Entering the Empire
Twilight watched silently as Spike swung his hooves about, reading his comic books. The closer they got to the Empire, Twilight noticed the temperature dropping. So far, the train ride there had been the longest Twilight had ever experienced. Since this was her first time being on a train, that she could remember, she didn’t know what to make of it. It was excruciating to stay still for so long, how did ponies manage it? Flying was much more fun.
Twilight couldn’t believe that her mentor specially commissioned a train car to accommodate her. The cart was reminiscent of the one the bakers used while delivering the MMMM. While it wasn’t a bad thing, she could see how many of the other passengers turned their noses up at her or flat out refused to get on the same train as a dragon. Her friends were wonderful buffers but five ponies could only do so much to distract her.
An hour ago, Rarity noticed her shivering ever so slightly on the ground and magicked a wool scarf around her neck. Twilight didn’t have the heart to tell the unicorn that it barely helped and with the sheer force of will, stopped her shivers to only occasional spasms.
Another hour later, Spike climbed onto her shoulders, spreading his body heat across her wing joints and shoulders. She opened her mouth to tell him it wasn’t necessary but she closed it again when she spotted the determined look he sported. She could tell he was worried by the look that crossed his face when he came into contact with her scales. Usually they were warm since her resting temperature was warmer than a pony’s.
When Twilight opened the door, the chill that swept through the car was so bad that Twilight’s arm was left hovering in the air where she let go of the handle. The joints popped painfully when she forcibly planted it back on the ground and she winced.
Absolutely wonderful, her mentor hadn’t told her about a potential blizzard and now she was caught wanting. Send a temperature-sensitive dragon into the depths of a blizzard. How intelligent.
Carefully, she shifted around until she could magic her thick sleeping blanket to wrap around the rest of her body. Surprisingly, her friends stayed tactfully silent, though there were a few pitying glances. She envied the way Rainbow and Fluttershy were simply just standing there, not shivering at all, their thick coats used to the chill of Cloudsdale.
The blizzard around them made it difficult to see anything and each breath was stolen away in the wind. After a moment, the wind howled even more as if sensing their presence and was determined to deter them from going further. Despite only being in the wind for a few minutes, her scales were already cold to the touch.
Before she could run back into the meager warmth of the train car, the doors closed and the train pulled away from the station, rapidly disappearing into the wild snow. She was shivering in earnest now and her friends silently crowded around her to try and shield her from the cold.
As a strange cluster, she and her friends stepped off into the snow. Twilight gasped when her claws sank into the powder with a crunch. The shivering grew more intense with every step. They didn’t get very far before a voice stopped them.
“Twily?” Caution layered his voice as if Twilight were going to attack him and hurt flashed through her.
“Shinin’ Armor?” Applejack hollered back to be heard over the wind, “Twilight’s right here, but she’s a lil’ out of sorts,”
Shining Armor appeared out of the blizzard and breathed a sigh of relief, “Good, you made it. We should get going. There are things out here we don’t want to meet after dark. Do you need help?”
She barely forced out a nod, growing colder and colder as the seconds ticked by. Shining urged Spike to jump off which he did very reluctantly. Shining took one side and Applejack took the other. They began to walk and Twilight feebly attempted to help by scraping at the snow to try and take some of her own weight. She could tell if she wasn’t out of the cold soon, she would pass out and she did not want that to happen.
“Something’s been trying to get in. We’ve repelled it so far but who knows when it’ll get the next lucky shot?” Shining explained as they walked.
Spike, who was walking with one of Fluttershy’s wings draped over him, looked around nervously. Up ahead, something bright blue shined like another sun. The wind howled melodically, blowing flurries through the air.
Despite only walking what seemed to be a few paces, the train station soon disappeared and only Twilight’s vague acknowledgment of the strange leyline ahead of them kept her sense of direction. She wanted to take a closer look at the leyline since it wasn’t shaped as most ley lines were, but she was too tired to do so.
Just as Twilight’s eyes slipped closed, a long-drawn-out screech forced them open again. Something dark flickered in the corner of her eyes and Twilight wondered if she was going to pass out right then and there.
“Run!”
No creature needed further command and everyone sprinted for the force field. Frost caked Twilight’s scales and snowflakes dusted her hair. Shining lit his horn and took more weight by lifting parts of her with his magic. In spite of all that, she raised her head to make sure everyone was following. Her eyes threatened to close again but she noticed Fluttershy and Spike were behind.
Spike’s shorter legs didn’t allow him to be as fast as everyone else. Fluttershy was behind him, crowding against him so he kept up his speed. Even from a distance, Twilight could hear him gasp for breath.
Another screech urged the ponies faster. Dimly, Twilight heard Fluttershy command Spike to run faster. An inky black blob chased after them like a large wave. Fear screamed loudly in her mind the longer she looked at it. Twilight couldn’t tell but it looked to have green eyes. In another few seconds, the entity would catch Fluttershy and then shortly after, catch Spike.
Twilight hadn't ever been so cold in her entire life. Her head spun and her numb claws dragged uselessly along the snow. Her unfeeling tail snagged on stray dead bushes and left a groove in the snow like a snake. Every breath stung the back of her throat and clumps of ice had grafted to her tail fur. She was sure her very bones shivered. Just before she lost consciousness, she whispered over her chattering teeth, hoping either Applejack or Shining would hear her plea.
“Spike...”
From the way Shining broke free and more cold blasted her left side, she knew her plea had been answered. She passed out with a small delirious smile on her face, heedless to Applejack’s cursing. The last thing she felt was the feeling of falling and then nothing.
As Shining Armor ran, he powered his horn and blasted the darkness back. Spike chose that moment to trip and tumble. The yellow pegasus behind him didn’t bat an eye and as she ran past, snagged him by his scarf, dragging him along. Sombra’s spirit growled threateningly and washed over the three ponies. Spike’s high-pitched scream was cut off as the spirit snatched him up.
