> Keeper of the Crystal Heart
>  by Cerulean Voice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Harmony's Chosen Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Everfree trembled.

It had lain dormant for almost two decades, the once-vibrant wood twisted by otherworldly and malevolent forces. Everypony's once-upon-a-time home had grown wild, now an exclusive habitat to a myriad of abominable hybrids. A natural magic suppressant lay heavy in the air, the bane of any unicorn who dared to cross its threshold into the deadly thickets.

One particular section of the wood housed a massive boulder. How or why it was placed there, nopony ever knew. Yet in a cavern beneath this anomaly of the wood, a pool of liquid stirred. With a loud splash, a large white figure was ejected from its infinite depths. Coming to rest against one of the cavern walls, the figure awoke. Sluggish, the pony took a moment to arise as it gathered its wits about it.

"Urghhh. What's happening?" Celestia rubbed her throbbing head with an equally sore hoof.

She opened her eyes and awoke in a place that was all too familiar: a cavern, dimly lit by the magic of her own horn, ethereal light passing over the gleaming walls. It took a moment longer to acknowledge that she was soaking wet. Wiping some excess water from her face, Celestia looked around for the reason.

Her heart skipped a beat.

No. No, this cannot be. What happened to me? What happened to—

"Luna! Luna, where are you?" Celestia's enhanced voice sent tremors through the cavern walls as the sides of the mirror pool lapped over the edge. "Sister?"

Her eyes wide and her breathing shallow, Celestia ran around the cave, peering through cracks in the walls, searching every alcove. Her breathing grew more shallow and frantic. Sweat mixed with the water still dripping from her coat. Her pink mane hung flat down one side of her face, dragging on the ground.

Celestia cared not for such things.

"Where are you, Luna?"

There was only one more place to look. As Celestia stared, her heart stopped for the second time. Luna was right there, in her reflection—no, she was her reflection!—desperately banging on the other side of the water's surface. Fear was etched on Luna's face as her horn lit ineffectively. Her hooves clashed against an unseen barrier, as if a thick sheet of ice prevented her from breaching the water's surface. Every beat of her hooves produced a small ripple on Celestia's end, yet Luna's own hooves were denied passage.

Celestia!

Celestia!

Help me, sister!

Celestia lit her own horn and fired a beam of solar energy into the pond. She ducked as the beam reflected off the surface, bouncing off the walls before exploding in a blinding ball. While she stared back into her desperate sister's eyes, a memory from her past life came to mind. Wasting no more time, Celestia dived into the pool... and emerged exactly where she had leapt from, headfirst.

Luna coughed and spluttered next to Celestia. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her mane and coat were even more bedraggled than her sister's; half of each were missing and seemed paler than before. But she was alive.

My sister lives. Celestia ceased caring about anything else, gripping Luna in what would normally be a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so glad you're all right, Luna! I was so afraid..."

"Fear not, Celestia. I knew you would save me."

After a few moments where their feelings could truly flow through each other, the alicorns broke apart. They stared at each other for a while. Before long, Luna spoke again. "Celestia... you were willing to break that mirror to free me. Do you realise the implications of what that means? It's not that I'm not grateful for you saving my life, but considering what else you've set free before, that could have been excessively dangerous!"

Celestia simply sighed in response. "I would rather face all of the potential evils in this world at your side than wander the world in perfect peace without you, Luna. Call me selfish, but I love you too much. I would never leave you behind."

As the sisters began to calm themselves, other thoughts invaded Celestia's mind. Why are we here? What happened? And why am I in so much pain?

“My ankles… and my chest… they burn. Why do they burn?”

“Mine too, Celestia. Not my chest, though, it’s my head… What happened to us? I’m having trouble… urgh… remembering anything.” Luna held her head in her hooves, her damp cobalt mane swinging in front of her face.

You will come to know all shortly, my dears.

The “voice” elicited a jump from both sisters, who moved to embrace each other. "Who are you?" Celestia cried. "What do you mean, 'you will come to know'?"

"Reveal yourself, disembodied one!" Luna added. "Face us when you address us!"

I fear I cannot do that, my daughters.

Luna and Celestia blinked. "Daughters?" they gasped simultaneously.

Celestia recovered first. "So are you our mother, for you to lay that title on us?"

Not so much your mother, although you do technically owe your existence to me.

A divine memory implanted itself in Celestia's mind, just as she witnessed a glazed expression cover her sister's face. She figured she'd look no different in Luna's eyes. An image swam before her: a regal-looking alicorn, taller than her, with a pure white coat and a short red mane and tail. Her striking blue eyes bore into Celestia's mind relentlessly. Recognition bored into the sisters’ memories.

Lady Dimiourgia…

“You are the one… no, how can we even recognise you, or call you Mother? We have never seen you before!” Luna made to stand, then faltered. “Unless we somehow… forgot about you?”

I cannot linger here for much longer. I belong in my own realm. Dimiourgia’s “voice” sounded inside the sisters’ heads. I have only time to let you know a brief history of the past that you have slumbered through. If you would have your memories restored, follow my guiding light. Hurry! Time expires as we speak.

The voice and the image faded, to be replaced by a rainbow-hued sphere of shining light. The cavern filled with its intensity, compelling Celestia and Luna to shield their eyes with a leg each. After a few seconds, Celestia lowered her leg to see the sphere ascending the cavern pathway, its glow rapidly diminishing.

“Wait!” She dropped her leg and stood up, galloping up the pathway.

“Celestia, slow down!” Luna’s voice carried through the cavern. Celestia turned and halted briefly.

“Come on, Luna! We have to move or we’ll miss this opportunity! Do you want to remember what happened?”

“I do, just let me catch up. We should go together.” Luna joined Celestia’s side, her wings folding up as she landed next to the larger mare.

Celestia nodded. “Onward!” She resumed her gallop up the path, now with Luna in tow.



*  *  *  *  *


The forest was pitch black. Gnarled, blackened tree roots threatened to trip them up and twisted vines attempted to strangle them as the sisters pursued the glimmering sphere through the dark wood. Celestia and Luna ran unceasingly, ignoring the various pinpricks of light that watched their flight along the light’s path. A stray star spider descended from above and almost landed on Luna’s mane, inviting a shot of blue light to its face that send it spiraling through the air.

The rainbow sphere took a sharp descent ahead, briefly falling from sight. Celestia galloped further, igniting her own light and revealing the winding path ahead of them. She reached the edge of a ravine and slid to a stop, spreading her wings to avoid falling into the deep darkness. Below, she could see the light descending further.

“Hurry, Luna!” She pawed the ground and turned her head between her sister and the light rapidly, watching one draw near and the other escape.

“Here I am!” Luna joined her sister’s side, staring down into the abyss. Together they spread their wings and dived. They watched as the light took a sharp turn and vanished into the underside of the opposite cliff.

“There must be a cave. Quickly!”

Sinking further into the dark depths, they beat their mighty wings and shot toward the residual glow, their own horns alight. The cavern entrance arched high above them as they landed and began to walk forward. A shimmering blue glow emanated from within the lengthy hall. Large purple crystals adorned the ceiling. Tender pink blossoms lined the walls, protruding from green vines every so often.

The light grew brighter as they fled down the passageway. While they ran, a sense of power filled Celestia. It stirred within her, opening her magic pool eagerly. She saw the light bend around an upcoming corner and planted her hooves, Luna catching up a second later. They looked at each other and shared a silent nod.

When they rounded the corner, they also shared a gasp.

Radiating before them, an enormous tree filled their vision. It stood high as the immense cavern it occupied, gleaming its brilliance around the area. Its roots stretched the length of the ground, pushing up the rocks they lay embedded in. Five crystals of different hue shone from its larger branches, one on each. Two engravings were etched onto the tree below its star-shaped centre, just above the roots. One depicted an eight-pronged sun, while the other showed a crescent moon accompanied by a single star.

Come, my daughters. Step up to the Tree of Harmony and into the light, where all shall be revealed.

With a side look at Luna, Celestia took a step forward and touched her horn to the light. She felt its inviting warmth fill her being, felt—though did not see—its own aura surrounding her.

Celestia’s eyes flew wide. They lit with the same glow they had once before, when she had fought a terrible foe. In that burst of light and power, the past engraved itself into her head, a relentless stream of memories that were not hers:

The wood running wild, unchecked, corrupted.
A family fleeing the wood to escape from the vile creatures invading it, their bounds released.
A colossal argument.
The tribes divided.
Families growing and prospering.
A harsh, unrelenting winter.
Three ponies of different races, united in friendship.
The winter ending.

The last of the land's memories flowed into her, the light leaving her body. Celestia panted heavily, sweat forming once again despite the chilled night air. She turned to Luna.

“Sister, you need to see what I have seen.” It was not a suggestion but a statement of fact.

Luna nodded and slowly approached the light. Her own eyes filled with white and she flew into the air, the same memories forcing their way into her head, becoming her past.

When the mental flurry had passed, Luna fell to her knees. "Twenty years... we've been missing from the world for twenty years, Celestia. I don't even..."

Unable to contain her emotions, Luna wept. She sat on her haunches and wept, just like a little filly. Celestia delicately stepped forward and draped a white wing over her shoulder.

So now you know the truth, my dears. Dimiourgia's voice quietened, barely audible over the sound of Luna's shallow gasps. Twenty years ago, you fought a terrible foe together. The experience obliterated your bodies, though you were too valuable to go to waste completely. So I preserved your consciousnesses in the mirror pool and waited for peace to reign again. In that time, your family almost destroyed themselves in civil war. Yet hope was recently rekindled when the actions of three brave ponies activated… these.

The rainbow light dissipated for a split second, throwing the cavern into total darkness. All that could be heard was Luna’s gentle sobbing.

A low hum reverberated around the room as the five gems each absorbed a piece of the sphere and began to shine with their own lights. Together, the five descended from the Tree’s branches. The red, orange and violet gems glowed a brilliant white and attached themselves to Celestia’s right and left front legs, then her chest, respectively. When the glow faded, Celestia stared at her new jewellery. The dull burning in her ankles and heart had faded, replaced by two golden anklets and an amulet. Each was inset with their stone.

The blue and pink gems mimicked their brethren, also glowing white and fixing themselves to Luna’s left and right forelegs. Two anklets adorned her, physically identical to Celestia’s in every way but for the colours of their gems.

Together, the four anklets and pendant fired a converging beam of light into the centre of the Tree’s trunk. The sisters gaped in awe as a final, star-shaped magenta gem emerged from the gap that had opened up. It, too, glowed a brilliant white and affixed itself above Luna’s horn. When the light had faded, a golden tiara sat upon her head, the star sitting proudly on top.

“What… are these?” Luna breathed, staring at Celestia’s chest.

“I… am not sure, Luna.” Celestia looked her sister up and down, touching the pendant at her own chest.

These Elements contain the spirit and the essence of all that is good in this world, Dimiourgia informed them. They will grant you their power, allowing you both to keep balance in the world, so such catastrophes like the extended winter and the Everfree’s downfall will never repeat.

The “voice” faded away as a figure materialised into form before them.

Lady Dimiourgia smiled and bowed her horned head toward the sisters. It is time for me to depart this plane once more. I wish you both well in your endeavours. Now, go forth and fulfill your destinies. I know you will do us all proud… my champions of Harmony. I love you, my daughters. With a final smile and a knowing wink, Dimiourgia vanished.

The sisters shared an embrace in the dim light of the crystalline tree. Time seemed to stand still and frozen while they sat with their wings around each other. At last they broke apart, Celestia rising to her hooves.

“Sister, let us locate our family.”


> Hurricanes, Holidays And Horticulture
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Are you for real?"

Cirrus' cornflower face lit up like the moon in the night sky. He'd always wished for this, since hearing the stories. Such a beautiful place to be described: every pegasi who'd ever been to Neighagra Falls claimed it was a second paradise in Equestria. The cool, crisp air. The cascading flow of the world's largest falls, producing the most gorgeous rainbows. The exotic wildlife who called such a place home. He'd always dreamed of seeing that place...

Cumulus nodded, suppressing a grin of his own. He’d wanted to go since his parents had come home from an excursion with the first pegasus brigade long ago. While the place was indeed gorgeous enough for a relaxing holiday, the dense amount of mist and clouds generated rendered it not ideal for living in close proximity to. He could feel his own forced, flat expression beginning to crack at the thought.

"Awww yeah! Finally!"

Cirrus celebrated with a loop-the-loop in the air, flying through the cloud he was supposed to be bucking and consequently drenching himself. "I can't believe it! We're really going to Neighagra Falls!" He laughed as he shook himself free of most of the offending substance. "When do we leave, Cumulus? Are we going right now? Are we?"

"Whoa, hold your horses there, kiddo. We're not leaving until tomorrow. We have to keep the weather all right for tonight before we can set out tomorrow morning. We've had far too little rain lately and the Earth ponies are complaining again about the lack of water for their crops." Cumulus frowned. "Problem is, they're right. We're running out of water in our cloud reservoirs to keep supplying it. That's why we're going—we're gonna push the reservoir across the sky and harvest the water from the pool that the falls cascade into."

The young colt blinked at his brother. "How are we gonna do that? It'd take days of everypony working together to fill that reservoir! You playing more pranks on me, Cume?"

Cirrus narrowed his eyes at his brother, not without good reason. The previous day, Cumulus had tricked Cirrus into bucking a thundercloud hidden inside a regular cloud. Although pegasus down naturally resisted lightning, he had still received quite a jolt for his effort. Cumulus just laughed at this and gave his brother a sly wink.

"We're not the only ones going, Cirrus. Nearly every pegasus is going to help out. The trip will take a couple of days, and only a fraction of our number will be staying behind, to ensure that what few clouds do form in the sky rain in the most efficient places."

Once, perhaps, he could have blamed the unicorns for over-compensating after the winter and trying to make the days warmer. Cumulus refused to take that train of thought again, though. He was glad the pegasi were in harmony with their other relatives again—after all, everypony needed food and water to survive. No, they all truly had themselves to blame. The windigoes would never have come without incitement.

Cumulus would have sighed there at the thought, but he kept it inside. Cirrus, on the other hoof, continued to zip around erratically at the prospect of seeing his foalhood dream destination. Finally, the famous Neighagra Falls! Cirrus cared not about the work involved when they got there—seeing it at all was going to be just perfect!




*  *  *  *  *



"Really, Clover? A field trip?"

Little Aura could hardly contain her own excitement. She loved getting outside away from the castle. Her elder sister Platinum may have enjoyed spending all day inside with her servants at her beck and call, but Aura was a curious little filly. It was all Clover could do at times to keep Aura's focus upon her during their lessons. Often, Clover would have scrawled her magical words onto one of her study's walls, only to turn and find Aura staring out the window at the birds. A smile to herself and a clearing of the throat would jerk Aura back sheepishly every time.

"Yes, Aura. You've been progressing well with your studies. Far better than I thought you could have at your age, certainly. So I thought you might like to accompany me on an excursion to Neighagra Falls. There's a species of plant life there that might hold secrets of healing magic, if we can produce the potions. I've been sent there to analyse the plant and record my findings. So, I ran it by King Levitatus that you've been an extra smart and well-behaved little filly lately—" Clover grabbed Aura and ruffled her mane up "—and he agreed to let you accompany me."

"Oh, Clover! You're the best teacher ever in the history of teachers! Yaaay!" Aura galloped around the study. "When are we leaving? What should I pack? Should I bring any books? How about my mmmmmmppph—"

Aura found her mouth immobile as Clover sealed it briefly with her magic. Not something she enjoyed, but sometimes Aura could just not be silenced. 

Releasing her after a moment, Clover resumed explaining. "Just pack lightly, bring a toy or something if you like, but as far as food or books are concerned, the king has our trip covered. We'll have everything we need. It'll be a half-day's chariot ride away, but you'll finally get to see the true countryside and smell the fresh air other than in the castle gardens. Who knows? We may even get to go for a swim in the falls, or have a little picnic in the mist!"

Clover gave Aura's mane another affectionate ruffle. My little niece is growing in leaps and bounds. I'd honestly rather she was the first-born over her spoiled sister.

Aura could hardly believe her good fortune. Her father never let her beyond the castle walls. The gardens sure were nice, and the birds and other critters were definitely friendly, but she never felt close to true freedom. She wanted to see the world, not simply read about it. Especially that Everfree forest. It sounded so dark, evil... exciting. She ought not to have known about it, but Clover had accidentally let it slip in a separation spell lesson. Realising that Aura wouldn't drop the subject, Clover had divulged simply that her father had nearly been killed there, and the more distance kept between it and themselves, the better.

Aura wasn't a silly filly. She knew that if something was declared dangerous, she was to stay away from it. Nevertheless, the forest filled her with curiosity. Still, an outing was an outing. Aura was perfectly happy to go anywhere with Clover. It would do both of them good. Clover was a great teacher, but she could become even as kooky as Chancellor Puddinghead if she remained cooped up for too long. Clover may not have been the most social pony in the kingdom, but even she had a select few friends outside of the castle.

"Could I help you look at the plants, Clover? Hey! I just realised, clover's a plant too! Isn't that funny? You're a plant, Clover!" As Aura rolled on the floor cackling at her own silly joke, Clover rolled her eyes but joined in with the filly.

"Be careful, young Aura, or I might just grow all over you!" Clover mock-threatened her student. How ironic that you'd be the one growing on me.




*  *  *  *  *



"Are you serious, Mulberry? You want me to go on a holiday, when there's still a whole lotta farming to do? No can do—we need everypony helping if we're gonna outlast the next winter."

Valencia stood resolute, arguing with her dark-coated messenger. Why would she suggest a holiday? Valencia loved her work, she considered it no chore at all. "You know I'm much more useful here tending the saplings than off gallivanting across the country."

Mulberry sighed. She'd anticipated this reaction from Valencia. The mare was far too stubborn for her own good. She could say what she liked, farming the land was hard work and Valencia was one of the—if not the hardest—workers in the whole family. The mare would always be the first to rise with the sun and the last to leave her saplings when the moon rose. Mulberry could tell that Valencia was lacking on sleep, day by day falling a little further behind in debt to the necessary body function. If only she'd see reason...

"Look, V, you just can't keep pushing yourself like you are. I can see you're beginning to slow down. You may not recognise the signs, but I can see it yards away. You're struggling a little more every day carrying the water over from the stream. Sometimes you pile a bit too much dirt around the saplings and they begin to suffocate. Other times you simply water them too darn much. You need to take a breather, cousin."

"I don't need a breather, what I need is to get back to work."

"It's been decided already. By the family. You're taking a break and that's final."

Valencia paused. The whole family was making her take a break? Didn't they understand the importance of what she was trying to do? Darn it, she thought. There was no way she'd be allowed to keep working while everypony knew she wasn't supposed to be. Her shoulders slumped as she sighed.

"What's my destination?"

Mulberry relaxed. Finally. "Okay, then. As you know, we're beginning to run low on water supplies. The pegasi have come up with a plan to harvest a few seasons worth of water from a new source. You're going to follow them and witness how they do it. There's not a whole lot we can do with a water shortage anyway. And you're going to relax and enjoy yourself when you get there, or so help me, I won't let you work these fields again. You got that?"

Valencia opened her mouth to object again, but then a different thought made itself known. It sure would be nice to see a few of my other cousins again.

"All right, Mulberry. You win. I'll go and try to enjoy myself doing nothing. But if I find any stray plants along my path that we haven't come across yet, you can bet I'll be bringing a lot more seeds back. Now, you didn't answer my question before. Where am I going, exactly?"

The dark blue mare gave her sister a light smile with her response. "Neighagra Falls."




*  *  *  *  *



Night passed at a snail's pace as Cirrus tossed and turned in his plush, cloudy bed. He was just so darn excited! Periodically glancing at the moon gained him nothing, for it seemed to be frozen in place, taunting him. It was a cool night, a mostly comfortable one with only the lightest of breezes, but the conditions held no sway over his mind or his body's ability to fall asleep. Usually, anyway. I can't wait to fly with the birds; to dive off the top of the falls; to sample the different fruits in the nearby bushland. Ugh, why does night have to move so slow? The wait was driving him bonkers. Hurry up already, sun!

Just as he'd finally given up willing the moon across the face of the sky, Cirrus felt a hoof at his foreleg.

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Cirrus' eyes shot open from their melancholy droop and turned to face the culprit. There was Cumulus, periwinkle coat and silver mane gleaming in the moonlight.

"Let's go, Cirrus. We've decided to fly now instead of at the sunrise, while it's still cool. I hope you got plenty of sleep." Cumulus winked at his brother, whose full attention he now commanded.

"We're leaving now? Really? Yes! Brohoof!" Cirrus held up a hoof to Cumulus, who rewarded the gesture with a hard knock from his own. "I'm all ready to go right now!"

As he zipped away, Cumulus caught Cirrus' tail in his teeth, jerking him to a halt. Cirrus fell down a little before regaining his composure. "Hey! What was that for?" He glared at his brother.

"Hold up, Cirrus, you don't even know why I woke you up this early. I would have let you keep sleeping, but Hurricane said we need every pegasus with weather experience—veteran or rookie—to aid with pushing the reservoir. Clouds may be almost weightless for the most part, but the reservoir is huge, in case you forgot. And it's only going to be far heavier on the return trip when it's full. We'll be rotating the task around. Half of us will push the reservoir to the falls, the other half will circle around as we go and add any stray clouds we come across to it. That's where you come in. We're on cloud duty, bro. Now come on, we've gotta get a move on."




*  *  *  *  *


By the time the sunrise had blanketed the land in a gentle, golden glow, a sleep-deprived Cirrus was regretting the journey. The cloud harvesting had started off fun, as he zoomed around with other pegasi, collecting every small puff he could lay hooves on. But it hadn't been long before the novelty wore off. After collecting his hundredth-or-so cloud, his task began to feel like a mundane chore. It had also been a while since he'd flown for so long without resting. His wings developed a small ache in his mantle.

It was a mercy when Hurricane made his announcement. "Break time, everypony! Find a cloud to rest on and catch yourselves up. We'll have a small recess before we switch tasks." Yet it had hardly felt like a break at all to Cirrus before Hurricane declared the recess over. As he lined up against the cloud next to Cumulus and prepared to push, he groaned internally.

This is not as fun as I thought it would be. Neighagra Falls had better be worth it...


> Of Winds And Waterfalls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Valencia couldn't remember the last time she'd gone for a quality gallop. Nearly every day since before the end of the winter, the Earth ponies had been very conservative of their energy, mostly because everypony's future survival depended on them restarting their harvest. All of their still-lacking resources had been devoted to reproducing the food; Valencia especially had given her all recently in the efforts.

Maybe this was a good idea after all. I haven't had such a liberating jog in years.

As she ran north, she passed other, smaller Earth pony tribes. She didn't stop in to see any of them, though she was pleased to note that progress was being made with the other families' crops as well. The fields were full of fresh grain stalks, wheat and lucerne. It was heartening to see the others appearing to do as well as her own family. Then again, grains are so much easier to produce in bulk than fruit trees. Not taking anything away from my cousins of course, you can do so much with them.

Valencia pondered just how she'd come to be where she was at this point in time. She knew she was lucky to have survived the past winter, even with her family properly rationing out her meals. She was aware that even though they were short of food themselves, the unicorns and pegasi must have had it so much worse. She couldn't have imagined what it must be like to have an unfilled belly day after day. I'd rather be an Earth pony with food in her belly than a starving flier or cannibalistic mage.

She gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of the rumours she'd heard. Everypony was lucky that they'd been designed to eat grass, since it had poked itself out of the snow almost immediately after it all melted away. Grass was all well and good to survive on, but for extra nutrition—as well as variety—fruits and grains were essential.

Darn it, all this just because we were too blind to love each other from the beginning. Still, at least we're on the mend.

While she continued to run north, she also noticed the dip in the river levels. One would have thought that all of the snow, after melting, would have added to the water level across Equestria dramatically. Yet it had simply faded away with the windigoes. Everypony had come to the conclusion that the snow must have been an extension of their adversaries themselves, and so vanished with them. Too bad really. We could have seriously used the water.

Valencia looked to the south-west and observed the mountain range in the distance. The unicorns lived there, in their magical perch at the roof of the world. How it managed to remain attached to the side of the mountain was beyond her understanding. Structurally, the city looked like it should have fallen off the side of the range. It had to do with the mentality of their first king, Levitatus. He was the one who originally declared the unicorns to be the dominant race, using the "magic trumps everything" ideal. In constructing his kingdom the way he had, his intention was to show off to the other races the unicorns' supposed superiority.

To gaze upon the city from afar, one had to appreciate the beauty of it, though its proximity made for a horribly impractical shipping route. Earth ponies who made the trek to trade for the unicorns' fabrics and other luxuries did so at great personal expense and risk. It was a treacherous range to ascend at the best of times, not to mention when pulling a cart or a wagon behind oneself. During the winter, trade had ceased completely. No Earth pony was going to brave those slopes in such terrible conditions. Especially with the animosity we were feeling toward them at the time.

She pressed on up the gentle, steadily rockier slopes, singing a heart-warming tune. It was just one of the songs that she and her friends, Pansy and Clover, had sung together to stave off the cold. The day of the end of the winter had been declared Hearth's Warming, for the weather had instantly warmed and everypony's heart filled with happiness. Valencia often wondered why it wasn't simply called Heart's Warming instead.

"The fire of friendship lives in our hearts,
As long as it burns we cannot drift apart.
Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few, 
Laughter and singing will see us through.
We are a circle of pony friends,
A circle of friends we'll be to the very end."

An unexpected shadow drifted over her path. At first, Valencia didn't really pay attention—clouds drifted in front of the sun all the time. Yet when it had grown much darker just a short moment later, she glanced up in wonder. That's strange, it was a bright clear day not a moment ago. What—

Valencia's jaw dropped.

