Sacanas

by Lets Do This

The Enemy of My Enemy

Several hours later -- plus a few heart-stopping minutes -- things were very different.

Princess Palladium peered out from a small, icicle-rimmed cavern located high on a snowy mountain peak. On the deeply drifted slopes below, she could see the crashed pink-hulled airship, lying on its side with its rose-colored gasbag deflated and useless.

The warship, and in fact all of the other ships, had been nothing but an illusion, a magical projection. There had only been her small pink airship the whole time. The crashed ship was surrounded by scattered crates, broken spars, and various other jetsam, littering the slope.

In the distance beyond, Palladium could see nothing but snow and icy mountain peaks, extending seemingly to the horizon. The air was chilly but thankfully quiet so far. The cavern appeared to be sheltered from the brunt of the winds, though the reedy whistling about the edges of the cave mouth suggested this could change at any moment.

Palladium was dressed warmly in a sky-blue faux-fur-trimmed cape, the one she liked the most since its color matched her magic. It was one of the few personal items Sacanas had allowed her to bring, so as not to raise too many suspicions. The rest were stowed in a small gilt chest that they'd dragged up the drifts and into the cavern with them.

Next to the chest was a large, barrel-shaped cylinder of smoke-dark crystal. And seated in front of this, warming his paws at the small mage-fire burning fitfully on an open stretch of the rocky floor, was the sole remaining member of Sacanas's soldiers. Apparently the soldiers themselves were also illusions, projections from the barrel-shaped crystal. And all of it had been powered by Sacanas's magic.

And therein lay the problem.

Sacanas was exploring among the stalactites at the rear of the cavern, by the light of a fitfully-burning spar clutched in a fetlock, and muttering to herself fiercely. Whether the mutterings were black and terrible summoning incantations, or mere angry cursing, it was difficult for Palladium to tell.

Grunting in annoyance, the sorcerer finally returned to the fire. She tossed the length of wood down in the flames, raising a cloud of sparks. Then she sat down beside Palladium and traded a gloomy look with her.

"I'm sorry, Princess. This is not at all the grand arrival I had planned for us."

Palladium leaned against her. "It's okay. You said a sorcerer's life is sometimes hard. I need to learn how to deal with that. And you couldn't have known --"

"I should have known!" Sacanas growled, stamping an armored hoof. "I should have made certain of it. I had everything planned, everything! But I did not count on there being something here already. Something that saps our magic, draining it away and consuming it."

Palladium could sense it herself, a chilly draw at her power whenever she attempted to use her magic. Sacanas had warned her to avoid doing so as much as possible, to conserve her remaining resources against dire emergency.

"So... what do we do now?"

Sacanas eyed her coldly. "You will wait here, Princess. Whatever this force is, it's coming from somewhere deep in the caverns in this mountain. So I am going to go down there, to find it and put a stop to it. One way or another."

Palladium stared up at her, frightened at being left alone. Then she set her small mouth determinedly, and nodded calm assent, like a Princess would.

"Very well, Sorcerer. We shall be guided by your advice."

Despite her anger, Sacanas smiled at that, and bowed her head in respect. Then she rose, casting a glance about. Her gaze fell on the soldier hunched beside Palladium.

"Guard her," she snarled.

The soldier nodded hurriedly, and moved to put a large paw protectively around the Princess.

Grunting in disgust, Sacanas grabbed up her carryall with her teeth, and flung it on over her armor. Then she grabbed up the burning spar again, sending more sparks flying. She stalked off fiercely, without another word, swiftly disappearing into the darkness at the back of the cavern.

Palladium looked up at the soldier, who stared back at her silently, somehow managing to look just as nervous as she felt. Then Palladium looked towards the cave mouth. The whistling of the wind was starting to pick up now, and starting to blow in through the cavern as the sun shifted position overhead.

Palladium shivered.

"I am a Princess," she reminded herself. "I can handle this. I know I can..." And, she thought fearfully, as Sacanas once said, if I tell myself that enough times I may actually start believing it...

The furred soldier felt the chill as well. He hooted, softly and mournfully. Huge and hulking as he was, the creature sounded forlorn, lost and alone there all by himself.

Palladium looked up at him, concerned. She wanted to help, to comfort him somehow, but wasn't sure how. Realizing that there was little else she could do, she settled for simply snugging herself closer against the creature's soft fur. The soldier looked down at her in surprise, and then leaned over to set his broad, furry arm closer around her, shielding her from the chill.

Palladium smiled grimly.

If I can do nothing else, she thought, I can at least show the kindness and concern a Princess ought to.

She looked round at the dark, barrel-shaped crystal, sitting beside the gilt chest. Within the crystal's blurred depths there was a low, flickering glow, like the last gutterings of a candle. As the glow faded, she felt the soldier fading away too. He was becoming thin and insubstantial as the magic that animated him drained away. She could feel the creature shivering, not with cold but fear, nervously facing the end. The soldier might only be a summoned thing, an animated form of directed magic, but he felt his existence. He could fear death.

Palladium suddenly couldn't stand that any longer. Looking to the crystal again, she lit her horn. Even as she felt her magic being sucked away, she cast it at the crystal, just as Sacanas had done earlier. She saw the flickering light within the crystal rise, ever so slightly, like a candle flame given just a little extra oil. And at the same time, felt her own reserves run completely dry.

