Living Darkness

by vildtiger

Fight for the Crystal Empire

Note: This happens right after the last chapter.
part 2 and made from the episode "The Crystal Empire"

The group of friends heads out to gather information from the Crystal Ponies. Turns out that is harder than exspected. None of them remembered anything and what they do remember they don't want to as that is about Sombra.
"Must be a very powerful memory spell." Twilight hypnotizes to Medic when the crystal pony they spoke with returns back to her house.

Medic did have sort of same thoughts and seeing how the coat gets affected in ponies, he does get a small theory about his and the situation of the others with their split soul. "I have noticed ponies coats change into a darker or more grayish tone when something is not right with them."

Now that he mentions it, Twilight has noticed that. Demo’s pelt turned brighter when he managed to mend his soul together. "So you are saying that these crystal ponies are under some sort of dark spell? Like the one there split your souls?" Medic chuckles lightly, smiling weakly down to her. "Well, I don't think they are dealing with a split soul but instead a dark spell. This Sombra wants them to forget something important. If I was him, I would've made them forget the very thing that can stop my takeover."
"My thoughts exactly, but now the question:" Twilight scans the crystal coated city. "what is it he doesn't want us to find?" Medic has no answer to that question.

The others weren't doing much better, either they scared the ponies or they couldn't get anything out from them. And then there is Pinkie, she dressed up in black and scaled the buildings like an undercover agent, when two of the crystal ponies spotted her, they ran, crying; "It's a spy!" Which made all of the mercenaries turn instinctive, only see it is Pinkie. Getting over their spy paranoia Pinkie inadvertently spurred up before they start to snicker when the real spy appears from seemly no-where and looks quite offended at the pink pony.
Other than that and Engineer having to keep the ecstatic Rarity in check as she is busier image herself and the surrounding ponies sparkling like crystals, they get very little info from the crystal ponies. When the group meets up again Spy reveals he did gather one thing. "I heard about a library before... " he shoots a small glare to the oblivious Pinkie. "Some other tried to do my job." To glance down to Zecora when she giggles at his annoyance.
At least Twilight found his small info as the best news ever as she speeds off to find the library. The others follow and at the library which has two stature of griffins and seeing those, Spy just can't help himself. "Oh look, there are other griffins there knows how to stay in the same place for hours."

"Shut up Spook!" Sniper growls, shooting the others a glare for laughing at this stupid joke.

Inside the library they meet an elderly pony, ignoring Twilight having a fangasm of being in this place and seeing so many books. Applejack asks the librarian pony if the place has a book about any history of the Crystal Empire, or just something that can tell them what protected the empire to begin with. But like any other crystal pony, this elderly one is no help. So after have put the swirling Twilight back to the present, they start searching for anything there might help them.
It took them several hours, but they found the book and one step closer to defeat the Shadow Pony and Windigoes prowling outside Cadence magical field.

Returning back to her brother and Cadence, Twilight explains to them what this book is telling them. "A 'Crystal Faire'. According to this book, it was established by their first queen and became their most important tradition. The Faire was held every year to 'renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm'." She lets her brother read the pages from the book about this. "My friends and I could put it together. Everything we need to know is in the book!"

"That sounds pretty promising." Shining Armor smiles at Cadence but drops in his worry that his wife is barely able to stay awake.

Worried for her sister in law, Twilight tells her brother. "We'll get started right away. Come on, Spike, we've got a Crystal Faire to put together!" Spike carries the heavy book back to the awaiting others. After a deep breath, trying to calm her starting to get ragged nerves, she explains the others what they have to do to put up this very important Faire.
Rainbow and Soldier dress up to a game of jousting.
Spy track down and hands Rarity the fabric needed to make the empire's flag.
Zecora, Derpy and Applejack gather crystal berries to make sweets out from them.
Sniper and Fluttershy track down the native animals- also being crystal coated to the petting zoo.
Engineer, Heavy, Demo and Pyro build and put up the tents needed for the festivities, here Pyro shows a neat trick that she can trap her flames inside a crystal ball as beautiful lights.
Scout find a suitable crystal block for Twilight and she uses her magic to carve a heart-shaped statue out from it as the book did mention something about a crystal heart.
With everything done, Twilight calls for the Crystal Ponies attention, inviting them to the Faire.
At first the crystal ponies are nervous and hesitant but slowly, one by one their coats start to shine as hope returns to them, and then start to remember.

Two of the crystal ponies are especially excited to hear about the crystal heart, the one with a golden coat and rose-colored hair asks her friend excited. "Do you think they really have it?" and Rainbow, who has been in hearing range flies over; telling them confidently. "Of course we have it! Can't have a Crystal Faire without the Crystal Heart, right?"

