• Published 1st Nov 2012
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The Equestrian Wind Mage Classic: Season 1 - LordSiravant



After a teleportation spell goes wrong, Vaati finds himself in Equestria. The world's most powerful mage is about to learn about the world's most powerful magic: Friendship.

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Episode 17: The Crystal Empire Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I was less than pleased by the introduction of Alicorn Twilight. Therefore, there will be no mention of the so-called "test" leading up to it. Not that it would have mattered anyway, considering what'll happen in Season 2…

Please enjoy.

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Episode 17: The Crystal Empire Part 1

Northern Equestria

King Sombra grinned. After waiting for so long, his patience had paid off. There it was, ripe for the taking…

His empire.

The Hounds of Majora snarled beside him, eager for his orders. "Yes…at last, it begins!" he declared. "Soon, all of Equestria will be mine!"

"So we take it the Crystal Empire has finally returned?"

Sombra looked over his shoulder to see his benefactor exiting the portal to the Dark World, its shadowy form condensing into a definitive shape as it approached his side and looked down upon their target. "Indeed it has, Your Majesty," Sombra replied with a devious grin.

The King of Demons scrutinized the shining capital with a single, eldritch eye tinged a slightly greenish pallor. "Gwo hoh hoh…Then now is the time, Your Majesty," the demon replied. "Strike in Majora's name and reclaim your empire. Then we can move on to the rest of this sickening world."

Sombra chuckled darkly. "Of course."

"Show no mercy, and ensure that the Wind Mage and his so-called friends do not get in your way. Refrain from killing him if you can; Lord Majora still has hope that he will return to our cause. The Dark God himself will arrive soon to congratulate you on your victory…or punish you for your failure."

Even Sombra could not repress a shudder at his ally's ominous tone.

"Do not fail him, Sombra."

Sombra frowned. "I will not. But…how will he come here? Is he not still imprisoned in the Pyramid of Power within your kingdom?"

"The divine one has many methods of influencing the world around him still. Rest assured; he will grace you with his presence in due time. Now go; word may have already reached the Equestrians of the Empire's return. No doubt they are already making plans to prevent your arrival. Hurry, and remember that, even in this world, Majora is watching you."

XXXXXX

Canterlot Castle

Princess Celestia busied herself with filling out the thick wad of documents given to her by one of her scribes, a bored look on her face. In the weeks since the Canterlot Wedding Battle, life had pretty much returned to normal for everypony. The castle and the city had been restored to their former condition, and better yet, Twilight had managed to reconcile with her friends. Still, Celestia felt a pang of guilt at how she had treated her most faithful student, and was still beating herself up over it every night when she thought nopony was around.

Her thoughts and work were suddenly interrupted as the doors of the Throne Room burst open, a guardspony rushing up to her. "News from northern Equestria, Your Highness!" he proclaimed, bowing his head.

"Yes?" Celestia asked.

The guard took off his helmet. "I am simply to tell you that it has returned."

Celestia's mouth fell open in shock. Managing to collect herself, she turned to another one of the guards while dismissing the scribe. "Find Princess Cadance and Shining Armor!" she commanded.

"Yes, Your Highness," the guard answered before running out of the room along with several other guards.

Now alone, Celestia picked up a pen and parchment and began writing, "My Dearest Twilight, you must come to Canterlot at once…"

XXXXXX

Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville

The library door opened as Vaati stepped in, a mildly-irritated look on his face. "What is it, Twilight?" he inquired. "This better be important, I was busy helping Scootaloo with her flying."

He then noticed that all of Twilight's friends were in the library as well. "Oh good, there you are, Vaati," Twilight spoke. "Now that everyone's here, I have news. Princess Celestia wants us all to come to Canterlot right away. Something urgent has come up that she needs all our help with!"

"If it's another freaking wedding, count me out," Vaati griped.

"Ah think it may be a little more urgent than that," Applejack answered aside.

"She didn't specify what it was, but she wants us there as soon as possible!" Twilight said.

"And we're standing here wasting time like a bunch of idiots, why?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. Vaati's attitude could be so grating, sometimes. "Let's just go," she grumbled.

XXXXXX

Canterlot Castle

"Are you sure you do not wish me to go as well?" Luna asked as she and her sister stared at the stained-glass window depicting Cadance, Shining Armor, and Twilight encircling the demon form of Vaati, whose eye stared down at an image of the changeling queen below, radiating a beam of light onto her writhing form signifying the Wind Sorcerer's now-famous defense of Canterlot.

"Yes," Celestia answered calmly. "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor are already there. The others will be joining them soon."

"The Crystal Empire's magic is powerful," Luna replied. "It cannot fall into Sombra's hooves again."

"It will not," Celestia assured her. "With Vaati, the Elements of Harmony, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance there, not even King Sombra will have the strength to penetrate its defenses."

"I hope you are right, sister."

"Ahem," another voice interrupted. "We're not interrupting anything, are we?"

The two alicorns turned to see Vaati and Twilight enter the room. "We're here, Princess," Twilight greeted. "What's going on?"

Luna walked past the visitors, but stopped a moment to whisper in Vaati's ear, "I wish to speak to you later."

Vaati nodded wordlessly before approaching Celestia. "Judging by the nature of our summons, Equestria is in mortal danger yet again, and you want us to pound the newest threat into the dust, correct?"

Celestia smiled wanly. Always so blunt and right to the point. "I summoned you all here because the Crystal Empire has returned."

"Crystal Empire?" Twilight and Vaati chorused.

Celestia retrieved a crystal from beside her throne and placed it on the floor before them. "Few remember that it existed. Even my knowledge of it is limited."