The soldier became just that tiny bit more substantial. Palladium nodded. It might be a useless gesture, a waste of power, but at least the creature had stopped shivering. She looked up at him, smiling.

And then blinked in surprise. The color of the fur on the soldier's massive shoulders had changed. Before, it had been a bright flame red, like Sacanas's mane and the double-bolt mark on her armor. Now however it was lighter in color, a pale sky-blue.

The creature peered down at her, then rumbled and hooted thanks, giving her a gentle, friendly squeeze.

Palladium nodded back. "You're welcome," she said.

It was foolish she knew, unwise and improvident. Sacanas would be furious with her for taking such a risk. But it felt like the right thing to do. It's what a Princess would do, she assured herself proudly.

Thinking about Sacanas made her turn to look at the back of the cave again. And wonder if the sorcerer was all right, wandering around down there in the darkness...

------------------------------

A sudden draft deep in the tunnels under the mountain caught the guttering flame of the spar, and blew it out. Sacanas cast the charred wood aside. It hardly mattered now. The time for half-measures was over.

Steeling herself, she lit her horn and cast a luminance spell. Bright and clear, but with the least possible draw she could manage. Immediately, she felt the tug of power being drawn from her reserves. It felt like shadowy claws, scrabbling at her horn.

Rather than fight it she allowed it to guide her. She set out to follow it, through the twists and turns deep into the labyrinth of ancient caverns and lava tubes. It eventually led her down into a broad chamber deep underground, far from the Sun and the Moon, buried away from the light and the dark, where only the shadows remained.

She silenced her horn. It was no longer needed. The room itself was suffused with a sinister, burning glow, a side-effect of the magic that had been drawn here.

Before her stood a circle of six massive columns, of jagged, dark-red crystal. In the center was a larger crystalline formation, blood-red with broad, flat facets. The mirror-like facets on the columns and the central pillar reflected her image as she approached, her own murky reflection glaring back at her in legion.

And Sacanas smiled.

A simple-minded pony, looking at the crystal pillar, would see only their reflection, as in a mirror. A more sophisticated breed of mage might think they saw a portal, a gateway to an alternate, dark realm. A doorway to be passed through. If they were clever enough. And had sufficient magic reserves...

But she was Sacanas. And she, more than any other mage, could see this place for what it really was:

Power.

The power to bend the world to her will. To make ponies do as she wanted them to, to think as she wanted them to. Willingly, even adamantly, as if it had been their own idea all along. To bend them to her will and make them respect her, as was her due. And finally, to set them against those other ponies -- and wipe them out. So that she would finally be free of them, forever.

Compared to this, her crystal projector spell was a mere filly's toy. This was true power. And all she had to do...

... was take it.

------------------------------

Shivering, Palladium peered towards the back of the cavern again. Sacanas had been gone a long time now.

She gritted her teeth, steadily losing the battle with her fears. What if she doesn't come back? What if I'm stuck here, all alone? What am I going to do? Oh, I wish she'd come back. Even if she hasn't found whatever it is down there that's draining our magic, at least she'd be here. We could plan something, anything, together. What to do next...

Palladium sighed and felt ashamed. A Princess ought to be able to decide for herself, she knew, but...

... but that doesn't mean I always want to.

Then Palladium paused. She tipped her head, listening, and hoping beyond hope.

Are those hoofsteps? Is it...

Then several things happened at once.

The wind suddenly picked up, blowing from outside directly into the cavern. It was as if the depths of the mountain were suddenly drawing in a huge, chill, suctioning breath. The inwash snuffed out the mage-fire, scattering its driftwood ashes in a sooty smear across the stone floor.

At the same time, Palladium felt the magic drain abruptly intensify. The glow in the crystal behind her was snuffed out. The soldier beside her simply vanished, one paw raised helplessly as he disappeared. Palladium found herself totally alone, huddled on the chill, shadowy stone floor of the cavern, and staring wide-eyed into the darkness at its rear where the stalactites lurked, like huge teeth...

In the tunnels beyond she heard galloping hoofsteps, drawing closer. And there was something else: a deep, bellowing, gutteral roar, like some great angry beast. It sounded huge, vast, as if it was coming from a very long way off, yet at the same time was still nearly about to pounce on her.

Palladium jumped to her hooves, steadying herself against the wind. She faced the darkness watchfully, readying herself to bolt if necessary.

The galloping hooves reached her, and Sacanas hove into view, dodging around the stalactites as she charged into the cavern. The sorcerer was running recklessly, desperately, wide-eyed in panic. Her mane was disheveled and wild-looking. She had one eye held tight shut, a livid, bleeding gash running across that side of her face. An armored hoof caught on a jutting rock edge, and unable to stop herself, Sacanas went sprawling, landing heavily and painfully on the rock floor.

From a pocket of her carryall, a large chunk of what looked like colorless crystalline gemstone bounced out onto the cavern floor. It skidded across the remaining distance, ending up right in front of Palladium, who automatically put up a forehoof to keep it from smacking into her.

Sacanas's head jerked up. She stared at Palladium desperately.

"Princess! Get out of here! Run!"