"Of course you can't." Rainbow, the two crystal ponies and the candy eating Pyro all turn their gaze and attention to the elderly librarian pony there explains both to them and herself. "The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire is to lift the spirits of the Crystal Ponies, so the light within them can power the Crystal Heart so that the Empire can be protected!" and gasps as if she remembers the most important thing in the world. "I do work at the library!" Her coat starts to shine like crystal as she starts to remember happier times.
Rainbow, however, is starting to get nervous of what this elderly pony is telling her. "W-What's that about 'powering the heart'?" The crystal pony didn't notice she was getting nervous. "I can't believe you found it." She exclaims happily to Rainbow Dash. "King Sombra said he'd hidden it away where we would never see it again! I only hope it will still be as powerful after all these years...! Mm, funnel cake." She notices and walks away, leaving Rainbow with her jaw dropped from what she has just heard.

Turning away from the beautiful ponies, Pyro asks Rainbow worried. "Something wrong?" but she never got the answer, for Rainbow Dash takes to the sky and Pyro can admire the rainbow trail she leaves behind. "Ohh, so pretty!" and Pyro returns back to eating the candy.

In her flight Rainbow grabs the flag Rarity made and puts it over the carved crystal, much to Twilight's confusions and annoyance, turned into great worry when Rainbow says scared. "I think we have a problem." She tells the unicorn what that crystal pony told her. Twilight reads the book again and gasps of what she first now notices. "Oh no.." and she runs over to speak with her brother about this.

While Twilight speaks with her brother that the crystal heart is not just an ornament but an actual relic, Cadence reaches her limit and passes out. With the barrier greatly weaken the Windigoes breaks inside, spreading dread and fear in the hearts of the already weak Crystal Ponies. The Crystal Ponies coats start to fade in color and flee from the scene, chased by the ice spirits.
The Shadow Ponies and Sombra, fortunately, cannot breach the greatly weaken barrier, but that is only in a matter of time.
One of the Windigoes captures one of the Crystal Ponies, but before it can do any harm. A sword surrounded with an orange aura cuts through its body, making it see the truth of what it is. The Windigo roars in pain and flees.

"Yeah run away you frozen specter!" Demo shouts at it as the Windigo flees. He turns to the weapon there seemly came out from no-where and grins with this sword starts to speak. "Where am I— what the hell happened to you?!"
"Long story." He answers Eyelander and ready it for battle. "Now it's time to fight!"
"Yes, give me some heeaads~" The sword replies and Demo will give it just that, Windigo heads.
The others try to help but without the power of their elements, they are practically defenseless. Only he and Spy can fight these spirits of ice.
And just as Demo thinks about Spy, the Changeling drops his disguise as a Windigo and stab the one he snuck up behind with a knife made out of an ocean blue aura. The Windigo lets out a small screech, then stops and look almost dumbly at Spy. He tells it something and it flies off, attacking the other Windigoes. Demo stops dumbfounded seeing that. "The bloody hell did you do?"

Spy lands beside him, smirking. "Guidance is a sort of brainwash."

Reminds him never to get stabbed of Spy's new Element powered toy. "Right... you better not get funny ideas with your knife." Spy rolls his eyes, turns into a Windigo again and flies off to find another victim. Demo gallops off to chase those spirits of the cursed winter off.

While those two did the fighting, Twilight informs Engineer and Rainbow Dash that they need to keep the Faire going. "If the Crystal Ponies find out that King Sombra is trying to take over the Empire again, their spirits are gonna be anything but lifted."

"That will be troublesome." Engineer muses, nodding to their only two members able to fight the breached Windigoes. "Those ice creatures have already broken their spirit."

"That's why we have to keep the Faire going." Twilight Sparkle says, so knows it will be hard but they have to do it. "It won't matter if I find the Crystal Heart. If they have no hope then they won't be able to make it work!"

It seems they really have to do this. "Alright, Twilight, I will inform the rest." Engineer says and Rainbow promise they will do their best keeping the Crystal Ponies happy. This is really doing the ignorant is bliss to the extreme, for if they do not keep the ponies happy then this might be the end of this empire.
He finds Heavy and Pyro and explains to them the situation. "Whatever happens, we have to keep them happy." Adding to Pyro. "Let them see the rainbows and all that." But to his surprise, Pyro is not smiling at his suggestion.

"I can't make them happy by setting them on fire."

Engineer and Heavy stare at Pyro, both shocked to hear that she knows what the rainbows in her fantasy land really was. "Y-You know?" Engineer asks.
Pyro nods slowly. "I do... it hurt a lot knowing my happy place wasn't happy for others. But..." She fiddles with her claws. "Balloonicorn said that I no longer needed my happy place, because... because I have friends now. Friends there gives me true happiness and not the fake one my fantasy land gave me."
Hearing this is both heartbreaking and such a relief that Pyro has lost Pyroland. He never thought he would see the day when the firebug can see the real world. "When did it disappear?"