He saw the pegasus clutch Spike closer to her before the inky mess was on him as well. Another blast from his horn had the mist retreating. Sombra howled and Shining Armor got his first real glimpse of the old King.
He knew for a fact that his face was forever burned into his memory. He was well-muscled for a unicorn. The lower half of his body blended into the darkness. His eyes bled purple manic power and his mouth was filled with pointy teeth. His mane wasn’t very substantial, fading and blurring together in the inky mist, but it reminded Shining of a lion’s mane. In fact, his face looked vaguely feline as it snarled at him.
His red pupils pulsated green as he eyed Shining with hatred. To Shining’s shock, a forked tongue flitted between the shade’s lips. The spirit chuckled darkly and charged its horn. With a start, Shining realized it was blood red. It looked like a ruby injected with ink. Fear trickled through Shining like his first cup of coffee in the morning but held none of the relieving caffeine.
Distantly, Shining heard Spike screaming. His nephew’s scream snapped him out of it and he released another blast, right into Sombra’s open maw. The old King screamed and fled back into the darkness. The snow was nearly blinding now.
When Shining Armor could see again, Spike and the yellow pegasus weren't near him. He gazed fiercely into the swirling mist around him. In a gap in the darkness, Spike’s scream escaped once more but was quickly cut off.
Shining’s eyes darted around rapidly, his horn ready to fire, but he didn’t want to blast Spike or the pegasus.
“Uncle!” Shining spun around, trying to pinpoint where Spike’s voice was coming from. The mist made it echo and bounce, making it nearly impossible.
“Mom!” This was Spike’s loudest scream. Shining’s heart thudded painfully in his chest as Spike’s voice dissolved into sobs. He would protect Spike this time. He was Shining Armor. He would be the shield his family needed.
“I’m coming, Spike!” he shouted desperately, only for the wind to snatch his voice away.
A dark chuckle echoed around him, “There is no escape, Prince. The King will be back. This child will be a wonderful little slave,”
“You give him back!” Shining roared.
The wind howled harder as Sombra laughed, “I’d like to see a Prince try to overcome a King,”
Spike’s scream cut through Twilight’s ears like a hot knife through butter. Before she was even aware of her surroundings, she was on her paws. As her eyes cleared, she became aware of the ice she was dislodging from her body, the bone-deep chill, and the numbness of her claws and wings.
Each movement was painful and each breath was like inhaling knives. Twilight roared in pain as she took a step forward. Fire warmed her belly before flames spilled from her mouth, blasting the air around her as she screamed in distress. Snow hissed and steamed, boiling away from the heat.
A faint cry from her son galvanized her into action, propelling herself into the mist, uncaring how pain lanced through her body with each step. Twilight didn’t even hear Applejack’s yell of shock or calls to come back. Her nose sought out Spike like a homing beacon.
The mist was filled with emotion magic, primarily hatred. It made Twilight’s horns tingle and her breath come in shorts pants. The anxiety was automatic and suffocating fear began to descend on her.
When she came upon her son, her heart nearly stopped, the fear in the air coinciding with a mother’s fear. Spike lay on the cold ground, unmoving, tears frozen to his muzzle. She scooped him up, finding Fluttershy a stone throw away, also prone but looked to be frozen in the act of crawling toward Spike. Her wings were stiff and her eyes were so dilated, Twilight worried if she was also nothing more than a husk.
Then she heard his voice and his laugh. Sombra chuckled, addressing Shining Armor.
“I’d like to see a Prince try to overcome a King,”
Flames cleared the way to Shining and Twilight stepped out, carrying the two ponies, “Well there’s a reason why the King sends a knight to defeat the dragon,”
Twilight’s voice wavered but she stood as tall as she could. In the back of her throat, she tasted copper. The cold was beginning to set in again.
Her glare had Sombra’s lip curling. He opened his mouth to retort but got a face full of purple flames. He shrieked and retreated. The darkness disappeared as quickly as it came and they were alone in the blizzard again.
The moment Sombra escaped, Spike and Fluttershy twitched. Shining Armor breathed a sigh of relief but that escaped out of him as he gasped.
“Oh good, they’re alive,” Twilight mumbled before keeling over in the snow, dropping both Spike and Fluttershy.
Shining attempted to catch his sister. Attempt being an arbitrary statement. To the unicorn, it was as if catching a falling boulder. He settled for getting out of the way as Twilight fell limp. As he stared at the three creatures, two of which were twitching and groaning weakly, Shining felt the familiar inadequacy at having been protected by his younger sister once more.
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Whoa, I wonder if they're all going to make it safely.
One roasted Dark Lord... Wonder if he'll need a mask before he shows up again.
nice update!
I bet that after this, Celestia is gonna get a beatdown from Twilight.
Why? Because one: Celestia should FRICKIN know that Dragons are cold blooded, and Twilight ain't no Ice/Water Dragon, so no frozen immunity for her. And two, due to that, Spike/Fluttershy were almost done for. And I doubt Twilight will forget this.
Well now that's interesting
11054789
if not Twilight then her Friends Discord and Spike for if she is out in that snow storm to long she will die, like i am surprise celestia did not think of giving twilight a Amulet of fire or something to help her not die, I don't think it's out of her power to fuse a bit of heat into a amulet, She is after all the ruler of the sun
I am loving every chapter. Mama twilight is best twilight.
Spike happens to still be the hero of the crystal empire?
Thats right Sombra piss off a momma Dragon/Twilight I can not wait to see how far she chucks your fuzzy butt into orbit
Can't wait for mamma dragon Twily to lay the smackdown on Sombra's candy plot.
Twilight Mother- dragon Is the best