Celestia fired a beam of light at the crystal, causing a holographic image of a crystalline city situated in a circular pattern with a ridiculously-tall crystal structure in the very middle appeared. Vaati and Twilight scrutinized the image intensely, taking in all the details. "But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic. One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire." Suddenly, the Empire's crystals all turned scraggly and black as a dark-coated unicorn dressed in royal armor grinned savagely down at his chained subjects, who looked absolutely miserable. Vaati immediately assumed this character to be the evil king in question. He certainly didn't look like any normal unicorn. His mane and tail had an ethereal quality not unlike the Princesses', his eyes glowed venom-green with a purple mist trailing out of them, his horn was curved instead of straight, and Din's Fire were those FANGS?! "Using the Elements of Harmony," Celestia continued as the events she explained took place in the hologram, "my sister and I managed to overthrow him, turning him to shadow and imprisoning him beneath the ice of the frozen north…but not before he placed a curse upon the Empire, a curse that caused it vanish into thin air…"

"Wait a minute, Princess," Vaati interrupted as the hologram vanished. "Say that again."

"The Empire was cursed by King Sombra before his defeat," Celestia repeated.

Vaati grinned like a maniac. "One more time, please."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, slightly irritated. "Sombra cursed the Empire before his defeat."

"Are you taking notes, Twilight?" Vaati sneered down at Twilight. "Because I do believe your dear Princess just confirmed to the both of us that curses are indeed real. I was right, and you were wrong! Take that, bookworm! You were wrong, wrong, wrong!"

Vaati began doing a little victory dance, ecstatic that he finally had the opportunity to rub Twilight's wrongness in her face. Once he noticed both Celestia and Twilight giving him strange looks, Vaati stopped mid-dance and his eyes darted about awkwardly. Abruptly returning to his normal stance, he immediately spoke, "I'm sorry, please continue."

"Wait, is Vaati right, Princess?" Twilight asked. "Curses are actually real?"

"Yes, but that's not the important thing right now," Celestia answered impatiently. "The important thing is that the Crystal Empire's magic must not fall into the wrong hooves again."

"The wrong hooves?" Vaati repeated. "Are we to understand that this King Sombra character is back as well?"

Celestia nodded. "Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are already there, and their first report stated that Sombra is somehow already free of his prison and is making his way to the Empire as we speak."

"So what is so important about the Crystal Empire's magic that King Sombra cannot be allowed to reclaim it?"

In answer, Celestia fired a beam of light into the crystal, causing it to hover in the air and radiate positive energy around the room. "If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things are radiated across all of Equestria. But if fear and hatred take hold…"

Celestia's magical aura grew darker as she fired a beam of dark magic at the crystal, casting an ominous shadow over the ground. As her eyes glowed sickly-green just like Sombra's, jagged black crystals began to grow out of the floor, surrounding Vaati and Twilight. Vaati could feel the black magic radiating from these dark crystals, and the demon part of him immediately felt drawn to it, eager and hungry. The sorcerer shivered; when he last gave in to that temptation, all of Hyrule was plunged into darkness and he became a legendary villain for almost five hundred years.

A few moments later, Celestia blasted away the eldritch crystals, returning the atmosphere to normal. "Which is why I need your help to protect it!"

"You want us to help protect an entire empire?!" Twilight gaped.

"Even that is no mere feat, Princess," Vaati added.

"You will not be alone in this endeavor," Celestia replied. "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, as I said, are already there. And your Ponyville friends will accompany you as well."

"My brother and Cadance are there?" Twilight exclaimed.

"If it's of no consequence to you, Celestia, I wish to bring a few of my more competent minions to this party," Vaati said. "You never know when you might need a good Wizzrobe or Darknut watching your back."

Celestia nodded. "Do what you think is best. But do so quickly; there is no time to lose. Once everyone is ready, the Friendship Express will take you to the Empire. Now go; time is of the essence!"

XXXXXX

As Vaati and Twilight walked out of the Throne Room, Luna stepped forward from where she had been waiting beside the door. "Vaati, a moment please."

Twilight looked questioningly at them. "Go on ahead, Twilight," Vaati ushered.

Nodding in understanding, Twilight left them alone. "So what do you wish to talk about, my dear?" Vaati asked, adopting a slightly more sultry tone, hoping to get a flustered reaction out of her like he loved to do.

To his surprise, Luna's face was all business. "Now is not the time for subtle courting, Vaati," she responded sternly. "What I have to say is of the utmost importance."

Vaati blinked in surprise. "Alright, then."

Luna looked away. "King Sombra is not an enemy to be underestimated. News from Cadance and her husband indicated that he is already attacking the Empire's boundaries. I have my faith in you as well, but the time may come when you have no choice but to face Sombra in combat. He is not like the other foes you have faced, Vaati. By giving himself to dark magic, he has obtained more power than any unicorn could normally achieve in their lifetimes. It took both myself and my sister with the Elements to defeat him before, and we still failed to outright kill him."

Vaati quirked an eyebrow. "You actually tried to kill him? And here I was, thinking none of you had the stomach for it."

"Listen carefully, Vaati," Luna sharply interrupted. "Sombra is much more dangerous than Discord or the Changelings. He did not single-hoofedly conquer an entire empire by being a fool. Sombra was one of the most careful, devious tacticians in Equestrian history. It was part of why we had so much difficulty defeating him; he had many traps set out to weaken or hinder us. His most dangerous weapon, though, is something that cannot be blocked with magic or a spear; his poisonous words."

Vaati did not fail to notice the shiver that went down Luna's spine as she looked forlornly down at the floor. "Be wary of the things he may tell you," she warned. "Don't listen to anything he says. I did, and…and all of Equestria ended up suffering…"

Vaati's brows furrowed as the realization came to him. "King Sombra was responsible for your transformation into Nightmare Moon?"