The largest cloud she had ever seen was being shepherded across the sky by no fewer than a hundred pegasi. It was quite the marvelous sight to behold. Well that explains the sudden shadow. But what on Equestria are they gonna do with that? As she watched, she noticed that the majority were pushing the leviathan of a cloud, yet there was a smaller group flitting around them, collecting other small stray clouds and feeding the belly of the beast. As she continued to watch, a small, stray light-blue pegasus colt descended toward the ground, almost crash-landing into a nearby bush.

Valencia paused, her eyebrow raised. After a moment of deliberation, she trotted over to investigate. "Whoa, son, you okay there?"

The colt stood on shaky legs. "Er, yeah, I suppose I am... uh... thanks? Miss..."

"Valencia Orange."

"Oh, thanks, Miss Valencia. I'm Cirrus Spectrum. I was helping out with the cloud-gathering up there, but I'm just so tired..." Cirrus then fell on his rump and panted. "I hardly slept the night before we started moving that thing and we've been going since before sunrise."

Valencia regarded the exhausted youth with a small amount of respect. All day, since before sunup? The kid's tougher than he looks. "Well, are the others just going to leave you alone down here? Have they even noticed?"

"Oh, I noticed all right." The new voice startled Valencia, for it had descended upon her borne on silent wings. A larger, darker blue pegasus revealed himself to her as he regarded the younger one. "Why didn't you just tell me you were tired instead of coming down here? I could have asked them to stop for another breather."

Cirrus shook his head. "I didn't wanna slow down the whole herd just because I'm a little winded. I'll be okay in a bit and then I'll catch up. Don't worry. Oh yeah, Cume, this is Valencia. Valencia, my big brother Cumulus." Cirrus waved a hoof between his brother and the stranger.

Cumulus extended a hoof of his own to Valencia, who shook it. "Cumulus Stormbane, best cloud-bucker in the sky. Nice to meet you."

"Orange. Valencia Orange. Citrus fruit specialist and best farmer on the land. Now would you mind telling me what's up with that there enormous cloud you lot are herding? Looks dangerous—not to mention exhausting, if Cirrus is anything to go by." Indeed, the colt still gasped for much-needed breath.

"Oh, don't worry about him, he'll be fine," Cumulus said, waving a hoof in dismissal of his brother's condition. "We're nearly there now, actually. Anyway, to answer your question: what we're doing is pushing that cloud to Neighagra Falls, so we can fill it with the water it generates. Preliminary reports have suggested that the water level in the mountaintop lake the falls flow from never drops. Must be some kind of strange phenomenon or something. In the same way, the level of the lake the water flows into never rises. It's as if there's some kind of natural pumping system going on that takes the water from the bottom back to the top." Cumulus finished his explanation and went to check on Cirrus.

Valencia spoke up. "That sounds mighty interesting. If we could harness that system somehow, we could irrigate all of Equestria at once, forever! The land would be moist and fertile for all time! Pardon my ignorance, though—how do you plan to get so much water into that cloud? Also, it's large and everything, but once you spread it over Equestria, it'll be used up within days! You've flown an awful long way pushing that thing already. I bet Cirrus ain't the only tired one."

Cumulus nodded as he helped Cirrus up. "I won't lie, we're all feeling the pinch in our wings. But we're almost there now. Come on Cirrus, let's go, bro!"

Cirrus shook his head. "Sorry, Cume. My wings feel ready to fall off now. It's like resting them hasn't done any good at all. Just go on, I promise I'll catch you up."

"I can't leave you behind out here, we don't know what this land is like. There could be predators around."

"I'll be fine, I'll just lie here for a bit."

"Absolutely not, young colt. Now come with me, they're already pulling away from us."

As Cumulus and Cirrus argued, Valencia stepped between them, drawing both of their attention. "Might I suggest helping the young lad out? I happen to be on my way to Neighagra Falls myself. He can ride on my back and we'll walk there. We shouldn't be too far behind you if you want to fly back to your herd."

She offered a hoof to Cirrus, who glanced at his brother. "Would that be all right with you?"

Cumulus examined Valencia with a curious glance and raised his hoof to his chin. Here's this mare I just met, who owes me nothing, yet is prepared to help Cir and I out as if we're family. I guess that lesson really hit home with everypony.

His consideration took but a moment more. "Well, if it's really not any trouble, that would be great actually, Miss Orange."

"Valencia is fine, Cumulus." She turned to Cirrus and beckoned. "Now come on, little pip, up you get. Don't be shy, I ain't gonna buck you off."

Grunting slightly from the effort, Cirrus rose to his hooves and floated cautiously onto Valencia's back, wincing slightly as he felt a twinge in his mantle again. "Now, let's get moving," Valencia continued. "We don't need to get your big brother into trouble for leaving the herd, do we? I know who your commander is and he has a fierce reputation, from what I've gathered."

She turned to Cumulus, who nodded. "You two look out for yourselves," he said. "Promise me you'll keep him safe, Valencia—there's no reason to give our parents any kind of reason to worry... and thanks for doing this. I know you don't have to."

Cumulus gave his brother a final look and ascended into the sky again. The herd was now no more than a minuscule black streak in the distance. "You'd better catch me up soon, bro, or your training will get an early intensity increase!" The ghost of a grin crossed his face before he turned and flew back to the monstrous cloud.

Valencia watched him go for a moment, then spurred herself on. "C'mon, kiddo, let's get moving. The falls aren't coming to us... Cirrus?" She turned around to face the surprisingly light colt slung over her back, and chuckled to herself. He'd fallen asleep, completely tired out from his hard day's work.

Well, so much for a travel buddy.




*  *  *  *  *



From a tranquil grove nearby, two pairs of luminescent blue eyes watched the Earth pony carry the sleepy pegasus along the mountain trail. "Yes, those two will do quite nicely. Mother will be pleased."




*  *  *  *  *



"My great compliments to you, sirs. Your services are well appreciated." Clover thanked the two stallions who'd pulled the chariot with a warm smile and a small pouch of bits. "We can stop here. Aura, come on now, let's go."

Clover stepped down from the chariot as they halted and waited for her protegè to follow. With great gusto, Aura leaped out of the rolling cabinet she'd been confined to for half a day and breathed in the moist, damp air. Raising her head as high as she could, she stared in total awe, her eyes wide.

"Wow..."

Aura had seen pictures in books before, but nothing matched the beauty of Neighagra Falls up close. Every second, many thousands of litres of water gushed down its glistening, smooth slopes. The spray the falls generated fell lightly onto her coat, covering her in a fine mist that refreshed her, yet did not weigh her down. Nearby, the enormous, clear pool that the water flowed into shone with the beginning of the sunset. Growing around the water's edge were various ferny bushes and other small berry bushes; blue, black and raspberries altogether. It was beautiful.

"Aura... Aura?... Aura!"

The filly must have stared for a while, as Clover's voice drifted back to her ears in stages, steadily bringing her focus back. She jumped as the last command snapped her out of her self-induced daydream. "Hey, silly filly," Clover teased, "remember why we're here, yes?" With a sheepish grin and a nod, Aura followed Clover to the edge of the pool. "Now, do you remember how to identify our sage?"

"Woody stems, grayish leaves and blue to purplish flowers," Aura recited in perfect scroll diction.

"Well, I'm glad you've memorised it so thoroughly." Clover chuckled. "Points for that, but I would have been happy with pretty purple flowers on a stemmy thing or something. Then again, I should know by now how bright my young niece is, after all." Clover giggled to herself as Aura began to laugh too.

While the fillies—one real and one with the mental state—laughed, a shadow began to pass over them. At first neither noticed, until it grew rapidly darker. Clover settled herself down upon observing that the sun had appeared to set abnormally fast and glanced skyward.

"Hey, whoa! Aura, look at this! They've arrived."

Aura poked her head up out of her own fit and opened her eyes to examine the new development.

Pegasi. Over a hundred of them filled the air, appearing to shepherd an enormous cloud. Aura and Clover watched as the pegasi positioned it near the falls and all congregated on the ground. A particularly burly-looking stallion zoomed around her tired platoon.

"Well done, everypony. That was no easy task. I still think we could have gotten here about an hour earlier, but for what it's worth, those of you who tired easily hadn't done anything of this magnitude before. Just be aware: the return trip will be harder. Much more difficult. Get your rest for a while and we will get this beauty started! After, we camp here for the night and return to Cloudsdale tomorrow with enough water to keep us plentiful for years! Who's with me?"

A mixed response of cheers and groans floated to Hurricane's ears, who raised his very prominent eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear a single drop of enthusiasm in that weak flow of urine you call a cheer. Now, everypony—who. Is. With. Me!"

The resulting rouse shook the very ground the unicorns stood on.




*  *  *  *  *


Another two pairs of luminescent blue eyes observed Clover and Aura. "Our Queen was right: everything is working according to the plan."




*  *  *  *  *



The sun was truly on its way down when Hurricane once again alerted his camp. Though most were well-rested enough and grateful to have some decent food in their stomachs, there were still a few stragglers. Hurricane commanded them to the higher altitudes while the pegasi with greater strength remained below. Meanwhile, Aura had managed to find a small growth of sage and was busy looking over it, making observations about its smell, taste, frailty and appearance. She gathered some up and returned it to Clover, who had prepared various containers with different mixers in them. Clover added some of the sage to each bottle, observing and recording the results.

A slight breeze ruffled Aura's coat as she watched Clover testing the potions. She paid it no mind and continued to watch Clover. Barely ten seconds later, she found herself hugging Clover with no memory of having jumped forward. It was then they both realised what was happening.

Are they insane? They made a damned tornado! Doing her best to struggle against the sudden, billowing winds and protect Aura from the onslaught, Clover realised just how the pegasi were going to get that water into their gigantic reservoir. Tornado power. I never would have predicted that. Dangerous, yet effective. I just wish they'd known we were here before they started this monster up!

Thwack!

Clover felt her body go limp as a powerful, magically enhanced blow connected with the back of her head. Rapidly losing her vision, the last thing she remembered before blacking out was a tremendous burst from a manufactured geyser of water, and Aura's pleading, terrified face.
> The Weakness Of Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fresh air at last. It feels like forever since I felt the wind on my face.

Celestia raised her head above the darkened canopy of the wood. Alas, it made little difference, for the moon was high in the night sky. She scanned her surroundings and could see nothing vastly different about them. The wood seemed to be endless. What could have caused this?

Many times already, since exiting the cavern of the tree, Celestia and Luna had come close to dangerous creatures baying for their blood. Although it had not taken a significant effort to repel their oppressors, the sisters knew it would still be foalish to let their guards down. Luna appeared to have the greater power of the two, owing no doubt to the new tiara she wore. The Element of Magic, Celestia marveled. Did Mother's weapon choose us based on our values? Our strengths? Or some deeper reason?

She heard a beat of wings. Luna flew up to join her sister, having finished minimising the danger of their immediate surroundings. She hung in mid-air, next to Celestia. The two stared out over the darkened wood.

After a moment, Luna broke the silence. "Celestia, what do we do? Where do we start?" She scanned the forest with her keen night vision.

Luna always was better at seeing in the dark, Celestia remembered.

"All I can see is tainted canopy." The moon glinted down from its cradle in the sky, bathing the sisters in its gentle light.

As Celestia continued scanning the horizon, she noticed the way the moon shone off of her sister. Luna positively radiated in the night, the moon's glow complimenting her mane and coat. The moon would seem to favour her, if I'm not mistaken. It shines from within her, as well as in the night. Luna had always been beautiful in her eyes, but the way the glow emanated from her...

"I do not know, sister. Honestly, I think it would be a good idea to retire for the night. Your vision may be superior in these conditions, yet I find myself unable to make anything out over the canopy. Let us try again in the morning, when—"

It was in that moment when distant flashes of light caught their attention. The horizon was suddenly full of miniature explosions. A faint booming sound reached the sisters' ears a few moments later. Celestia stared at the lights, scrutinising their origin. The flashes appeared to be illuminating a distant mountain range, whereas the direction they came from seemed to originate from the other side of the range. Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, wonder gracing each of their features. Luna smiled.

"What were you saying about retiring for the night?"




*  *  *  *  *



"All right, we're done here. Great job, everypony—we've filled the cloud. Now there's more than enough water to go around for Equestria!"

Hurricane shot his forelegs into the air, much to the exuberance of his centurions.

"Now, everypony rest up—you're gonna need it tomorrow. The return trip will require all of your efforts and no less than all of your dedication. On the plus side, everypony will be pushing this time, so there will be no collecting of any stray clouds."

Hurricane lowered himself to the ground and saluted his troops. A sigh of relief escaped him. We did it. We actually did it.

Cumulus was exhausted, but he didn't care about that. They had accomplished a great feat, but he didn't particularly care about that. Equestria would have enough water again for a while, but he didn't really care about that either. What he did care about was finding his brother. So far, it had slipped anypony else's attention that Cirrus wasn't among their number, but that would not last. The sun had set and the moon had taken its place, yet neither Cirrus or his escort were anywhere in sight.

Cumulus flew around the perimeter of the falls, searching. As his vision attempted to pierce through the gloom, he caught sight of a different pair of ponies. One was a small pink-and-blonde filly, the other a slightly larger purple mare with a green mane. Yet they had no wings. Instead, a stub protruded from each of their heads, the purple mare's much more pronounced. Unicorns? What are they doing here?

Examining the pair from a distance, he glided silently around them. Better leave them be. As he flew off in another direction to continue his search, a beam of magical power shot past his face and impacted a nearby tree, where the wood smoked ever-so-slightly. With a small cry and a jolt of his wings, Cumulus turned back to see the unicorns had gotten to their feet and were standing at attention, facing him. The horn of the purple mare still glowed with residual magic output.

"Oh gosh, I am so sorry! I thought you were a vampire bat or something. Please forgive me!"

The mare extinguished her horn and bowed low, encouraging the filly to do the same. While Cumulus was still shocked that this mare had attacked him without provocation, she had sunk down to her knees and apologised immediately. Relaxing a little, he descended to the ground and slowly approached them.

"Well, er, all right then. I guess that's a fair reason to shoot at something unknown flying nearby. Gotta keep the filly safe, right?"

Cumulus gave them another look-over. The mare seemed to be a little older than him, perhaps half a generation or so. The filly was small, and trying to appear smaller.

"What are your names? I'm Cumulus, a Cloudsdale pegasus from that group a while away over there. We just finished pulling off an extraordinary feat. Oh..." Were they here when we did that? Oh dear, they could have been seriously hurt! Cumulus ceased his introduction and grew quiet.

"Yes, we had a most... buffeting experience. Not to worry, though."

The mare stood taller, her horn's light dissipating. "Cumulus, was it? I suppose I'd better introduce us as well. I'm Clover, sometimes known as Clover the Clever. This—" she placed a hoof on the filly's shoulder "—is my student, Aura. We were out here doing some research on sage and—"

That was as far as she got before Cumulus' eyes grew wide and he interrupted her.

"You're Clover? As in, the Clover? One of the windigo vanquishers? Wow, it's such an honour to meet a member of the group responsible for saving us all. Thank you so much for what you did. I've wanted to meet you and Smart Cookie ever since word of your deeds..."

Cumulus trailed off, remembering what he was supposed to be doing. "Oh, sorry. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm out here searching for my brother. He fell away from our herd a while ago and he said he'd catch up, but I've not seen head or tail of him. You wouldn't happen to have come across him at all, would you? He was traveling with an orange Earth pony mare."

Clover's eyes glinted.

"Yes, we stumbled upon him and another older mare travelling together. He was pretty out of it, but she was just fine. You must be the older brother she mentioned. An Earth pony and a pegasus traveling together on hoof—who'd have ever thought?" She chuckled briefly to herself, then straightened and pointed behind her. "They're over yonder, sleeping in that clearing behind us. I'd probably advise not waking the mare—she seemed pretty exhausted when she got here—but your brother might be well-rested enough by now?"

Cumulus thanked Clover and headed off in the direction she'd pointed out. As he neared the clearing, he caught sight of two familiar shapes in the gloom of the evening. One was the larger silhouette that could only belong to Valencia, and the other... Cumulus touched down next to his brother and lightly shook him. "Hey, Cirrus, wake up. It's me." He shook Cirrus a little more and the colt's eyes opened. He blinked a couple of times, then a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"Hello, Cume. Yeah, Valencia and I just got here not too long ago. We managed to catch the last bits of the tornado, though. That was really something! Wish I could have been a part of it. But I was just so ti-iired." Cirrus stifled a yawn. "The good news is my wings are better now, so we can go back with the others. How are you?"

"A little tired, but otherwise fine." Cumulus exhaled deeply and sagged his shoulders. "Most of us are thoroughly exhausted, but we have a long sleep ahead of us before tomorrow, so that's something. Hey, don't you want to say goodbye to Valencia or anything? We should probably thank her again for helping you out."

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose I should, huh? Okay, hold on a moment." Cirrus floated back over to where Clover and Aura were settling down to begin their own rest. "Um, sorry to disturb you guys, but would you be able to write out a thank you note for me to leave behind with Valencia? It's just that we have to get going back to our camp now." Clover nodded and levitated a scroll of parchment and a quill out of her saddlebag. With Cirrus dictating, she scrawled a short note.



Dear Valencia,
Sorry to leave you alone like this but my brother found me and insisted I go back with him. We didn't want to just up and leave, though, so here's a big thank you from both of us. I hope we meet again someday so we can make it up to you!
Cirrus Spectrum and Cumulus Stormbane



"I'll leave it over there next to her for you. I'm sure she'll be fine with it." Clover levitated the letter over toward Valencia's general direction. "Hope you colts have a safe flight back. Don't stress yourselves out too much; it's not every day you run into somepony generous like Valencia willing to help you. Or us, for that matter."

As Clover finished her advisement, she settled down around the shy filly. Aura had not said a word at all. Until now, when Clover gave her a little nudge.

"Oh... um, yes, have a good time getting back home," she blurted out.

Cirrus responded with a wing-up. "No problem. I'm sure everything will be just perfect soon." He glinted his eyes at Aura. "Maybe we'll meet you again sometime! And thanks again for the help, Clover. Guess we'd better fly now, hey, bro?"

Before Cumulus could hold him down, Cirrus took off rapidly, heading for the others. Cumulus shook his head.

That colt. I swear, someday he's gonna get me in a world of trouble.




*  *  *  *  *



Celestia had never seen anything like it before. Flying toward the mountain range in the distance, she and Luna had observed the explosions of colourful light grow larger, lighting up the land—a land that seemed vastly different to the one she'd grown up in. They had finally left the boundaries of the forest, but not without difficulty. A small herd of a mutant race of ponies, with large webbed wings, had intercepted the sisters upon their attempted exit. Supposedly, the sisters had invaded their territory. Thestrals. What else did Vorjhan create while he remained beyond our knowledge? Although they'd appeared vicious at first, Celestia managed to play the diplomat well and convince the herd that she and Luna were not threatening in any way.

After the 'bat-ponies' had allowed them passage—provided that their departure was immediate—the sisters had observed the new land that lay before them. It was mostly flat, with a few rolling hills in the distance; plains and smaller sections of bushland, spreading out near the river that flowed from a distant range, beyond the one that the lights emanated from. The fields also appeared to have been cultivated, though what was growing in them, Celestia couldn't tell in the darkness.

While she and Luna continued to fly north toward the mountain, the booming grew louder. She began to pick up other sounds among the cacophony of bangs and explosions. They sounded like screams. Or perhaps cheers? Finally rounding the mountain, the sisters gasped in wonder.

A city. A huge city, carved into the side of the mountain. It dwarfed the fortress that they had fought against Vorjhan in. This was beyond comprehension. As the bangs were much louder now, Celestia observed that the flashes were originating from the city itself. A particularly large building, a grand castle, was cheerfully illuminated by each new multi-coloured flash. But what Luna noticed before the flashes—it hurt her to look at them up close—was what exactly generated them.

Unicorns. Many, many unicorns. Luna nudged Celestia with a wingtip, drawing her attention. "Sister, I believe we've found our family."

She could hardly believe it herself. They were clearly unicorns, one of which she seemed to recognise. Though if I do, he would have to be a lot older than my memory of him. "But where are all of the pegasi and the Earth ponies? I only see our unicorn brethren. Come, Celestia—let us take a closer look."

Luna began descending to the castle grounds, but Celestia halted her with a magic field.

"Not yet, sister. For all we know, there are no other races in this city. I don't particularly feel like having their magic aimed our way, particularly if we frighten them with our appearance. Just be patient—we'll visit them when this hubbub dies down." Celestia released her barrier, allowing Luna to return to her side.

"Alas, you are correct, Celly. How could I have been so silly?" Luna clapped a hoof to her mouth and giggled. "I'm just so excited! Too long has it been since we saw anypony. I wonder if that stallion down there is our cousin Starshine?" she wondered aloud. "They seem to be celebrating something. I can feel an immense outpouring of love and affection coming from the city."

Celestia nodded. "I feel it too, Luna."




*  *  *  *  *



"Owwww..."

Clover's first sense of consciousness returned to her in the form of a splitting headache. Never had she felt such pain in her entire life. There was a phenomenally loud drum pounding behind her eyes—at least, it felt that way. The next thing to come to mind after the pain was the memory of the dream she'd just had. She'd been for a wander down by the river below the kingdom. Aura was there, examining sage plants, positively delighted at their plumage. She remembered feeling an enormous sense of pride in her student, and... love? Moaning again, Clover opened her eyes. Green. Everything's green. What's going on?

A moment later, Clover realised she was contained.

In a viscous, green substance.

In some form of pod.

Upside down.

This certainly can't be good. Glancing around—the pain in her head rising to a crescendo as she did so—she observed many other pods just like hers, in a cavern that was dimly lit at best. She was unsure if the green glow that emanated from the walls was due to a natural phosphorescent substance growing on them, or simply the tinge of her pod distorting her vision. The cavern seemed to be part of some form of network, for there were many tunnels running in several different directions. Clover also noted how warm and comfortable she felt. Were it not for the creepy factor and the pain, she might have enjoyed her encasing somewhat.

Clover studied the pods closer. Some of them appeared to have occupants like herself. She could make out the silhouettes of an Earth pony mare and a pegasus who looked like a colt no older than—

Aura.

With renewed vigor, Clover examined the other pods for a sign of life. With a great twist of her back, she saw the filly In the pod behind her. Small, pink, asleep as she had been. Breathing a sigh of relief that she had at least located Aura, Clover set about searching for a way to break her own confinement. Her hooves were fastened to the ceiling of the pod with some form of green goop, rendering her immobile. She checked her horn mentally. It ached as much as her head, but she wasn't magically disabled at all.

What did this to us? I remember a sharp knock to the head, then Aura's face...

Activating her magic, Clover concentrated on a teleportation spell. Still an incredibly recent breakthrough in magic, only Queen Portia had ever achieved it. Not long earlier, at that. Well, I have to try.

Concentrating as hard as she could, Clover pictured herself vanishing from her pod and appearing on the ground facing the right way up. Straining against the pain in her head and horn, she let loose a magical burst—and reappeared still inside her pod. Head now pounding worse than ever from the effort, Clover analysed her results. She'd managed to move herself within the pod so her hooves were no longer trapped, but she hadn't escaped.

At least I'm slightly more free now.

The echo of hoofsteps reached her ears, as well as the excited buzzing of wings. Thinking quickly, Clover levitated herself back upside down, feigning sleep and appearing to still be trapped by the goop. A pair of strange creatures appeared from the gloom of a nearby tunnel, buzzing between themselves in a strange dialect.

"The orange mare is mine. She has an enormous family she treasures more than anything."

"Ha, you can keep her—I've got the pegasus' emotions. He cares about his brother, his hero and his ambitions."

Clover sensed the two creatures come within viewing range and chanced a peek at them. At first glance, they were shaped like ponies, but that was where the similarities ended. They were covered in some form of incomplete-looking black shell. Their wings were just like those of a dragonfly. And their eyes... never had Clover seen such an iridescent blue before. There were no pupils swimming in those facial oceans.

As if sensing her gaze, one of the creatures turned her way. She closed her eyes and remained motionless. Despite her effort, a raspy voice confirmed her fears. "Don't even pretend to still be asleep, unicorn. I can feel that the love pouring out of you has been cut off."

Oh, horse-apples.
> The Strength Of Hate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Come on, Cirrus! Put your back into it, bro. What's the matter?" Cumulus could hardly believe that Cirrus would be worn out already. Sure, he'd injured his wings yesterday, but he'd also appeared to have made a full recovery upon being woken up. So why in Equestria is he already lacking?

"Gee, sorry, Cume. I think I've re-awoken my injury. I guess I'm not as fully healed as I thought. Look, I'm trying my hardest—I really am, promise!" Cirrus swirled his hooves around in opposite directions, an act known as "swearing to Hurricane" that he'd picked up from a fellow flier.

Cumulus sighed. "Look, I know you might be hurt a bit, but this damned fluffy thing is so much heavier now than it was last time. I—that is to say, we—really need you to pull through for us. I promise, as soon as we get home, I'll take you to get examined. I'll ease off on your training too. Sound good?"

The colt just nodded and grit his teeth as he resumed pushing.

Cumulus observed his younger brother with no small degree of concern. He's hardly said anything to me all day, not even a wise-crack. He's so much more exhausted than he should be, even with all things considered. He's really not himself.




*  *  *  *  *



King Levitatus awoke to the dual news that his breakfast was served and that his protegè and daughter were expected for an imminent arrival. A smile graced his features as he thanked his butler and rose from the exquisite bed he slept in. Admittedly, as a king, everything in his life was exquisite: his bed, his halls, his breakfast, even his wife. Turning to face where she lay, his smile dipped upon seeing her absence. Quite possibly, she has taken attendance at breakfast early today.