Even as she spoke, a deeper darkness was approaching behind her, a huge, dark shadow looming out of the darkness of the tunnels. It fulminated in the air near the cavern's roof, like smoke from a huge bonfire. But it wasn't mere smoke. There was something hideously, burningly, malevolently aware about it. It was pure sentience, formed from the very darkness itself.

The sight of it made Palladium's blood run cold, made her limbs freeze. The thing seemed to sap her will, leaving her unable to run, unable to fight, unable to think, unable to hope, unable to feel anything at all except...

... despair.

The black shadow gathered itself, pausing briefly, hovering over the collapsed mage. It extruded numerous shadowy, rope-like extensions, as if readying itself to pounce upon Sacanas and rend her to pieces. It roared again, the same here-and-not-here bellowing cry. As if what Palladium could see before her was only the merest fraction of the thing, here in the cavern with them.

Palladium stared at the darkness, and felt the thing staring back at her. She could feel its eyeless presence, regarding her dismissively, in utter contempt.

Its attention returned to Sacanas, but the sorcerer ignored it, her gaze fixed firmly on the Princess.

"Palladium! Go! Now!"

Palladium fearfully, reluctantly drew herself up, preparing to turn and run...

... and then stopped, staring down at Sacanas. At her tutor, her guardian, her friend, lying there helpless, powerless...

And Palladium suddenly decided that, even if it killed her, she was not having this.

"No!" she yelled, as fiercely as she could manage. It sounded pitifully weak, even in her own ears. "You get away from her!"

The apparition paused, seemingly confused by her impudence. It bellowed a challenge at her, hugely, warningly. But Palladium stood firm, a forehoof still resting on the crystal.

"You heard me! Get away from my teacher! Don't you dare touch her!"

Something was happening. A livid, fierce, protective force was welling up inside Palladium. It felt like magic, but also somehow distinct, somehow different. She felt her horn sparking with it, felt her eyes burning, blazing alight. All round her, the chill winter winds from outside the cavern were steadily being pushed back, replaced by a warming breeze, an implacable sense of calm, of well-being, of safety...

... of love.

"You get away from my Auntie Sacanas!" Palladium shrieked, tears running down her cheeks. "She's mine! And you will not harm her!"

The magic force surged down her hoof, flooding into the jagged chunk of crystal. The crystal blazed alight with a piercing blue luminance. It filled the cavern with an aura of calm, of peace. Its shimmering cerulean light rippled on the walls like sunlight reflected off gentle waves in a sheltered grotto.

But it was not gentle magic, not at all. A sudden explosion of force, a wall of implacable shield energy blasted outwards from Palladium. The power washed harmlessly over Sacanas, instead lashing into the dark mass of smoke looming above her. It drove the shadowy presence backwards, fiercely, shoving it backwards down the long tunnels in the mountain, to wherever the thing had come from.

Palladium didn't care where. She just wanted it gone.

"GO!" Palladium yelled, her voice hugely amplified. She gasped as the surging, uncontrollable power flowed out from her, down into the crystal, and then outwards into a massive shield wall which she could feel expanding to encompass the entire mountain peak. "LEAVE!" she thundered, her voice cracking with the strain, "AND DON'T EVER, EVER COME BACK!"

The shadow was gone, utterly. Stillness fell, save for the echoes of her titanic shouting, and the gentle thrumming of the crystal. In through the mouth of the cavern, a soft, summery breeze flowed.

Sacanas painfully lifted her head, looked around. She squinted with her good eye down the tunnel behind her. It was empty, still glimmering with the crystal's projected magic.

Then the sorcerer looked forwards, at the small pony before her.

Palladium's eyes were blazing. Her mane, robe, and tail were being whipped by the backwash of the energies still rushing through her. And she was sobbing helplessly.

"Sacanas!" she yelled. "Help! I can't control it!"

The sorcerer managed to haul herself to her hooves, and stumble forwards. "Yes, you can," she gasped raggedly. "You can, Palladium. It's gone now. You don't have to worry anymore. Just relax, calm yourself..."

"I can't! I can't! It won't stop!"

Sacanas scowled, suddenly furious. She felt every ounce of the pain, in her limbs, in her lacerated face. And she snarled.

"Get a hold of yourself, Highness! It is a magic surge, nothing more. If you will your power to stop, it will stop. You can do this. And don't let me hear such weakness from you again!"

The brutal command got through where gentleness had not. Palladium paused in shock, her mouth hanging open. Then she nodded. She took a deep breath and gradually, desperately, managed to push back her terror. She brought the strange magic under control. The flood of power through her slowed, subsided. Her eyes returned to normal, her horn ceased sparking.

And she almost collapsed on the ground. Almost, save that Sacanas had stumbled forwards to catch her. The sorcerer drew her into a tight, relieved hug. "Thank you," the sorcerer said quietly. "Thank you, Princess."

"What happened?" Palladium asked, weakly. Her whole body was still tingling, spasming from the unrestrained flow of power.

"I don't know," Sacanas admitted. "I honestly don't know." She scowled crossly. "I detest not knowing."

Palladium suddenly focused on Sacanas, in particular on her face. "Ouch... does that hurt?" She pointed at the gash across her teacher's face.

Sacanas winced. "Yes. But it will heal. And it will serve as a reminder," she added, "not to go poking my nose in a hornets' nest."