Luna shook her head. "Only partially. The greatest fault lies with me, for being taken in by his lies. Even though I shook them off and aided in his defeat, they stuck with me, teasing me endlessly until I couldn't take it anymore."

Luna put a hoof on Vaati's shoulder. "Vaati, I implore you!" she begged. "Please be careful out there! I don't want to see you get hurt, or worse…"

Vaati found himself unable to reply for several moments, taken aback by the concern and pleading in Luna's eyes. Finally he flashed that infamous smirk of his. "I know how his kind works. I've dealt with them before. I won't let him lead me astray, and when I put him six feet under, I'll make sure he STAYS six feet under."

Luna hugged him in response before letting him return to Twilight, who was currently speaking to her friends. "Alright, girls!" she declared. "We're going to the Crystal Empire!"

The rest of the Mane Six looked at each other in confusion. "We'll explain on the way," Vaati interrupted. "Right now, we have a train to catch. And Maulgrim and Nigellas will be joining us down there."

With that, Vaati reached out telepathically to the Chief Wizzrobe and said, Nigellas, I have a task for you.

Ah, yes sir, what is it?

I want you and Maulgrim here at the Canterlot train station, pronto. We're taking a little trip.

Should I pack an extra pair of undies, sir?

Not that kind of trip, you buffoon.

I'm kidding, sir. I think I remember where the train station is. I'll have mud-for-brains ready in a jiffy. Any grave threats we should be aware of?

…Pony Ganondorf. That is all.

…I think I'll pack extra undies anyway.

Just get your arse down here. Vaati out.

XXXXXX

By the time the group reached the Canterlot train station, Nigellas and Maulgrim, who was already fully-armored, stood waiting for them. Seeing them, Nigellas took off his hat and bowed grandly. "Here n' without fear, sir!" he greeted. "And hello again, Miss Twilight! Lovely to see your inquisitive face again, eh?"

"Hi, Nigellas," Twilight replied with a giggle.

"Lady Rarity, it is a pleasure to see you again," Maulgrim greeted, performing as gentlemanly a bow as his armor would allow.

Rarity chuckled in mild embarrassment. "Oh, it's always a pleasure to see you, Maulgrim, dear!"

"By the way, boss," Nigellas said. "You never did specify where we were going."

"The Crystal Empire," Vaati answered. "We'll tell you more on the train."

"All aboard!" the conductor yelled.

"Alright, everyone!" Vaati commanded. "On the train! Now!"

XXXXXX

As the train chugged through the blizzard that had hit once they reached the frozen north, Nigellas looked out the window and shuddered. "It looks colder than a Kholdstare's nest out there!" he complained. "Why'd this freaking Crystal Empire have to show up in the middle of a frozen wasteland?!"

"Beats me," Vaati replied from the comfort of his own seat, which he lounged upon as though it were a sofa in order to keep others from sitting next to him. "Though that wind looks like it could rip the hats right off our heads. No matter."

Vaati tapped the red crystal on his hat, causing it to glow momentarily. He kept a small supply of magic inside that gem for such purposes; now the hat wouldn't leave his head no matter how the wind blew. "What I want to know is how this so-called Empire managed to survive in such a place," Maulgrim spoke gruffly. "I can't imagine how ponies could scratch a living off these snow-covered rocks."

"Magic, probably," Twilight replied. "Princess Celestia mentioned some kind of powerful magic that protected the Empire; maybe it protected it from the harsh weather."

"Seems reasonable," Vaati agreed. "Perhaps through the use of a shield that encompassed the entire city. The circular layout strongly suggests that possibility."

Twilight was about to reply, when suddenly Pinkie Pie abruptly cried out, "OW!"

"Pinkie Pie, darling, what's the matter?" Rarity cried as Pinkie clutched her leg.

"Pinchy knee! Pinchy knee!" she yelped, her eyes wide with fear. "REALLY BAD PINCHY KNEE!"

"What in Din's name has gotten you so worked up?!" Vaati demanded, sitting up straight.

"Oh mah goodness," Applejack moaned in dread.

"What? What?!" Vaati demanded desperately.

"Pinkie Pie has this…weird ability to predict immediate events," Twilight explained hesitantly, as if she had doubts about it herself. "She calls it her 'Pinkie Sense'. If I remember correctly, a pinchy knee means something really scary's about to…"

CRASH!

Glass exploded everywhere as a window was suddenly shattered. Before they could even comprehend what just happened, another window was broken. Maulgrim was up with sword drawn in seconds. Nigellas leapt back towards his companions and readied a fireball. Everyone turned to see two segmented tails with sharpened tips quickly withdrawing from two broken windows. They could also hear scratching noises on the ceiling, as if something with large claws was walking on the roof of their car. And then the culprits crawled through the smashed windows and entered the compartment.

"Din's tits, what are those?!" Nigellas yelled as the monsters advanced.

Rarity and Fluttershy screamed in terror, Rarity promptly fainting. All the others looked scared out of their wits, and for good reason. The creatures that had barged into their car looked absolutely vicious. They were wolves, that much was certain, but wolves weren't supposed to have dragon wings or spear-like tails, or have teeth that big! "Get back, girls!" Vaati commanded getting between the hellhounds and the Mane Six. "We'll deal with this!"

Twilight shook off her terror and stood next to Vaati. "No! I'm helping you!" she spoke with conviction as her horn started to glow.

"Twilight, get you and your friends to the next car! I freaking mean it! There's too many people in here as it is! Everyone fighting at once will just cause chaos! GO!"

"Twilight, Vaati's right!" Applejack cried, slinging Rarity over her back. "There ain't a lotta room in here to fight! Let 'em deal with this!"

Twilight gritted her teeth, hating the sound logic of her friends. "Alright! But you be careful, you three, got it?!"

"Look alive, boss!" Nigellas warned.