With this in mind, the king crossed the floor of his expansive bedroom and stopped at the door. Down the hall to the left, he would find his dining suite, where the chefs would already have whipped up a delicious entree to the day. Down the right hall, his throne room was located, where he would keep court for the commoners who may have any issues. Fortunately, there had been a major decrease in incidents, disputes and even magical accidents that required his attention over the past seven weeks. The world is much indebted to Clover the Clever.

His thoughts then took a strange turn—one that they'd recently found themselves taking much more often.

Celestia. Luna. You should be the ones ruling here.

Before the day of the Everfree forest's invasion—where everypony was forced to flee for their lives—his sisters had set off to confront some kind of mad entity from their past. They had never returned. Those who escaped the Everfree that day now numbered pathetically small. Levitatus sighed. The twentieth official year of his reign was fast approaching and he had been a stallion of thirty-eight years at the time of his coronation. He knew he was one of the longest-lived unicorns in the kingdom; mostly because many older and less-privileged unicorns had been claimed by the fell winter.

Levitatus was not a cruel, vain or greedy king. Far from it—his reign had been the best every unicorn could have hoped for. His subjects could always count on his words of wisdom. He was also respected as an elite Magus, specialising in the development of any unicorn who came to him possessing unusually high magical potential.

Though few remembered the alicorn sisters of the past, Levitatus had never forgotten. His ability to sense powerful magic and draw it out had almost submerged him in complete sensory overload when he'd attempted to use his talent on Celestia. Never again would I try that. She terrified me. He'd also not been so foalish as to try it out on Luna. She may have been even more powerful... He shuddered at the thought, as he had so often before.

Putting the sisters from his mind, he embarked toward the dining hall where he would be served his new favourite breakfast: raspberries and figs over the exotic grain, quinoa. It was not native to his kingdom or the surrounding areas—only the zebra tribes in the north grew it. Having considered all ponies as inferiors until recently, Levitatus had only learned about quinoa a month prior, after he had sent an envoy to their lands. The grain was tedious to cultivate and harvest, requiring high maintenance, yet his envoy had passed on from the zebras that it was their secret "super-food."

It certainly is super. Super tasty at least! As Levitatus sat at the table to feast, the hall doors opened. In walked the three ponies he most wanted to see at breakfast: his lovely Queen Portia, his stunning daughter Platinum, and...

"Daddy!"

Daughter number two straight up bolted to him and tackled him with a hug, resulting in them falling off the chair in a fit of filly giggles. Portia smiled, even as Platinum scoffed. Levitatus simply joined in with his daughter, roaring with his own laughter. A few moments passed and when they had calmed down, Princess Aura had begun spilling her adventure to him in rapid fire mode:

"Oh, Daddy, it was so wonderful we got to the waterfall and it was sooo huge you have to see it sometime also we found the sage we set out to find and we brought some back in the bottles I helped Clover make and there was a whole herd of pegasi and they had a massive cloud and they made a tornado it was amazing you should have seen it—"

"Yes, yes, Aura, all right. Slow down, precious." Levitatus chuckled and ruffled her mane. "Now how about you sit and finish your breakfast and we'll share your adventure afterwards?"

"Okay! Love you, Daddy!" Aura immediately tucked into her own favourite cereal: sugar-frosted oatmeal with strawberries.

The king lowered his own spoon and watched his daughter devour the contents of her bowl. She'd finished by the time Portia and Platinum had only just had their own prepared. Gosh, she's hyperactive today. I wonder what Clover's been feeding her? The thought receding, Levitatus resumed his own breakfast.

Platinum stared at her younger sister. Usually she was a very well-behaved filly, save for a few slip-ups of courtesy. But this... uncouth behaviour seemed incredibly out of character, even for Aura after a day spent with Clover.

Something's not right about Aura today. And where is Clover, anyway?




*  *  *  *  *



Valencia lazed by the waterside, becoming slowly drenched in fine mist. Blueberries and blackberries littered her immediate vicinity. Ahhh, this is the life. I made the right choice with this mare, for sure. Unfortunately, orders were orders. Valencia sighed as she rose from her peaceful spot. She plucked a few different berries, placed them in her saddlebags and set off on the return journey home.




*  *  *  *  *



Well, this is just great.

The two creatures who'd walked into the holding chamber for observation were now on alert. Since Clover the "Clever" had been uncharacteristically silly enough to draw attention to herself, they'd elected to stay and watch their captives. Of course, assuming her hypothesis and her observations were correct, these creatures seemed to be able to sense exactly what she was feeling. Like a form of mind-reading, but on a deeper level?

Clover mulled it over in her mind, wondering. She smiled a little at the thought of stumbling upon this new magic. Could such a thing be possible? The guard closest to her shifted a little.

He turned to glare up at her again, leering. "Oh, you think you've got us figured out? Well, you've seen nothing yet."

The creature grinned at Clover and twitched violently. A green glow surrounded it for a split second, eliciting a gasp from Clover as she came face to face with herself seconds later. "Pretty neat, huh?"

Her own voice floated to her ears. Clover stared in shock, even as its partner bopped it over the back of the head, resulting in a revert to its original form.

Huh. That at least proves they can sense emotional changes. But they're bucking shapeshifters too? Also, why keep us all asleep? Do they feed off dreams or something? Clover corralled the thoughts in her head. No, such a thing should be impossible. Nothing can steal emotions from a pony, surely. What's the purpose of keeping us all here, then? Clover thought back to what she'd been dreaming about. The river south of the kingdom. Aura and her sage flowers. A feeling of pride, coupled with a feeling of—

"Love."

Clover's sudden revelation drew the attention of her captors. "Love," she repeated. "That's it, isn't it? You want us to stay asleep, to keep dreaming of the things and the ponies we love. Because you're leeching off it, somehow. It gives you strength. I'm correct, aren't I?" Clover smiled. Though the creatures' facial expressions hadn't appeared to change, their body language told her everything she needed to know. "You're love parasites. What a horrible thing to be. How would you like it if I was leeching off of your hopes and dreams? Your precious memories? Love is what powers us. What makes us better ponies. What makes us better than you!"

A star seemed to glint in Clover's eyes for the smallest of moments.

Crack

Finding herself on a roll, Clover continued. "How dare you assault us, encase us and drain us of the one important emotion we have in this world! We all just survived the worst winter in living memory, which was brought on by our mutual animosity between races. Our hatred attracted the evil spirits of winter. They overran us, and we all blamed each other! It got worse! More hate led to worse cold, more deaths, more pain and suffering. It was only through the power of my friends—whom I love—and I working together in harmony that drove the spirits of hatred away and saved us all. And you, all of you, would seek to destroy that harmony and plunge the world into an eternal winter once again!"

Cr-r-raaaack

Clover's rage flowed. "Well I will not sit in this ridiculously small prison, locked away from my best friends, while you seek to leech my love for them away. I will not give you the satisfaction of stealing the love I feel for my king, my queen, her daughters and all of this land that we've worked so hard to reclaim. Nor will you have the new-found love I've discovered for my Earth pony and pegasi brethren. You're nothing but world-destroying parasites. You disgust me."

Crrr-rr-raaaaassshhhhh!

Clover's cocoon shattered. It actually worked! Dropping to the ground—mercifully only a few hoof-lengths below—she rounded on the creatures, now cowering and shivering before her. "You took me unaware before, but you won't again. Now, let. Us. Go. Or you'll all regret facing the power of the second-most magically powerful unicorn in existence!"

She calmed herself, taking deep breaths, but the creatures didn't move an inch.

"So I guess my theory was right, then. You feed on love, but you're allergic or adverse to hate. Can you see now how pointless your very existence is? What happens once you drain all the love from the world? What then? What are you left with? A brutal, hate-driven, eternal winter? Driven to your own death by windigoes, who would destroy you as they get stronger while you get weaker? Be thankful I don't erase your worthless lives right now and save them the trouble!"

The creatures could take the abuse no longer; they scarpered.

Clover took a final deep breath and sighed. I hope I never get that mad at anypony again. That was awful. She'd felt the onset of a chill as her tirade was launched, though whether it was in her head or not, she couldn't figure out. I'd rather not remind myself of that endless cold.

Lighting her horn in the gloom, Clover turned back to the pods and illuminated each of them. She set to work on melting the outer casing of Aura's first, with a heat spell. Though she hadn't expected it to work, the outer wall disintegrated with little effort. Huh. I guess the interior was magic-resistant, but the exterior allows for easy extraction or something.

Having successfully released Aura from her prison, she checked the filly's vital signs. A pulse. Aura's heart was still beating, much to Clover's relief.  To any untrained pony, Aura would simply appear to be sleeping.

After Aura's release and check-up, Clover looked around at the other figures she'd noticed. An orange Earth pony and a small pegasus colt remained embedded in their own love-extraction pods. Clover debated with herself for barely a moment before she began undoing their bonds as well. As Clover levitated the Earth pony to the ground, she stirred.

"My head, wow... what in the hay happened to me? What's this place?" Catching sight of Clover, the mare immediately took a defensive pose. "A unicorn? What're you doing here. Did you do this to me?"

She lowered her center of gravity, switching up stances to a more aggressive pose.

Clover shook her head vigorously. "No! I didn't do anything to you, Miss. You were trapped up in that cocoon up there—asleep inside it. It appears you were attacked by the same... things that my niece and I were. I just rescued you from your imprisonment. Am I correct in assuming you were dreaming of something you care about? A family member, or maybe a passion of yours?"

The mare relaxed, but didn't take her eyes off Clover. "Er, yeah, that's right... how'd you know that? Miss, er—sorry I don't know your name. Mine's Valencia; that pegasus there is named Cirrus."

"Clover the Clever. This is my niece Aura. Look, don't worry about that now—" Clover cut Valencia off as she recognised signs of comprehension on the mare's face "—those things that ambushed us, they appear to feed on the love we emanate. For our families, or whatever we're passionate about." Clover began work on the bonds holding Cirrus. "They were sucking the love out of you, by means of your containment vessel. Literally. I'm guessing you have quite the headache."

With the colt now free, Clover examined him too. "Hmmm, he seems fine mostly, but I'm detecting some really stiff muscles in his mantle. The poor dear must have strained his wings somehow. If only I had some sage with me—" Clover gasped. "Horse-apples! They must have taken my gear, all of my equipment..." Clover sighed. "Gah, I guess it can't be helped. We need to return home and—"

Home.

"Oh no... oh no no no!" Clover's brain ticked over with a terrifying scene. "Those two who ambushed us, they must have taken our forms. They're probably on the way back to the kingdom by now. And when they get there, the king... we must hurry, Valencia. Something terrible is about to happen!"

As she urgently leaped from cavern to cavern, staring down each passageway, Valencia simply trotted over to Cirrus, lifting him onto her back once more.

"Er, do you mind slowing down a tad? What's happening here, Miss Clover?" With Cirrus on her back, she moved over to rouse the filly from her sleep. When she didn't receive an answer, Valencia raised her voice.

"Clover!"

Clover stopped pacing between passages and offered a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Valencia. Well basically, you didn't see them, but the creatures that put us here have some kind of metamorphosis power. I watched one literally transform into me. They also take their nourishment from our feelings of love and other positive emotions. Aura and I were set upon by two of them, the day before we were due to return home. It's my belief that they'll return in our stead, masquerading as us, and drain the kingdom of its love once again. The worst part is, that was only two of them. Who knows how many of them there are, waiting for some kind of signal that they can take the kingdom, right out from under everypony!"

Valencia gasped. "Hold on. You're telling me that the one who attacked me is gonna go back to my family, pretend to be me and suck all their love dry?" A flicker of anger crossed her face, then was replaced by one of shock.

"Oh no! Cirrus!" She glanced around at the colt still sleeping on her back. "If the other shape-shifter took the form of Cirrus, that would mean he probably found his brother. And when he flies back with the rest of the herd..." Her eyes widened. "Shoot, it's not just your Unitopia that's in danger, but every race of ponies has been infiltrated!" What could that do to Equestria?

Clover nodded, her eyes widening. "Now do you understand my sense of urgency? We have to get out of here. We're the only ones who can warn the entire Equestrian population!"

Floating Aura onto her own back, Clover examined the walls of the crypt. They glistened in a state of perpetual dampness. We must be under a lake or something. Maybe under Neighagra Falls itself. Or another nearby place maybe... "I wonder if we're underneath Sky Mirror Lake? The lake that never ripples? It hasn't been completely explored so far, but we were thinking of mounting an expedition to it in a few weeks time." Although, now we know what dwells beneath it, maybe it's best left undisturbed.

"All right then, Clover, whatever you say. But first things first—which way?" Valencia glanced back and forth, eyeing the amount of selections they had to choose from.

"Home is south-west from here, so if I activate my directional magic..."

Clover lit her horn once again and swiveled around for half a minute. She sighed and extinguished the magic. "It's no good. There's far too much interference within these walls. I suppose we'll just have to guess."

Valencia stared at her. "I know I should be thankful and all that, but I'm really not comfortable just marching headlong into a nest full of these things you've described. We could end up anywhere—or worse, captured again. I doubt they'd let us escape a second time."

Not a moment after Valencia completed her statement, a chilling sound reached the mares' ears. A mixture of buzzing and hissing filled their hearing. It was faint, at first. Barely a few seconds later, the sound began to echo off the walls in their chamber. As Clover examined a selected tunnel, it grew louder. That could only mean one thing. With a fierce look of determination upon her face, Clover faced Valencia.

"Too late. Pick a tunnel and run!"
> Out Of The Fire...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna lay sleeping, on the outskirts of the unicorn kingdom. She and Celestia had reached a decision after a small debate: while they greatly desired to reveal themselves to the family once again, they acknowledged that there may be few left, if any, who would recognise them. The last thing they needed—Celestia had wisely reasoned—was a potential state of uncontrollable pandemonium among the population. There was no telling how the kingdom would react upon seeing two unique beings suddenly appear before them. It was entirely possible that they would be feared, or worse, attacked rather than welcomed or embraced.

While Luna's argument to the contrary was completely credible—they hadn't been gone so long as for two generations of family to completely forget them, surely?—she'd eventually agreed that whatever risk Celestia thought was present should not be tested. "There will be an opportune time to introduce ourselves," the elder promised.

They took refuge the morning after the celebrations, at the top of the mountain overlooking the kingdom. There they found a small cave, overflowing with hidden treasure: a grotto of leafy ferns, mossy logs, berries, mushrooms and the freshest grass they'd ever tasted. It seemed to have been untouched by ponykind—Celestia could feel the purity of the place through her Elements. This is indeed a sanctuary of Harmony. There was even a small hole in the ceiling of the cave, where water and humidity collected and dripped down into a pool. The purest spring imaginable. It seemed too perfect a place to have formed naturally.

Could Vorjhan have made this place? Is he even capable of creating such beauty?

Celestia glanced at her sleeping sister, nestled among a small groove in the wall with hundreds of soft ferns providing a form of plush bed. Luna was tuckered out. She'd spent enormous amounts of energy the previous night playing the role of sentinel before they left the wood, repelling the masses of deadly creatures keen for a taste of equine flesh. As Celestia watched her sister sleep, it dawned on her for the first time that Luna's flank was blemished. That definitely wasn't there before we came out of the pool yesterday. I must have completely missed it in the dark of the night.

Celestia remembered how most of her nieces and nephews—even some of her immediate siblings—possessed these marks. Some marks appeared on very young foals, other times they'd waited to appear until the bearer was almost of age. They were all unique though, she recalled. It seemed to point to what each pony was gifted at, from what she could remember. Yet she and Luna had been born well before the marks began appearing. So why is it there now? If Luna has a mark...

She turned her graceful body around to look at her own flanks. Much to her amazement, there glared an image of an eight-pointed sun on each side. This sun looks exactly like the engraving on the tree... Luna's own mark announced an entirely opposite theme: a bright, crescent moon contained within a splotch of the deepest blue Celestia had ever seen. And Luna's is identical to the other carving. How did they get there... more importantly, what do they mean? Pondering their new magical blemishes for a moment, Celestia came to no conclusive realisation. Putting it from her mind, she wandered softly over to lie next to her sister. I could really use some sleep myself...




*  *  *  *  *



"Keep going, Valencia!"

Clover and Valencia galloped through tunnel after tunnel, forsaking directional awareness for personal safety as the hissing hive gave chase. What she was grateful for was the fact that neither Aura nor Cirrus had yet awoken.

"The young ones must be... more sensitive to the magic these things are using," Clover puffed. "Neither of them are conscious yet, Valencia." I hope we can escape before they ever see these horrors, she thought, even as she heard the sound of the hive gaining on them.

"Can't say I was paying attention, myself! I'm more worried about us preserving our hides, in case you hadn't noticed!" Valencia responded over her shoulder. "Look, great job for getting us outta there, but are you sure you couldn't have been just a little more subtle about breaking out and pissing them off?" 

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more subtle about it," Clover snapped. "I had no other... idea how to get away. Besides, now we know their weaknesses. It's not all bad—we could still be trapped, you know." We'd better catch a break soon, though, or we might just be again, she thought to herself.

As the weight-laden mares continued to run down an especially lengthy corridor, Clover noticed the walls had changed. They no longer glistened like they had in the containment chamber, but seemed much more solid. The phosphorescence had faded as well, leading the mares into a darker and colder section. The hissing grew louder.

"They're almost upon us! Got a plan B, Miss Clever?"

Clover ignored the snark. "Apart from standing and fighting against potentially hundreds of those things, no. Having never been in a combat situation before, I'd rather not resort to that either."

Clover wracked her brains for a solution. I'd cast a cloaking spell and hide us in the darkness until they pass, but they can sense emotions—it'd be as effective as Aura hiding behind a bamboo stalk. I could project a shield to prevent their passage, but against sheer numbers it wouldn't hold long at all. I could focus all of my power into an illumination spell and emulate the sun's light to blind them... but it would take almost all of my magic and I'd be exhausted. My energy's already running low now as it is. By Levitatus' beard, what the heck do we do?

Clover ran as she thought, hardly paying any attention anymore to where she was running. She had noticed the drop in temperature, though. It was rather unnerving how it had grown colder in the last few minutes, when she came to think of it. The breath in front of her face became visible as it came out steadily more shallow. Bringing her senses back to situational awareness, she noted that they'd ended up running uphill as opposed to the slight downward incline they'd been on for the past few minutes. 

Oh great, an upward slope. I'm already starting to lose momentum. She'd never had to run so far before. Ahead of her, Valencia was pulling away, unaware of the plight of her company.

Clover drew in a breath as she slowed down. "Valencia, stop! I can't keep this up. We need to... stay together."

As Valencia heard the message, the hissing subsequently faded away inexplicably. Breathing a sigh of relief, she halted her run and trotted slowly back to Clover, who was panting heavily with shallow gasps. Although she'd just met the mare—and though Clover hadn't exactly made the best escape plan—she had to respect a unicorn who could keep up with her for so long. Expression softening slightly, she approached the purple mare and put a hoof around her.

"Thanks for saving me, Clover. Sorry about my behaviour before. I am grateful you broke me out. Really."

Surprised by the hug, Clover embraced her new friend for a moment, before they remembered their situation. "Say," Valencia continued, "why d'you reckon they up and left us alone? You think it's a mite cold for them?" 

Still trying to catch her breath, Clover thought about it for a moment. "Well... let's examine our surroundings. It's colder here, for sure. It's also dark. Wait, let me fix that." Clover lit her horn and shone a beacon over the new tunnel. Finally able to see what surrounded them, Clover noticed the walls. Again, they were no longer lit with phosphorescent light, but instead were coated by some form of silvery, slimy substance. Clover levitated a small amount of the strange material off, bringing it up to her face. She examined it closely, noting the sticky texture and absence of smell. It was also cold to the touch.

"Huh. It's organic."

Valencia, who'd been checking on the foals, did a double take. "It's what now? Organic? You're telling me that icky stuff came off a living creature?" Valencia cast her gaze around the tunnel again. The walls were covered in it, except for...

Eyes widening, Valencia couldn't keep a slight tone of fear as she stammered. "C-Clover? Look again at the w-walls of this tunnel. Tell me if you notice the same thing I do." She directed Clover's attention to the ceiling of the cavern.

Clover glanced up from her examination of the substance and analysed her surroundings again. What she came to realise frightened her. The tunnel was no longer a crudely dug-out passage—it was perfectly rounded. Now that she stared at the section of wall the slime previously coated, she saw something that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

The walls underneath the slime were grooved, As if something enormous had drilled and burrowed itself into the Earth.

"Valencia. We need to get. Out. Of here. Right now."

Valencia took note of Clover's tone, even as she came to her own conclusion. "You don't need to tell me twice."

No sooner had the mares began to run up the passage once again than they were joined by a new presence.

"Clover? What's going on? Where are we?" Aura had finally woken to find herself in a dark, cold, alien place, on her mentor's back, in the company of an Earth pony and a pegasus. "Clover, what is this? What's happening? I thought we were at the falls—"

"Aura, listen to me. We were kidnapped by some dangerous shape-shifting creatures and now we're on the run. We need to move, now. Can you do that?"

Noting the urgency in her teacher's voice, Aura simply nodded.

Good girl. "All right, let's g—"

Clover was cut off by a rumbling roar that shook the very dirt beneath their hooves. "Er, as I was saying: run!"

Everypony galloped up the slight incline, eager to see some form of daylight again. Clover, who still had her horn lit, increased the concentration of the beam and aimed it down the tunnel. It twisted and turned, but appeared to have no other variation as they fled along the passage. The ground rumbled again. Oh no, that one felt much closer. What in Eques—

The ground a few steps behind them erupted in a shower of dirt and deafening noise. Aura screamed loudly, even as Cirrus was snapped back to consciousness. With a cry of terror, Cirrus fell off Valencia's back and landed roughly.

"What the hay is going on! Where are we? Who are you? Argh! what is that?" Cirrus pointed at the new hole behind them in the path.

Clover turned back to where the dirt had erupted all over them—and found the jagged, writhing, twisting body of a gigantic, worm-like thing still burrowing into the nearby wall they had just passed. Clover's pupils contracted in fear, even as she redoubled her efforts.

"Everypony, keep running!"

Fueled by adrenaline, the party fled rapidly along the tunnel, even as the vibrations in the Earth told them the worm was looping back. "I don't know what that thing is, but I sure as sugar don't want to become its dinner!" Valencia yelled.

Aiming her horn once more down the passageway, Clover glinted her light off the passageway... which seemed to end abruptly. "Oh no no no no, don't tell me, oh no this can't be it!" As they neared their inevitable dead end, the light reflected off the wall and shot up.

Valencia noticed it first. "Shoot, how're we gonna get up that? I ain't got wings!" She couldn't keep the terror from lacing her voice as she stared up into the steep opening. "That goes up so far, I can't even tell if there's light above us or not! What are we gonna do, Clover?" She proceeded to sink to her knees against the end wall, shaking.

Clover might have answered, were it not for the gargantuan ice worm swinging around to barrel through the tunnel yet again. The resulting explosion of dirt and quaking threw Clover off her hooves, where she came to lie next to Valencia. Aura and Cirrus had already joined Valencia before, huddled against each other and crying.

As the worm slowed down and readied itself for another pass, Clover's brain went into overdrive. Think, mare, think! How do we get out of this mess? She glanced around at the others, her eyes coming to rest on Cirrus. That's it! "Cirrus, can you fly?"

The colt looked up at Clover's address and nodded. "Yes, Miss, but my wings are still a little sore—"

"I need you to take Aura and fly her up out of here. Keep going until you can't any more. Don't stop until you've reached your absolute limit! Both of your lives depend on it, understand?" He nodded even as Clover continued, "Aura! You hold onto Cirrus and whatever you do, don't let him go until you've hit solid land, preferably above ground level. Drop a stone or something down to us when you've reached safety. I'll think of a way to get us out of here, I promise!"

Aura shook her head, crying in fear. Clover wrapped her in a tight hug. "I promise we'll be okay, but you both have to go right now! Go!"

"O-okay Clover, I will. I w-won't let go."

"Good girl. Off you get!" As Cirrus stretched his wings and lifted off the ground—clutching a terrified Aura—Clover turned to face Valencia. "The foals are safe. It's just us now. Listen—I'm going to try something but I need you to help me. You have to distract that worm somehow while I concentrate, because I've never attempted this before. It might be our only salvation."

Valencia cringed. "You want me to distract that thing? Are you crazy?" The rumbling returned, heralding the worm's arrival once more. Valencia turned a paler shade of orange. "How you do suppose I do that? Run around in circles screaming 'Hey worm, look at me, I got a juicy orange for you'?"

"If that's what it takes, then yes! But now I need to focus."

Valencia stared, slack-jawed, until the worm made its re-appearance. Bursting its head through the wall next to her, it opened its gaping maw to reveal hundreds of hoof-long, jagged teeth lining its throat. It faced Valencia and let out a deafening roar, withdrawing its head a little to survey the surroundings. How it did so, Valencia didn't know, for the monstrous worm had no eyes to speak of.

Valencia.

Were it not for the shock that the worm had just given her, she would have jumped again. Clover's voice rang loud in her head as she felt the power of a telepathic communication for the first time. I think the worm can't see or smell. I have a theory that it senses movement. Just disregard what I said before and stay perfectly still.

Easier said than done, Clover. You're not the one a single thrust away from being swallowed and ground into paste here. Nevertheless, Valencia swallowed and remained still as a statue. The worm continued to move its head from side to side, seeking its quarry.

I know but I'm almost ready... a few more seconds and we'll have our only shot at escaping. Just hold on.

Clover severed the link and drew up all of her magic pool to the tip of her horn. The reckless amount of power converging on her horn seemed to catch the attention of the worm, as it shifted a little away from the still-petrified Valencia. In that moment, a small plip echoed throughout the room.

The worm opened its mouth again and lunged forward.




*  *  *  *  *



Luna awoke with a start to find her sister sleeping next to her and their cave bathed in a pretty, rosy-red light. It must be sunset. Taken with curiosity, Luna quietly stepped up away from Celestia and went to observe the setting of the great orb. The view was spectacular. Luna would swear from that day that she'd seen no more beautiful sight during the day, since that moment she witnessed all of Equestria bathed in the multi-hued light.

