mistake in your story.
I hope this story ends with Sombra and Twilight winning!
I like how this goes! Black magic FTW?
Note: The Crystal Empires numbers should be outnumbering Equus with Twilights plan, and Ammy's. ( Only if you could apply this in Civilization V.)
( Spams like button.)
6203736 In terms of the outnumbering bit, here's a small spoiler. By the time phase 2 of the war starts, Equestria will still greatly outnumber the population of the Crystal Empire. This is because I decided there were only a few thousand inhabitants to the Crystal Empire to begin with, and for Equestria, due to the large number of pony-pun city names based off of American cities, I've delegated their population to be about the same as the USA (roughly 300million).
Its my way of keeping the war seemingly balanced, the "good guys" have the advantage of experience, numbers, and global resources (con being they have to protect all that from guerrilla warfare tactics used in phase 1) while the "bad guys" have the advantage of unknown power and extensive use of their devious minds and unethical applications of magic :D
6204780 !!!!!!!! That is great planning! I still want Twilight and Sombra to win though.
You explained in the story that in the Empire foals are born almost every 2 months, within 6 months ( If I recall correctly.) they are fully grown and are magically enhanced so that every stallion or mare can single hoof take on a manticore. ( I would say that would be like 5 Equus ponies for every Empire pony.)
If I take the 6 years that have past since they began this, and make the population of the Empire around the 3000. And the years the same as in human years. And we take 50% of the ponies as mares ( 1500 grown mares.) in the first year alone the Empire would have 9.000 ( New recruits?) 2nd year, 54.000. 3rd year, 324.000. 4rd year, 1.944.000. 5th year,11.664.000. 6th year, 69.984.000.
Celestia estimated that it would take 10 years before the war would actually start, taking that, the army of the Empire would be outnumbering Equus with at the least 100.000.000 by populace alone. ( Of course this estimation is not accurate since not every foal is a filly, and not every birth will go good. This is truly a rough estimation if I need to take Twilight's plan into full view.
Sorry, but I like seeing the full picture of possibility's. And as you can see, in the end, most probably the Empire would outnumber them. Even if they don't have the number advantage, the Empire is still enhanced. That is only if they keep this up for the 10 full years of course.
Sorry, again!
Keep it up!
6207296 The final number will be around 30million strong for the Crystal Empire by the start of phase 2 in the war. Remember they have food constraints that limit the population growth as well. With no imports or exports, all of that has to be home-grown and the rest pillaged during phase 1.
6207348 That would still pose a serious threat against Equus, since the ponies are magically enhanced.
What stops Twilight and Ammy to clone the food? What they have done for the ponies, they could do with food I guess. But none the less, I enjoy the story! I'll keep rambling as the story progresses!
i hope more comes because i love this story it played prefectly in the lost in shadows and i hope this one playes as well as that hope more comes
When shall there be more??????
This story is AWESOME, can`t wait for there to be more.
I won't lie. I'm starting to go insane waiting for the next chapter
Don't get me wrong, I tried to like it. Sadly, I just rather see Twibra as good people, while at the same time being a bit mischievous.
Come on, update Redemption! 
7032250 6207348 I don't care which you update, just update one of them... I'd prefer Redemption, but like I said, any update would be welcome.
~Crystalline Electrostatic~
9:50_5/20/2016
So, it's been a while without a candles or anything and I wanted you to know that I went though my 50+ page favorites page to find this story to re read it. If you plan on another chapter, don't give up. Its a amazing story and one that I hope will one day be continued to the end.
Please tell me this story is still alive
I really hope you continue this story, it's a favorite that i spent a hour searching for since i'd forgotten it's name and then rereading the entirety of all three stories
UPDATE DAMMIT
I think this story is died
8740846
most lickey
8788066
Thats sad
8788537
IKR
This is really deep.
I cannot wait for the next chapter at all
I finally got around to read this, and damn I hope it wouldn't be dead...
9030756
it is
9060712
Duh
9061380
it's only dead because the writer doesn't care to finish it.
Are u still here
I hope one day you grace us with a chapter again. I know its rich coming from me but still