Vaati turned to see one of the monsters pounce towards him, and reacted on instinct, blasting it back with a powerful gust of wind, sending it crashing into its companion. The two monsters recovered quickly and simultaneously opened their mouths. "Fire breath!" Vaati yelled. "Get behind me!"

Vaati erected a shield, holding the flames at bay. "Looks like they favor fire!" Nigellas observed, switching out his fireball for a sphere of ice energy. "Let's see how they like a blizzard ten times worse than the one outside right to the face!"

There was not enough room to dodge, one of the hounds taking the brunt of Nigellas's attack. The other ducked behind its companion to protect itself before reemerging and leaping at its foes, claws outstretched. Maulgrim raised his shield and knocked the beast out of the air, slamming it against the wall. Before he could stab it, its tail arched over its head and lunged at the Darknut. Maulgrim blinked in shock as the tip of the tail tore right through his shield, though thankfully missing him. Meanwhile, the first one managed to break out of the ice and lunged at Vaati again, who countered with a Razor Wind spell that left a nasty laceration on the hellhound's chest. The beast yowled in pain and flung itself out the window and disappeared into the blizzard.

The remaining monster struggled to dislodge its tail from Maulgrim's shield, the Darknut working to dislodge his arm from the straps. The awkward position left him unable to get a good strike in due to the beast's constant thrashing. He barely managed to get the strap undone before the monster attempted to roast him with its fire breath. With a rough snap of its tail, his shield slipped off the end and crashed into a table.

Realizing it was now alone, the hellhound made the smart decision and dove out the window as well, its body soon obscured by the howling blizzard.

XXXXXX

In the next car over, Twilight nervously bit her hoof with worry. Rarity had managed to recover and apologized for her behavior. "Oh, I hope they're alright in there!" Twilight whined to herself.

"They'll be fine, sugarcube," Applejack assured her. "Vaati can take care'a himself, remember?"

Suddenly they heard a thumping noise above them, followed by scratching sounds. A second later, another speared tail broke apart a window. "Oh no you don't!" Rainbow shouted as another monster appeared.

Before it could enter the cabin, Rainbow tackled it at full speed, forcing it away from the train. "RAINBOW!" Twilight yelled.

Rainbow pulled away from the monster before it could claw her and bucked it in its chest with her hooves, sending it careening into the endless expanse of snow below. She then quickly flew back inside the cabin. Seeing she was safe, everypony crowded around her, hugging her tight. "Rainbow Dash, don't scare us like that again!" Rarity snapped.

"Hey, I wasn't in any danger!" Rainbow protested. "I kicked his sorry flank twelve ways to Sunday!"

A few moments later, the door leading to the next car opened as Vaati stepped in. "Everyone okay?" he asked with a slight pant.

"Fine, you?" Twilight replied with a sigh of relief.

"We managed to chase them off for now. Did one come in here too?"

"Nope! Thanks to me!" Rainbow boasted.

Vaati rolled his eyes. "Well, in any case, it looks like we're getting close to the Crystal Empire."

Vaati spoke the truth; a few minutes later, the train pulled into a makeshift station, where a white stallion whose face was obscured by a scarf and black glasses of some kind awaited them. The cabin door opened, allowing its occupants to step out into the freezing cold, Nigellas tightly clutching his hat and cursing whatever gods he could think of under his breath.

"Twilight!" the waiting stallion cried, stepping forward.

"Shining Armor?" Twilight called out.

The stallion removed his scarf to reveal that it was indeed her brother, who grinned. "Twily! Vaati! You guys made it!"

"Indeed we did," Vaati replied, shivering in the cold. "Had a little trouble a few miles back though."

Shining's brow furrowed. "What kind of trouble?"

"The train was attacked by several monsters," Maulgrim explained. "Worry not; we drove them off."

"Consequently, I've never seen those monsters before," Vaati pointed out. "Are they Equestrian?"

"I don't think so," Shining responded. "But whatever they are, King Sombra controls them."

"What?!" Twilight yelped.

"King Sombra?" Vaati queried. "If they answer to him…then that means he knew we were coming."

Shining's face looked troubled. "Then we better hurry! If those monsters attacked, then he can't be too far behind! We have to get to the Crystal Empire before he finds us!"

"And before I freeze to death!" Nigellas interjected, shivering. "I ain't an Ice Wizzrobe!"

Shining turned to Maulgrim. "Can you run?"

"Little shrimp, I can run with a mountain on my back," the Darknut retorted.

"Good. Be ready to do so if Sombra appears."

As the group began walking, Nigellas asked, "Who is this King Sombra guy anyway?"

"He's the unicorn king who enslaved the Crystal Empire a thousand years ago," Shining explained. "After the Princesses overthrew him, he caused the Empire to vanish, and it just recently reappeared!"

"If he is a unicorn, then how can he be alive after being overthrown a thousand years ago?" Maulgrim interjected.

"If he's anything like Ganondorf or I, he likely achieved immortality through his studies in dark magic," Vaati pointed out. "It does tend to have that effect on you, after all."

"Cadance and I got to the Empire right before he did," Shining continued. "We barely raised a protective shield in time to keep him from getting in, but he's already attacked it several times."

"But I don't understand!" Twilight cried over the howling blizzard. "We were sent to find a way to protect the Crystal Empire! If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected, right?"

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

The entire group stopped cold. "Tell me you guys heard that," Rainbow stuttered, looking around fearfully.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Impudent worms, did you truly think you could escape me?!"

Without warning, a ring of pitch-black clouds encircled the group, lightning flashing from within. Vaati, Maulgrim, Twilight, Nigellas, Rainbow, Applejack, and Shining all braced for a fight as the ring of darkness slowly closed in around them.

"There is no escape from the will of King Sombra! None!"