The countryside was gorgeous. On the distant south-western horizon, she could see the pegasi city of Cloudsdale, a floating rainbow of a city that caught the sunset's rays, refracting them off the fluffy foundations. There was a golden wood far to the west. To the east, Luna glimpsed of the beginnings of an ocean. South of the mountaintop was the cursed, darkened wood her and Celestia had came from. To the north, a gorgeous waterfall flowed freely, visible even at that distance from her divine perch at the top of the world.

A powerful outpouring of magic caught her attention after a moment. The Tiara of Magic reacted to it, telling her telepathically exactly where it originated from. Her curiousity piqued, Luna flew down from her perch a small way. It was coming from the direction of the unicorn city. The Tiara reacted violently, confirming she was getting closer. Without notice, it all poured out at once: the power of many unicorns united between two separate, yet simultaneous tasks.

Sunset and Moonrise. Whoa, the unicorns are doing that? Luna sat awestruck, watching the moonrise as the land sank into a soft twilight.




*  *  *  *  *



Twing.

The Element of Honesty burned into Celestia, not overly hot but enough to rouse her from her slumber. With a short yawn, Celestia stood up and gazed down at the orange element adorning her left foreleg.

What was that?

After shaking her head and her hoof, Celestia headed out of the cave to see the final end of sunset and the moon climbing into the sky. Vaguely, she could feel the power of a few unicorns united in magic, but her attention was drawn elsewhere as the Element of Honesty twinged again. Why would Honesty be reacting like this? The Element seemed to be directing her into the city attached to the mountainside below. Straight to the castle, to be precise.

Something isn't right...




*  *  *  *  *



King Levitatus lay back in bed, thoroughly exhausted yet satisfied with the day's events. His morning had been made by his strangely hyperactive youngest daughter returning from her trip to the falls, who had proceeded to tell him everything about her journey and the loads of fun she'd had. His afternoon had been made by the progress with which Clover the Clever had claimed to make about the suspected healing properties of sage, declaring the expedition a success. To crown it all, his evening had been made by his lovely queen, who'd seen to her 'wifely duties' this Hearts And Hooves Day with extra-high amounts of vigor compared to normal.

As he lay back and regarded his wife, Levitatus contemplated how fortunate his life truly was. He could feel an enormous outpouring of love leaving his heart, all directed at Portia.

"My word, Portia. That was incredible. You've really outdone yourself tonight."

His queen smiled. "You weren't so bad yourself, old stallion." Giggling, she cuddled up to him. "You know, it's been an incredibly long time since I've felt this magnitude of love from anypony. I feel stronger than ever."

Levitatus' body became immensely heavy. Wondering what was up, he tried to move his legs. Nothing happened. Activating his horn, he searched for some kind of magical disturbance. His own magic spluttered and died. Now panicking, Levitatus glanced around as best as he could. Portia lifted away from him and rose up to sit on his lap once again, as she had been moments earlier. Except this time, the look in her eyes far from enthralled him—it scared him.

There was a flash of green light and Portia caught fire. Her blue eyes became a vivid green. Her fair blonde mane and tail lengthened and reverted to a light-blue. Her gorgeous silver coat took on a much darker texture and began to harden. Finally, her horn twisted out of shape and her body became littered with holes.

Levitatus gazed upon the face of a monster. He tried to scream, but found his mouth magically held shut. A green glow surrounded "Portia's" horn as the greed and malice in her eyes bored into his own. She smile widely, showing off jagged teeth. Her voice rasped at his ears.

"Thank you for your love, My Love, but I believe our time together has peaked as of this moment."
> Hearts Of Ice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pop!

Clover and Valencia materialised into a whirlwind of blistering cold. They were met with the surprised reactions of Aura and a tired, sore Cirrus, who had made it to safety. There was a gaping hole next to the foals, which Clover presumed they had flown through before collapsing.

Eyes scrunched up against the howling wind, Valencia surveyed their surroundings. Everywhere they looked, the world was a frozen white. Outlines of a mountain range were visible in the far distance. It was growing dark too, Valencia noted. I'd hoped it would be lighter above ground, but with our luck so far I'm hardly surprised.

She turned to her partner. "Yo, Clover! What do you—"

Her words ended abruptly as she laid eyes on Clover. She had fallen to her knees in the snow, breathing ragged, sharp breaths. She shivered on the cold ground in the buffeting winds, not even trying to get back to her hooves.

"Clover!" two voices cried in unison. Startled, Valencia turned to see Aura bolting towards Clover.

"Clover, get up! Everything's fine, we're okay. Cirrus is tired from carrying me but we're both okay! And so are you. Get up, Clover, we're all okay! Come on, why won't you get up? Get up, Clover! You promised you'd be okay!" Valencia watched as the filly pleaded with her mentor to rise. Clover simply smiled weakly and coughed a few times in response.

"I'm... glad you're... safe, dear."

Rational thought returned to proverbially slap the staring Valencia in her face. Coming out of her daze, she trotted over to Cirrus, who was also shivering but appeared fine otherwise.

"How do you fare, young pegasus?" she asked. "I guess your wings are very sore right now. That was no small feat you pulled off."

Cirrus nodded, giving an involuntary wince as his mantle once again shot pain through his wing bones. "Oh, yeah they hurt so much. But I did it—I saved us. We could have died down in that hole. But I did save us. That's what's important, right?"

Cirrus winced as he concluded his statement, then commenced preening his wings. It looked rather painful from Valencia's end, but Cirrus seemed to be enjoying the feeling.

Valencia turned back to Aura, who was using some kind of magic to help Clover get to her hooves. Controlled levitation magic at her age? She's gifted, that one. I can see why Clover took her for an apprentice. She trotted back to the pair. "We need to find shelter. If we don't, we could die out here." She shivered with her words. "Nightfall is fast approaching and it'll only get colder. You remember the winter, right? Well, this place is starting to remind me of it again, and not in a good way. Can you walk at least?"

The mare shook her head. "I d-don't t-think so. I'm only s-standing now w-with Aura's assis-t-tance. I'm aching all over f-from f-fleeing that w-wretched worm." The words tumbled from Clover's mouth through her chattering teeth. "I a-also used up all of m-my magical energy j-just then w-when I tele-p-ported us up h-here."

Valencia sighed, shivering again herself. Darn it, we need to move! "Aura, do you think you could carry Clover in your magic?"

The filly shook her head, still weeping at her mentor's helplessness. "Sorry, Miss Valencia. Levitation doesn't work that way. It requires an equal amount of magical energy output as it would require physical energy output, should I theoretically lift Clover onto my own back. Levitation magic is incapable of nullifying gravitational forces," Aura cited, sounding for all the world like she'd swallowed a copy of Magical Theory: Volume One.

Valencia's mouth dropped to hear the young filly export such language, but was quickly closed. "Er, all right then. Do you think you could hold her up as support while she makes the action of walking?"

Aura thought for a moment. "I can try. Clover, want to try?"

Clover nodded to Aura. "All right, l-let's give this a s-shot."

Clover placed a tentative hoof in front of her and placed some weight on it. With support from her magical crutch, she appeared to be steady. "For the moment, this seems to work j-just fine. But I don't think Aura will be able to keep it up f-for long. Supporting my weight for l-longer than a few minutes is bound to t-take a toll on her quickly, given s-she's only a filly. She's also only j-just learned how to perform it, and h-holding it for—"

"Well, we'd better get moving then, yes?" Valencia interjected. Like teacher, like student.

Clover let out a laboured giggle. "Of c-course we should. Lead on, V-Valencia."




*  *  *  *  *



Celestia glided over the city, a cloaking spell cast upon herself. The sun was completely down by then; nightfall had truly arrived. The Element of Honesty burned with steadily increasing intensity as she neared the castle, bathed in the moon-glow. Whatever's happening, it's in there. Celestia flew up to a nearby tower window and peeked inside. She saw what appeared to be a study: there were loads of rolled up scrolls on wooden shelves in there, but nopony in sight. Not here, then.

Flying around the tower, she spotted a room built off to the side of what appeared to be an entrance hall. Honesty's burning intensified. It must be in there. Peeking through the window, she had enough of a glimpse to observe a large, bearded, elder unicorn lying in a bed, while a green flame engulfed a mare who disappeared through the room's exit.

Celestia silently unlocked the window, using stealth to descend into the room. She walked over to the unicorn, who began to squirm.

"No! leave me be, you foul thing! I've fed all of my love to your wretched queen, away with you!" The unicorn continued his thrashing on the bed. Apparently, he was held in place by a powerful magic. Or, as Celestia observed, a sticky green substance. "I know you're there, beastie! I can sense your cloaking spell. Well, nopony pulls wool over this mage's eyes! Show yourself!"

Celestia paused for a moment. Clearly, there was no point remaining disguised. But what if I scare him? She took a few seconds to decide, then dropped her cloaking spell. His gaze turned from one of defiance, to one of fear, to finally one of comprehension as he recognised the tall white alicorn.

"Could it be? Sister? Is it truly you, Celestia?"

Celestia leaned back on her hooves, her mouth slightly open. She had not anticipated being recognised. It took but a second more for her to also recognise the stallion opposite. She brought a hoof to her lips.

"Star Swirl?"

Celestia stared at her brother, having not seen him for two decades. She could tell that he had aged well, although in his situation he looked incredibly disheveled. No point in hiding anymore.

"Yes, it's me, Celestia! I go by the name Levitatus now, though. Anyway, I'll explain more later—please, would you kindly release these damnable bindings?" He motioned with his eyes to his bound limbs.

A quick nod later, Celestia fired a concentrated beam of energy, instantly vaporising the substance.

With a sigh of relief, Levitatus got to his hooves and embraced his saviour, his long-lost sister. "Oh, Celestia, how I've missed you these twenty years. Is Luna with you?" He looked around the room as if expecting her to appear.

"She's not here, per se, but she is nearby. We were going to wait to reveal ourselves to you and the rest of our family... however, this—" Levitatus observed the relic she pointed out on her foreleg "—summoned me here. It informed me that a great deception was taking place, and here I found you in a—dare I say—rather compromising position."

Eyebrow raised, Celestia smiled at the king, who looked rather sheepish.

"Well, you see, there was a mare in here earlier pretending to be my wife, and... erm... we'd just—"

"I get the idea, brother." That smile again.

"Er, yes. My point is, her disguise was one hundred percent perfect. There was no enchantment either, she truly was my wife. Until she shape-shifted after we finished and... well, she drained the love I have for my wife out of me like it was some kind of potent energy source."

At this, a memory stirred within Celestia. A memory from long past, when she'd been taken on a quite instantaneous trip around the world:

Sky Mirror Lake: home of one of my proudest creations—the changelings! Now, one would never recognise a changeling, not even you if it approached you, as they can take on the form of any other sentient being that they wish. Why, you could be in the throes of passion with a changeling pretending to be your lover and you wouldn't know the difference! That is, until you started feeling your power draining... for you see, they feast not on plants or even flesh, but love. Romantic isn't it? Well, for the changeling at least. Given enough time, a pony could be sucked completely dry. Not a single conscious thought would remain. You would be an empty shell of your former self, your power fed to the one who literally preyed on your feelings! What a tragic but magnificent concept, don't you agree?

"Brother, you've been infiltrated and deceived by a changeling. This is very bad. We have to purge this threat, or your kingdom will literally be sucked dry of all its love. Odds are, she's not operating alone either."

Levitatus stared at Celestia, this new enemy completely alien to him. "That creature is called a changeling? And she's literally a love vampire? Wow, it's no wonder she chose to impersonate my wife—Portia! I hope she's keeping safe. But first things first, this changeling. She's smart and cunning. If we encounter her again, I wouldn't underestimate her."

Celestia nodded. It was then that she noticed the Element of Honesty was flaring up again.

"Levitatus, either the changeling's at it again, or there are more then one among their number. We have to find them, now. Who knows who could get hurt, or worse..."




*  *  *  *  *



Clover collapsed, no longer possessing the strength to move forward. Even though poor little Aura strained to hold her weight, the prolonged magical output combined with the biting blizzard had rapidly sapped what remained of her strength. The last of Aura's magic flickered and died as she too was overcome by the cold and magical exhaustion. Valencia rounded on them with great concern, even as Cirrus continued to soldier on ahead of them with his insulated fur.

"Come on girls, you have to keep going! If you lie down and give up now, you'll surely die!" Valencia positioned her neck underneath Clover's immobile body and lifted her up again. Keeping her head under Clover's, she marched them on. "Look, there's a mountain out there in the darkness, I can see its outline. Let's head for it! Not far now, I promise!" She struggled under Clover's weight. Carrying a young pegasus was one thing, but carrying a full-grown unicorn was something else entirely. "Only... A couple thousand steps away now... Let's make a dash for it!"

Aura ceased trying to re-activate her exhausted magic, electing instead to help Valencia physically support Clover. With the two of them helping, they began to make progress again.

Cirrus came running back toward them a few minutes later with some news. "There's a cave up ahead! A cave cut into the very front of the base. It's warm inside, too. We should be safe from the blizzard in there."

The girls took heart at this news and moved swiftly toward the direction Cirrus was pointing out. After a few hundred steps, it became visible. It looked small, but inviting. The perfect hide-away. Aren't we lucky? Aura thought.

A deep rumbling disturbed the moment as the party felt the ground beneath them quake.

Oh, no... "Everypony, run!" Valencia bellowed.

With a burst of adrenaline and valor, Clover and Aura found the will to gallop towards the mountain cave, now mercifully only a short distance away. As they fled for safety, an explosion of ice and frozen Earth heralded the arrival of their fears. The ice worm had returned. Bellowing once again, it churned through the ground as easily as if it were water. Looking back as they ran, everypony could glimpse the true terror of their assailant; the worm rose high into the sky, at least twenty hooves high and ten hooves wide, though there were many more hoof-lengths worth of worm still inside the ground. Its body was jagged and lined with edged segments every few hooves. The worm twisted its rotating body and headed back into the ground again, this time aiming itself at Cirrus.

"Cirrus, watch out!" Valencia cried, her voice barely carrying over the blizzard and the rumbling of the gargantuan annelid's tunneling. Cirrus attempted to fly over the rapidly approaching mound of Earth, but his wings gave out after a few flaps. Dropping back to the ground, he instinctively rolled to the side. The mound passed him and looped around again.

"Cirrus, almost there! Just a few more steps and you're there! Run for it!" Coming up right behind him were the adrenalised Clover and Aura. Redoubling the fervour of his flight, Cirrus reached the cavern entrance safely. The worm continued to head toward him... then inexplicably turned around and targeted the others.

"Whoa!" cried Valencia as the worm performed its sudden, unexpected manoeuvre. Dodging to the side, the beast missed her, but was now instead directly headed for the two unicorns. A flash of light illuminated the two and they vanished, re-emerging with a pop! next to Valencia not far away. Clover—having cast the spell out of pure desperation—promptly collapsed, completely unconscious.

Wasting no time while the worm circled around again for its final pass, Valencia scooped her up and galloped across the threshold of the cavern, Aura joining her a second later. The worm halted as if they had vanished. Poking its monstrous head above ground once again, it flailed around, searching for the meal that had escaped it. Defeated, the worm turned around and burrowed back the way it came.

Everypony panted with the strenuous effort they had all just made in fleeing the face of almost-certain death. They had faced an entire hive of shape-shifting love vampires, long dark passages, a phenomenally mutated worm and the harshness of a dark and bitter blizzard. That any of us are still alive is truly a miracle, Valencia thought. Breathing heavily from her exertion, she turned to face her crew. Cirrus was also panting with his eyes screwed up, no longer able to disguise any pain coursing through his wings. Aura lay down next to Clover where Valencia had deposited her. Her eyes were closed, tears streaking her face.

Clover.

Having tapped into her deepest reserves of power, Clover was irretrievably unconscious. No amount of shaking or name-calling would wake her. In teleporting that final time with an already exhausted magic pool, Clover had pushed herself to the absolute limit. She lay in the entrance to the surprisingly warm and well-lit cavern as her body struggled against the pull of death. Everypony grouped around her and bowed their heads, hugging each other. There was nothing that could be done when a unicorn slipped into a magical coma. Clover was not yet technically dead, but she would be incredibly lucky to awaken again. Aura's sobbing subsided for just a moment before she cried at the top of her lungs:

"Please, somepony help uuuuuuus!"




*  *  *  *  *



Miles away, the Element of Kindness burned into a certain blue alicorn's leg...



*  *  *  *  *



"This way, brother!"

The Element of Honesty directed Celestia toward the other side of the castle, with Levitatus following in her wake. The unicorn king was tired, but sleep could wait: he had a kingdom to save. "What lies in this direction?" Celestia queried.

"This is the way to my daughter Platinum's bedroom. You don't think—" Levitatus silenced himself there. The thought of his precious little filly being used for love by a monster was not one he was willing to entertain.

"Platinum? We must ensure she comes to no harm first." Celestia galloped on, the Element burning brighter as they neared her chambers. When they rounded the corner into a new corridor, a sound stopped Celestia and Levitatus in their tracks: a fearful, high-pitched scream. The colour drained from the King's already grey face as his heart grew cold.

"No, my precious!" He burst through the door of the room before Celestia could stop him. There was Platinum, all alabaster coat and golden mane, shaking and crying her eyes out. She was contained by the same forces that had held Levitatus. The king's fears were confirmed. "Platinum!" He ran over to her, rushing to comfort the poor soul who'd shared a similar experience to that of her father. She stared at him, pleas in her eyes as she continued to sob.

"I'm so sorry, Father! He was my c-c-coltfriend, then suddenly he w-wasn't anymore, and-and—"

"Shhhh. It's all right, Platinum—Daddy's here now, you'll be fine. Calm down, my sweet." Levitatus stroked his princess' mane and comforted her. "We're going to have a talk later about you having a secret suitor and not telling me, but not now. First, I need you to calm down and let me introduce you to somepony incredibly important. Maybe even more important than I." He motioned for Celestia to step forward from the entrance of the room. "Platinum, meet your Aunt Celestia."

Celestia saw about undoing Platinum's bonds as she had with the king. As she finished, her golden voice washed over the princess. "Pleased to meet you, Princess Platinum." Her expression changed from warm and welcoming to hardened and prepared. "Now, let's go and contain this changeling menace once and for all!"




*  *  *  *  *



The Element of Kindness directed Luna to the frozen wastes of the north. Luna flew, fast as she could while Kindness burned viciously into her. Somepony's life was clearly in immediate danger. As she cleared the northern mountain range, she saw a solitary mountain in the distance with a small glow emanating from its base. Curious, Luna streaked through the air at top speed, the cold tearing at her face. Placing up a magical screen in front of her, Luna pressed on. She had to help this poor dying soul, if only to alleviate her own pain that Kindness insisted on afflicting her with.

Arriving at the cavern entrance, she beheld a strange sight. The cavern seemed to shine relatively bright of its own accord. Searching for this strange circumstance, Luna entered the cave and saw a green flaming torch hanging from the cave ceiling high above. An enchanted flame. Interesting.

Glancing around the cavern again, her eyes fell upon a purple-and-green unicorn mare who looked strikingly familiar. Luna swore she'd seen the unicorn before, but couldn't remember exactly where or when. Possibly, she was only a foal when I saw her last. Scooping up the mare gently in her magic, Luna tapped into her Tiara and examined the mare.

"Magical exhaustion. Coma-bound. Insufficient magic pool remaining to sustain life. You poor thing, how did you possibly get into this state?"

Luna then tapped into her Element of Kindness and siphoned some healing magic into the unicorn, accompanied by some magic from her own immensely deep—by comparison—magic pool. The mare stirred and Luna breathed a sigh of relief; Kindness subsequently ceased its burn. She'd be all right. However, she still required proper medical attention. Deciding that this was an adequate example of an 'opportune moment,' Luna scooped the unicorn up in her magic and flew back toward the city.

Unbeknownst to her, three other exhausted ponies still inhabited that cave, sleeping only a room away.
> Crystalline Power (part one)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Aura's slow return to consciousness was marred by an unpleasantly familiar feeling: hunger. She opened her sleep-encrusted eyes, memories of what she'd just endured returning to assault her mind once again. It's a miracle I'm still here. Aura rose to her hooves, confident that the danger had passed. She glanced around and took in the interior of their cave for the first time with any real observation.

The first thing that she noticed about the cave was that it felt unnaturally warm. With a blizzard continuing to rage outside the entrance the cave, it should have been almost as cold inside as outside. Aura turned her attention next to the walls of the cavern. They dazzled her with their beauty, for they were not merely composed of stone or soil. Instead, a beautiful, glistening finish ran over the walls, sparkling bright like the gemstones that some of the wealthier unicorns back home sported. A glimmering light emanating from a suspended green fire served only to increase the beauty of her surroundings.

I suppose the fire is keeping this place warm, but why is it green? Is it magic? Aura stood enchanted by the beautiful foundations of the cavern, until a loud rumble reminded her of her plight. So hungry. When did I eat last, anyway?

Aura's search around the cavern led her into a deeper room, one filled with even more beautiful adornments. If the opening had served as an entrance hall, this must have been the equivalent of a guest room. Another enchanted, contained fire—this one a vivid, electric blue—bathed the room in an ethereal light, giving Aura the impression she was underwater. Gazing around this room, Aura stopped as she laid her eyes on a peculiar sight. A plant grew from within a fissure in the nearby wall. As she approached the plant, she noticed there were small growths shooting out from it. Curiosity piqued, Aura examined the bush.

The dark red growths resembled berries.

Eyes widening, Aura plucked one from the bush with her magic and held it up to her face. It smelled delicious and it sparkled more in the small, pink glow from her horn. That's strange. It seems to be made of the same stuff that the walls are. In two minds about whether something resembling a ruby in all appearances could possibly be edible, Aura gave the stone a tentative lick... and proceeded to chomp the entire berry down. Her taste buds shrieked with excitement at the sudden explosion of flavour.

"Wow!" Aura didn't even attempt to contain her glee at the amazingly delicious berry; after over a full day with no food, to find such a taste-defying-ly delicious substance seemed too good to be true. She grabbed another and chomped it down eagerly, savouring the impossibly sweet flavour. Even if it is a little crunchy, that's a very small complaint! Aura feasted on her new discovery, a feeling of radiance filling her very essence. She became so engrossed in her new discovery that she didn't even notice the short gasp from the room's entrance.

The resulting cry grabbed her attention, though.

"Aura! Are you all right? What happened to you?" Valencia galloped into the room and stopped just short of the surprised filly. Aura positively glowed. Not just as a reflection in the shimmering blue walls, but literally, seemingly from the inside. Valencia's eyes could hardly take in the sight. "What the hay happened to you, girl?" she repeated. "You're glowing! Do you feel sick?" Her eyes roved over Aura's body, catching sight of the dangling red berries. "What's that you've got—"

Valencia's eyes shrank as she absorbed the sight of the crimson stains around Aura's mouth. "Did you just eat offshoots from a completely unknown plant? Are you insane? You could be dead right now, you know that?" Valencia took a deep breath and steadied herself.

Aura recoiled from the sudden aggression of the elder mare. "I'm sorry, Miss Valencia. I know it was silly, but I was just so hungry and these red things are so delicious—" Aura ceased her apology as the sight of her hoof in front of her face gave her pause. Eyes wide, she examined herself in the reflection of a nearby wall. Valencia hadn't been exaggerating—she was literally shining. Her pink coat had never been so radiant in all her life. She was even giving off her own source of light!

Suddenly fearful of what she'd noticed, Aura dropped the berry in her possession and backed away from her reflection. "Miss Valencia, what's wrong with me? Why do I look like that?" She backed right into the mare and turned her face into the orange pony's coat.

Valencia shushed Aura as she put a hoof around the trembling filly. "It's all right, little one. Apart from shining like the sun, you don't seem any different. It would seem like those gem things aren't poisonous after all, but I'm still gonna keep an eye on you. Don't worry, I'm sorry I freaked out on you like that. I ain't mad. Now calm down, I'm sure you'll be fine."

Aura looked up from her embrace and nodded. "Thank you for the reassurance. I'm sorry I ate from that bush without considering the danger, Miss Valencia. I won't do it again, I promise." Aura nuzzled the mare who'd comforted her and backed away to re-examine herself. The glow was beginning to fade already. As an experiment—although she was fairly sure about the outcome—Aura picked up the berry she'd dropped and promptly nibbled on it. As she expected, the temporary radiance returned.

Giggling, Aura bounced around the room, all fear eradicated. "Wow, this is incredible! My coat is just gorgeous! Wait until I tell Clover." Suddenly it occurred to Aura that she hadn't given Clover a thought until that moment. "Hey, Miss Valencia, have you spoken to Clover yet since you woke up? I'm worried about her."

Valencia shook her head. "I haven't actually, but the poor dear was so exhausted after what we all went through that I haven't bothered checking up on her. I'm sure she could use as much rest as she can get. Although it wouldn't hurt to see how she's doing."

With an eager nod, Aura plucked some more of the strange ruby berries and levitated them out of the room, following Valencia back to the entrance where they'd left Clover. As she did so, Aura felt a noticeably diminished strain on her magic. Being a filly still, levitation was a particularly draining skill of hers, but since eating those berries, she hardly felt a thing. Awesome! Not only are they delicious and make me sparkle, but they're magic boosters too! Imagine if we could take these back home and grow them for everypony!

Her previous fears forgotten, an excited Aura fled from the room back to the cave entrance. The blizzard still raged outside, but by some mysterious power, none of the snow or ice found its way beyond the threshold. Still shining a little in the luminescent green of the entrance hall, Aura searched for her mentor. "Clover! Where are you? I have something incredible to show you! Clover? Where'd you go?"