Still holding Palladium close, Sacanas eyed the chunk of crystal lying on the floor. It was still pulsing with energy, still sending out the barrier protecting them.

She reached out a hoof towards it, hesitated briefly, then... touched it.

Nothing happened.

Sacanas lit her horn, drawing on the magic she felt even now returning to her reserves. She cautiously cast a spell at the crystal. Then several other spells. The result was the same.

Nothing. No reaction. Snorting, Sacanas shoved at the crystal with her hoof. It was completely, frustratingly unresponsive.

"Well," she said. "That's... unexpected."

"I'm sorry," Palladium said. "I don't know what happened. I don't even know what I did."

"What you did..." Sacanas said, through gritted teeth. Then forced herself to relax. "... you did very well, Highness. And that's all that matters. With this artifact, and your unusual... talent in controlling it, we can now defend ourselves. We can restore our reserves of magic, restore our fleet, and return to the task we came to do: building an Empire we can truly call our own..." She nodded proudly, smiling at Palladium. "Very good, Highness. Nine out of ten."

Palladium smiled back weakly. "But how did all that happen?"

"Apparently this crystal..." Sacanas frowned at it. "... responds to magic of a sort very different from that which you or I understand. But which you seem uniquely attuned to. You did say you wanted to learn truly powerful spells, Princess. Well, now it seems you have an entirely new branch of magic to call your own."

"So... what do I do with it?"

Sacanas considered it. Then smirked. "Perhaps it's time for one or two of the more advanced lessons, eh?"

"Really?" Palladium's eyes lit up, her fright instantly forgotten.

"Mm hmm." Sacanas looked around. Her eye fell on the barrel-shaped dark crystal. She'd been about to cast her own magic at it, to restore the soldiers. Instead she looked at Palladium, and nodded towards it.

"Why don't you give it a try, Princess?"

------------------------------

Several minutes later they stepped out of the cave mouth. And into a changed world.

First, there was a large squad of soldiers accompanying them. The fur on their shoulders and arms was a soft coral blue, the color of Palladium's unusual magic. One of them carried the Princess's gilt chest. Another carried the barrel-shaped crystal projector.

And the mountainside they stepped out onto was utterly transformed.

Everywhere under the dome of the protective shield, everywhere, there was green, pleasant grassy meadow and forest, under a warm, sunlit blue sky. Flowers were just opening, hurriedly, as if in surprise at the sudden arrival of summer. Small birds and insects flitted about eagerly.

Palladium was in the lead, with Sacanas close behind her, a hastily-fashioned bandage tied round the sorcerer's head, and the thrumming chunk of blue crystal tucked safely in her carryall pocket.

The Princess came to a halt, looking up at Sacanas. The sorcerer nodded back, encouragingly. The soldier carrying the projector crystal brought it forward and set it in front of Palladium.

And the Princess set her hooves firmly on the ground, faced it, lit her horn, shut her eyes... and concentrated, just as Sacanas had taught her.

She pictured the small pink airship, restored and repaired, its gasbag healed and reinflated, ready to rise into the sky. She pictured the other ships ranged around it, their hulking, armored crews standing at the ready. With the image clear in her mind, she unleashed a flood of magic at the crystal.

And opened her eyes. And gasped.

Before her was her pink airship, as good as new. Better than new in fact: it was now a massive flagship, as grand as a small palace. It hung directly above the mountain slope, a pair of soldiers already lowering a side entry ramp from it for them to board. And around, behind, and above the pink airship... there was an armada. A fleet of dozens of the airships, black and armored. They still had Sacanas's double-bolt mark on their prows, but now it gleamed a soft coral blue -- the same color as the point-like eyes in the soldiers' mask-like faces.

The color of the crystal, thrumming in Sacanas's pocket... the color of Palladium's new kind of magic. A magic, it seemed, based on pure love itself.

"Where shall we go now?" Palladium asked, looking up at Sacanas... with just a hint of pride on her small face.

Sacanas glanced round, at the snow-capped peaks still visible through the wall of the shield spell. And smiled back, a little of her old haughty reserve returning.

"Why don't you tell me, Highness? You're in charge here. But if you'll take my advice, we'll need a place where this magic of yours is the strongest." She nodded towards the entry ramp of Palladium's flagship. "We can see better from the air. Come on, up you get."

The Princess laughed, and willingly ran forwards, up the ramp and into the ship. Then she turned and scurried towards the stairway leading to the forward deck.

And Sacanas followed. Quietly, thoughtfully, accompanied by the soldiers -- who now served Palladium, not her.

This will take some getting used to, she thought with irritation. But it's nothing we can't handle...

------------------------------

The Princess's flagship circled about over the center of a broad, flat plain covered in mounded ice and snow, beneath a glowering sky filled with ragged, grim-looking clouds, and encircled by ranges of sharp, snow-buried mountains.

Palladium peered down over the railing, turning her head this way and that, her horn glowing. "Right about... there," she said, pointing a hoof downwards, at a relatively flat area near the center of the plain. She looked up at Sacanas, standing next to her. "What do you think?"

The Sorcerer nodded, her expression neutral. "Almost ideal, Highness. A conjunction of leylines, to provide power. And open ground in all directions. More than enough room for a sizable population."

"Almost ideal?" Palladium asked, worriedly.