"I... I am not sure." Pyro admits, it was sort of a slow progress and she is happy about that. Saying goodbye to her fantasy world all at once would've been hard, but she is also glad that she now knows this is real and not fake, the only thing remaining of her fantasy land is Ballonicorn. Speaking about reality. "We need to keep these pretty ponies happy?" Engineer nods, well in that case. Pyro lets out a burst of flames, at first startling the ponies but then watch in wonder when this fire starts to fly around like fireflies.

Heavy gives Engineer a questioning look, asking him quietly. “You know she can do that?” Engineer shakes his head, pokes the giggling dragon and asks her. "Uh, where did you learn to do that?"

"I just can." Pyro smiles.
Engineer and Heavy exchange a look with one another, quietly deciding just to go with it. Engineer turns back to her. “Alright, can you keep on making pretty fireflies to them?” Pyro nods that she sure will and the two runs out to see what they can do to get the Crystal Ponies spirit up.

The moment he heard that Twilight is trying to find the real Crystal Heart, Medic gallops over to find her, he does inside the castle just as she and Spike step into the throne room. "Twilight!" He calls, she turns and looks really surprised seeing him here.
"Medic? What are you doing here? You should be out helping the others with the Faire." Hut he thinks they got it covered without him, right now he thinks his aid is most needed here. "You need my aid more." He replies Twilight simply.

"But Celestia's orders was only I could—" Twilight objects but Medic stops her, saying with that bit insane grin of his. "Listing to others orders are no fun, now, tell me what you go so far." Groaning in defeat, Twilight explains him of her theory that Sombra must've kept the Crystal Heart hidden somewhere inside the castle. "If my theory is correct this isn't Sombra's castle- well it is but it didn't look like this."

Medic thinks he gets where she is going. "Hm yes, this place is a bit too bright for an evil overlord."

Twilight nods. "Exactly, so some dark magic should do the trick." and tries to copy the magic Celestia showed her, before she could let the negative emotions take root and form the magic, Medic taps her head with his horn, she feels a memory spell and the memory of Celestia's trick flashes over her eyes. She turns to Medic confused about why he did that. He smiles down at her. "If anyone can do that sort of magic, it will be me." She is about to argue that this is a test Celestia gave her, but before she can. Dark magic bursts out from Medic's horn and it hit the crystal over the throne. Forming a large shadow over the floor and a pathway is revealed. Turning back to the grey unicorn, Twilight gasps when seeing Medic cannot dismiss the magic. Before the magic causes him any harm. Twilight helps him dismiss it. "I should've known dark magic is not something to take lightly." She apologizes and feels quite bad this happen to him.

Shaking his head from the surge of dark magic, Medic muses. "No, and we can't have the conduit of the Elements of Harmony gets corrupted." For if he was an evil overlord, then that is exactly what he would try. A small poke on his side snaps him back to the worried looking Twilight.

"I don't want it to happen to you either Medic."

Touched but does also pity her naivety for not seeing that he is already corrupted. That dark spell was too easy to make, and too hard to dismiss because… a big part of him likes to cause harm on others… "I'm not a good person, Twilight." Medic reminds her and starts walking down the stairs, musing. "I wonder why the Elements chose people like us."

It's because they are good, just been exposed to some really bad things. That's what Twilight thinks anyway, but knowing Medic, she doubts he will think the same even if she said it. She follows Medic down but does stop to tell Spike. "You stay up here." Much to his relief.
Catching up to her partner, Twilight looks up when Spike asks from the opening above. "Can you see what's down there yet?!"
Activating her horn to glow as it is starting to get hard seeing the stairs, Medic follows her example and she calls up to Spike. "Not yet. I can't even tell how far down this goes!" So she levitates a piece of rock over and drops it down. It takes way longer than she excepted to hear the rock land. Exchanging a worried look with Medic, Twilight calls up to Spike. "Can you see outside?!"

Spike runs over to the nearby window and looks out, what he sees is troubling. The barrier is failing quickly and dark crystals are starting to appear right at the edge of the empire. He cannot really tell, but he swears that ponies out of shadows are forming from them." It's not good! Cadance's magic must be fading faster than before!" He calls back.

Then there is no time to lose, Twilight sets in a gallop and with Medic close behind they run as fast as they can down the spiraling stairs. Reaching the end, they spot a door but when Twilight tries to open it, the door 'flees' away.

Chasing it bit around, Medic gets enough and shoots a beam of dark magic formed by his frustrations at it, the door stops and opens.
He and Twilight step inside, but to his surprise. Medic suddenly finds himself as human again and... and... "Oh no..." He gasps, recognizing this place from his nightmares. The hospital wing is small and clean, no signs of what horrors he has done in here, only thing warning people of the danger when stepping inside is the smell of decayed flesh from spots the mob couldn’t reach and when the wind is blowing the wrong way, the stench of burned flesh can be smelled from the massive graves hidden behind the trees. He hears moaning and turning around he sees people, skin, and bones, mangled by the experiments he did to them. He shudders of the mere sight and knows he deserves every foul word they throw at him: murder, the devil, butcher, monster... Nazi.
Even though he was misled, thinking it was for the greater good it was never an excuse to cut them up like pigs for slaughter, experiment as if they were nothing but objects he could simply throw away when done. He lost his sanity in this place, lost his morality just to survive himself, and all in the name of science. Was the knowledge he gained here really worth it?