A frown creased her face with the absence of replies. Aura searched the other room where she had awoken. Cirrus was still fast asleep, yet there was no sign of Clover at all. Aura returned to the entrance and examined the spot where Clover has passed out. She turned back to Valencia. "Where do you think she is?"

Valencia shook her head. "I'm not sure. We left her right here, but she's not in either of the other rooms. Only place she could have gone would be outside, and—" they both glanced at the billowing snowstorm "—somehow, I can't imagine she would have done that. Not without alerting the rest of us, anyway." She sat down in thought, Aura by her side. Aura's sheen had faded once more with the passage of time, taking with it her excitement at the idea of impressing her teacher. A stray thought entered her mind, a lesson that Clover had touched on but one they'd never explored...




*  *  *  *  *



"As of now, this is a little too advanced for you, my dear, but I can still show you the basics of it." Clover looked down at her studious protegè. "Especially with how this winter is looking, it could be quite a useful spell. It's called the Aura-locator. No, it's not named after you, silly filly, that's a complete coincidence," Clover explained as Aura giggled. "Although, I will be locating you with it this time. This is a useful spell for finding a lost pony. Now go and stand over there, dear."

Aura obediently walked to the edge of the study.

"Good. Now walk to me and stand at my side."

The filly obeyed once more, sidling up to Clover.

"Now keep your eyes on the corner where you just stood a moment ago and prepare to be amazed!" Clover's horn lit with her magic, her brow furrowed with concentration. Aura glanced up at her teacher, then back to the corner.

A faint outline of her own body appeared, staring back at her. To Aura's disbelief, the image began to walk back over to right where she stood. She gasped as the shadow-her took its own place at Clover's side, just as she had a minute before. It came to rest exactly where and how she stood, before vanishing. Aura gaped in awe up at Clover as the magical energy faded. Clover smiled down at her student, a large grin unfurling.

"See? Isn't that something? I only used a small amount of energy there, as it was a simple demonstration. Of course, the amount of time you want to follow somepony's 'echo' to find their current location will require much more energy as it increases. As such, this is a spell that only high-level unicorns are being taught right now. Any ordinary unicorn would be hard-pressed to maintain this type of connection for longer than a few minutes at a time."




*  *  *  *  *



Back in the present, Aura jolted out of her reminiscence and looked at Valencia. "I think I know how I can find her. I've never tried this before, because it's a really difficult spell. I think if I eat some more of these berries, though, I might just get the hang of it." Grasping two berries in her magic, Aura popped them into her mouth. As she chewed, she began to radiate once more, the feel of enhanced magical ability accompanying her shine. Concentrating hard, Aura thought of Clover and cast her spell. A few moments passed with no result.

Aura moped. "Darn, it didn't work!" She kicked the ground in frustration.

Valencia put a hoof around her for comfort. "Now don't worry too much, kiddo. I'm sure she's—"

Aura shook off the hoof and started forward. "No!" she squeaked. "I have to keep trying." Popping another berry into her mouth, Aura lit her horn once more and concentrated again, aiming further into the past. It had obviously been a while since Clover had moved. Expending more power, Aura focused on her mentor's energy signature. On her second attempt, she caught an incredibly faint outline in her sight, but the image was far too blurred and it promptly vanished. Not to be deterred, Aura once again ate a berry and concentrated with all of her might.

"Come on, come on..."

Her third attempt was successful. An image flickered to life before her; Clover lay on her side, breathing raggedly in her sleep. Refusing to let shock get the better of her, Aura kept up the spell as she watched Clover breathe. However, Clover was not alone for long. An enormous shape emerged from the blizzard and came to rest next to Clover's shadow. Valencia and Aura both stared as the taller shape lowered its head, an unusual headpiece adorning it.

"Magical exhaustion. Coma-bound. Insufficient magic pool remaining to sustain life. You poor thing, how did you possibly get into this state?"

Aura heard the words but didn't truly acknowledge them, for the larger being scooped Clover up into its own magical grip and quickly vacated the cave. The image spluttered and died as Aura's temporary energy boost ran out. Gazing up at Valencia, Aura's fearful expression returned. "W-What was that, Miss V?"

Valencia shook her head in disbelief. "I'm not sure, Aura. But whatever it was, it looked mighty, powerful, yet gentle at the same time. It seemed concerned for Clover's welfare, at least. Perhaps it took her somewhere safe to be treated?"

Aura's expression became crestfallen. A moment of moping later, she steeled herself. "You're probably right, Miss Valencia. She'll be all right, I hope. But aren't you hungry? Have you eaten anything?"

Valencia's stomach rumbled as she laughed. "Huh. Now that you mention it, I am a mite famished. I'd like to try some of those berries of yours."

Aura nodded and galloped back into the blue room, Valencia following behind. Grabbing some more off the bush, Aura floated a few over to Valencia, who caught them in her mouth. She chewed for a bit... then promptly spat them out. "Bleugh! What is that? What an awful taste these have! How can you stand them, let alone find them delicious?" Valencia continued to cough as she attempted to rid her taste buds of the now-unwelcome intruders.

Aura just stared. "I don't understand. They should be delicious. Here, let me try another one." Aura grabbed another berry from the bush and sampled it once more. "Mmmm. They still taste scrumptious to me. I wonder why you can't stand them?" Aura lapsed into a monologue. "Maybe only unicorns find them tasty. After all, they do make my magic more powerful for a time. Hey!" she piped up, "maybe there's another type of food around here that you'd like. Let's have another look around."

Unfortunately, a thorough search of the blue room yielded no more returns, but for some additional berry bushes. Valencia sighed. "Well, guess I'm going hungry for now."

Aura shared her concern, but kept looking around the room anyway. "How about we check out the other room where Cirrus is still sleeping?" She suggested. "Maybe there's something in there! Come on, there'll be something for sure!" Showing more excitement after her initial disappointment, the filly ran into the neighbouring room, leaving a famished Earth pony to trail her without enthusiasm. As Aura passed Cirrus, darting around the room, the pegasus stirred.

"Wow, how long was I out?" He looked around at the hyperactive Aura and the fatigued Valencia. "Uh, what did I miss? Anypony? What's up?" He rose from his position with a groan of appreciation for the long sleep. "Hey!" he yelled. Aura came to a halt and Valencia shot him a look of reproach. "Well, you weren't listening, so don't give me that look, Miss V. Now, what is going on?"

The mare apologised. "Sorry about that, Cirrus, but some of us have been trying to figure out our situation. So far, we know that this cave sustains life, it seems to protect us completely from the outside conditions, it shimmers like water off a bed of precious gemstones... and Clover is missing. Now hold up—" Cirrus had given a start at that and made to fly off "—we're pretty sure she's being taken care of. Just relax, colt. What we're doing now is trying to find some food. We already found these berries that Aura claims to be amazing, but I can't stand them. I was wondering whether you might feel the same as me or her."

Trotting over to Aura, she took a berry from the leaves she'd slung over her back. "Try this, Cirrus. I reckon you have a fifty-fifty shot at loving them or hating them." Holding one out to Cirrus, Valencia motioned to it. The colt wandered over to Valencia and took the berry in his mouth.

"Eh, not too bad," Cirrus appraised while he chewed. "Nothing special though, although I could live on them if I had no other choice."

Aura, who had temporarily forsaken her appraisal, observed the exchange between the two. Once again, she put her hoof to her head and tapped. "I'm not sure if I have this right, but I think we might have our own favourite foods, so to speak. I'm in total love with these berries and they make me shine, as well as boost my magic power. Nope, not even kidding, Cirrus. Watch this!" As Aura chewed on another berry, she watched the colt's eyes bulge and smiled.

"What is that wow you're glowing what sorcery is this that's totally radical amazing how did you—" Cirrus' tirade ceased as Valencia brought a hoof over his mouth. A moment later, she released him as he calmed down. "I just mean, wow Aura, that's nuts! And it's those berries that make you shine? How come I didn't? Did you, Miss V?" He looked at Valencia, who simply denied it.

"No, Cirrus. Not only did I not glow at all, but I found them absolutely disgusting. No idea why. No special powers for me or anything. Just the most gross thing I've ever tasted. Which is why we wanted you to try them, too. It does lend credence to Aura's idea, though. Which is why we're looking for some other kind of food, to see if their effects vary between us." She grasped her mane and lightly tugged. "This is all too magical for me. I mean, whoever heard of food bestowing special powers to anypony?" Valencia shrugged and continued looking around the cave. Her eyes roved over the ceiling, catching a flicker of ruby light. "Aura, that up there. Train your light onto it for a moment."

Aura followed Valencia's instruction, her light beam illuminating the crystal crop. "Hey Cirrus," she said, "how're your wings now? All rested?"

Cirrus shrugged. "No idea, but I guess it can't hurt to try them out? Let's see." Cirrus flapped his wings and found liftoff easily enough. "Yeah, looks like thunder-colts are go! You want I should take a squizz at that thing up there?" Without waiting for an answer, Cirrus sped up to the ceiling to get a closer look at the gem. It was an enormous ruby, almost as large as himself. Eyes wide at the sheer brilliance of it, Cirrus reached out a hoof to touch it.

Glint

Temporarily blinded, Cirrus floated back down to the ground, hooves over his eyes as a deep rumbling sounded from inside the walls of the now-red room. Trembling, Aura huddled up to Valencia as the elder mare kept her gaze focused on the sound's origin. The back wall of the room split apart and slid open to create a narrow passageway. Clover and Aura stared, dumb-struck. Cirrus—still recovering from his temporary blindness—asked, "What's going on? Another earthquake? Don't tell me that worm's back again!" As he lowered his hooves from his eyes, he blinked and observed the new pathway. "Oh. That's interesting."

Valencia approached the new opening. It stretched out for a small length, but there were also small niches cut into the sides of the path. These niches stretched up to the ceiling, where some strange-looking stalks grew upside-down, similar to stalactites. Scrutinising the stems, Valencia recognised the shape of the growths as she realised what she was looking at.

Crystal corn? No way. Amazed, Valencia retreated down the path to round up the foals. "Hey, I think I found a breakthrough with some more food. Cirrus, you should fly up to the ceiling through there and examine those niches. I've got a funny feeling it might be a great idea for you in particular to check out what's growing in them."

Cirrus nodded and flew into the passage. A moment later, he returned, a couple of cobs in his mouth. "Let's see what happens, shall we?" He unwrapped one of the cobs, revealing a sparkling ear of crystalline corn. "Here goes!" After taking a bite and chewing on the corn, his expression changed dramatically. His face lit up even as his cornflour coat shimmered. "Wow! This is delicious! Care to try some, Miss V?"

Valencia eyes the corn skeptically. "Somehow, I get the feeling it won't exactly be my grain of salt... but I'll try it." A few moments passed as Valencia's tongue appraised the alien taste. "Well, it's definitely better than those awful berries... But I don't find it spectacular either. Still, I'm famished, I can't complain! Care to grab some more for us? Oh and Aura, maybe it's a good idea for you to grab a few more shoots of berries for yourself. I have a feeling that this corn won't sit well with you at all."

Aura nodded and fled back down the passage to the blue room. "So, Cirrus," Valencia said as she turned back to the colt, "you feeling any different after that corn, or—"

Valencia cut herself off, her question rendered unnecessary. She gaped as Cirrus soared back and forth along the passageway at a blistering speed. Clearly, the corn was definitely pegasus-food. He shimmered as he became a blur, racing around the room and up and down the passage. Just like Aura, the shine faded after a moment. Cirrus came back down to Earth, exhilaration gracing his young features.

"This. Is. Awesome!" Cirrus beamed at the corn he'd harvested. Before he could chow down on some more, a hoof reached out and held his own in place. Looking up, he saw Valencia glaring at him. His appetite fading at her expression, he dropped the cob. "Hey, what's the deal?"

The mare shook her head. "You best not be eating all of it at once. There may not be any more of it further down. And we might need you to use those super-enhanced flight skills of yours at any given moment. Just simmer down and take it easy." She removed her hoof from Cirrus' own and re-entered the narrow passageway. "Let's see what's through here. Aura! Come on, girl, let's go!" Her call was rewarded with the patter of little hooves running to catch up.

Passing through the passage in single file, the trio came to a deep chasm that dropped uncomfortably off at the end of their pathway. A cold breeze also blew directly at their faces. Valencia struggled to hold her ground against the sudden, ferocious winds. Through the blasting breeze, she noticed an air vent shaped like a pegasus in flight, wings folded together in front. A large, amber-coloured stone protruded from the cavern wall above the statue's head.

Retreating against the chill, Valencia walked backwards after giving the others a warning. The three re-emerged back into the red room.

"Well, Cirrus, looks like it's your time to shine now after all."
> Infestation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"We need to alert the city, Levitatus," Celestia commanded. "Who knows how many there are, or how deeply they've infiltrated the city for that matter?"

As she flew along the halls of the castle, she followed Honesty's lead. The Element wasn't burning quite so painfully, but the small ache in her right foreleg told her the changelings' goal was far from completed. They would have likely shape-shifted into other ponies, ready once again to prey on the love of their unsuspecting families.

The king galloped after her, shaking his head at the situation. Where did these creatures come from? How could this happen? And where's my wife? It was bad enough that he'd been unknowingly—but not unwillingly—used to energise the very creature he was now on the hunt for; the fact that his wife had been impersonated also told him that she would be likely held captive. Or worse... No, Portia's all right. She has to be. As for Platinum, he had ordered her to stay in her room and not let anypony enter, save for either himself or Celestia. Even then, she would still need to listen for the password set by them: Luna.

"I'd love to help you more, Celestia, but I don't possess the same mystical power that you seem to. How will I be able to tell if anypony I run into myself is real or an impersonator?" Levitatus asked. "Of course, it would be better if we could spread out and widen the search, but I simply won't be able to tell who's lying to me and who's telling the truth."

Celestia turned to the king, pondering their situation. He's right. We're limited to hunting down one at a time. What if there's too many of them? "I agree, our situation is far from ideal. It is true that we can only search for one impostor at a time but at least with you by my side, we should be able to overpower any changeling we come across. Do you know any defensive spells?"

"Certainly, Celestia." Levitatus lit his horn and raised his chin. "In my early days as king—furthermore, during the winter just gone—I had to be able to protect myself and my family from any potential uprisings. There were a few who believed that I should be able to conjure up some all-powerful spell to banish the cold and the snow. They were angry at the whole fiasco, and refused to believe that my lack of action was due to my inability to change the situation, not my personal choice. I tried all I could to make the lives of my subjects comfortable—"

"I am sure you did, brother. I have no doubt there," Celestia said. "Besides, Honesty would have told me if you were lying." She gave the king a wink. "Once we rid ourselves of this plague, I'll announce my sister and I's return and swear our fealty to you. I'm sure you will make a grand leader for the rest of your days, however long they last." Celestia beamed at Levitatus, until Honestly inflicted a particularly painful burn through her leg. "Ow! I wish it didn't have to hurt so much. Never mind, we have a changeling to neutralise."

Together they fled toward the western tower. As Celestia made to burst through the tower door a moment later, she found her progress impeded by an emerald force-field. She only managed to halt herself before impact due to the bright flash that the door produced as she rounded the end of the spiral corridor. "Whoa! We'd better be careful, Levitatus. I have no idea what that force-field could do to us if we touch it. Any ideas?"

The king side-stepped around Celestia and magically probed it with the barest touch. The force-field pulsed, daring him to try it again. "I think we've found our target, Celestia." Levitatus lit his horn again. "Stand back." Concentrating hard, he activated a levitation spell that loosed a section of bricks from the tower wall. "Now, fly around the tower and tell me if there's a force-field shielding the window too. There may very well not be—Unitopia is a unicorn-exclusive city after all."

Celestia nodded and slipped outside through the broken wall, sidling along the tower on silent wings. Wrapping herself in a chameleon-like cloak, Celestia peered through the narrow rectangle. A middle-aged mare sat on a bench opposite a disturbed bookcase, covered in the same green substance as the king and his daughter had been. A familiar-looking stallion was with her, reading a book entitled Defensive Magic: Protect Your Family. Celestia suppressed a gasp even as she tested the apparently unguarded window.

Retreating through the new tower "door," Celestia relayed the information to Levitatus. At the description of the white, curvy, curly-haired mare, her brother's gaze lit up—only for it to pale as she went on to describe the stallion in the room.

"W-well at least my wife isn't chained up in a dungeon somewhere, or worse. But I have to save her! Was the window guarded?" Celestia shook her head, much to Levitatus' delight. "Let's get in there, then. I'll fly in on your back, blow out the wall and take that usurper down! It might sound like a crazy plan, but we have the element of surprise after all."

"Actually, we only have Honesty, Generosity and Loy—"

"I didn't mean literal Elements, Celestia. It's just an expression." The king brought a hoof to his head. "Come on, let's take this monster down. I swear by the moon in the sky that I will protect my kingdom!"




*  *  *  *  *



Mulberry breathed a sigh of relief. The day had been strenuous; the sun had burned hotter than normal, and with the lack of spring rain, there was still a shortage of water. The pegasi had not yet returned. Gosh, it'll be awful nice just to turn in for the night. Retreating to her home from the sapling fields, she smelled far more Earthy than usual, the soil clumped on her coat mixing with the scent of the various plants she'd been tending.

As she approached her door, Mulberry spied a shape emerging from the gloom over the nearest hill. Curious, she tried to make it out, then realised what it was. With a gasp, Mulberry galloped up to her cousin and stopped short before the surprised mare. "Valencia, what are you doing back from your holiday already? You've been gone all of a day and a half!"

Valencia squirmed a little, then explained. "Well, I got to the falls just fine and everything. It really was beautiful. Trust me, I had a wonderful time relaxing there. Y'all were right, it was just what I needed. But I couldn't stop thinking about the farm, so I had my bit of relaxation and started back again this morning. Please don't be mad, I can't help that I was thinking of you lot working while I was snoozing in the mist, curled up with berries and herbs surrounding me. Oh, speaking of which—" Valencia withdrew some seeds from her saddlebag "—look what I found. New fruits!"

Mulberry examined the seeds, then Valencia. She certainly looks like she enjoyed herself. Maybe I should cut her some slack. A grin spread over her face while she hugged her cousin. "I'm glad you enjoyed your trip, however short it was. Now let's get you home. You can tell me all about the falls and how the pegasi did their thing."

As Mulberry broke off the embrace, an odd sensation tickled her. It seemed like she could feel how much she loved Valencia. Wow, I guess I missed her more than I thought.




*  *  *  *  *



"All right, team—one final push! Altogether now!" Hurricane commanded his followers as the reservoir rounded next to the cloud production facility. Panting from the effort, the centurions pushed as one, a final time. At last, the reservoir was in position. A great cheer echoed throughout the city as every pegasus celebrated their monumental accomplishment.

"Well done, everypony!" Hurricane bellowed. "Be proud all, be very proud. Equestria shall have a shortage of water no longer! Everypony fly home and get some well-deserved rest—we'll be making clouds first thing, come sunrise."

Hurricane stared around as he finished his dismissal and laughed a little to himself. Most everypony had already headed home, desperate for sleep with the coming of moonlight. Ha, I can't say I blame them. I'm pretty beat myself. But, to business. My Queen... the time has come.




*  *  *  *  *



Cumulus fluttered back down to his own home, intending to check on his brother. Poor colt. He's just so exhausted. Maybe bringing him along wasn't the best plan after all. Cirrus rested in bed, still and sore as if he'd crash-landed from a great height, which—Cumulus reminded himself—he already did once. A doctor had called in to visit already. Lucky I flew ahead and booked him first. I doubt Cirrus is the only one needing attention.

Landing on home's doorstep, Cumulus walked inside to be greeted by his parents. As he entered, he met their gazes. His mother wore one of relief, while his father adorned a depressed one. "Hello, Mother, Father. How are you two?" In a moment, Cirrus found himself in the clutching embrace of his mother.

"I'm glad you're safe, Cumulus. We were worried that this mission might have taken a toll on you."

Dewdrop released her eldest, her expression changing to one of worry. "But I still don't understand why Cirrus had to go. He's in terrible shape right now. Doctor Feathercross is seeing to him in his room. I've never seen him look so beat. What made you think it was a good idea to take him along on this jaunt anyway?"

Cumulus found it hard to look Dewdrop in the eye. "Er, well I thought it would be a good bonding experience for both of us. We planned it all out accordingly, those of us on the main team. Even with our calculations of cloud weight versus horse power, we should have had a much easier time. I guess we underestimated the density that the final product would have. Still, there's no real reason why it should have exhausted Cirrus like it has, even for one his age." Cumulus' eyes then left his mother, to meet his father's gaze.

"Dad, sorry about all this. I just—"

"There's no explanation necessary, Cumulus, you've already said your part."

Blaze sighed. "I know you think you were doing him a favour, trying to give him life experience and toughen him up a bit. But you have yet to accept that Cirrus is still a young colt. You can't push him beyond his own physical limits and expect him to come out fine and dandy. Look, what's done is done, let's just take extra care of him. He needs his rest, and to not be pushed quite so hard. Give him a break for a while, yeah?"

Cumulus nodded to Blaze. "Yes, Father. I promised him before we returned that I'd be easier on him after this anyway. Don't worry, I won't over-exert him, I swear." Discussion over, Cumulus trotted past his parents into his brother's room, where Doctor Feathercross was in the final stages of his examination.

"Thanks for coming, Doctor. How's he doing?"

The doctor raised his head at the new arrival.

"Ah, Cumulus. I'm glad you came to me when you did. Your brother is suffering from the worst case of exhaustion I've ever seen. In fact, I'm confident in declaring that he's lucky to still be with us. I can't explain why, but Cirrus has an incredibly weak bone structure. Most pegasi have a very strong skeletal system to compensate for any crash-landing or impacts with other solid things like trees. Your brother's bones, however, are abnormally hollow. I've never seen such a brittle skeleton. One hard knock and his bones could snap like twigs. I also can't guarantee the integrity of his wings. It'll be a while before he flies again pain-free."

Feathercross finished packing up his instruments and lent a concerned eye to Cumulus. "Personally, I recommend a week's bed rest. Also, no strenuous activities for at least a month. He has a fair amount of internal bruising that will only give him grief if he tries too hard. What I will advise for him is to be very easy-going for the next few weeks, and for him to know that he has his family's support. It's amazing what love can do to speed one's recovery."

Leaving Cumulus alone with Cirrus, the doctor wandered back into the living room to inform his parents of his diagnosis. Cumulus sat down next to Cirrus' bed and placed a hoof on his head. "Sorry I pushed you too hard, bro. I never knew you had such weak bones." But I don't get it. You've never shown any sign of weakness like this before. You've always been exceptionally strong for your age, that's why I've been training you already. As he willed his brother to recover, Cumulus felt a strange sensation in his heart. Like he could feel the love leaving and entering Cirrus' own.

Cirrus opened his eyes and leaned in closer to Cumulus. "Oh hey, Cume. Look, I'm sorry about not helping more than I did. I just never thought it would be so hard—" He made to sit up, but Cumulus held him down. "Hey, what's up? I'm not a cripple you know."

"Sorry, bro—doctor's orders. You're to stay in bed for a week. Not negotiable." Cumulus continued to feel that odd sensation in his heart as his parents joined him.

Cirrus' eyes brightened at the sight of his parents. "Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad. Don't stress about me, I'll be fine now that you're all here." Indeed, Cirrus was already showing signs of recovery as the collective concern and love for him pooled in his heart. "Buuut, I guess I have to listen to orders. I'll stay in bed if I have to."

Cumulus, Blaze and Dewdrop looked at each other, then back to him. "We're just glad to hear you'll be okay, sweetie," Dewdrop said. "I'll bring you in some soup and then I want you resting, young colt." She departed the bedroom, Blaze and Cumulus following her out.

"Hey, Mum—" Dewdrop turned back to Cirrus "—could you make my soup with extra love, please?"

Dewdrop smiled. "Of course, dear. Extra love it is."




*  *  *  *  *



Boom!

"Your Element was right again, Celestia. The changeling is right here!"

Levitatus jumped off Celestia's back and ambushed 'himself,' even as Celestia flew in through the new 'door' in the tower. The changeling looked around for an escape but his reflexes were far too slow. Levitatus enveloped his doppelganger in a shielded prison, rage coursing through his body. "Be thankful that your pain doesn't now exceed the pain you've caused my guardian with your deception!" he hissed.

Celestia set to work freeing and calming the hysterical queen. "Are you all right, Your Majesty?"

Portia cowered. "No, stay away from me! I mean it—my husband will have your head if you touch a single strand of my mane!"

The alicorn rose an eyebrow and smiled down at the mare. She could tell that the queen still possessed great beauty and grace in her age, however given her state she look quite disheveled. "I promise I am not here to harm you, Your Majesty. On the contrary, I am here to save you. Your king is here as well." Celestia pointed to the real Levitatus, who'd placed a sleep spell on the hapless changeling. Now that it was asleep, it had reverted to its previous form. Emitting a small cry, Portia examined it, then looked to her real husband.

"You see?" Celestia continued, "this creature is your enemy, not I. I am here to aid you. There are others like it roaming the castle already and if we don't stop them soon, they'll have overrun the kingdom. Nopony will even suspect a thing as they have all of their love drained."

Still breathing rapidly, Portia trotted over to Levitatus and nuzzled him. "Oh, dear, I was so worried about you. I followed who I thought was you up here when you started talking about defensive spells. I couldn't understand why you'd need to read about them so suddenly, when you already know the books by heart. Then..."

The king put his hooves around his wife and held her. "Never mind, dearest. There was no way you could have known. But, to business!" Levitatus pointed to the alicorn before him. "Portia, meet your newest guardian, saviour and sister-in-law: Celestia!" He ended the introduction, allowing Portia to give Celestia another once-over and absorb the information.

"S-sister-in-law?" she spluttered. "What do you mean? I've never seen her before!"