A beam of dark energy suddenly shot out of the cloud and struck Shining in the chest before anyone could react, knocking him flat on his back with a cry of agony. "SHINY!" Twilight screamed, rushing to his side.

Vaati got between Twilight and the origin of the attack, glaring into the murky blackness before him. Moments later, a pair of evil green eyes stared back at him, a poisonous purple haze trailing out of them. His red pupils were slit like a cat's, and they bore into the sorcerer far more than Vaati would have liked. Soon their owner slowly stepped forward, exiting the dark mist and revealing himself in all his wicked glory. "You must be Vaati the Wind Mage," King Sombra greeted with a dark grin. "Yes…my benefactor has told me all about you."

Vaati's eyes narrowed, wary of the dark unicorn before him. "Benefactor? What benefactor?"

Sombra's sneer widened. "That conversation shall be left for another time. But as it stands now, I cannot allow you or your pathetic friends to interfere with my plans to reclaim my empire!"

Twilight, upon seeing the Crystal Tyrant in person, felt rage overtake her as she ran up beside Vaati. "How dare you attack my brother, you monster!" she yelled, firing a powerful energy beam at King Sombra.

Sombra's horn glowed, causing a dark shield to appear which repelled her attack. Glaring coldly at the much younger unicorn, Sombra snarled, "Know your place, little girl."

As Sombra fired another beam of his own at Twilight, Vaati got in its path and raised a protective shield. The next moment, Vaati found himself hurtling through the air, the explosive energy having shattered his shield. Vaati painfully landed on his back, gasping in shock at the pain and the wet cold of the snow below him. "BOSS!" "MILORD!" both of Vaati's minions cried out as they rushed to his side.

"Count yourself lucky, sorcerer, that my benefactor wants you alive," Sombra intoned. "Your friends, however, will not be so fortunate."

Suddenly, six more shapes emerged from the thick smoke, causing the Mane Six to gasp in fright as they recognized the hellhounds that had previously attacked the train. The beasts glared hungrily at the ponies in particular, ready to devour their prey at last. "Kill everyone but the Wind Mage," Sombra coldly ordered.

"Milord, are you alright?" Maulgrim asked as Vaati struggled to his feet.

"Guh…I underestimated him," he mumbled to himself, wiping his face with his sleeve as he took in their predicament. "Alright, everyone get close to me!"

Everyone immediately crowded around the Wind Sorcerer even as Sombra's hounds closed in for the kill, the dark king himself watching with anticipation. Vaati thrust both his arms out, and soon the wind began to change direction, swirling around the Wind Mage and his friends faster and faster, picking up snow as well until a wall of snow was spinning around them. Sombra snarled at his hounds. "What are you just standing there for?! Stop them!"

Suddenly, the whirlwind expanded outwards, catching Sombra and his monsters by surprise as they were caught up in the hurricane-force winds. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" the Crystal King bellowed in fury as he and his minions were flung far away back into the blizzard.

"Everyone, GO!" Vaati yelled, reeling slightly from the exertion.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been forced to use a spell of such magnitude against an opponent, and the fatigue caught up with him quickly. Seeing this, Maulgrim took the initiative and hoisted the exhausted Hylian wizard over his shoulder and ran alongside the others, flinging an unconscious Shining Armor over his other shoulder. "MOVE!" he bellowed.

The Wizzrobe, Darknut, and ponies ran as fast as their legs could carry them towards a sky-blue dome in the distance. "That must be it!" Twilight yelled. "We're almost there!"

"GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Everybody looked over their shoulders to see a wall of black mist barreling towards them, Sombra's enraged face at the forefront. Black lightning bolts lanced out of his horn, almost hitting Nigellas and Twilight, who ran faster out of panic.

"You will not escape, fools!" Sombra roared.

"Almost there…almost there," Twilight whispered desperately to herself as they got closer to the Empire's boundaries.

Finally they phased through the protective barrier just as Sombra reached it as well, the evil king bellowing in rage at his failure.

XXXXXX

On the other side, Twilight and her companions finally stopped and panted in exhaustion. "Everybody okay?"

Maulgrim lowered Vaati and Shining to the ground as they came to. Shining had a nasty burn mark on his chest from where Sombra had struck him, causing him to groan as he got to his hooves. "Shiny!" Twilight cried, running up to him.

"Urgh…I'm fine, Twily, really," Shining answered. "I just need to visit the infirmary. The healer we brought with us should be able to fix me up. In the meantime, I want you all to go visit Cadance at the Crystal Palace."

Twilight looked doubtful, but did not press him further.

"Wow…sparkler-rific!" Pinkie cried as she spied the Crystal Empire ahead of them.

As they walked down the empty streets, Rarity fawned over everything she saw. "It-it's all so gorgeous! Just gorgeous! There…are no words!"

"Focus, Rarity," Applejack chided. "We're here to help protect this place, not admire the scenery."

"Eh, I don't see what the big deal is," Rainbow replied in a bored tone. "Looks like just another old castle to me."

Rarity's face twitched. "Another…old…CASTLE?!" she stammered. "Why you…!"

Then she noticed that Rainbow was laughing, and realized she was just fooling around with her. "Yes, haha, very funny."

"I will concede, though," Vaati admitted, "that this place is indeed magnificent."

My palace is still superior though, he finished in his mind.

XXXXXX

Crystal Palace, Throne Room

Princess Cadance wearily sat upon the throne, her head bowed as her horn remained aglow. She barely registered the doors open, but her eyes shot open when she heard a familiar voice cry her name. Her exhaustion momentarily disappearing, Cadance walked up to Twilight and did their little dance. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

As the two of them laughed and shared a hug, Vaati walked past them and remarked, "I still think that's stupid."