Sacanas shrugged, and nodded towards the higher, snowier peaks beyond the plain. "There are valleys further in the hills that would be more secure. They offer less space to build on, but would be easier to defend. On the other hoof," she allowed, "going too much farther into the hills we risk running into the Yaks. They live in the high tundra."

"The Yaks? Are they... dangerous?"

Sacanas raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say they'd be rather... rowdy neighbors."

Palladium sighed. "I know we want somewhere safe and out of the way. But I'd rather it wasn't too hard for ponies to get here, if they really want to."

Sacanas seemed about to debate it further. Then she acquiesced, and gestured to the plain below them. "If this spot seems suitable to you, Princess, let's go down and stake our claim and have a look round. By the look of things, we won't have to fight anypony for it at least."

The flagship swept downwards and came to a gentle landing on its keel, near the center of the plain. Overhead the other warships circled, watchfully. The boarding ramp was flung down, and Palladium descended it, with Sacanas right behind her. Palladium stopped at the end of the ramp, doubtfully prodding at the deeply drifted snow. Then she gingerly stepped out onto it.

And promptly plunged into it, up to her neck.

Sacanas pressed a hoof to her snout, holding back a laugh. "You might want to employ the warming spell I taught you, Princess. It should easily melt a path for you."

"But... that would be wasteful of power, wouldn't it?"

"Says the pony standing on a conjunction of three leylines." Sacanas rolled her eyes. "I've taught you to be chary with your reserves in the past, Highness, but things are different now. And you'll need to learn how to handle having power to burn."

Palladium glanced around, at the banked snow almost burying her. Then she shut her eyes, lit her horn, and concentrated. Her horn sang, projecting the warming spell. Waves of palpable heat made the air ripple about her. And all about her, the snow steamed. It sublimated straight to vapor, rising and drifting away on the cold breezes. The hard-packed earth was quickly revealed: bare, dead, and bone-dry.

Grinning at her success, Palladium turned towards the location she could sense ahead of her, by the feel of the magic fields arcing in towards it -- the place that felt just right, somehow. She swept her horn back and forth as she moved forwards, using the warming spell to industriously clear a path to it.

And Sacanas stalked along in her wake, occasionally glancing about over the snowdrifts for signs of trouble. Yet so far, apart from the two of them the plain was empty and quiet. There was only the sad hollow soughing of the wind, like distant voices lost in the cold wastes.

Palladium finally reached the point she was aiming at. She cleared a wide circle of bare ground around it. And then with a mischievous giggle, scraped a large "X" in the dirt on the exact spot. Just to make the point.

She looked up to Sacanas, who nodded. Opening the carryall with her magic, the sorcerer brought out the chunk of crystal. It was still faintly shimmering with the cerulean energy Palladium had charged it with.

Sacanas set the crystal on the ground, at the spot Palladium indicated. Then she took a step back cautiously, and gestured with a forehoof. "The rest... is up to you, Princess."

"I know. I know. I'm still not sure I know what to do, though."

Sacanas shrugged mildly. "I'm unable to guide you. It's your talent. You'll need to feel your way to it."

Palladium looked momentarily frightened. "You'll help me, won't you? If I get it wrong?"

"In as far as I can," Sacanas muttered, a little sharply. Then she smiled. "Don't worry, Princess. I'm not going anywhere."

Palladium nodded in relief, and took a deep breath. Then, setting her hooves firmly, with one hoof resting on the edge of the crystal, she cleared her mind as Sacanas had advised her. Then she thought back, to that moment in the cavern when she'd felt the power welling up inside her, when she'd felt it flowing through her. It hadn't felt like ordinary magic, coming from her reserves. It seemed to come from somewhere else entirely, someplace unique and new. But she still had no idea where that was, or how to summon the flow of power again.

How do I do this? she fretted. How do I make it work?

She looked up at Sacanas. At her teacher, standing patiently and watchfully nearby, with a hint of a smile on her face. Not judging Palladium, not telling her what to do. Just being there for her, keeping her safe, making things work out, the way she always did. She was Palladium's one true friend in all the world. The one pony who made the Princess feel truly safe, truly at peace with herself, in the midst of all this strangeness, in the heart of this distant, chill, lonely land...

And as Palladium thought that, she felt the power beginning to flow, just a hint of it. It welled up, filling her with a sense of relief, of well-being. And she knew just what she needed to do.

She smiled up at her teacher, her friend, her protector...

"I love you, Auntie," she whispered.

And her eyes blazed. The crystal shone with the power flooding from her, spilling into it. Then the power projected from the crystal, upwards and outwards. It sprang into the air like streamers of shimmering fire, creating a gleaming aurora in the air beneath the looming gray clouds.

Around them, the shield dome materialized. It covered a wide section of the plain, hundreds of lengths across. Beneath it, snow, ice, and chill wind all vanished instantly, replaced by green rolling meadow and soft warm breezes. The grim, gray clouds were banished, and a brilliant, shimmering sun shone down from a perfectly clear blue sky. All around them the grassy plain was laid bare...

... and so were several large, multi-faceted crystalline structures which had been buried under the deeper drifts of snow. In shape they were like huge gemstones except that they had openings, like doors and windows. Like houses. An entire city of them, buried under the ice and snow.

