20 - The Vanished
The Crystal Empire.
Each time seeing it, it never got any less breathtaking.
Twilight looked towards her friends, all fresh out of the station and each looking at the empire with the same awe-filled expression. Except for Rarity, she looked even more like Pinkie Pie when presented with the world’s best chocolate cake.
That is to say, about to burst.
“How delightful!” the fashionista declared. “Oh, I do hope we get given the same rooms as last time. The palace staff are simply a wonder to be around!”
“Everypony sure seems to be in good spirits,” Applejack noted, seeing the cheerful expressions on the various crystal ponies passing by. “Seems like a fine day all things considered.”
“Well, they ARE hosting the Equestria Games really soon,” Rainbow pointed out. “Look, the stadium is almost finished!”
Indeed, the new stadium built for the big sporting event was rapidly approaching the end of its construction. It looked like they were just finishing one of the far walls, ponies being seen hard at work from even where they were standing. The new stadium absolutely dwarfed the original one built before Sombra’s rise to power, being easily one of the grandest in Equestria itself. Fitting, seeing as the event was shaping to be the largest one yet. Every city and large town was sending a team of their own. On top of that, even the Griffon Empire was sending a team of their own this year!
If it was successful, maybe other nations would start partaking in the tradition!
“Such pointless frivolities…”
Twilight pouted. Sombra was such a killjoy.
But she doubted even he could deny the feat of modern engineering. It was as functional as it was grand, capable of seating thousands upon thousands. It was large enough for the vast population of the city to all sit and then some, useful for all the outside visitors they were going to get around that time. And who knew how many would listen in to the radio broadcasts? Memories of the event would be magically catalogued, and it was probably going to be the first Equestria Games recorded on film cameras for conversation into a silent movie format any projector might play.
“And guess who will be sitting up in the royal booth, backed by a fabulous throne alongside the other princesses,” Rarity lightly teased.
Twilight blushed. She would be up there, wouldn’t she…
She’d prefer to sit with her friends.
“Even if you insist on following the naivety of friendship, do not deny your own superiority over the masses by mingling with them.”
He was rapidly giving her a migraine.
But putting humungous historical sporting events aside for the moment, they really should be getting a shift on.
“Come on, girls,” Twilight said to the others. “I don’t want to keep my family waiting too much longer. I’m sure there will be time to check out the stadium later.”
“You bet!” Rainbow agreed towards the latter point.
“I am a tad surprised that the Princess hasn’t arranged some transport for us,” Rarity noted, waving a hoof towards the non-existent carriages waiting for them. “You did tell them the time of our arrival, didn’t you?”
“Only to expect us soon,” Twilight admitted. “They have enough to worry about than chasing after us.”
“It’s not like a walk will kill ya’ll, Rarity,” Applejack said teasingly.
Rarity huffed. “No, I suppose not. At least I will be able to take in more of the Empire’s majesty in the meantime.”
“That’s the spirit!” Pinkie declared, almost giving Rarity a noogie before the fashionista warned her off with a glare that implied certain death should she even try.
And with that, they set off down the main highway ahead of them. The group of seven was almost instantly attracting a fair amount of attention from passing ponies, the crystal ponies suddenly coming into contact with not only a Princess of Equestria but also the very people who had helped save them from the tyrant they didn’t know was tagging along.
Of course, Spike seemed to be getting most of the jubilant stares. One mare even swooned when he gave her a wink, causing the drake to give a self-indulgent chuckle that caused Twilight to groan. Maybe she should have smuggled him inside a blanket…
And yet, Twilight couldn’t help but ponder what they would think of them if they knew what they did. If they knew that the stallion they all feared was right there with them. Would they just be scared? Angry? Betrayed?
“Irrelevant.”
Not to Twilight.
Fortunately, the rest of her friends seemed to be either oblivious to the attention or, like Spike, basking in it. Rarity and Fluttershy were both too busy examining the various shop windows they were passing, discussing among themselves particularly in-depth about a boutique run by a young crystal pony mare. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were the showboaters, the former flexing and doing the odd trick while Pinkie just giggled and bounced happily along. Applejack, being Applejack, just focused on the task ahead and ignored the distraction.
Twilight giggled at their various reaction, before then looking up at the Crystal Palace as it drew closer. They were soon close enough to spy the guards around the Crystal Heart, said ponies standing aside to let Twilight and her friends through as they approached.
And then… Twilight stopped.
There was an odd ringing in her ears. A… call. A pull towards…
The Crystal Heart.
Yes… It was calling to her. Summoning her. It was like it detected Sombra’s presence inside Twilight, it was offering to free her from him. In all her planning to get rid of him back when this started, she had forgotten that she didn’t necessarily need Cadance to use it. Like the Elements of Harmony, the Crystal Heart had some kind of will of its own. It would help her. Free her.