As they separated, Cadance's horn suddenly fizzled out for a moment, and Vaati noticed the cold arctic blizzard for a split-second before Cadance's magic reasserted itself. "Nayru's Love, you look like crap, Princess," Nigellas bluntly stated.

Maulgrim roughly elbowed the Wizzrobe. "Have care how you speak in the presence of royalty, Wizzrobe," the Darknut warned.

Cadance lifted a hoof. "No no, it's alright. I can't say I don't share his sentiment right now. By the way, who are you? I don't recognize you."

"You may have met them once or twice at your wedding reception," Vaati explained. "These are my chief minions, Nigellas the Wizzrobe and Maulgrim the Darknut. They helped lead the defense of Canterlot during the changeling attack."

Cadance nodded in respect. "Then I must thank you for doing that for us, Nigellas and Maulgrim. You performed a great service to Equestria."

"It was our pleasure," Maulgrim replied with a bow.

"Eh heh, yes it was," Nigellas agreed in a slightly sinister tone.

Cadance looked out the window of the palace and said, "As I'm sure you've probably guessed by now, I'm the one responsible for the shield that's currently protecting the Crystal Empire from King Sombra's attacks."

"Cadance, you haven't been getting any sleep, have you?" Twilight realized with horror.

Cadance weakly shook her head. "I can't; my spell needs to be constantly maintained. I can't drop it for even a second, or…well, you saw what's out there."

"Aye, we did," Nigellas agreed. "Damn near killed us all, too."

Cadance's brow furrowed with worry. "King Sombra attacked us en route to the Empire," Vaati explained. "And before that, those monsters that apparently answer to him attacked our train. He knew we were coming, and tried to stop us from reaching you. Even more troubling, though, was what he told me. Sombra is not working alone, it seems. He mentioned a 'benefactor' of sorts, a benefactor who apparently knows all about me. It may very well be that this ally of his not only provided him with those monsters, but also likely released him from his prison."

At that, Cadance realized a presence missing from the room. "Wait, where's Shining Armor?" she asked in a half-panicked tone.

"It's alright, Cadance!" Twilight assured her. "Shining's fine. Sombra injured him, so he went to the infirmary and told us to go on ahead."

Cadance sighed in relief. "Thank goodness something worse didn't happen. You know, it would be nice for us to meet again when the fate of Equestria isn't hanging in the balance."

"Princess, I think you need a break," Vaati surmised. "If you recall, I can perform shield spells too. I can keep up my own while you…"

"It won't work, Vaati," Cadance interrupted solemnly. "My barrier is comprised of my love magic, which seems to be what protected this place in the past. It's the only shield that's managed to keep Sombra out as long as it has. He and his minions made short work of Shining's barrier when we first got here."

Vaati was visibly disturbed by this revelation. "I…see."

"Between me keeping up this shield and Shining keeping an eye on Sombra's activities in the Arctic, neither of us have had much time to gather any kind of information from the Crystal Ponies."

"Crystal Ponies?!" Rarity exclaimed with a manic smile as she pulled on her hair. "There are Crystal Ponies?!"

She calmed down when she noticed the weird looks everyone else was giving her. "Um…please, continue."

"We have to believe that at least one of them knows something about how to protect the Empire without my protection spell. I can't keep this up forever…"

Vaati scratched his chin. "Well, we could go out there and interrogate the populace ourselves. Would that help?"

Cadance smiled. "Yes, that would be a godsend."

"Then we have our mission," Vaati proclaimed, turning to his gathered friends. "We'll split up and interrogate the citizens, see if any of us can find any useful information."

XXXXXX

"Are you sure? Absolutely sure?" Twilight asked the Crystal Pony.

"I wish I could help you," the mare dully answered. "But…I can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power. And I don't want to remember anything from the time he ruled over us."

The Crystal Pony shivered at the very thought of her life under the tyrant's hoof. "King Sombra's magic must be why their coats aren't…crystally," Twilight whispered to Vaati.

"Have we really been gone a thousand years?" the Crystal Pony asked.

"Yep," Vaati answered bluntly.

"It seems like it was just yesterday," the mare spoke.

"Likely because time didn't even move for you during your imprisonment," Vaati replied.

"If you think of anything, even the smallest bit…" Twilight urged.

"Of course," the mare answered before slowly closing her door.

"That's the twenty-fifth one we've come across," Vaati griped. "All of them are exactly the same; don't remember anything, and act like a bunch of mindless automatons! Perhaps King Sombra wiped their memories too…"

The thought didn't sit well with Twilight. If that was the case, would their search be in vain?

XXXXXX

"Hey you!" Nigellas said to a pair of Crystal Ponies. "This empire of yours has some kind of magical protection! Know anything about it?"

"I wish we could help you," one of them dully replied as they walked off.

As Nigellas watched the apathetic citizens roam aimlessly about, Maulgrim came up to him, having had no luck himself. "What in the bloody Dark World's wrong with these people?!" Nigellas complained. "They don't remember anything about their own homes! Any luck on your end?"

Maulgrim shook his head. "Same as the others," he answered.

"I'm starting to think this may be a lost cause," Nigellas surmised.

XXXXXX

Eventually, everyone met back up beneath the Crystal Palace. "I got nothin' so far," Rainbow informed.

"Me either," Rarity added.

"Our search was a bust too," Nigellas agreed.

Fluttershy walked up to Twilight…only to reveal she was in fact Pinkie in a Fluttershy suit. "My cover has been blown!" she hissed in Twilight's ear. "I repeat; my cover has been blown!"

"Uh…okay?" Twilight responded awkwardly.

"Sorry, Twilight," Applejack apologized. "It seems like these Crystal Ponies have some kinda collective amnesia or somethin'. Only thing I was able to get from 'em was somethin' about a library."

Twilight suddenly grinned widely. "A library?! Well why didn't you say so?!"

"Uh…Ah thought Ah just did."