Celestia chuckled. "I promise I will explain everything later. For now, we have a potential nest of changelings to find and a kingdom to protect!" As she finished speaking, Honestly burned once again. "And now we have another lead! Let us go, before it has a chance to power up!"




*  *  *  *  *



All in position?

Ready. Everypony is weakened from their exhaustive journey. Cloudsdale is ripe for the picking.

What about the ground?

No problems here. Nopony suspects a thing. The homesteads are as good as ours.

Very good. How about the city? Anything to report?

My partner got careless and didn't shield himself thoroughly enough. He's now in the custody of the king, who also has some form of powerful winged unicorn helping him. Send reinforcements or I'll be overcome soon enough.

All right. I suppose this is our moment, if we're going to seize the city.

Shall we proceed, My Queen?

The changeling leader's nod was "felt" throughout the hivemind.

Yes, we strike now. Hard and fast. Those of you in the city, find a unicorn, subdue it and take its form. By the time the king and this new 'paladin' discover our roots, we'll already be in place. They won't be able to take all of our combined strength. Go forth, my children—the time to feed is upon us!
> Crystalline Power (part two)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Let me get this straight: first you wanted me to stop eating, now you want me to start again, just like that?" Cirrus glared at Valencia with narrowed eyes. "Gee, I don't know. I'm not really that hungry anymore."

"If you wanna stay trapped in this here cave for the rest of your life, sure. You do that. I'd rather we tried to find an escape route, personally." Valencia exhaled and rubbed her face. "Look, I'm sorry I was harsh on you before. But we really need you to have some more of that corn and try to fly against that wickedly strong wind. You already opened one door accidentally when you touched that enormous ruby back there. I think the gem above the statue will do the same thing with another door, but you're the only one who'll have any chance of reaching it."

Cirrus glanced back to the corn he possessed as he thought ahead to what was required of him. Strong winds, chilling temperature, big yellow gem, huge chasm awaiting failure... "I guess you're right, Valencia. I can try. Besides, having this kind of power is pretty awesome. You two stay in here. You don't want to get blown away by my super-speed." Cirrus' voice washed over the others with no small amount of swagger. Chomping on a cob of corn once more, he spread his wings and rocketed up the passage, his body a blur.

Immediately upon entering the chasm room, Cirrus was buffeted by the intense winds he'd been expecting. His rapid flight was cut down to a quarter the speed as he struggled against the chilling gale-force wind. Wow, without that corn we'd never get past. His eyes teared up from the chilling gust. Even with his insulated pegasus-down, Cirrus still shivered as he struggled against the breeze. The amber stone glittered, tantalisingly, temptingly out of reach but the winds increased in ferocity as he drew closer.

Barely a hoof length from the gem, Cirrus' corn-power ran out. The winds forced him back, tumbling uncontrollably through the air. He hit the ground and skipped back along the passage into the room where Valencia and Aura remained, expectant and apprehensive. As he came to a halt at their hooves, the mare and filly gasped together.

"Cirrus, are you okay?" Aura leaned down to him and gave him a helping hoof up, even as he shook off the shock.

"I'm fine, girls, don't worry. We pegasi have strong bones to protect us against solid impacts. Some are more prone to crash-landing than others. As you've seen, Valencia, I happen to do it fairly often myself." Cirrus chuckled, then fell quiet. "I don't understand, though—I was so close! Why did the corn have to wear off when it did? One more second would have been fine." Exasperated, Cirrus put his head in his hooves. "Just a little more." He lowered his forelegs as Aura touched him on the back.

"Well if you need more thrust, why don't I just eat some more berries and kind of throw you with my magic? I'll do that as you fly and you should make it. How about it?" Aura and Cirrus shared glances, both with dawning grins.

"That sounds totally fun! Er, I mean, I'm sure that'll work, yeah." Cirrus picked himself up off the floor. "All right, I'll give it another go." Trotting back up the passageway towards the chasm, he motioned for Aura to follow him. As the foals found themselves on the edge of the cliff, the vent released its chilling winds again. Aura shivered, prompting Cirrus to put a wing around her.

"So how do you want to do this?"

Aura thought for a moment, different ideas swimming through her head. Lighting up, she looked him fair in the eye and smiled. "I know what to do. It'll work for sure and you'll love it, too. Just make sure you eat your corn when I eat my berries, because the timing has to be perfect. After five seconds, I want you to turn around and fly at full force back towards me." At the shocked look upon Cirrus' face, Aura just smiled once more. "Trust me, this'll work and be awesome at the same time. Okay: one, two... three!"

Together, Aura and Cirrus stuffed their respective enhancers into their mouths and chewed. Aura's pink shine filled the room even as Cirrus had already zoomed off.

Counting to five while he flew, Cirrus pulled a one-eighty degree turn and rocketed back toward Aura, assisted by the intense tailwind. That filly better know what she's doing... As he crossed back over the edge where Aura stood, Cirrus had the barest of moments to glimpse a spark of pink, feeling himself in some stretchy net of magic. It felt like he'd flown into a gigantic spider's web. 

What the...?

"Cirrus, turn around!"

Barely acknowledging the voice, Cirrus spun around again as he felt the magical power retract. Realising what was about to happen, Cirrus' pupils shrank. By Hurrica—

Twang!

The magical net snapped back, acting as a catapult. Cirrus found himself shot forward with an insane amount of momentum—a far greater amount than he could have ever produced on his own. "Wow, Aura! You're a genius!" he cried in mid-flight. The amber stone jutted out in front of him. This time, there was no failure; Cirrus easily covered the distance against the force of the wind. As he touched the gemstone, another flash illuminated the room, bathing the entire cave in a glowing, amber light. Having been prepared for the flash this time, Cirrus raised his hooves and covered his eyes. The wind ceased. A rumble echoed through the vast chasm, the vent statue retracting into the wall on the other side. A glittering, rainbow path extended from where Aura stood.

The path finished extending toward the far wall, where a final rumble announced the opening of another new route. Valencia trotted up the pathway and stared in awe. "You both did it! Well done. Using teamwork, you overcame what would have been an otherwise impossible obstacle. I'm so proud of you." Aura and Cirrus blushed, as Cirrus fell back to the ground, one hoof rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah, just as well we did it this time. That food is really filling you know, I don't think I could have eaten another bite. I'd love to just rest a bit, actually. If you don't mind." Cirrus took a deep breath and exhaled deeply. "I'll just lie here for a while. You two go on ahead and check out the next room." With that, he fell down onto his back and relaxed. Valencia shook her head with a smile and looked back to Aura, who wore her own bemused expression.

"I guess it can't hurt to leave him here for a rest. This place seems pretty safe." Valencia's stomach gave a loud grumble. "Gosh, I hope we find some food that I can eat. That corn didn't seem to do much for me, I'm hungry again already. Come along Aura, let's see what's up."

The princess nodded at Valencia and followed her along the rainbow path into the new room, leaving Cirrus behind.




*  *  *  *  *



"Valencia?"

Startled by Aura's sudden voice in the gloom of the passage, the mare swiveled a little too fast and almost overbalanced. "Whoa, girl! Whisper next time, yeah? You scared me. I'm a little on edge in here; I really hate enclosed spaces."

Aura pawed at the ground. "Sorry," she muttered. "I just wanted to ask what you think we'll have to do next. If there is anything next."

"Aura, in all honesty, I just want to find a way out of here. I'd rather not spend any longer in this place than necessary. I have no idea what's up ahead, especially with no—light!" Valencia shielded her eyes, for as she'd spoken she'd stepped on some kind of pressure plate and flooded the room with intense amounts of it. The cavern expanded from their narrow passageway into a much larger, circular room, filled with indigo crystal pillars. The pillars had a roughly hewn shape about them, save for one side on each which was completely smooth. On the far wall, another statue was depicted. This one was of a large Earth pony stallion rearing up on its hind legs. There were holes bored into the statue where its eyes should have been. Two more indigo crystals accompanied the depiction on either side of its head.

"Well, there go those hopes," Valencia sighed. "Come on, let's figure this out. Go take a look at that statue and those crystals over there, I'll check out these pillars." Aura nodded and galloped over to the mysterious figure. Valencia turned her gaze toward the nearest pillar. It was a true thing of beauty: symmetrical jagged edges sprouted off at strange angles from the base, which grew taller than her by many hoof lengths. Wandering around it, she could see the flat surface reflecting the room and herself in it. Wow, I really need a bath. Completing her round, she noticed a portion of the crystal that was perfectly square, with two hoof-shaped indents.

Hmmm... "Aura? Have you found anything?" No answer. Frowning, Valencia looked over to the filly. "Aura? You al—"

She stopped and stared at the reason Aura hadn't heard her. The filly's gaze and focus were captivated by the sudden growths that had appeared once she touched the crystal on the left side of the stallion. Many small green shoots poked up out of the hard ground, continuing to do so while Valencia trotted over to investigate. "Well bless me from Everfree. Looks like I might actually get some kind of feed!" Valencia pounced on one of the leafy stems. Realising what they were, her eyes widened. Grasping a stem in her teeth, she yanked.

Out popped a crystal carrot, gleaming brighter than any topaz ever could. "Woo hoo! finally!" she cheered, before practically devouring the vegetable. "Oh, by the Earth pony race, this is delicious!" While Valencia filled her stomach, Aura watched the mare's coat shimmer as bright as the amber room they'd left behind. Turning away from the mare, who continued to satisfy her hunger, Aura checked out the other crystal she'd not yet touched. Curiosity getting the better of her, Aura touched the crystal on the right side of the stallion.

A concentrated, radiant beam of indigo light shot from the crystal toward the nearest pillar. Aura watched as the light beam bounced off the smooth surface of the pillar and shot toward the next one. Instead of reflecting off the second pillar, the beam lit up the giant crystal, which seemed to absorb the light. Wandering over to the first pillar, Aura checked out the surface. It was completely smooth and flat, like the water in the castle gardens back home. Like a mirror... Trotting over to the second pillar, Aura examined the differences. "Valencia, come here for a moment. Tell me if you're thinking what I'm thinking." Aura continued to study the indigo behemoth as the Earth pony joined her.

"Phew-wee, those carrots are something else. I've never felt so full of beans—er, so to speak." Valencia rubbed her stomach, satisfied. "Why, I feel like I could buck an orange tree fair out of the ground! Is this how you and Cirrus felt after eating your berries and corn? Incredible!" Valencia beamed at Aura, her coat's brilliance fading. "Now, what is it about these that you're thinking?" Valencia looked at the light, the surface of the pillar, the way the beam faded when it hit the next one.

"You know, I think we might be having the same idea after all, dear."

Aura studied the pillar, thinking. "Valencia, do you see this square section here? It has indents in it, shaped like hooves. Maybe you could try pushing it and see what happens?" Valencia nodded in response. Rearing up, she placed her front hooves into the indents and leaned all her weight into it.

The pillar remained unmoved in the slightest. Straining against the weight, Valencia tried again, to no avail.

Frowning, Aura studied the pillar some more. "The carrots... Valencia, you said you felt full of beans just a moment ago, after you finished eating. How do you feel now?"

Valencia ceased her effort and faced Aura. "Now that I think about it, that feeling left me just before, when I stopped glowing... you think maybe that's my superpower?" A grin widened on her face. "Makes sense, I guess. In any case, I have zero objection to testing the theory." Valencia licked her lips while she galloped back over to the carrot patch. Ripping one out of the ground, she returned to the pillar and took a bite. Once more, her glow returned, tainting the indigo with the shine of her own orange hue. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff. Now let's give this another go."

Valencia once again put her weight into the square. This time, her efforts were rewarded as the pillar began to rotate. Straining, Valencia kept up the motion, the strength of ten stallions flowing through her. The pillar rotated enough, a resounding click filling the room. The indigo light bounced off its new mirror and shot toward a third statue. Witnessing the confirmation of both of their theories, Valencia smiled.

"Aura, I'm gonna need more carrots."




*  *  *  *  *



The last pillar clicked into place; the beam reached its final destination, piercing one of the stallion's eyes on the wall. It was only then that Aura noticed the flaw in their plan.

Only one of the eyes are lit.

"What do we do about the second one, Valencia? There's nothing left in this room to make a second light beam." Aura looked all around the room, running back and forth between the crystalline walls, yet the indigo light failed to reveal anything else to her. "I wish Clover were here," she sighed. "She'd know what to do."

Valencia walked up to Aura and placed a hoof around the dejected unicorn. "Now don't you be so hard on yourself, little Miss. You've already proven you're so much smarter than every other filly I've ever met, that's for darn sure. Why, you could end up even surpassing Clover if you keep up your level of study and commitment. Don't start to doubt yourself kiddo, I'm sure you can think of something." Releasing her charge, Valencia smiled. "Trust me. You can solve this puzzle. Apparently, I'm just the muscle of the group." She laughed.

A small smile once again graced Aura's features. "Thanks for the pep talk, Valencia. I'll think of something. You'll see." Setting off on another loop around the room, Aura wracked her brain. How can I bring up the second beam when there's no origin for it? The second crystal produced a light, but all the first crystal did was bring up some carrots out of the ground. Is there a third crystal somewhere? Casting her gaze around the room once more, Aura's eyes found no prize. Guess that's ruled out. No crystal to make a light, no other way I can see. What else is there? Maybe...

"Valencia, try touching that first crystal near the statue again, the one that brought up the carrots. See if it does anything."

The mare nodded and placed a hoof on the crystal. As she did so, it flickered with light again, though nothing else happened. Valencia touched it a few more times, only to have the same thing happen repeatedly as well. As she shook her head at Aura, the filly sighed.

That didn't work either. Well, what else can make a light?

One moment later, the answer smacked her in the face. Of course! Why didn't I think of this right away? Excitement filling her essence, Aura ran back to the first pillar in excitement. Concentrating, Aura fired a beam of light from her own horn through the blue beam reflecting off the pillar, so it lined up with the hole. The light touched its mark... but nothing happened.

Aura sat on the ground, once again moping. It didn't work. It's not the same shade of blue.

While she contemplated the logical reasons her plan could have failed, Valencia joined her at her side. "Hey, girl. I know your plan didn't work, but that doesn't mean you have to give up. I mean, I thought I was silly for trying to push these things," she admitted, knocking the pillar with a hoof. "But after I had some of those supernaturally good carrots, it all became clear to me."

Aura looked up. Of course! "Valencia, you're the genius here today. This should do the trick!" Aura popped a small amount of crystal berries into her mouth and stepped back to the ideal firing position once again. Concentrating once more—harder this time—Aura fired a potent, laser-like beam through the indigo light, into the eye socket of the statue. Both eyes were engulfed in the powerful light rays; a familiar rumble echoed throughout the passageway. Even as the couple celebrated, another passageway presented itself, leading into darkness once more.

A moment later, Cirrus joined the pair. "Wow, girls, what did you do in here?" His gaze roved around, his eyes agape. "It looks all kinda complex and stuff. But also really cool! I felt the rumble so I figured you'd solved the puzzle. I feel better now too, so we should all be fine to head on, right?"

Aura nodded. "Yep, let's go! I wonder what's going to happen next? Maybe we'll actually find the way out of here!" She started forward, until Valencia ran in front and blocked her path.

"Uh... hey, Aura? Don'tcha think you should take it easy first? Besides, I'm pretty beat myself. Moving those crystal pillars was definitely not easy, even with my enhancements. I vote we just have a short little sit-down." She turned to Cirrus with a silly grin on her face. "Oh yes, Cirrus, I imagine you're going to absolutely despise these..."
> Exploitation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The tip of the mountain shook as Luna landed with urgency. The unicorn in her care was fading faster than she would have liked, suffering from the worst case of magical exhaustion she'd ever seen. What spell must she have cast to put herself in this state? Floating the unconscious mare into the small niche atop the peak, Luna placed her gently next to the small, clear pool. The unicorn did not stir, even after Luna channeled some more power from her vast magic pool into her target's own. It just didn't seem to stick; the magic bled out of the unicorn almost as fast as Luna could power her up. Her magical dam must be broken. Kindness can only do so much.

Making her decision with a heavy heart, Luna redirected her priorities. Weaving a different spell, she focused her energy into a preservation spell instead of a healing spell. It won't help her now, but it'll save her life, she reasoned to herself as she locked the unicorn's vitals into stasis. Levitating her onto the fern bed by the far wall, she closed her eyes and wondered. At least Kindness has eased off on me. There's not much more I can do now. Satisfied that the mare would be safe, Luna turned her gaze to the city below the mountain peak.

"Where are you, Celestia? What are you up to?"




*  *  *  *  *



"Where next, Celestia? Is the wretch nearby?" Levitatus asked as he and Portia galloped alongside the alicorn. Celestia steeled her expression and turned to face the king.

"I fear it may have picked up our tracing technique. Perhaps that other changeling was able to send a message somehow before we apprehended it. Honesty stopped burning a few moments ago. That suggests only one option to me: the changeling is no longer disguised. I believe that, since it is no longer attempting to delude us with a pony form, Honesty cannot detect any deceit in the vicinity." Celestia smiled for a moment, then her expression dropped. "This should—in theory—make it easier to find, although that says nothing about its actual hiding skills. That is, if it is even alone. I fear I may have alerted other invaders to my presence. If they plan to strike, it will happen very soon."

Celestia's grim prediction did little to raise the morale of the still-shaken queen. "You mean, there are more of those monsters? Oh goodness, what do we do?" She looked to her husband. "If there's more of them, we could be in serious trouble, my love. And where are our daughters anyway? Shouldn't we be making sure they're safe first?"

The king frowned. "You're absolutely right, dear. Platinum is accounted for, though. We've locked her in her room and placed a shield around her window. We convinced her not to open her door without a password that only Celestia and I could know. You should go and check on her—I'm sure she could use some comfort from her mother. The password is Luna."

As confusion crossed Portia's face, Levitatus continued, "I'll explain later. For now, Celestia and I must resume our hunt. Although—" he looked to his sister as Portia fled to Platinum's chamber "—would you mind awfully if I searched for my younger daughter, Aura? I feel absolutely terrible for not thinking of her until now."

Celestia nodded. "Of course, brother. Family must come first. I shall investigate the disappearance of our foe alone. Hopefully I can contain the threat before we have a crisis on our hooves." Along with giving Levitatus a farewell wink, Celestia slipped him a cheeky grin. "I will have this critter corralled soon enough for you. Fear not."




*  *  *  *  *



All in position?

Yes, My Queen.

Reporting in, My Queen.

Standing by, My Queen.

The changeling leader leered to herself as drone after drone announced their readiness to deploy via their shared hive-mind. The incarceration of one of her children was unfortunate, yet the knowledge she had yielded was most valuable. Not only was there a towering pony sporting wings and a horn aiding the unicorn king, but it wielded some kind of deception-detecting weapon. Some sort of Element. The queen had hurriedly ordered her children to hold off on transforming, and to hide once she had received this information. Now that they were in position, she could finally unveil her grand plan.

The thought filled her with glee. After all this time, decades of starving, we shall finally feed! The best part was—if her theory was correct—the tall pony was about to feel the burn.

Transform!




*  *  *  *  *



Celestia screamed. The agony was terrible, like nothing she'd ever experienced. Every nerve in her body shrieked in protest. Her harsh whinnies did not reach the ears of anypony who might have cared: Levitatus was on the other side of the castle searching for his daughter, while Portia was no doubt comforting her eldest. Thrashing around on the floor of the entrance hall madly, Celestia vainly fought the terrible pain. Tears poured down the face of the mighty alicorn as the piercing pain invaded every one of her nerves. The fiery power of Honesty coursed through Celestia with every good intention, oblivious to the extreme detriment it inflicted upon its host.

"Enough."

Celestia opened her eyes in shock as her body ceased its involuntary convulsions. The pain lingered, its intensity diminished but still very present. The voice—simultaneously melodious and harsh—had brought a respite to the searing betrayal of her Element. Casting her gaze upon her saviour, Celestia stiffened. Glaring down at her, a black and green 'alicorn' stood a few paces away, accompanied by several other smaller ilk. Insectoid in appearance, Celestia had not seen the likes of this changeling yet. While the changelings she'd encountered matched the surrounding drones in possessing only wings, the larger one could have been her own corrupted twin. Tattered, translucent wings adorned her back. A crooked horn crowned her aqua-maned head, bent like an old, gnarled tree branch. Her height would have been a match. Yet what drew Celestia's attention were the eyes.

Gleaming green eyes, lined with all of the malice and sadistic cruelty that a pair could possibly contain.

"I see. So you're the one who very nearly ruined my plan." The changeling's voice grated against Celestia's ears, charming her and torturing her as one. "I must say, I've never seen the likes of you before. Every other morsel I've preyed on hasn't been nearly the same height or wielded nearly the same amount of power." With a sneer, the love parasite paused. "Oh, but where are my manners?" She paced around Celestia, thoroughly examining her body. "I am Mantissia: Queen of the changeling race!"

Resuming her pacing, the queen assessed her captive. "Wings. And a horn? Well now, what do I call you? A Unisus? A Pegacorn? Perhaps—"

"Alicorn. I am an alicorn." Celestia lifted her head in defiance of the mocking, scratching voice. "My name is Celestia, daughter of Dimiourgia, creator of all things." Preparing to stand, she rose to her knees but found herself promptly surrounded. An unbroken circle of black and blue drones lifted their hooves threateningly. Taking the hint, Celestia lowered herself back to the ground, still retaining her gaze on the larger changeling. Mantissia allowed a look of mock shock to cross her face before resuming her leer.

"Whoever and whatever you are, it matters not. I run this city now. My children and I have been plotting this day for too long. Never before have we starved so desperately, withered away so helplessly. Why, even I possess but a shell of the power and glory I could achieve. That accursed winter allowed no room for any feelings of love, joy, or even hope. For almost a year, we languished in despair of it ever ceasing."

The changeling paused as the painful memory soured her face. "But the winter was lifted. We felt the love return to the land from afar. And we were hungry. We still are very hungry. Now, as this city and every lover within celebrates the dying hours of Hearts And Hooves Day, we can feel the excessive waves of love spreading through our inner linings. Usually we would have been content to observe this kingdom from afar and take only what we needed."

Mantissia licked her fanged teeth in anticipation. "However... did I mention we're all still very hungry? This time, we need more. Much more. You see, food can sustain us, but it cannot satisfy us. We cannot grow, cannot develop. We can never thrive. A remarkable thing, our diet. Even a small drop of love—one that would never be missed by its owner—could lend one of my children the strength to grow and thrive for a day. Powerful and potent, this emotion you ponies produce. Yet you remain ignorant to its true potential." Mantissia giggled at Celestia, who continued to stare, ignoring the residual burn of Honesty. "If you could only harness it like we can," the queen continued, "you would certainly be all-powerful. As it stands, though, the power is mine!"

At the final word, every changeling transformed once again into the forms they'd stolen from unsuspecting, off-guard citizens. Celestia—overcome by the return of Honesty's nerve-incinerating power—resumed her uncontrollable seizures and screamed once again. For the longest second of her life, Celestia's existence was agony, until a series of form reverts telegraphed her respite. Panting heavily, she rose her face to stare Mantissia right in the eyes. The queen chuckled.

"See? You're now completely at my mercy. It seems those magic jewels you possess lack the capability to know when they should level off the pain cap." Once more, that malicious giggle. "How does it feel to know the very power you wield is completely beyond your control, yet I can switch it on and off remotely at my very whim?" Openly laughing by this time, Mantissia lost herself in her own realisation. Celestia watched the queen, an emotion spreading through her that she feared above all.

Hate. Never before had she detested a creature so. It showed no signs of compassion, only ruthlessness, a will to take everything from its victims and leave behind naught but their husks. A creature so vile, its only purpose was to take from the world and give nothing back. Vorjhan's paw is truly at work here. He may have found them entertaining and humorous, but nopony in their right minds would suffer these creatures to live if they knew the repercussions of allowing their existence.

Venom laced Celestia's tongue as it lashed out. "You disgust me, Mantissia."

The laughter ceased, quick as if Celestia had been rendered immediately deaf. Mantissia jerked back, as though Celestia's verbal slap in the face had actually connected. She fixed her stare on Celestia, her eyes narrowing dangerously. A threatening, emerald glow enveloped her deformed horn. "You ought be quiet and hold that tongue of yours, Princess. I could destroy you even now if I wanted to. Just give me a reason."




*  *  *  *  *



Covered by a chameleon-like illusion spell, Luna gently landed in the city square. Flames and torches flickered in the night, while the moon gleamed down from its unparalleled position as high sentinel. Luna folded her wings and assessed the city. The buildings had been expertly constructed. Perfectly cut stone blocks were inlaid among each other. The buildings flowed into one another seamlessly, with thick walls separating them from their neighbours. The streets were wide and accommodating enough for twenty ponies to walk side by side. Roofs were rounded and adorned with gold and silver linings. The trickle of water that leaked through the mountainside's rocks flowed through the city in gloriously detailed and practically-dug-out canals.

We will have to investigate this place later after we have made ourselves known, sister. While Luna searched for a building that might resemble a medical facility, a passing shadow caught her peripheral eye. She turned her head and followed as it vanished around a corner into a nearby alley. Gliding on silent wings, she floated into the alley after the shadow. Hearing the sound of magic, Luna pulled up to check that her cloaking spell remained active. Satisfied that she was still hidden, she proceeded.

A very familiar stallion turned to face Luna as her heart jumped. Starshine. Before she could even think about how to process this information, Starshine lowered his horn and spoke first.

"Who's there? I can feel you even if I can't see you. Show yourself!"

Not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble or ruckus, Luna lowered her enchantment. Her midnight blue coat, shimmering mane and various regalia commanded Starshine's full attention, causing him to back away slowly. Luna's joy at seeing her nephew gave way to concern as the stallion trembled. "You have nothing to fear, my dear. I am not here to harm you. Do you not remember me?" As the stallion shook his head, Luna sighed. "It is I, Starshine: your Aunt Luna. I know I have been gone a very long time, but I have returned. Celestia, too."