All she had to do was ask it.
Twilight turned away, continuing to follow her friends as they started to rise up and into the palace.
As much as they squabbled and disagreed. As much as Sombra, perhaps, deserved it…
He was still family. And she still planned to save him.
It was almost a relief for both herself and the King of Shadows when they emerged from the staircase and into the hallways of the palace. For her so that the temptation was far away, for him so that he knew his demise was not upon him.
Not again.
And yet Twilight could feel his dour mood get even worse. He did not enjoy being in the Crystal Empire with the heart still in play. Twilight could at least somewhat understand the sentiment, it HAD almost killed him, after all.
“Welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” a crystal pony in a smart tuxedo addressed as he approached from down the corridor. “I was informed of your imminent arrival, and I am to direct you to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Consort Shining Armor.”
“Uh, great! Where are they?”
“They are currently occupied in Prince Armor’s office,” the pony dutifully informed them. “Follow on, your Highness. I shall take you to them.”
Twilight gave him a thankful nod as he turned to do just that, the alicorn then motioning to her friends to follow on as she fell into step a short distance behind him. It was only a brief trip through the hallways of the grand palace, coming to a stop inside a section that seemed to be home to various guard-related facilities. A barracks, a break room, a mess hall… And, of course, Shining Armor’s office.
“You brother is inside with the Princess,” the crystal pony informed Twilight. “I have been told to admit you right away.”
“Thank you,” Twilight responded, trotting over to the door and pushing it open without a moment of hesitation.
Inside, a neatly laid out and efficiently organised office came into view. One trait the siblings shared… At least when it came to Shining’s duties as both a prince and a guard. The stallion himself was behind a desk, his horn alight as he levitated some document or another out before him, his eyes intently scanning whatever was written upon those pages. Two guards stood the opposite end of the desk, both standing briskly to attention as they waited for their Prince to finish. And there, looking over his shoulder, Cadance was also reading the report alongside her husband.
Then they both noticed the new arrivals.
“Twilight!” Cadance greeted first as the group entered. She then turned her gaze towards the two guards. “You may go.”
Each saluted, turning and trotting past the arriving seven with only respectful nods before departing and shutting the doors up behind them.
“What was that about?” Rainbow asked. “Those guys in trouble or something?”
“Not really,” Shining answered. “They were just delivering a report on our investigation into this dark mage of yours. There’s been a few… problems.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Problems?”
“We can get to that in a moment,” Cadance cut in. “How are you? I hear things got a bit hectic in Canterlot.”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle, Princess,” Applejack claimed. “Though, ‘hectic’ might be the wrong word. We couldn’t find the varmint…”
“So now we’re here instead!” Pinkie chirped.
“We gathered,” Shining replied with a chuckled. “Anything else we should know that wasn’t in your letter?”
Twilight briefly considered going down the lines of “By the way, you’re the really distant great-grandson of Sombra! Congratulations!”, but she then decided that should probably be left for a more opportune time.
“We told you most of it,” Twilight ended up saying. “The Crystal Empire is the only place we could see him going.”
“Well, you might not have been far off the mark…” Shining then said, glancing back at the report.
“Oh dear. Has something happened?” Fluttershy questioned.
“Try multiple things,” he stated. “For the past few days, ever since the dark mage hit the archive, we’ve had a string of missing ponies reports.”
“Ponies have gone missing?” Spike asked. “H-how? Why?”
“We’re not entirely sure as to either,” Cadance explained. “They just vanish. The guard were already starting an investigation when your letter came, it just can’t be a coincidence…”
“So, you think it’s this dreadful dark mage that’s been taking crystal ponies?” Rarity inquired worriedly.
“It’s what we suspect,” Shining Armor confirmed. “We’ve stepped up the investigation, we’re practically turning the Crystal Empire upside down to try to find either the pony responsible or any of their victims.”
“And?” Twilight asked.
“Nothing. Not yet, anyway.”
Twilight grimaced. That was bad… “Have you looked into Sombra’s sanctum? If there was any place they’d go, it would be there?”
“Don’t you need Twilight to get in there?” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“Twilight isn’t the only one good with magic,” Cadance remarked with a small smirk. “I’ve taught myself the basic spell since the last time, we didn’t want to call Twilight in from Ponyville every time we needed to go down there. It’s… horrible. I hate it. But we need it, so…”
“I still think I should have it on hoof, too,” Shining said with a frown.
“No, two of us in the family learning a bit of dark magic is enough, thank you.”
Oh, she had no idea.
“So, what do ya’ll want us to do? Last thing I want is us wandering the Crystal Empire like a blindfolded bull in a rodeo.”