XXXXXX

The whole group soon arrived at the Crystal Library, basking in the huge collection of books before them. "I just…I don't even know what to…there are no words!" Twilight stammered in awe.

"Ahem…can I help you?"

Everyone turned to see an elderly Crystal Pony with huge glasses staring at them. "Yes!" Twilight replied enthusiastically. "We're looking for a book!"

"We have plenty of those."

"Way to be specific, Twilight," Vaati jibed before addressing the librarian. "We're looking for the history section."

The librarian rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "History, history… Ah, yes!"

The whole group looked at her expectantly, but the elderly mare said nothing. "…Are you going to tell us where it is or not?" Vaati inquired impatiently.

"I…I…don't…remember," the librarian slowly replied. "I'm not sure I actually work here."

A collective groan rose up amongst the group.

"Is this crone really freaking serious right now?!" Nigellas griped.

"How can you not remember whether or not you work here?!" Vaati snapped, losing his patience.

"I-I don't know!" the mare whimpered. "I'm sorry!"

Vaati sighed in exasperation and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, everyone. It looks like we'll have to find the History section on our own. Split up and search, tell me if you find anything. Now hop to it, all of you!"

XXXXXX

At least an hour passed, upon which the ponies, Hylian, Darknut, and Wizzrobe made a right mess of the library during their fruitless search for anything related to history. As she looked up from another false lead, Applejack asked aloud, "Anybody else startin' to think this might be a lost cause?"

Nigellas stood on top of a ladder, picking a book from the top shelf. "Nope," he grunted to himself, tossing it carelessly over his shoulder.

He failed to notice said book hit the back of Maulgrim's head down below, causing the Darknut to grunt in surprise and turn around, just in time for a second book rejected by the Wizzrobe to smack him right in the nose. Snarling in offense, Maulgrim swiped another book from the shelf and chucked it at Nigellas's head.

The effect was immediate.

"AH GODSDAMNIT TO THE BOWELS OF—KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

Nigellas, dazed by the heavy projectile, lost his balance on the ladder and fell. Unfortunately, he took the entire bookshelf with him, an enormous crash echoing through the halls of the spacious library as it fell on top of the hapless Wizzrobe, crushing him beneath splintered wood and scattered books.

"Perhaps I overdid it," Maulgrim muttered in bewilderment.

Everyone was at the scene of the accident immediately. "OH MY CELESTIA, WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!" Twilight screeched, horrified by the mess.

"…A catastrophe of a certain nature," Maulgrim half-mumbled.

"Why do I get the feeling you're responsible for this, Captain?" Vaati spoke, staring at the nervously-sweating Darknut with a critical eye.

Everyone watched as Nigellas slowly drug himself out of the wreckage, groaning in agony. "Oww…why in the Dark World did you…"

Still dazed, Nigellas's face fell on a book, ironically the one responsible for his pain. After a moment, he lifted his head and read the title. "…Oh look, I found something," he muttered before falling unconscious.

Vaati stirred in mild excitement before heading over and eschewing the book from beneath the Wizzrobe's limp noggin so he could read the title. "History of the Crystal Empire," Vaati read, everyone grinning with excitement. "Well, it seems that, despite you two's faithful tribute to The Hero and the Pottery Shop, you proved to be a help in the end."

"Let's hope it has the answers we need," Twilight mused aloud as Vaati opened the weathered recording of the Empire's history.

XXXXXX

Crystal Palace, two hours later

As Cadance sat wearily upon the throne, her husband at her side and wearing a bandage over his wound, Vaati and Twilight strode in, a book tucked under the Wind Sorcerer's arm. "Good news, my hapless compatriots," Vaati greeted loudly. "We've finally found some worthwhile information about this confounded place and how it protected itself in the olden days."

Cadance barely even acknowledged their presence, but Shining Armor managed to smile. "Finally! What did you guys find?"

"A Crystal Fair!" Twilight replied.

"A what?" Shining asked with a confused blink.

"It's an old tradition amongst the Crystal Ponies," Vaati explained. "It was established by the Empire's first queen, and has been repeated once each year as a way to…gyuh, it still sickens me slightly to say this…"

Vaati opened the book and quoted a passage from it. "…renew the spirit of love and unity in the Empire so they could protect it from harm."

"All the answers we need are right here in this book!" Twilight exclaimed excitedly. "My friends and I could put the Fair together and rekindle the Empire's magic!"

"Normally I would make it clear how stupid I find the whole thing," Vaati added, "but this Fair might be the only thing that can clear up the citizens' collective amnesia, which I'm almost certain by now is King Sombra's doing."

"Sounds pretty promising!" Shining answered with a smile, which faded as he noticed how exhausted his beloved wife looked as she continued to keep her shield spell active.

Seeing this as well, Twilight said, "We'll get started right away!"

"Hold on a moment, Twilight," Vaati interrupted, stopping her. "One thing bothers me about this."

"What is it?" Twilight asked.

"This Fair is supposed to generate the magic necessary to keep Sombra out of the Empire, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then answer me this; if this Fair was practiced every year before he came to power, how was he still able to get inside in the first place?"

Nobody had an answer for Vaati's question. Indeed, the very thought of what the answer could be served only to heighten everyone's anxiety. As they left, neither of them noticed Shining suddenly clutch his chest and take a sharp breath as pain wracked his body.

XXXXXX

As Vaati followed Twilight into the room where the others waited, he sighed in resignation as he heard the dreaded song cue. "Here we go again."

Maulgrim and Nigellas looked equally confused. "Just stay quiet and out of the way until they get it out of their system," Vaati recommended.

Twilight set the book on the table and opened it as she sang:

"Princess Cadance needs our help,

Her magic will not last forever!

I think that we can do it,

But we have to work together!"