They were beautiful, glittering... and utterly abandoned. It was like a ghost town. A very, very expensive ghost town, made entirely from shining crystal.

"Wow..." Palladium breathed, staring at the revealed crystal structures. She was about to run across to the nearest of them, wanting like anything to explore it.

But Sacanas held up a hoof warningly. Motioning with it, she summoned a squad of the furred soldiers, who took up station around Palladium and her crystal.

"Stay here," Sacanas snapped. "And be ready, Princess."

"For what?"

"That is what I hope to find out..."

The sorcerer turned and crossed cautiously towards the nearest of the abandoned dwellings. Stepping through the empty, gaping doorway, she peered around inside, her horn shimmering brightly to light the gloomy interior.

Little remained save dust and dirt, and some crystalline shelving holding what looked like... pottery? Puzzled, Sacanas trotted over to examine the artifacts more closely. There were vases and urns, of various shapes, some with lids and some without. The pieces were functional, but not glamorous, fired with a serviceable, nondescript blue glazing.

Sacanas rummaged among the shelves, seeing little of value either for a collector or an archeologist. Then she came across one piece that had apparently been given a bit more care and attention, as if it was the long-vanished artist's final masterpiece.

It was an urn or jug, violet in overall hue, decorated with fine brush-strokes of blue and white pigment. It depicted a repeated montage, in which ponies -- or what seemed like ponies, since they were somewhat stylized and had unusual looking horns -- were gathered beneath a shining icon, a stylized heart. The heart appeared to be projecting rays of energy down towards them, which the ponies received with evident joy.

Or... is it the ponies, Sacanas mused, projecting energy upward at the heart?.

Either way, it gave her an idea.

Setting the urn gently back on its shelf, she headed back outside, to where Palladium was anxiously waiting.

"I don't think we need worry," Sacanas said. "This place seems long deserted. But it will take some work to make it suitable for your subjects, Your Highness."

"As soon as I have any," Palladium said doubtfully.

"It might be sooner than you think," Sacanas warned. "For one thing, while we clearly won't have to worry about the weather, your dominion will need food. And that means farms and livestock, and ponies to manage them. Plus we will want artisans: cultured ponies who can shape this place into an appropriately regal city from which you can rule. And," she added, "you will need a proper royal palace. Situated right here, I think. From which your crystal gemstone can project its shield in perpetuity, guarding your realm."

"Well, even with the power I can call up," Palladium said, "I doubt if I could manage to keep it charged like this -- not forever, and not by myself."

Sacanas leaned closer, smiling craftily. "Leave that to me, Highness. First, let us see about constructing your palace."

"How? And from what?"

Sacanas gestured towards the crystal. "This should suffice, if you'll lend me the power we need. Remember how I taught you how to do a remote-casting spell? It can also be used to share magic, and transmute between different types of magic. Let me show you how..."

After a quick lesson, and a bit of practice, they were ready. They moved a short distance away from the center of the plain, to a position close by the innermost ring of crystalline dwellings. Then Palladium set the shimmering crystal gently on the ground, and put her hoof on it. It felt as if she was dipping her hoof in an immense, sparkling pond. The power tickled somewhat, as it flowed back up her foreleg, returning to her.

Concentrating, she remote-cast, converting the power into a form of magic that Sacanas could draw upon and share.

And the sorcerer lit her own horn, feeling just a little exultant at the seemingly depthless resources she could now weild. She lifted her hoof, gently sketching a rough form in the air with it. Then she cast the spell...

And before Palladium's eyes, a shimmering, ghostly blue outline appeared, towering high overhead. It had four broad legs at its base, which swept together and upwards in graceful curves towards a narrow, needle-like point a dizzying height above her. The magic gradually solidified, freezing into a soaring, graceful tower, a regal palace of glittering white diamond. The tower had balconies and spires, and slender sub-towers connected by flying buttresses. The four broad legs of the tower enclosed the spot Palladium had marked, the conjunction of the leylines. And these also appeared to be reflected by the six major avenues stretching away from the new tower, between the crystal dwellings.

Apart from its titanic height, the new tower fit in perfectly, amongst the abandoned houses, as if it had always been there: the central gemstone of a huge jewelry setting.

Sacanas exhaled, wearily but proudly. Wielding that much magic was a struggle, though she would never admit it, not even to Palladium.

"Well, Highness? What do you think?"

"I love it!" Palladium gasped. "But... it won't disappear when I touch it this time, will it?"

"Not this time," Sacanas smiled reassuringly. "It's as solid as you or I. But it's not quite complete yet." She pointed at the shimmering crystal. "If I may?"

Still staring up at the tower, Palladium nodded, allowing the sorcerer to take the crystal up in her magic. Conjuring a small hammer and chisel, Sacanas set to work on it, carefully chipping off small shards, delicately and exactingly shaping and re-tuning it.

Finally finished, she held it up to show her work.

"Voila."

"A heart!" Palladium gasped. "A crystal heart!"

"The literal heart of your city," Sacanas said. "Appropriate, don't you think? And there's already a place prepared for it."

With her magic, the sorcerer swept the crystal over beneath the tower, to the center of the open space that was bracketed by the tower's legs. As she moved it into position, spires of crystal emerged from the tower and from the ground, into the gap between them. The crystal drifted into the gap between them and then, drawn by the force of its own power, it snapped into place, spinning gently.