"Medic! Snap out from it!"

He shakes his head and the horrible scene of Auschwitz's so called hospital wing fades away. Blinking Medic finds himself again in form of a pony, standing before the open door, it takes him a moment to realize what has happened. "Mein gott... it felt so real..." He muses, putting a hoof up to his forehead dripping in cold sweat.

Twilight closes the door, she has seen more than enough to know this door is bad news. Poor Medic, not even the Hydra had scared him like this, he kept saying he was misled and sorry and... he deserved whatever punishment whoever he saw wanted to give him. Turning to the grey unicorn. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Medic lies and after having taken a deep breath to calm his fast beating heart, he begins to theorize what this door does from what he saw. "This door must’ve had the ability to look into our minds and show someone greatest fear."

Twilight only nods, right now she is more worried about her partner's well being. "You... want to talk about it?" He sends her a look, one there is serious for once. "You will never see me the same way if I told you. Now:" He starts pacing back and forward, mumbling to himself. "This door is powered by dark magic which shows ones worst fear—"
"So what happens it gets powered by light magic?" Twilight says, pushing aside Medic’s hurtful and indirect words he did not trust her. She thinks about all her wonderful friends and shoots a beam of light magic on the door. The door opens again and this time it leads to another room. Clapping her hooves Twilight trots inside, but the second she sees what's in here, she sighs loudly. "More stairs...."
looking up.
"Lots and lots of stairs." Well, better start walking.

Meanwhile outside, the others are desperately trying to keep the other ponies spirit up, which is really hard for now they are dealing with creature way tougher than a Windigo.
Spy yelps when the shadow pegasus's black wings catch him and pretty sure the only thing saving him from getting his mind twisted into his evil self is the glowing necklace around his neck as the shadow pony sneers in pain and throws him off. He rolls a few times over the ground when he stops he spots yet another dark crystal appearing and another shadow pony manifest. "give up, the seal is broken." The earth pony of shadows tells him and steps onto his tail. Spy kicks it off, grossed out when it felt like he kicked a mass of goo. He quickly gets away from it, joining Demo who has his own share of trouble with the growing horde of ponies of shadows. "Where's respawn when you need it?" The unicorn muses and Spy wholeheartedly agrees that he could use respawn by now. And just as they need it, a Windigo appears, throwing a freezing wind at them, stunning them for the Shadow Ponies.
However, they got warmed up— literally by a burst of flames. And Pyro lands right in front of them, really embracing her being a dragon as she roars at the Windigo and spews a stream of fire at it. The ice spirit flees from the flames and she chases it. Startlet by Pyro's sudden arrival and departure, Spy and Demo eye one another before returning back to the fight against the Shadow Ponies.

From the city Pinkie and Scout is watching the battle of the only three standing a chance from a distance. Pinkie sighs. "These meanie-pants should smile a bit more." Turning to the starting to panic Crystal Ponies. "The sparkly ponies too."
Scout’s nods in agreement, then get an idea. “Then let's cheer them up!" and from seemly nowhere, pulls out a boombox, turns it on and a cheerful song leave the speakers. Pinkie blinks then giggle. “Oh good one!” and starts trotting through the crystal streets with Scout right beside her.

"My name is Pinkie Pie— hello!" She greets a passing crystal pony.

Scout joins her, grinning. "And we are here to say— How ya doin'?"

"I'm gonna make you smile and I will brighten up your day.
It doesn't matter now."

"What's up?" Pinkie one-arm hugs two gloomy looking crystal ponies
"If you are sad or blue,
'Cause cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here to do."

She pulls the two crystal ponies over, letting them trot alongside with them.

"'Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile
Yes I do
It fills my heart with sunshine all the while
Yes it does
'Cause all I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine
I like to see you grin— Awesome!" Pinkie grins of Rainbow and Soldier doing the game of jousting.
"I love to see you beam—Rock on!" Scout pretends to play on a guitar.

"The corners of your mouth turned up is always Pinkie's dream—Hoof bump!"
Scout and a random pony hoof bump, making them both smile.
Pinkie steps over to those worried of the darkening clouds from the Windigoes.
"But if you're kind of worried
And your face has made a frown
I'll work real hard and do my best to turn that sad frown upside down."

She dresses up as a clown and doing a crazy dance, the crystal ponies laughs- which made the shadow ponies in the distance flinch in pain.
Scout pulls Pinkie over and the two trots down the street, now with a small crowd of crystal ponies

"'Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin
Yes I do
Bust it out from ear to ear let it begin
Just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin
And you fill me with good cheer"

Scout steps over to some shaking in fear ponies.
"It's true some days are dark and lonely
And maybe you feel sad."