A moment passed before Starshine relaxed and lowered his horn. "Luna? You mean, it's really you?" Without warning, he galloped up to Luna and nuzzled her. "How long has it been exactly? I've lost count of the years."

Luna smiled as she placed a hoof on his head and regarded him at length. He'd certainly grown into a handsome thing. Only a colt when she'd seen him last, Starshine had often been visited by Luna in his dreams. He tended to have more nightmares than the others. Yet sometimes I was the cause. The memory left a bittersweet taste in her mouth as she remembered the feeling of being manipulated. On rare occasions, she had been as much of an antagonist to him as a saviour.

"It has been twenty years, Starshine. Do not ask me where we were; that is a tale for another day. It is true that we have returned, but I personally have done so under dire circumstances. I have a deathly sick unicorn in my care and she requires urgent medical treatment. I found her beyond the northern mountain range in the blizzard-ravaged wilds. Why she was there or how she got there, I cannot say, but I do know that she would already be dead if I had not found her."

Luna motioned to the summit of the mountain. "I am keeping her in a safe place, but I had to cast a spell placing her in stasis. She seems to be suffering from an extreme case of magical bleeding. Somehow, the dam that contains her magic pool has burst. The spell will not last for long, though. Is there anypony here who can help with that sort of thing?"

Starshine put his hoof to his mouth and thought. A moment passed... "Well, our last qualified medical practitioner died in the fell winter just past. There are only other apprentices who are yet unskilled enough to attempt such a powerful spell. I can think of only two others who might be up to the task: our King and Archmage, Levitatus and his niece, Clover the Clever. They both reside at the castle of course, but I don't think—hey!"

Starshine had to shout, for Luna had immediately taken off and flown toward the castle. "Where're you going? You can't just fly to the castle and wake them up! It's the middle of the night!"

Luna heard the unicorn yelling but didn't end her flight. I apologise, nephew but I care not whether they be royalty, asleep, or even both. That unicorn needs my help.

Besides, I worry after my sister as well...




*  *  *  *  *



Changelings, status report—how goes the hunt for the royal family?

My Queen, I am pleased to report that we have apprehended every member of the royals. The stallion proved to be most troublesome, yet we got him in the end. His wife and daughter surrendered with little resistance after we subdued him and threatened his life. We have also subdued the Royal Guard: nopony put up any worthwhile resistance.

Excellent news, Veliger. Stow them in the northern tower.

My Queen, our units have deployed successfully throughout the city. Our branches in the rural Earth pony areas and the pegasus city of Cloudsdale also report uncontested infiltration. Equestria will soon be under your total control.

Your confidence excites me, Zinger. I am pleased with your report.

My Queen, I just met another alicorn. She's heading in your direction right now, looking for the king!

Mantissia froze.

Another alicorn? You mean this one isn't alone?

Clearly not, my Queen. She knows not yet of our existence, though, so you could still take her by surprise with an ambush. She appears to not possess the same ability as the one you have in custody, as my disguise completely fooled her. She seeks a way to aid a unicorn on the verge of death. I'm certain she approaches in peace, if only in urgency.

Very well. This information is most valuable. As you were.

Mantissia turned back to Celestia. "It would seem that you've been hiding something from me, Celestia," she declared with an evil smile. "You're not the only one of your kind, are you?"

Celestia stiffened. Oh no. Luna—she knows.

A curious sensation chose that moment to manifest around Celestia's throat. The Pendant of Loyalty glowed a deep scarlet as the underside of the golden band pricked into her skin. She gasped at the new feeling even as she comprehended what it must mean. Taking in a deep breath, Celestia bellowed her loudest yell ever. Five seconds later, her world became pain once more as the angered Mantissia ordered her miniature army to transform. Even through the intolerable, unbearable pain, Celestia was able to smile, for her message had not fallen on deaf ears.

"Sister, turn back! An ambush awaits at the castle! Alert the kingdom!"
> Crystalline Power (part three)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I expected something of this nature, but this is something else entirely, Valencia thought as she waited for Cirrus to calm down. One little taste of crystal carrot later, the pegasus had taken off in a frenzy, coughing and spluttering. "Foals. Always foals with their root vegetables," she laughed as Cirrus came back glowing. Evidently, he'd resorted to eating another corn cob to remove the taste from his mouth. To Aura's credit, she had tasted them after thinking logically about the process of elimination and proving her hypothesis correct. She didn't mind them, she just found them neither disgusting nor appealing.

Aura sat on the ground and motioned for the other two to join her. "Okay guys, here's what we know: our foods seem to have an Earth/Wind/Magic cycle going on. I love berries, like carrots and hate corn. Valencia, you love carrots, like corn and hate berries. Cirrus, you love corn, like berries and hate carrots. Each of these fruit and vegetables have granted us race-specific abilities. This can't be a coincidence. I'm sure that somehow, we were meant to end up here together. I know it sounds weird, but it makes a lot of sense.

"There's no way that just one, or even two of us could have gotten as far into this mountain as we have. Even with three or more of us, without at least one pony from each race, it would have been hopeless. If we hadn't been able to get this far in and discover food we could eat, we would still be starving. Probably thinking about the best way to make it through a raging blizzard with that terrible worm on our tails too."

Cirrus caught her glance and nodded. He turned to Valencia, who also nodded. Aura's assessment of their situation did make a lot of sense. "It's strange how everything we've been through in the last two days has led us here: me, crash-landing next to Valencia, Valencia offering to carry me so my brother could leave us and return to help the herd, being ambushed by the changelings..."

He trailed off with a shudder, meeting the eyes of his companions once more. "I never expected my life to have anywhere near this much excitement. Even though I've been battered, bruised, even almost rendered flightless along the way, I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything." Cirrus concluded his miniature speech with a slight blush staining his cornflower cheeks.

Aura took the time to speak for herself. "I have to agree, Cirrus. If I hadn't set out with Clover two days ago to help her with her research, I wouldn't have ever seen Neighagra Falls. I'd never have been kidnapped myself, and I'd definitely never have found myself in this frozen wasteland beyond unicorn borders. Yet this cavern has awed me with its beauty and its fruit. The puzzles were kinda fun too, even though that wind one was pretty dangerous. I still agree, though, while it's been super-scary a lot, and even when I thought I was going to die for sure... it's been a wild ride. One I'll remember all of my life. I'm just glad I had you two and Clover with me."

Aura paused, the telltale sign of suppressed tears betraying her stoic calm. "I-I miss Clover. I really hope she's all right. I don't know what I'd do if... if she—"

"Now don't you worry your pretty little head about your friend, Princess." Valencia stood up and walked over to Aura, offering her a hug. The filly remained upset, but leaned into the embrace anyway. "We saw that shadow of the past carry her away. It was a mighty big pony, with a mighty large horn and wings to boot. I'm willing to wager that she knows some real powerful magic. If Clover's not currently in safe hooves, well... I'll eat nothing but crystal berries for the rest of my days."

Feeling a giggle vibrate through her fur, Valencia smiled and continued, "Clover will be just fine. I promise you'll see her again. Heck, we've survived everything so far haven't we? What a terrible waste it would all be if any of us didn't make it out of this unexpected adventure."

Valencia pushed Aura back out to hooves length to address her once more. "You've proven to be a smart, resourceful little filly. Cirrus has also proven he has the determination to press on with things. There's hope for both of you. You know what the ironic thing about my story is?"

As the foals shook their heads, Valencia chuckled. "This is supposed to be my darned vacation! My family sent me to Neighagra Falls for a holiday so I could forget about work and get some rest! How funny is that?" As she finished, all three of them fell back on the ground, shaking uncontrollably from laughter. The glee in their voices reverberated around the cavern, echoing off the glistening walls. Valencia regained her composure with a final chuckle. "It's a dangerous business, going out your door, isn't it?"

A sudden rumble brought the trio back to their senses, their wits about them. An enormous boulder shifted near the end wall, revealing three differently shaped, positioned and coloured gaps.

The first space was a large, orange cutout within the rock, accessible from the ground. An orange, square-shaped crystal jutted out from the rear of the hole.

The second space was carved slightly up into the wall, about ten hoof lengths above the ground. It was accessible only through a narrow, winding pink tunnel that wound its way up to the small niche, which featured a ruby-red crystal on the outside wall nearby, just barely out of reach.

The third space was located higher up, centered between the first two. It seemed to penetrate deeper into the rock wall than the other two did, decorated in a very light blue. A violet crystal gleamed weakly at its entrance.

Valencia, Cirrus and Aura looked at each other, silent comprehension dawning between them all. They nodded in unison and approached the wall. Valencia stepped inside the orange-tinged hole and touched the orange crystal. Aura shuffled slowly up the narrow pink passage, halted at the open top and reached out to the ruby crystal with her magic. Cirrus flew up to his neat little niche and hoof-bumped his own violet crystal.

Nothing happened.

Aura and Cirrus looked down from their perches to Valencia, as she extricated herself from her own gap. "What's going on with you two?" Aura yelled. "Did you touch your crystals, either of you?"

Cirrus' voice floated up. "Yeah, nothing happened at all. Valencia?"

The mare shook her head. "Nothing doing, young'uns. Mine just lit up and then went dull again right away." Valencia pondered the mystery crystals. "Hmmm... I guess, maybe... Cirrus, Aura, I want you to touch your crystals again. But this time we're all gonna do it together at once."

The foals nodded and returned to their positions. As she moved back into her own hole, Valencia ordered, "On three, yes? One, two, three!"

Each of the crystals glowed simultaneously, resulting in another low rumbling. Exiting their holes, Valencia and Cirrus glanced at the wall between the holes, witnessing a large crack run down it. An opening not unlike the ones they'd entered through began to present itself, then stalled after a small amount of time.

Valencia examined the fissure, frowning. "No way I'll be able to squeeze through that."

"Should we try pressing the crystals again?" Aura called from above.

With a nod, the others returned to their niches. Valencia counted down once more, as all three crystals were struck by either hooves or magic. This time, the absence of a rumble was more noticeable than the presence of one. The fissure did not widen. After more repeated tapping of gems by everypony, the wall remained the same. The gap was too small for even Aura to fit through.

"Well that's just great." Valencia sighed, then took a deep breath. "There must be another way to open this thing! Cirrus, have a look around and see if you can find anymore crystals. Maybe we haven't found 'em all." Cirrus zoomed off in search of the elusive gems, while Valencia sat on her haunches and thought.

Aura—who had stayed up above the others—looked over her own crystal, prodding it with varying forms of magic. Try as she might, no matter what spell she hit the crystal with, the reaction was consistent: a quick, ruby-red flash before it returned to normal. Come on Aura, think! We've activated their power already, the wall cracked open, so what more do we have to do? Aura thought back to the other challenges that they'd faced along the way to their current position.

There has to be something missing. Something we haven't found or done yet. But what? She remembered how her and Valencia had searched the first room. How Cirrus had zoomed around said room also looking. The way he'd found and touched that crystal embedded in the wall. Its brilliant flash upon his touch—

"The crystals!" Surprised by Aura's outburst, Valencia and Cirrus halted their examination of the chamber and cantered over to her. "Cirrus, when you touched that first crystal, it shone so bright that it blinded you for a short time. Same thing with the next, although you covered your eyes, yeah?" As he nodded, Aura smiled. "Yet, when we all touched these crystals, they only gave off a small flash each. Look." She prodded her own nearby ruby crystal, observing the resultant glow. It certainly didn't produce the blindingly bright flash they'd seen before from the others. "Think about it guys. Why aren't these crystals anywhere near as bright as the others?"

A moment passed in silence, before—

"We have to give them more power! Cirrus cried, leaping into the air again. "Let's try touching them all again after we've each eaten some food!" He looked back down to Valencia, raising a hoof, then flew up to meet Aura for a hoof-bump. She giggled and pulled him into a hug instead. Blushing, Cirrus hovered awkwardly in her grip, until she released him four seconds later. "Uh, thanks, Aura. Anyway, I'll bring you back some berries. See you in a minute!"

As Cirrus sped off, Valencia eyed Aura with a curious smirk. Aura caught her gaze and averted her eyes.

Cirrus returned soon after with a few berries, a corn cob and a carrot. "Okay, let's do this. Hope it works..." Cirrus flew into his alcove, cob in hoof. Valencia followed suit, squeezing into her own cut-out section with the carrot stalk already in her mouth. Aura stood at the ready, berries floating before her mouth.

"Everypony ready?"

Affirmation from Cirrus and Valencia, somewhat muffled, signaled their readiness. Aura levitated three berries into her mouth and chewed slowly, her coat taking on its customary, berry-induced pink shine. Valencia's orange glow filled the ground floor below, spreading across the ground around the vicinity where she stood munching on her carrot. Cirrus' blue sheen lit up the cavern, bouncing off the walls as he discarded the empty cob. With all three ponies at the ready, Aura yelled, "On three! One, two, three!"

Three loud chimes rang and an excessively bright kaleidoscope of colour illuminated the chamber. As she shielded her face from the bright assault on her retinas, Valencia felt the Earth move beneath her hooves. The telltale rumble of success greeted each of their ears, the fissure in the wall widening much broader than before. The chamber evacuated its radiance through the new gap, with the network of colours affixing itself to the path.

Enter, pure-hearted ones. The worth of your characters has been proven.

The words were not spoken, but appeared boldly in the minds of each pony. Aura and Cirrus dashed to Valencia's side, eyes wide.

"What was that?" they both asked.

Valencia just shook her head and gazed down the path. "I think we're about to find out. Let's go, you two."




*  *  *  *  *



A collective gasp escaped the party as they stepped off the glittering pathway. A colossal chamber lay before them. An enormous, sky-blue pillar reached from floor to ceiling. Two immense statues towered over them, one on each side of the pillar. They depicted two winged and horned ponies, one wearing golden regalia, the other azure regalia. A set of crystal steps led up to a section of the pillar that tapered to a point, from below and above together. Walking up the steps, they noticed that the points converged upon a single, breathtakingly beautiful sight.

A cerulean, crystal heart.

"Wowee, look at that..." breathed Aura as she stared at the gorgeous carving. The heart-shaped crystal floated between the two points, suspended in place by an unseen magic. It shimmered gently, quietly pulsing with unknown power. It seemed to call to Aura, who could feel herself drawn to the mystical object.

You gaze upon the relic that will lead Equestria to a bright and shining future.

The words were louder this time, booming inside Aura's head. Cringing back from the crystal heart, she back up against Cirrus, who draped a wing over her for support. Valencia stared at the crystal.

"Who are you, and just where are you hiding? Show yourself!" she commanded the "voice."

I cannot do that, dear Valencia. I apologise for not being physically present, but I resigned to never return to this world again.

Although Valencia could not tell for certain, the "voice" felt female. It piqued her curiosity, calmed her, yet terrified her at the same time. It felt old and powerful, like she owed it respect, although she had no idea why. "Well, can you at least tell us who you are and how you know my name? And what do you mean by this world, exactly?"

I do not reside in the same realm as you. My plane of existence is separated from your own. That is all I will tell you about that. There are more important matters to attend to. Approach the Crystal Heart, my little ponies.

Valencia, Cirrus and Aura stepped up to the crystal to get a better look. As they did so, Aura caught a sight they had all overlooked. Behind the Crystal Heart stood a unicorn, frozen in stone. Her mouth open, Aura cantered around the Heart and examined the pony. Its head was bowed low, its tail between its legs. What stood out, though, was the teardrop frozen on its cheek. A small crystal tear, exactly the same hue as the Heart, gleamed in juxtaposition to the larger, dull stone body.

"Why is this pony all stone-like, Miss Other-worldly-voice?" she asked.

Before the "voice" could answer, Valencia interrupted. "Cockatrice. I've never seen one, though—and just as well, or I wouldn't be here today at all. Elder pony folk than me from my village told me about it. Supposedly, it's a monster like a cross between a chicken and a snake, that can turn any living creature who makes eye contact with it to stone. It lives in the Everfree Forest, where our family came from back in the day. There's a tale that ponyfolk are told as foals about a unicorn that went missing the day of the Great Evacuation.

"The legend says that the unicorn—named Free Spirit—felt the approaching evil that day and attempted to flee the wood before anypony else but never returned. Nor was he ever heard from again. Those who'd claimed to catch a glimpse of what a cockatrice did to other wildlife while they fled have always blamed it for Free Spirit's disappearance. It may or may not be true; some believe a manticore, or a timberwolf would have been a more likely explanation. The story's supposed to keep us from venturing into that cursed forest, for if a magical unicorn could be turned to stone, what chance would a regular Earth pony stand against one?"

What happened to Free Spirit is most unfortunate, the "voice" declared, cutting Valencia off. But while tragic, that is not the most important issue here. Note the similarities between the tear and the Heart, if you have not already. A being that I created—long before ponykind was ever thought of—found this statue on the edge of the forest. He had caused untold chaos and destruction in times past, respecting no boundaries of life, morality or even reality. Listen now to my tale, for it contains information of upmost importance about this world...

It was on the day of his banishment from the forest that you now call Everfree, also the day of the "Great Evacuation" as you called it, that it happened. The beast found this unicorn, petrified, at the edge of the wood. For the first time, an uncharacteristic emotion overtook his mind: pity. He had lost the closest thing he had ever had to even remotely consider a friend that day. The sight of this sad, lifeless statue really got to him, for the words that Free Spirit uttered pierced their way into the heart I thought he had long forsaken.

Overcome with this new emotion, the one named Vorjhan transported the once-living statue to this very cavern. After constructing the trials that you have successfully completed, he cut out his own heart—which had previously been incapable of positive emotion—and placed it in this very room, leaving it as a shrine. A tribute to the one pony he had ever respected. Yes, young ones, the "voice" affirmed, this is Vorjhan's heart. While he felt respect, pity, sadness and humility for this short time-frame, his true chaotic nature warred within himself. It wanted to know why he should care about anything at all.

Unable to stand the internal conflict, Vorjhan separated himself into two different entities: the uncaring, chaotic form abandoned this place and all memory of Free Spirit and the first pony, vowing to one day return to the world and spread his chaotic ways. The compassionate, caring side was trapped within this heart, containing what limited positive and heartfelt emotion he'd ever felt. It lies dormant now, waiting to transfer untold power to one who would share its nature. Only the purest of hearts could have entered this sealed chamber, he made sure of that.

Strange, that he would devise a way to rejuvenate and protect the world he once cared nothing for. Not unlike how I felt for a while, years ago. I admit, he surprised me with his actions.




*  *  *  *  *



As she sat listening, Aura could only gape at the tale. She had not only heard and felt the words, but images had also formed in her mind while they were "spoken." She saw everything. "Um, voice-pony-thing, what does this Crystal Heart do exactly? What is it meant for, and what is this untold power you mentioned?"

The voice chuckled, the musical sound filling the minds of the trio. You, Princess Aura—daughter of the first pony king, Levitatus, and possessor of the purest heart in recent pony history—should be the one to touch the Heart, and discover for yourself.

Nervously, Aura glanced back at Cirrus and Valencia. Cirrus egged her on with an encouraging smile, while Valencia simply nodded, wearing the faintest of concerned frowns. Turning back to the Heart, Aura slowly trotted up to the immaculate carving. Flitting a gaze toward the petrified unicorn, Aura reached out a hoof to the Crystal Heart.

Immediately, the Heart gleamed with the intensity of the sun, illuminating the entire cavern while forcing the ponies to avert their gaze. The chamber exploded in a tumultuous wave of power, every colour of the known light spectrum. The power radiating from the Crystal Heart billowed around Valencia and Cirrus. As the first wave of power washed over them, their coats once again adopted their shiny appearances. A loud rumbling filled the air, the entire mountain undergoing a breathtaking transformation.

A truly colossal fissure snaked all the way along the center of the ceiling and walls. As another wave of power pulsed throughout the area, the fissure split, opening up to reveal the sky above. The moon was still high in the air.

While the blizzard still appeared to rage above them, it failed to intrude upon the radiance still emanating from the Heart. Power continued to flow from it, seemingly unstoppable. Much like a dome opening up, the walls and ceiling retracted and folded down, the resultant rumbling now filling the ears of the three completely.

By Hurricane's hooves, thought Cirrus as he stared in total awe. After eyeing the shifting interior and rainbow lights ricocheting everywhere, Cirrus' eyes fell on Aura. His jaw dropped.

Aura glimmered in the same brilliant pink she had during the trials. Engulfed in the power of the Crystal Heart, she floated, suspended in mid-air. The whites of her eyes overrode her pupils and irises as the Heart fed power into her.

With a final deafening crash, the cavern completed its transformation. No longer were they inside a mountain, trapped and encased by a vicious snowstorm. As the power dissipated and the intense light from the Crystal Heart faded, the ponies observed their new surroundings in complete wonder. The area around the Crystal Heart seemed to lie underneath some tall, crystalline structure. All around them, other crystal structures resembling buildings had grown out of what was, moments before, the walls of the cavern under the mountain. Green grass grew nearby. Crystal corn, apples, carrots, berry bushes and more grew in a field a short distance away.

Everypony continued to stare in wonder at their surroundings, still unsure if their eyes had betrayed them.

Congratulations, ponies, cheered the "voice." What has transpired here today is final, indisputable proof that the Crystal Heart has recognised its true bearer. This heart will radiate its power throughout all of Equestria, filling the land with love, merriment and prosperous feelings. At least, as long as it has a bearer worthy of looking after it, by infusing their own pure spirit into it. The Heart gives, but it must also take. It must always have... a keeper.

The images of a white, rusty-red-maned, winged unicorn and the same mismatched creature that had appeared during the "voice's" speech flooded into Aura's mind. The alicorn and the draconequus both smiled to each other before declaring their next words:

We dub thee—pure-hearted Aura, daughter of Star Swirl and Portia—Keeper of the Crystal Heart and the first Crystal Princess!




*  *  *  *  *



Aura sat in pure disbelief, her eyes blank. With a shake of her head, she felt a tingle on either side of her flank. Before she could investigate, she heard a gasp each from Cirrus and Valencia. Distracted, Aura looked over to them where they both stood, mouths agape. "What is it, you two? What happened?"

As she asked, the mare and colt both bowed before her. "I'm serious, what's up?" she pressed.

Cirrus looked up and met her confused gaze. "Aura, your cutie-mark... it's—"

At the word "cutie-mark", Aura whipped her head around excitedly. There on either side of her flank, the spitting image of the Crystal Heart rested; a cerulean heart-shaped jewel surrounded by other purple gems draped around it like a necklace. A warm, tingling feeling crept into Aura's heart with the realisation.

"I become Keeper of a powerful relic, princess of a brand-new realm and I get my cutie mark... all in the same day?" Aura failed abysmally to contain her excitement as she bounded up and down, around in circles. "Yes! Wow! Incredible! Best day ever! Yes!"

While Cirrus looked on, Valencia directed a question to the unseen alicorn. "So, what exactly does all this mean? Aura becomes a full-time guardian of some mystical jewel strong enough to level a mountain, becomes a Crystal Princess... and on top of that, inherits the legacy of the two most powerful creatures to ever exist? Why her? And how did the Heart know that all of us were pure enough to make it through those trials?"

The heart recognised the touch of those throughout the course of the trials. Only ponies pure of heart could have eaten the delicacies within the caverns to gain enhanced strength, speed and magical prowess from them. The alicorn redirected its attention to Aura. Now, Aura, there is something you need to do. Your first act as Crystal Princess: I want you to take the Crystal Tear from the cheek of the petrified pony before you.

Obeying the alicorn, Aura walked over to the unicorn and grasped the tear in her magic. As it hovered before her eyes, it re-shaped itself into a miniature replica of the Crystal Heart.

Now, take the amethysts that adorn the base of the crystal pillar.

One by one, the amethysts in Aura's telekinetic grip re-arranged themselves around the new heart in an identical design to how they were portrayed on her cutie-mark.

Finally, drape it around your neck. This Crystal Pendant shall be your new, permanent identifier as rightful Keeper of the Crystal Heart. It will serve to amplify any feelings of love you display for anypony, as well as protect you from any who might threaten or oppose you.

The Heart around her neck glowed, filling Aura with a warm sense of safety and security.

Your final role in this first act as Princess, is to pour the power of the Heart—through the necklace—into the pony before you.

As Aura obeyed the disembodied alicorn voice one final time, she could only stare in pure wonder. The stone prison encasing the unicorn shattered, revealing a blond-maned, chestnut-coloured stallion. At first, he did not move. Seconds passed, during which Aura put a hoof to her mouth in shock while the unicorn slowly opened his eyes. The amber irises met her own, the first things they'd seen in over twenty years.

Before Free Spirit could register anything more than his own shock, he fainted.

While Valencia and Cirrus examined the newly revived unicorn, Aura took a moment to sit and absorb everything that had happened within the previous fifteen minutes. So much is going on right now. Such a shame there's only Valencia and Cirrus here to witness—

"Miss Alicorn! I have a question for you, if you're still there?" Upon "feeling" an affirming smile in her mind, Aura proceeded. "Do you know what happened to my teacher and friend, Clover the Clever? She was in a magical coma, and I used a spell that showed me an alicorn like yourself carrying her away. At least, I think she was an alicorn. Is she the same as you? And is Clover going to be all right? I really want to see her, and help her if I can." A tear finally escaped her left eye. "I miss her. She's always been there for me."

Your friend is in good care. The alicorn you refer to is one of my very own daughters. Her name is Luna, a very powerful pony. She wields three of the six Elements of Harmony which I created: Kindness, Laughter and Magic. If you wish to contact her, just reach out to her through the pendant you wear. If she is wearing the Tiara of Magic, she will feel your call and should respond. Your friend is in safe hooves, but you should probably still see her. The more love you display to the world and to your friends and family, the stronger your own power—and the power of the Crystal Heart—shall grow.