"What am I seeing," Nigellas mumbled flatly.

"We have to get this right,

Yes we have to make them see,

We can save the Crystal Ponies

With their history!"

As Rainbow put on a suit of armor, she sang;

"It says that they like jousting!"

This news caused Maulgrim to finger through the book's pages with sudden interest.

"They flew a flag of many hues!" Rarity joined in.

"Make sweets with crystal berries!" Applejack sang as she picked them alongside Pinkie.

"I'd refrain from eating that if I were you," Nigellas flatly suggested.

"They had a petting zoo with tiny ewes!" Fluttershy added.

"Oh we have to get this right,

Yes we have to make them see,

We can save the Crystal Ponies

With their history!" Twilight's friends all sang.

"There was a crystal flugelhorn

That everypony liked to play!" Pinkie sang as she blew into said device, making everyone within the near vicinity cringe.

"And the Crystal Kingdom Anthem,

Can you learn it in a day?" Twilight sang.

As they all set up the fair, Vaati's jaw dropped as he saw Maulgrim and Nigellas finally lose their nerve and succumb to the catchy tune, singing alongside the others.

"Oh we have to get this right,

Yes we have to make them see,

We can save the Crystal Ponies

With their hiiiistooooryyyyy!"

As the music died out, Vaati marveled as he finally comprehended the situation at hand, looking at all their hard work. "That…took a lot less time than I thought it would," the baffled sorcerer mumbled.

"I'll never underestimate the power of random song cues ever again," Nigellas added with a whistle. "I say we did a grand job, though!"

"Thanks, guys!" Twilight said. "I couldn't have done it without you all! Now to make one final check that everything's set up, and then the festivities can begin!"

"What's this thing for?" Applejack asked, indicating a crystal sculpture of a heart on a pedestal.

"The last page mentioned something about a Crystal Heart as the centerpiece of the Fair," Twilight answered. "So I used my magic to cut one out of a crystal block!"

"Looks nice, Twi!" Applejack congratulated. "Ah think we're ready to get this Fair up 'n runnin'!"

XXXXXX

A few minutes later

Pinkie Pie made an ungodly cacophony of noise as she blew into the flugelhorn to announce the arrival of Cadance and Shining Armor as they stepped onto the palace balcony overlooking the city. Vaati, Nigellas, and Maulgrim, serving as impromptu guards, stood at their sides. Twilight walked ahead of them and cleared her voice. "Hear ye, hear-!"

Twilight was abruptly interrupted by another tormenting blast of Pinkie's horn, that is, until Maulgrim seized it from her and chucked it off the balcony without a word. Noticing everyone staring at him, the Darknut stood at attention. "Please, do continue."

Twilight rolled her eyes before issuing her announcement to the city. "Hear ye, hear ye!" she declared. "Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor cordially invite you to attend the Crystal Fair!"

At this, Crystal Ponies slowly began to emerge from their homes, their curiosity piquing as something dormant stirred within them, forgotten memories suppressed by the lingering will of a relentless tyrant. Vaati noted with curiosity as some of the ponies abruptly changed into a more elegant, crystalline form that shined dazzlingly in the sunlight.

"Twilight, I think this may actually work now," he admitted.

XXXXXX

Outside the boundaries of the Empire's shield, a dark force seethed, observing his target with growing anger. Surrounded by a protective cloud of darkness, King Sombra snarled. "They're putting together that accursed Fair," he growled, barely hearing the snarls of Majora's Hounds beside him over the forever-howling winds. "Impossible! They can't have found the Crystal Heart already, could they? None of my spells have been triggered so far…What are they doing?! Bah, no matter! I have no intention of letting this go any further!"

The poisonous glow from his eyes intensified as dark magic flared from his horn, slowly condensing into a swirling mass of pure annihilation.

XXXXXX

As the Fair went underway, Rainbow's excessive mingling amongst the crowd caused her to pick up tidbits of information as the Crystal Ponies' memories began to return. One piece in particular caused her to panic and hide the Crystal Heart under the flag Rarity had made for the Fair, accidentally draping it over Twilight and Vaati as they continued to read from the book.

"Hey, what gives?" Vaati snapped, brushing the cloth off his head and standing up.

"Guys, I think we got a problem!" Rainbow declared.

After explaining the situation, they immediately went to Shining and Cadance to inform them of the abrupt news. "I didn't know it was an actual relic!" Twilight stammered, frantically flipping through the book's pages. "The book didn't mention anything about the Crystal Ponies powering the Heart!"

Once Twilight reached the last page, everyone sans Vaati gasped. "And here's why," the sorcerer declared. "That bastard of a king tore out the page explaining it! Good Goddesses, he's more thorough than even Ganon ever was!"

"I'm so so sorry, Cadance!" Twilight apologized profusely.

"I-it's alright, Twilight," Cadance stuttered.

Suddenly Cadance cried out as she felt an incredibly powerful force strike her shield. In her weakened state, there was nothing she could do. With a cry of agony, she fell into her husband's arms as her horn fizzled out. Everyone's eyes widened. "Twily," Shining whispered.

"Oh Goddesses, no…" Vaati breathed in dread.

All around the city, the shield collapsed, the clear blue sky giving way to the frigid winds of the icy north. A vast black cloud encircled the city, slowly advancing on the defenseless kingdom. Vaati leaned over the balcony edge and peered into the shadows with his keen eyes.

There he was, grinning cruelly at his impending triumph.

King Sombra laughed as he saw his waiting Empire clear as day. As he stepped forth from the dark mist, the Hounds emerged alongside, their yellow eyes glowing like eldritch flame. Sombra glanced at them before he spoke. "The King of Nightmares wants the Wind Mage alive. Bring him to me in one piece. As for the Equestrian interlopers…bring me their heads on a stake!"

To Be Continued