He wraps a hoof over their shoulders, snapping them out from their fear.
"But Pinkie and Scout will be there to show you that it isn't that bad."

Scout takes flight and lands beside Pinkie, singing out to the now way more cheerful crowd.
"There's one thing that makes us happy and makes our whole lives worthwhile
And that's when I talk to my friends and get them to smile
I really am so happy
Your smile fills me with glee
I give a smile I get a smile
And that's so special to me
'Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam
Yes I do
Tell me what more can I say
To make you see
That I do
It makes me happy when you beam, beam, beam
Yes it always makes my day.”

Both Pinkie and Scout’s grin widen when a silver necklace having a blue crystal in form of a winged shoe appears around his neck. They turn to the crouwd, singing together.

“Come on everypony smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine
Come on everypony smile, smile, smile
Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
All I really need's a smile, smile, smile
From these happy friends of mine."

Up in the castle, Shining Armor, while holding his close to passing out wife and watches the shadow ponies are starting to struggle under the joy the song of the two ponies are making. Spike is watching as well and like many other has trouble in not having a smile.
The joyous moment for Spike is however broken when a pegasus out of shadows flies past his window, startling him so much he lands on the floor. Getting back up and looking out from the window he notices this shadow creature is heading straight to the top of the castle, it is after something, but—"Twilight!" He gasps and with only a moment of hesitating, he crawls out from the window and follows the shadow creature.
He loses his grip and to his horror drops to the ground below.
Then, something stops his fall. Looking up he sees it's that adult female dragon: Pyro. She smiles at him. "Silly Spike, you can't drop down like that, you're not Soldier." She lectures him playfully. Spike grin sheepishly up to her, admittedly a bit nervous around Pyro because his past experience with adult dragons hasn't been the greatest. "Thanks... " Looking up to the spire where the shadow pegasus is flying. He has to brush of his fear for Pyro and meets the adult dragons yellow eyes determent. "I need your help."

"Sure, what do you need?"

Spike points up to the spire, explaining the worry he feels for Twilight. Pyro lets him ride on her neck and the adult dragon starts climbing, ensuring him. "We will get to your friend."
He can only hope they get to her and Medic in time.

Inside the spire of the castle, Twilight got sick of walking the stairs, so she made a gravity spell which made both her and Medic slide the way up. She found that quite fun while Medic just had trouble keeping his balance. When the slide did end and she dismissed the spell, they both drop onto the top floor. Medic starts to giggle madly and says while drying his eyes from tears of his laughter. "You have to teach me that spell."
She smiles back, does drop though when she spots a bright blue shining crystal heart, the artifact they have been looking for.
Getting on her hooves, she looks to Medic and after an encouraging nod from him, she walks over to retrieve the heart. But the second she steps onto the platform, an alarm sound. Twilight is about to grab the heart and flee but can't in fear from the huge claw there has appeared only a tail swipe away from her.
Both to the two unicorns stare in horror when the owner of that claw appears after dismissing an invisibility spell, revealing a huge dragon in dark grey armor covering most of its light blue scales. Head is completely covered in a helmet having a black mane sticking out from the back there covers several of the spikes. Underneath the helmet's blood red horns, poison green glow is spotted between the crevices for the eyes.
Snapping out from the horror, Twilight leaps out for the heart, to only get slapped away from it by that dragon’s tail. She gets up a shield spell just in last second when this dragon unleashes its flames on her and Medic before slamming its claws onto the sheild. Twilight grunts from the stress of the beating her spell are taking from this dragon. “I-I can’t hold on much longer...” She groans, Medic tries to help but that only prolongs the evadable.

Then one blow and the shield breaks, the shockwave knocks Twilight into a nearby pillar and Medic lands right beside the Crystal Heart. Noticing that he jumps up and takes it with his magic, turning around he realizes why the dragon hasn’t tried to stop him: Its full attention is on Twilight. He turns his horn towards the dragon, hoping his magic will be strong enough to make it turn to him instead.

"Destroy it."

Medic grey eyes wide and he spins around, a pegasus of shadows lands not far from him. Slowly, like a predator, it walks around him.

"Obey and the darkness will grant you the power you seek."

Tempting but he's done making deals with the devil. "I'll pass." Medic says and turns his attention back to the dragon. He fires at it and growling the dragon turns to him. However it does not attack, he gets the answer to why when the shadow pony— the master of this dragon appears right before him, holding his gaze with its void-like eyes.

"Aren't you curious what is powering this artifact?" The shadow pegasus asks instead. "What makes it tick? Did you know this form of crystal is sentient?"

"It is?" Medic blinks and must say he is intrigued hearing that. He did not hear Twilight calling for him thanks to the deep growl made by the dragon.

The shadow pony nods, pointing at the crystal shaped heart with its wing. "The crystal is only a shell, what lies behind: well that's the question." It steps closer to this pony there has so much darkness, so easy to take over, there is no need to force a possession. "Crack it open and satisfy your curiosity."