And the heart blazed.

Its power, conducted upwards through the tower, was magnified, amplified by the power of the leylines, the mathematically perfect shaping of the tower itself. It caused the entire structure to gleam magnificently. And from the tower's peak high overhead, the magnified power launched into the sky in massive, aurora-like streamers. It spread across the sky and down again, forming a massive shield dome centered on the palace. Not just a personal shield, nor the mountain-sized shield that Palladium had conjured on her own. This shield was immense. It spanned and enclosed most of the plain around them, reaching almost to the ramparts of the mountains beyond. The shield practically became the sky itself, its protective influence turning the entire landscape of the plain into green meadows and gentle summer air, lit warmly by a shining sun from an utterly cloudless blue sky.

"There." Sacanas smirked. "Now your Empire is properly protected, Princess. And with this level of power to work with, well..." She laughed. "There can be little we cannot do together." She eyed Palladium in amusement. "What say you, Princess? Want to give your new Palace a look-see?"

"Do I!" Palladium grinned. And she galloped off, racing past the crystal heart spinning in its sconce, heading towards one of the doors set into the broad legs of the tower.

Sacanas allowed her to lead the way, following quietly at her own pace, accompanied by the furred soldiers... and making plans.

Now, Princess, she thought calmly, we'll need a populace for you to rule.

And I think I know just where to find one...

------------------------------

Wheat Husk unhappily scuffed at the bare, unproductive soil, on the field that he and the other earth ponies had managed to painstakingly clear and plow. It was just outside the small group of clapboard shacks and other structures that they'd thrown together to form their new town. New-fallen snow already dusted the field, and the increasing drifts on the hilltops nearby weren't reassuring.

This far north, the growing season would be cruelly short, so far from the heartlands of Equestria and the ambient magic that earth ponies could channel into the soil and use to produce crops, even in the poorest of conditions. It would be hard work sowing, and even harder reaping, enough food to support the whole settlement.

But it's better this way, the brown, muscular stallion told himself. Better to work hard and make our own destiny, rather than having it dictated by those... what were they called again? Alicorns?

Wheat Husk frowned disgruntledly. Things were better in the old days. Earth ponies plowed, the otherwise useless pegasi brought the wind and the rains. And the unicorns... well, they managed things, like the sun and moon, with their magic. And they lived high and mighty far away in their ivory towers, as nobility should.

It was simply how things were meant to be, Wheat Husk told himself. The three tribes each went their own way, according to their abilities, trading as and when the need arose. And otherwise, just leaving each other the hay alone.

All this talk of unification, of the three tribes living and working together, he thought grimly. What use is it? It only causes trouble...

Yet deep in his heart, the hard-bitten farm pony was troubled. He worried that maybe, just maybe, they had bitten off more than they could chew this time. Leaving the warm valleys south of Van Hoover and heading north, away from the heartlands. Way up here, where they could do as they liked with no interference... and with nopony around to help if things went sour... well really, then weren't they just asking for trouble?

What if it all goes wrong? What if we can't produce enough to feed everypony? What if... Wheat Husk shuddered. What if we're forced to go back, hat in hoof. Beg for our old homesteads back? What if it turns out...

He made a face.

What if it turns out we're wrong?

The gloomy thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an unexpected wafting of warm breezes. Looking up in surprise, Wheat Husk was astounded by the sight of a grand airship approaching, high in the sky.

Light pink in color, with a rose-colored balloon, the palatial airship was descending slowly towards the town. And it seemed to be bringing summer right along with it. The air swiftly warmed. The dusting of snow on the ground vanished. The skies cleared, the sun shone. The air itself felt unexpectedly, comfortably humid.

And Wheat Husk felt the magic flowing all round him, felt the earth-pony connection to the earth, and the winds, and the seasons, strengthening every second.

He felt alive, in a way he hadn't felt in countless moons, even before the coming of the Windigos, with their killing ice and frost.

The other earth ponies in the town had felt it too. They came crowding out of their houses, galloping over from their own plots around the town, gathering in awe and wonder and chattering amongst themselves, as the airship steadily rode downwards and came to a landing before the crowd.

A boarding ramp swung down, thumped to the ground in front of them.

From the ship's interior, a pony emerged. Tall, forbidding, dressed in polished black armor, the scarlet-maned unicorn stalked fiercely and proudly down the ramp, like trouble incarnate. But on reaching the base of the ramp, she stepped to the side and turned to stand beside it -- stiffly, at attention.

"Presenting!" she called sharply. "Her Royal Highness: Princess Palladium!"

And a small, rose-maned unicorn filly appeared at the doorway, dressed richly in a light-blue fur cloak, her mane and tail perfectly combed and coiffed. She trotted sedately down the ramp, coming to a halt near the bottom where she could still see over the crowd. She smiled at the astonished earth ponies, as if they were the most wonderful thing she'd seen all day.

"Good morrow, citizens!" she called. "And a pleasant day to thee!"

Old habits die hard. The townsponies swiftly bent knee to the small unicorn. Begrudgingly, yet it was the thing to do. Especially when faced with magic-users, and their powerful, unpredictable ways.