“I don’t think the bulls would appreciate being used for a rodeo…” Pinkie Pie pondered.
“But dear Applejack has a point, in her own unique way. We need a plan,” Rarity agreed.
“We have the location of the most recent victim. They vanished this morning,” Shining Armor informed them.
“This morning!?” Twilight blanched. “They’re still doing this with all the guards everywhere!?”
“And nopony has seen a thing,” he confirmed. “They’re good. But now you’re here, maybe we can put our heads together and find them, eh kiddo?”
Twilight puffed her cheeks up indignantly at being called ‘kiddo’.
“Aside from that, we’re going to give the sanctum another look over first thing tomorrow,” Cadance further explained. “We have some things to do here, but I’ve arranged for a couple of ponies to accompany you to the site.”
“Oh? Who?”
Timed almost to perfection, the door opened up behind them. Twilight turned to see two figures she immediately recognised, one adorned in full guard armour while the other wore only his saddlebags filled with various magical tomes and other such books.
“Ah, Crystal Shield. Shadow Flare,” Shining greeted the two. “Good timing.”
“So I see,” Crystal Shield said with a smile as he observed Twilight. “Good to see you again.”
Sombra seemed to cringe as he also recognised the stallion’s face from a certain memory…
“You too, Crystal Shield,” Twilight responded in a friendly tone. “You too, Shadow Flare.”
“And so soon. Though I’m sorry it’s under these circumstances,” Shadow Flare said. “Terrible business, this. I only came here for some research and now I’m neck deep in this investigation. But if your brother wants my help, who am I to say no?”
“Friends of yours?” Spike asked the alicorn.
“Girls, Spike, this is Shadow Flare and Crystal Shield,” she introduced them. “I met them during our expedition into Sombra’s sanctum. Crystal was one of the guards here before Sombra’s reign, and Shadow went to some of the same classes I did back during our time at Celestia’s school.
“Which, as I recall, you didn’t remember,” Shadow Flare teased.
Twilight blushed. “Well, I do now!”
Shining Armor chuckled. “Always in a book… But you should all have time to catch up on the job. As much as I would love to spend some time with you, Twily, I don’t think our ‘friend’ will wait up for us.”
“Shining is right,” Twilight agreed. “We can talk on the way; can you take us to the scene?”
Crystal Shield nodded. “Then follow on, Twilight, Especially you, Sir Spike! I feel miles better now that you are here!”
Spike puffed up with pride. “When it comes to saving the day, I certainly do my best!”
Twilight rolled her eyes.
But despite the drake’s growing ego, Twilight gave a few parting words to her brother and sister-in-law before following the unicorn and crystal pony out of Shining Armor’s office.
With them all working together, she was certain that they’d have the dark mage in custody in no time…
Stats
Page generated in 0.022 seconds
Total duration
1,015 users online
1,783,929 hits today, 2,782,760 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Wonder when Twilight's going to let Cadance and Shining know the truth. And the Crystal Heart...interesting. Kinda forgot about it.
Kidnapping ponies? Well, he did steal a book on Necromancy, so I’m guessing by the time they are found they will have gone from villain’s victims to villain’s minions
Plot twist; twilight was the dark mage all along. She came from the future.
9566206
Ehhhh, no.
I can't remember if it's been covered or not but I wonder what Sombra thinks of at least one of his heirs being in charge of the Crystal Empire partially
9566435
He's already mentioned that he doesn't think much of Shining Armor.
Shadow Flare and Crystal Shield, but no Flash Sentry...
I really feel bad for Shadow Flare. I’m thinking it, you’re thinking it, and the author probably planned it, but the amount of neon red arrows pointing at this stallion is ridiculous. I really hope my expectations are thoroughly subverted as if what I think comes true then it will be like seeing a train a mile away and waiting for it to hit.
Although, in such a case it will probably be some hard hittin dramatic irony... either way I enjoy this story quite well and feverishly await future installments!
Keep on writing for it would be a shame to lose it!
9566237
Well, this chapter is here now and I have to ask, because man was the s9 pilot an interesting one... What did you think of the portrayal of Sombra now that he's finally said something other than crystals..? I personally was not a fan... Though, I guess I won't say much else for fear of spoilers...
9569686
Wasn't the worst thing, but I expected them to keep with the Sauron-ey tone for the guy. So not the best either.
9566237
april fools chapter maybe?
whan can the next chapter come out
Convenient...
I'm screaming omfg
They always hiding right under your nose. It's so cliche, it's weird they didn't check it.
Shadow Flare always raised my suspicions since he was brought in. Sadly evil pony names are almost as much of a spoiler as having Sean Bean playing a role in any movie or TV show