Medic's mind slowly gives in to the darkness tainting him by its mere presence. He turns to the Crystal Heart, his horn starts to glow in a stronger blue, which is slowly going darker.

"Medic!" Twilight cries horrified, but she can do nothing but watch that shadow pony corrupting her friend. "Leave him alone!" But her gallop to Medic comes to a sudden halt when the dragon slams its claw onto her, forcing her to the floor. The shadow pegasus eyes her and she flinches when its face twists in an unnatrual large grin filled with pointy teeth.

"He belongs to the shadows, and when he is done with the heart of Harmony:" the shadow pony turns fully to her. "The conduit will be removed from this bearers neck and thrown into the void—"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"
The dragon gets thrown off its feet when a smaller one in form of Pyro suddenly appears. The bigger dragon roars and in attempt to get Pyro off its back, hits Medic with its tail, snapping him out from his mild mind-control. He looks up and in last second leaps away just as the roaring evil dragon steps where he stood seconds ago. Pyro unleashes a burst of green flames at the bigger dragon’s face, it roars in pain, does block it with its claws but an attempt to remove itself from the harm, it stumbles and falls over the edge. Pyro grins along with Spike as both have an Element of Harmony necklace around their necks.

"Spike, you..." Twilight gasps seeing her nr. 1 assitanse has earned an Element of Harmony.

Spike grins and bursts his chest proudly, showing his gold necklace with a green gem in form of three of his spikes. Pyro's is in form of a flame. "Sweet isn't it? No idea what element it represents though." He must admit, but boy is he sure glad it appeared. For that means: "We can fight you!" He calls to the flying around Shadow Pony. With her silver necklace glowing from the Element he got chosen to carry, Pyro's breathe out another wave of flames. However the Shadow Pony dodges the harmful fire and although it will be banished from this world, the pony grabs the Crystal Heart and throws it over the egde. It dissolves from the overwhelming light magic.

"No, the heart!" Twilight cries seeing the Crystal Heart falls to its destruction.

Without hesitating, Pyro leaps out after the falling Crystal Heart, Spike is clinging to her spikes for dear life. She catches the heart, but when a sudden pillar of dark crystals burst right before her, she slams so hard into it that she drops the heart. Spike leaps down her back and at the egde of Pyro's tail. He catches the heart. "I got it!" He cheers, which gets replaced with a cry of fear when he almost gets his head bitten off by that big evil dragon.
Seeing that one still wants to play, Pyro leaps onto this pillar, the evil one swiftly follows and even though it is hanging on the side of this pillar, it is more than large enough to tower over Pyro and the terrified Spike. The dragon roars and lunges its fangs into Pyro side, she yelps in pain and tries to get it off by breathing fire at it. It did hurt the bigger dragon, but by command of the shadows, it refused to let go.
More pillars sprout up from the ground, on one of them, a grey unicorn dressed as a king with the tip of the horn blood red appears. His poison green and blood red eyes land on the Crystal Heart a certain baby dragon is holding in his claws.
‘The evil dragon is a distraction!” Balloonicorn cries, Pyro snaps her eyes to the surrounding and realizes he’s right. “Go!” Pyro commands Spike, and returns back to the bigger evil dragon. “I got this one!”

Spike hesitates, he knows bringing the heart will save the kingdom, but he just can’t leave Pyro! Determent to help his partner. Spike runs up her back and attacks the evil dragon. It flinches but refuses to let go, instead, it pieces its teeth deeper into Pyro’s body. “Let. Her. GO!” He cries, hitting the dragon’s head again and this time it lets go, but it happens so fast that Spike got flung off Pyro’s back. He cries in fear but still, he reaches out and grabs the Crystal Heart.

The Shadow King: Sombra appears on another pillar of dark crystals, right underneath the falling Spike. "Chosen by Harmony, you will die in dispair!" He roars and turns his glowing horn of dark magic at the falling dragon to strike him down.

Just then, Shining Armor takes a quick decision. He picks up his exhausted wife and the moment she spread her wings from feeling the Crystal Heart; powered by the same Love magic their elements represent. He throws her with all his might.
Cadence catches Spike and the Crystal Heart, feeling the hearts magic, she flies down to the crystal ponies and lands before them. "The Crystal Heart has returned! Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not win!" She returns the heart to its rightful place. The crystal ponies coats start to shine again and with a smile on their faces from the love and hope they now feel, they release their magic and powers the heart.

The Shadow Ponies sense the danger flees by their dark gems, right before the light from the crystal ponies destroys them. Sombra, however, refuses to follow his kin, he did once last attempt in stopping the heart from getting fully powered and attacks one of the bearers. The baby dragon cries, but before he could do the same he did to the others. The dragon lord’s jaw clams down on him and throws him off just as the heart unleashes its magic. Sombra roars as he is banished from the realm.