"I have come to ask your help," Palladium went on, trotting down the ramp to stand at its base. "I am founding an Empire, far in the North. And I would like you to come live with me, to help build it and help feed us all by working the farmlands. I can offer you plenty of land, free for the asking and ready for homesteads. And the freedom to live as you wish, if you'll be willing to have me as your sovereign."

The townsponies looked at each other in astonishment. Then Wheat Husk cautiously raised a hoof.

"Beggin' your pardon, Highness, but... we're barely scratching a living as it is, this far north. And you want us to go even further?"

Palladium nodded. Then she gestured towards the black-armored unicorn, who had moved to stand beside her. "This is Sacanas," she said. "My Royal Sorcerer, and advisor... and my very great friend." She smiled up at the sorcerer. And Sacanas gazed around coldly at the farm ponies, eyeing them in a stern silence. The homesteaders felt distinctly uneasy under her sharp, disapproving glare.

Then she turned back to Palladium, and bowed her head graciously and subserviently.

And Palladium went on: "With her magic, Sacanas has created a spell that grants eternal summer in my Empire, in the heart of the Frozen North. She's a really powerful sorcerer, and this is only a sample of it." Palladium gestured about herself at the warm summer climate surrounding the airship, bringing a sense of comfort and hope along with it. "Your fields will never need to be cleared of snow. You'll be able to plant and harvest as often you wish, year round. You'll have more than enough to feed yourselves, as well as to trade with the other ponies who come to live in my Empire. You'll never have to struggle to make a living again."

"But... we'll have to follow your commands?" asked a gray-maned mare, skeptically. "Bend knee, bow and scrape? Do as you tell us?"

"Only when necessary," Palladium replied. "I can't tell you how to farm the land, and I wouldn't try to. I'll rely on you to tell me what's needed. All I wish to do is create an Empire where my subjects can live quietly and safely, and be happy. I can't do it on my own, not even with a sorcerer like Sacanas helping me. I need your help. And in return, I'm more than happy to give you the land you'll need to live and work on. Just come with me, help me build my Empire. That's all I ask."

Despite themselves, the rough-edged farm ponies were impressed by her quiet, honest eagerness. They saw the caring look in her eyes. They felt the warmth and comfort she brought with her, the sense of hope and security that surrounded her.

And they shuddered to think what it would be like, if she left, and it all went away again...

"So," asked Wheat Husk, "it'd just be you ruling us, then? Not them alicorns, in that new city down South? Canterlot, or whatever it's called?"

Palladium nodded. "I will want to ask other unicorns to come and live in my Empire. To serve as my Court, and as artisans and mages. But only those who want to live there, only those who'll accept me as their sovereign. It's my Empire, and I will be its Princess. And I'll do my very best, every day, to be a good one."

The farm ponies muttered quietly amongst themselves, both positively and negatively. Then Iron Plow, nominal Mayor of the town, cleared his throat.

"It's a startling and quite generous offer, Your Highness," he said carefully. "We'd like to take some time to discuss it amongst ourselves, if that's all right with ye?"

"Absolutely!" Palladium nodded. "Go right ahead."

The debate began in earnest, with ponies raising their voices and arguing back and forth, the consensus flitting this way and that as issues were raised, challenged, and raised again.

Yet Sacanas could tell they were already sold. It was simply too good an offer to pass up. She stepped closer to whisper to Palladium.

"There are a couple of other settlements we should also visit," she said. "Ponies who've moved out here, to the fringes of society, to live free of interference. Their sudden disappearance won't raise unwanted questions. And they should be just enough to start with." She snorted scornfully. "They're welcome to live on their farmsteads, out on the borders of the Empire. Where they can keep to themselves."

"You do think they'll want to come with us?" Palladium asked nervously.

"No doubt of it, Highness. No doubt at all." Sacanas looked around at the furiously debating farm ponies. "They know a bargain when they're offered one. And they have as little desire as we do to be ruled by alicorns. They'll see in the end that it's in their best interest to throw in their lot with us."

And, she added to herself, smiling, they will do everything we ask of them. After all, the enemy of my enemy...

... are my servant class.

Comments

[Spellflame]

The shattered heart and hollow heart had filled Each other with a power so great it filled the sky, but never forget the twisted core, almost unseen

[Wild Stallion]

Apparently the soldiers themselves were also illusions, projections from the barrel-shaped crystal. And all of it had been powered by Sacanas's magic.

Huh. That's going to make the future appearances of the Storm Beasts...

Difficult to explain, to say the least.

[Lets Do This]

11269414
Recall that the Storm King was pretty keen on finding magic artifacts and/or sources of magic.
Kind of strange, given that he apparently didn't understand how they worked:
"Where am I supposed to be looking? I never understand how this spell works... Tempest!"

Might have been another reason for that...

[BirdsBooksBrownies]

When the Storm King was introduced in the movie, I didn't particularly care for him. I felt his loony attitude was lesser than Tempest's calm and cold command. In discussions with others it was brought up that his constant shifting from happy and silly to angry to ambivalent would make him a dangerous enemy because one would never know exactly where to step.

That said, this story offers some very interesting ideas, although (and this is just a thought, nothing against the writer) maybe make Sarcanas a little bit more distinct from Tempest, like she has an odd affinity for escargot or something.

[Ri2]

So...

Was that city always there beneath the snow, or did Palladium create it?