The Windigoes, feeling utter agony from being in the area flees and their everlasting winter draws back, revealing a field filled with statues of dragons and ponies. The city itself gets coated in an aura there makes everything look like crystals, something no dark creature will be able to handle. A single Windigo did not get away from the area fast enough and shatters into the snow it was created from, its brethren leave the area, returning to the mountains where no sentient being ever go.

"This better not be permanent." Sniper grumbles from seeing his body has been turned crystal looking. The other mercenaries are also quite surprised seeing themselves like this, Spy isn't really bothered, in fact, he is busier adoring Zecora's now crystal looking coat. Rolling his eyes Sniper turns his attention to Pyro who struggles on her feet from the battle from that fight with that bigger dragon— at least that one seems to be on their side now as it throws off the evil armor.
This bigger, light blue with darker stripes, orange spikes dragon glances once at Pyro before turning to the very shaken up Spike.
It goes down on all four, saying with a female voice and to everyone’s huge surprise; especially Spike. “My son.”

Spike stares up at the same dragon there not long ago tried to kill him and Pyro, now claiming him to be her son. Which means she is… “M-Mom?” He stutters slowly, not sure how to react to this.
The female dragon claiming to be his mother nods and explains. “The Crystal Heart banished the darkness there held me trapped for so long. Thank to you and—“ turning to Pyro who has, fortunately, more or less recovered, at least enough to giggle seeing herself being all sparkly. “and your friend, I am free once again.” She turns back to him, this time with tears in her own green eyes. “My son, you have no idea how proud and happy I am seeing you alive and well.”
That broke the ice, Spike’s eyes well up in tears, he runs over, lets her hold him in her huge claws and does something he has only dreamed about; he hugs his own mother.

“Wait, that’s Spike’s mom?” Engineer asks rather startled, he eyes Pyro who is far from being that size and whistle. “Boy, you still have some growing to do.” Pyro giggles in response. She and the others turn to the Crystal Ponies when one of them exclaims: “The Drakes! I remember now!” and she turns to Spike with huge eyes of awe. “Dragonlord Nila’s son saved us all!” and every Crystal Pony cheers Spike’s name. Spike laughs weakly, not sure how to properly react on the praise, less so when his newfound mother gives him the proudest smile ever.

Up in the tower, Twilight watches the scene down below, smiling just as proudly and relieved that Spike saved this kingdom and returned that huge dragon back to normal. “Well done Spike.” She muses before turning to Medic, like everyone else has his coat glittering as crystal. Her smile fades slightly, for like with Spy and Sniper when they faced a Shadow Pony, he gave into it scarily quickly. “Medic, are you alright?” She asks him worried.

Medic sighs, he is far too aware of his shortcoming. “I told you; I am not a good person.” Nodding to where the pegasus shadow pony got destroyed. “And they know it.”

“The Elements chose you” Twilight argues, but that only seems to make Medic angrier as he laughs darkly. “The Elements didn’t choose us! The people we work for used the banished shards for the machine keeping us alive!” He yells at her, shaking his head in anger. “We were only the lucky bastards there didn’t die, we do not deserve them…!”
But Twilight does not believe that. All of the turned humans has shown— proven themselves to be an Element bearer, even Medic. “You’re wrong.” He snorts, Twilight ignores it and walks up beside to him. He needs to hear this. “I admit that none of you are paragons, but neither are I and my friends! None of us are perfect nor the greatest example and that’s okay!” She taps Medic lightly on the chest, happy he didn’t hit it away. “You have done some horrible things, you all have; I get that but I and my friends have seen the goodness in you." He does not look convinced so she tries another approach. "Would a bad pony try and heal others?”

“I only heal because it’s my job.”

“Wasn’t your job helping anypony here, you can deny it all you want but I know you want to help others.” Twilight retorts, Medic looks away but she is not done with him.
“If you are so bad as you say, then why didn’t you let that dragon attack me?” She didn’t get an answer, but the gleam in his eyes reveals he knows exactly why but too proud to admit it’s because he cares.
Twilight smiles up at him. “Would he have friends to lecture him?”

Medic can’t hold back a smile there, he pushes her a bit away. “Alright, that’s enough.” Twilight giggles but does stop on her lecture. Glad she did it though, he feels a bit better.

They meet up with the others in the throne room, Medic and Twilight blink when a zealous Spike tells them that the dragon there attacked them happens to be his mother. “But she’s good now!" Spike beams and turns to his mother. “Mom, this is Twilight Sparkle I told you about.”
Nila lowers her head so it’s on the same level as this purple unicorn, giving Twilight Sparkle a smile. “Many thanks for taking care of my son, it eases up my heart knowing one of my children are alive and well.”
Twilight nods politeful back, then both she and Spike notices the same thing. Spike is the one voicing it first. “Wait?” He gasps and eyes twice as big as before. “I have siblings?!”
Nila smiles, although sad. “Yes, a brother and a sister. Your father and I gave you three to Celestial as she foresaw a Drake hatched by pony magic would save our clan but…” She bares her teeth in anger. “Sombra and his minions attacked us. They turned me against my own clan, against my own mate. Forced me to protect the Crystal Heart from the crystal ponies while they turned the Drakes into black crystals!”

Everyone in the room gasp, horrified by what those they thought were statues really are. “They were once living dragons?” Shining Armor asks in a low tone, trying but cannot comprehend how it must feel seeing his own people get turned into statures and not able to do anything about it.
Nila nods slowly to him, anger but mostly sadness in her green eyes. “The Drakes sacrificed themselves to ensure the safety of this empire. Don’t let it get to waste.”
Cadence steps forward, although still exhausted, she speaks clearly and solemnly. “We won’t, neither will we forget what your son did for us today.” She smiles to Spike. Said baby dragon chuckles weakly. Nila scrowl fades and she nods to the two new protectors of the empire. “Good.”

*Later*

Twilight and her friends head back to the train station, now that the empire is safe it is time to return back to Canterlot and… tell Celestia that she failed.
Shining Armor nudges her, saying ensuring. “Everything's gonna be okay.” But she is not so sure. “Wasn't me who saved you in the end. It was Spike.”
Said baby dragon walks behind her, unbeknown to her, he feels dread that he might be the cause of her failure.

Shining Armor is not entirely sure how important tests means for his sister, only that she is very worried about this. “It's just a test. Maybe she'll let you retake it.” He tells her lighthearted but does start to understand how serious this is when Cadence stops him.

“I don't think she's gonna give me a new test.” Twilight muses, not seeing her brother lifting his hoof as if trying to comfort her. She walks into the train, sadly watching the others follow her.
As the train heads back to Canterlot and Twilight too caught up in her own dreads of failing, she did not notice Medic, not before he takes a seat beside her.
“You really think your teacher will say you failed your test?” He asks her. Twilight does not turn to meet his eyes, too gloomy to really acknowledge him.
Not that it mattered to him. “You may not have brought the heart, but you were the part there saved the kingdom.” Twilight turns to him, he gives her a smile. “If your teacher cannot see you did a wonderful thing, then she doesn't deserve you as her student.”
She smiles weakly, feeling better, enough to remark something Demo once said. “And they said you only rubbed off me.”

Medic laughs, she got that one right. “You are a very bad influence on me Twilight Sparkle.” and it is really starting to ruin his insane doctor image.

“Yeup, we have been in this world for too long.” Engineer laughs, the others closely follow and the before tense atmosphere disappears. Engineer turns to the others, asking still chuckling. “You think past us would recognize us?”

“Don’t give Twilight any ideas or she might do time-travel again.” Sniper remarks, giving the purple unicorn a smile. Twilight laughs embarrassed but is way better mood than before.
“Thank you, I couldn’t have done this without you.” Twilight says, turning her eyes to Medic there nods in return.

Rarity smiles, glad that Twilight more or less back to normal. “Whatever you pass or not, we will all be right there with you, darling.” But as fate would have it, the turned humans won't be there to get the answer for just then, a surge of magic surrounds all of the turned humans.

Looking down, Sniper sees a circle is forming underneath his feet. "Cricky! is this the summoning spell?" He asks startled.

Twilight only needs to give the forming spell a quick look. "It is!" and feels this is very sudden but... "I... I guess this is goodbye."
Her friends eye each of their partners, all sad that this is it.

"I don't want to leave." Spy says in a state of panic and tries but can't take flight which only made him panic further. "I don't want to go back!" He sends Twilight a begging look of stopping this spell on him. Twilight Sparkle hesitates but a beam and Spy feels his hooves getting loose. He flees from the circle, turning around and sees the others giving him their form of saying goodbye. By either nodding or smiling. His eyes land on Scout and although his boy is smiling, it is a sad one.
Then they are gone.
Spy stares at the spots his team was a second ago, barely believing that this... well this is it, he sits down and feels a bit lightheaded that unless there is another way, he is stuck here. But he is reminded why he is fine with that when Zecora nuzzles him lovingly. Wrapping a hoof around her, he muses to Twilight. "Thank you."

Twilight simply nods, not sure how to feel that their partners of the Elements are gone, and for all she knows, she will never see them again... It's a bittersweet feeling, but she hopes the guys will be happy being home again and hopefully, they won't forget Twilight and her friends.

Author's Note:

well, this is it. the mercynaries have returned back to their own world. not the end though, far from it!
this might be spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the newer MLP episodes, but before any of you start telling me that Spike should have wings. in this story he won't get wings, he is a Drake and that kind of dragon does not get wings.
Nila is an OC of mine, and dragonlord of the Drakes. not that she is much lord of anything with all Drakes imprison in black crystals.

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[Darkmaster10000000]

*sees the "Smile" song* . . . . . *runs away screaming*