Aura nodded. Clover is alive! She's going to pull through! While ecstatic at the news, she kept her composure, asking a follow-up question. "Is it safe to leave the Crystal Heart here and visit my friends and family back in Unitopia? I don't want any harm to befall this place."

You need not worry about this new city of yours. It comes in-built with its own powerful protection spell, generated by the love of the keeper. Over time, your subjects will also be able to add to the Heart's power, lessening the burden on your own. Yes, your new Empire will be safe as long as you retain your purity. I have no doubt in your abilities. Go, all of you. Aura, call to Luna. She will come. Now I must take my leave of this world. I know you will all make me proud. Farewell, my little ponies.

Aura, Valencia and Cirrus each "felt" a warm smile from the deity as her presence disappeared.

Aura turned to the others. "Well, here goes nothing." Concentrating hard with her new power, Aura imagined making a link to the one named Luna. Please help me, Luna. Please save Clover.
> Love Conquers All... (part one)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Sister, turn back! An ambush awaits at the castle! Alert the kingdom!"

As Luna heard the frantic call from her sister resonate all through the city, a smaller voice tugged at her mind. Magic glowed atop her head, transmitting a message from an unknown source.

Please help me, Luna. Please save Clover.

While the message transcribed its way into her brain, Luna felt the burn of Kindness—coupled with the pull of Magic—compel her to the north. It stems from the mountain range where I found that unicorn... wait, did she say  Clover? Is  that the unicorn I rescued? Collecting her thoughts, Luna hovered in mid-air, gently rising and falling as her wings kept her aloft. Celestia said to warn the kingdom. An ambush. She must be in trouble, or she would have elaborated further. Preparing her powerful voice with a deep breath, Luna did her best to ignore the effects of her Elements.

"Citizens of the mountain kingdom! Forgive me for waking you, for I bear grave news of your royal family! As I speak, the castle is under attack, your king and queen besieged! An unknown assailant has infiltrated your city and taken them prisoner! I call to you now to aid your rulers! Fight for their freedom!"

While Luna made to return to the mountaintop, she witnessed many ponies beginning to amass around the castle courtyards. Pleased that she had managed to put her voice to good use—for a change—Luna ascended the heights and re-entered the cave. With Clover still in her induced coma, Luna gently levitated her charge onto her back.

Luna weighed her only option. With the king seemingly out of commission and the only other capable of performing the spell also disabled, I have no choice but to trust in my Elements. Luna circled around the kingdom once more, as she used her keen night vision to assess the results of her citywide alarm. A lot of ponies sure answered my call quickly... shaking her head, Luna cleared her mind as she departed, once more heading to the frozen wastes of the north.




*  *  *  *  *



"So, you thought you could protect your partner from falling into our trap? You're even more deluded than I thought." Mantissia circled Celestia as she examined her prey. The throne room buzzed with the excitement of Mantissia's troops, their leader taunting the rebel alicorn. "My children were alerted by her rather impressive voice. She will soon face an army that nopony can stand against. You know, I do hate it when surprises are ruined like that. How would you like it if I told you what you would be getting for your birthday?" She pouted.

Celestia panted heavily, doing her best to recover from her latest dishonesty overload. "You think that I'm simply going to allow you to take this castle and usurp the throne? You're the one who's deluded, My Queen." She spat at Mantissia's hooves.

In an instant, Mantissia was at her level on the ground, teeth bared. "You will not disrespect me like that!" she hissed, her voice dripping with venom. "Soon, I will be the ruler of this land and all of its inhabitants. I have starved for far too long. My children have starved. We are simply taking what we deserve. We will be loved and we will grow strong from that love. Even now, our power grows. Every unicorn household has been infiltrated by now, every home leeched of all positive emotion. You will witness the power of love soon enough."

Lowering her mouth to Celestia's ear, she offered a dangerous whisper. "You're only alive because I have use for you now and no other reason." The smile returning to her face, Mantissia rose to her pock-marked hooves once again. Turning away from Celestia, the changeling queen issued an order to her lieutenant, a drone only slightly smaller than herself. "Thoramen, prepare the pod. Our king's great defender looks tired. She could do with some rest." Sneering, she turned back around, preparing a spell for Celestia—

The speed and power of the tackle knocked Mantissia flying many of her body-lengths across the throne room. She landed heavily against a far wall and gasped, all of the air violently departing from her lungs. Wheezing and coughing, she made to rise once again as her swarm formed a vanguard in front of her. She could sense the disarray in the minds of her children—a flurry of panic, concern and fear. After three final coughs, Mantissia glared across the room at her attacker.

Celestia stood tall and proud, gazing unflinching at her foe. Her pink mane rippled as the power of Loyalty coursed throughout her body.

"As long as I stand to oppose you, you will never rule my brother's kingdom! I am his champion, his most loyal subject. I am his sister: Celestia!"

The room shook as she felt the warm tingle of Loyalty bolster her supportive words. She glared at the would-be Queen of Equestria. "I will always support my family and protect our bloodline. My sister will as well. Surrender, Mantissia! Leave this city and I shall spare your race. If you continue to oppose me, there will be no dam in existence capable of halting the torrent of my judgement upon you."

Mantissia glared at her opponent in great defiance. Unexpectedly, she softened. Relaxing slightly, Mantissia made to bow her head. "You are a truly fearsome guardian, Princess. You command great power at your hooftips with those Elements of yours. I do not deny your power for a moment—indeed I was a fool to underestimate it." Raising her head once more, she continued, "But do not think that your will here is absolute. For I wield a greater power than your precious trinkets can ever bestow upon you: the power of love!"

The changeling fired a green-tinged bolt of dark, malevolent power directly at Celestia. The alicorn responded by conjuring an aura shield in front of her body. She buckled under the pressure, the wave pulsing violently upon impact. What is this force? How can an emotion of such purity be twisted into this monstrosity? She poured more power into her shield to prepare her counter-attack. Summoning up the hidden power of Loyalty once more, Celestia bellowed, "For my sister! For my king! For all of ponykind! In their good names, I shall repel you and your ilk permanently from this place!"

Crack

The last things Celestia heard as her mind betrayed her were the shattering of her ethereal shield, followed by the victorious cackle of the usurper she had failed to defeat. The velvet-carpeted floor raced up to meet her as she slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Thoramen, Veliger, Zinger: take your divisions and pursue the fugitive Princess Luna. Bring her to me, so I can lay her at her sister's hooves.

Yes, Our Queen. We will not rest until she is subdued and captured.

Excellent. Soon, we shall feast merrily on the love of every citizen in Equestria!

While her minions vacated the kingdom in pursuit of Luna, Mantissia lazily meandered over to the newly incarcerated Celestia. "Defiant until the end. Foalish filly. When I'm through with your emotions, my dear, you shall be emptier than I have ever been." As she levitated Celestia into the pod that Thoramen had earlier prepared, Mantissia giggled. "Oh, how the strength of your love for your family will fuel me. You're practically an all-one-can-eat buffet, you know." Mantissia howled with glee as the pod sealed closed on Celestia, trapping her inside with naught but her unconscious emotions for company.

I'm going to relish this...




*  *  *  *  *



Luna sped through the chilled night air once more, this time to return the unicorn to the original resting place where she had found her. The burn of Kindness had eased off as it realised that Luna was obeying her instructions, but the guiding force of Magic still lingered. The signal link from her Tiara to her mind grew stronger as she neared her destination. Finally, it is time to get to the bottom of this mystery. Upon crossing the threshold of the northern mountain range, Luna's eyes widened in shock. Where there had previously been a mountain in the middle of the otherwise flat and snowy wasteland, a large spherical barrier of light encased the site of the mountain. What the heck?

Luna neared the energy field, noting how the snow's intensity decreased. Frowning to herself, Luna prodded the barrier with a slash of magic. No negative effects. Hmmm. Gathering her resolve, Luna placed a hoof on the outer wall of the light sphere and gently pressed. Her hoof passed through with minimal resistance. Retracting her leg from within the strange barrier, Luna examined it. Perfectly fine. Here goes. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward into the light.

Having traveled through the darkened night with only the moon and stars for company, the sudden colourful sight almost blinded the dark alicorn. Where there had previously been a dome-shaped mountain, a city now stood. A glistening, sparkling, glowing city. Marveling in wonder, Luna cast her gaze back and forth between structure after structure. There were grassy fields on the outskirts where she had arrived. Shiny, cubed blocks resembling houses lined the street pavements, themselves glistening from the light of embedded crystals. What truly caught her attention though was the gargantuan, triangular tower in the center.

The Tiara twinged, snapping Luna out of her daze. Reminded of the task at hoof, Luna galloped towards the center of the city, Clover still attached magically to her back. Don't worry, dear, you're going to be all right. She couldn't help but worry herself, though. The magically induced coma will wear off imminently. With that in mind, Luna followed Magic's signal toward the base of the tower. Upon rounding one final street corner, she gasped in awe.

The most beautiful jewel she had ever seen glowed a bright cerulean, cutting through the gloom of the night. As Luna stared, captivated, three ponies stepped out from behind the Crystal Heart. If Luna had been enchanted by the Heart, it was nothing compared to the new sight she beheld. A pink unicorn filly, a light-blue pegasus colt and an orange Earth pony mare stood before her, shining just as brightly as the brilliant artifact behind them. Are those ponies... made of crystal?

"It's rude to stare, you know."

The reprimand returned Luna's concentration to the realms of the conscious as she realised that the mare had spoken.

"Oh, please forgive my lack of tact, my dear mare. I have simply never laid eyes on anypony quite so radiant as yourselves." As Luna apologised, she couldn't help but notice the filly's cutie-mark—a blue heart, identical to the one behind her. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am—"

"Luna."

Noting the interruption, Luna turned to the filly who had spoken. There was a gleam in her eyes, one that told of many unknown secrets. She looks far too intimidating for one small. As the filly trotted toward her, Luna grew uneasy. What is this power I sense from her? Is she dangerous? Before Luna could reach any conclusion about the nature of the crystal unicorn, she felt the tingle of a powerful magical force lifting the other unicorn off her back. Immediately, the filly's eyes lost their white glow, her magic dissipating.

"Clover! You returned her to me! I knew I was right to call you here!" the filly cheered. "How can I ever thank you, Luna?"

"Some introductions of your own would be favoured, first and foremost," she declared. With a sheepish grin, the filly locked eyes with the alicorn once more.

"Oh, of course! I'm so sorry! The mare's name is Valencia Orange, of the Earth pony tribe." Luna bowed to Valencia, who offered only a very short one in turn. "The colt is named Cirrus Spectrum, of the pegasus tribe." Luna repeated her bow to Cirrus who returned it eagerly, though he lacked her grace. "Finally, my name is Aura. I'm from Unitopia, the unicorn city on the mountain, daughter of King Levitatus and niece of my teacher here, Miss Clover the Clever. Also, as of this rapidly fading night, first Princess of the Crystal Empire, and Keeper of the Crystal Heart."

"The Crystal Heart?" Luna gazed upon the radiant jewel, watching as it slowly swiveled in place. That must be the magnificent jewel standing there behind them. "Crystal Empire?" Princess Aura certainly has a lot to her name. So young, too. "Please, enlighten me further on the details of this magnificent inheritance of yours."

"Sorry, Miss Luna, we've no time for that," Valencia interjected. "Aura called you because she saw an echo of sorts, perceiving you as the one who took her teacher away from her. She summoned you because she wanted Clover back here, where she hopes to revive her from her magical exhaustion. Apparently, it's quite a deadly condition and—"

"Oh lighten up, Valencia—she's here isn't she? She brought Clover back, now let's just work on waking her up!" Cirrus cut Valencia off as he flew over next to Luna. "You can help her, can't you? I mean she's still alive, right?"

Luna bowed her head. "While I have placed her in a magical coma to preserve what life remains in her, I fear my other efforts to revive her have been unsuccessful. I was informed by a unicorn in... Unitopia, you called it?" Observing Aura's nod, Luna resumed, "Anyway, he told me there are only two unicorns in existence who possess the power and mental discipline to pull off a healing spell of such magnitude. One of course, is Clover herself. The other is the king—who I fear may be in danger."

Catching sight of the crystal filly's suddenly fearful face, Luna smiled. "Fear not, Princess, for my sister Celestia is there protecting him. I am confident she can handle herself and any possible threat to—"

"—Unitopia! The farm! Cloudsdale!" Valencia gasped. "How could we have forgotten? There are changelings, Luna. They took us prisoner before we escaped their clutches. They have the power to shift their shapes into any form, and they steal the love right out of ponies' hearts as a source of power. We have valid reasons to believe that every region in Equestria could be at the mercy of these horrible creatures, right now!"

Luna gasped at the mention of the changelings. Such creatures she had never seen, although the memory of Vorjhan's description of them lingered in the deepest recesses of her memory. "Then our time is indeed limited. We must return to the city to aid Celestia—"

"We're not going anywhere until we heal Clover!" Aura cried. "There has to be a way to wake her up! I have the power of the Crystal Heart at my neck, yet I haven't had her here to test it on! Lend me a hoof, Luna. Help me help her!"

Luna stared at the purple mare as she realised that her coma spell would wear off any second. "All right. How do you want to do this?"

Aura cheered, raising a hoof into the air. "Well, I'll use the power of love from the Crystal Heart, through my Pendant here. You just add your magic to the spell. Hopefully that will be enough." Aura finished ordering Luna and activated her own magic.

The power flowing through Aura's horn mystified Luna. It must be coming from the Heart—there's no way any unicorn has that kind of strength, especially a small filly. Letting the thought drop from her mind, Luna concentrated instead upon casting her own awakening spell.

A small moment of feeble attempts later yielded nothing but sighs of defeat from Luna and Aura. Aura looked almost on the verge of tears.

Luna walked over and placed a wing over the princess' back. "I believe we have done everything we can. All we have achieved is prolonging her stasis." Luna tried to comfort Aura, but the filly jumped out from under her wing, determined.

"I'm not giving up. Valencia, pass me some of those berries please?"

Eyebrow raised, Luna watched while Aura took some small, crystalline ruby rocks from the mare and stuffed them into her mouth. While there was no visually obvious change to Aura, Luna sensed a spike in magical strength within her. The Tiara of Magic reacted violently, fully comprehending the power within the filly. Luna's eyes grew wide as Aura's mane shimmered, taking on a life of its own. Such incredible power...

"Come on, Luna, let's try again! I love Clover too much to let her go. I need her! She's always been my guide through life. She's taught me everything I know. Without her, I'd be nothing at all. We all wouldn't be here now, the three of us—we'd be dead. Or worse, still giving power to those invaders."

While Aura leaned in her head close to Clover once more, Luna thought about her own sister; how much she cared for Celestia and relied on her to be there for her. Powering up her horn once more, Luna called to the Elements of Magic and Kindness.

You brought me out here to save this mare's life. Now, let me save it!

Two simultaneous bursts of power were emitted from the horns of the two mages. A hoof-biting moment later, the third stirred.

"Urghhh... Mmmmm... What's...?" the mare slurred, having been unconscious for over twenty-four hours. A collective sigh of relief ran through the party as Cirrus and Valencia cheered. "Aura? Is that you? Hehehe, you're all sparkly like, filly. What you been eating?"

Clover giggled, delirious with power as it once again flowed into her newly repaired magical dam. "Oh whoa... I'm going down."

She collapsed into the hooves of Luna as she lost consciousness. Scared with worry, Aura made to wake her again, instead meeting Luna's own hoof.

"She will be all right now. She just needs some time and rest to recover. Being in a coma can't be easy for anypony." Aura nodded, relaxing. Luna continued, "Our main focus now should be returning to aid my sister in Unitopia. Let us leave! The longer we tarry here, the more danger everypony is exposed to!" Once more levitating Clover onto her back, Luna made to fly out of the kingdom, when Valencia interrupted her.

"Whoa whoa whoa. How exactly do you expect us all to get back there so fast? We don't all have wings, y'know."

Luna thought for a single moment before she grasped Aura and Valencia in her magic as well. "Let us all leave, then. I assume you can keep up with a fully-laden alicorn mare, Cirrus?"

He nodded. "You bet, Miss Luna! I'm the fastest pegasus in all of Cloudsdale. Well, next to Commander Hurricane, anyway."

Luna smiled as she—with the wingless herd members—departed through the barrier, Cirrus following in her large wake.
> Love Conquers All... (part two)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Hurry, Luna! We have to get there as fast as we can!” Aura cried. The cold night air whistled past her ears as her magical chauffeur stared ahead. The Crystal Princess let out an involuntary shudder.

“Yes, child, I know. We would be there faster, but it takes a great deal of concentration to hold you all. I am lucky I can fly, support you all and talk at the same time. My Element assists me, but it does not grant me limitless power,” Luna explained. The moon had sunk towards the horizon, signalling dawn’s approach. At least, it should have by now. Has everypony forgotten to raise the sun? Or… Luna shook her head at the chilling thought. “It is not far now. Once we round that mountain in the distance, we will be in Unitopia once more. Just a few more minutes and—”

“Luna, what’s that ahead?” Valencia interrupted. “Looks like some kind of odd raincloud…”

Luna and Aura squinted their eyes and examined the dark mass in front of them. Before they could do so though, a cornflower-coloured shape streaked through the air toward them.

Cirrus returned to the group, having scouted ahead. Able to take advantage of the crystal corn, and unburdened as he was, he had zoomed ahead at breakneck speeds to suss out the status of the city. He shook, though from cold or fear it was impossible to tell. “We've got a... problem, everypony!” With the girls all staring at him, he turned around to face the dark cloud. “Changeling ambush at twelve o’clock!”

“Changelings?” Aura yelped. “How many?”

Cirrus shot a grim glance back to her. “Fifty, at least. Maybe more.”

Valencia’s eyes widened. “Fifty? How are we supposed to contend with that number? We’d better surrender, we’re horribly outnumbered.” She trembled in Luna’s magical grip as the gravity of the situation descended upon the group.

Luna frowned. Surrender? She would give up that easily?

“No. We can do this. We have something they don’t.” Luna turned her head to Aura, surprised to hear the words from her mouth. She noted, with interest, the uncharacteristic fire in the filly’s eyes. “We have power,” Aura continued, “power that they won’t be expecting. It may be dangerous to use the strength of the Heart against them, but we also have our crystal food. We can catch them unaware; they won’t be expecting a fight at all from a party so small as us.”

While Valencia and Cirrus looked uneasy at the prospect of a real combat situation bearing down on them, Luna smiled. A filly of royal blood, willing to fight to protect the ones she cares about. This is the sort of princess I would gladly serve. Alas, she’s too important to risk her safety like this. “Aura, though I greatly admire your valiance, I must insist that you do not engage these foes," she commanded. "You are not their target. I am. We must find a way to get you all to safety.”

“But I’m prepared to stand up to them now, Luna! I have to protect—”

“You can protect Clover by listening to me, here and now,” Luna insisted, interrupting the princess. “These changelings have been dispatched to take me out, not you. There is a high likelihood that they will not be expecting any other ponies in combat, so there is no need for any of you to get involved. I am going to set you down on the ground now. You, Valencia, Clover and Cirrus will make your way on hoof back to the city. I shall keep these monsters busy for as long as I can but in the meantime, it must be you who returns to aid my sister.”

Luna’s eyes glowed as she tapped into the power of Magic, conjuring a spherical, midnight-blue shield around her body. “Go now. Whatever you do, do not stop running. Celestia needs your help!” Lowering them all to the ground, Luna shut off her levitation spell as four sets of hooves hit the grass. “Unitopia should be only a half-hour’s gallop away. Get moving!”

“Luna, you can’t do this alone! You need us—” Aura’s protests were swept away by the sudden wind gust, generated by Luna’s large wings as she took flight once more. “Luna!” she cried. “Come back!”

As Luna’s image grew smaller in the twilight, Aura kicked at the ground in frustration. She turned to Cirrus. “What are you waiting for, Cirrus? Fly after her and stop her! She needs our help!” She shook the pegasus roughly, but Cirrus stood resolute, shaking his head.

“Luna’s right, Aura. We’ve gotta get back to the city pronto—who knows how much trouble her sister could be in? She could be our only hope in stopping this invasion.” Cirrus took a breath and placed a hoof of his own to Aura’s cheek. “Besides, aren't your family there too? Your parents are royalty, correct? If anything, they’ll be the first ones targeted, if they haven’t been already.”

Remorse crossed Aura’s face. How could I have forgotten about my family? she wondered. She turned her gaze to Valencia. “Well, I suppose you agree with Luna and Cirrus?” The mare nodded in response.

“Yes. Luna can look after herself, considering the fact that she holds just as much power as you do after a hoof-full of crystal berries. We’d just better get back to the city and sound the alarm! I have an idea how to get there much faster, though.” Valencia took a berry from Aura and placed it into the mouth of the still-unconscious Clover.

Clover stirred briefly, registering the foreign object in her mouth. As she gently chewed and swallowed the berry, her eyes opened suddenly. Her coat took on a gentle glow, not as radiant as the others’ but nevertheless more than obvious. She sat up, beaming at her company.

“Hello, everypony. Did I miss anything?”




*  *  *  *  *



Celestia frolicked through the forest clearing, the warm sun bearing down on her exposed back. Violets, orchids, roses… everywhere she looked, there were beautiful plants and flowers. As she spread her giant wings, her sister joined her in the clearing. Luna’s smile radiated joy and laughter while she sprinted up to Celestia and tackled her in a playful hug. Laughing, Luna got to her hooves and stared down at her sister, who was still trying to get up herself.

“Hey, silly filly, what was that for?” Celestia asked the younger, smaller pony.

“Do I need a reason to give the greatest sister in the world a heart-felt hug?” Luna continued to giggle, even while she shot a tickle spell at Celestia.

“No—stop—cut it out—hahahaha—really Luna, stop it—ahahaha—”

Luna pranced over to the elder alicorn and looked into her eyes.

And booped Celestia on the nose.

“Tag! Come and get me!” she yelled, taking flight and releasing the tickle charm. Celestia’s ragged gasps returned to normal almost instantly.

"Oh, it, is, on, Luna!" Celestia bellowed, spreading her own wings and chasing her midnight-maned counterpart.

“Wonderful! I knew your dreams and memories would be tasty, Celestia, but not like this! You've an astonishing amount of love for this sister of yours, haven’t you?”

Celestia’s eyes snapped open. The first thing she registered—after the unwelcome voice—was her upside-down position in a strange, green-tinged pod. Beyond the encasing, she could see the changeling queen sucking on a strand of some potent-looking green fiber. A fiber that stemmed from the pod containing her. As Mantissia continued to slurp up whatever the pod was producing, Celestia felt herself growing steadily more cold. It was subtle, barely noticeable, but she could tell that something was wrong.

A wave of shock passed over her as she remembered how she’d come to be in her unfortunate position. Why didn't Loyalty work? Did I not believe in my family enough? Am I not passionate about protecting them? Before she could ponder her situation further, a loud spurting noise grabbed her attention. Mantissia had spat a glob of the substance out on the floor at her hooves and retched in disgust.

“Why did you have to bring up thoughts of self-doubt in the middle of my love binge, Celestia? You've absolutely ruined my meal!” The queen poked at her tongue. “Now I’ll have to dispose of this batch and distill another!” Pouting briefly at her victim, Mantissia’s look soon returned to ecstasy. “I have to say, though, your love is perhaps the most delicious and nutritious thing I've ever had the pleasure to taste. Be a dear and fall asleep once more, please? I wish to dine upon your dreams of Luna again.”

Reeling with revulsion, Celestia glared at the emotion succubus. “You shall not have any more of my love, foul creature! I’d sooner die than have you absorb another drop of my power. You deserve nothing that you take by force. Why do you not try making a pony fall in love with you by actually being a decent member of society? Is that so difficult for you?”

The queen looked like she’d been slapped in the face. “A pony, fall in regular love, with me? Hah!” Mantissia laughed, without humour. “Have you even considered the fact that your race finds us disgusting on principle? Look at me! I’m dark, chitinous, holey, and my voice terrifies foals. How could anypony love a changeling the natural way? We've had to remain underground, in the shadows, stealing snippets of love from our victims. We've never had a choice!" she snapped. Turning away from Celestia, the queen felt long-suppressed tears begin to well up.

“From the very beginning, we were monsters. I hatched from a pod, much like the one containing you now. I was immediately hungry, yet no foods could truly satisfy my craving. You have no idea what it’s like, eating as much as you can possibly find; gorging on an amount that would make a dragon explode, only for it to leave you wanting. It was like the food passed right through me as I ate. Nothing sated my hunger.

“One day, I happened across a lone Earth pony’s crop. Unable to resist, I devoured an entire tree-full of apples, only to have him sneak up on me and knock me out from behind. Later, I awoke, bound and gagged in his storage shed, with him glaring up at me. I was terrified. I started crying, pleading for my life. Then, unexpectedly… he softened. His face dropped its scowl, his muscles relaxed. It was then that I felt the barest of positive emotions emanating from his heart. I latched onto the emotion that he unknowingly provided me, unaware myself of what was about to happen.

“His mercy filled a pit in my stomach that no food had ever been able to. It wasn't exactly the most delicious feeling I've tasted, but it was something. I felt stronger, calmer, more confident in myself. I apologised to the farmer and offered to work for him, as compensation for destroying his crop. He begrudgingly agreed, although he kept a very close eye on me for the first few days. I wasn't so good at the harvesting of the fruit, although I was very efficient at scattering new seeds. I covered five fields in less than half a day.

“The farmer began to respect me, and to praise me for my work. These new positive feelings welled up inside him, and I extracted them. Every day, I grew stronger. It wasn't long before I began to feel the emotions’ potency increasing. I required less and less each day to feel full, refreshed and energetic. The farmer, in turn, was delighted to have such a diligent worker. I, who never asked for anything in return, but took only that which he never seemed to miss.

“A day came when I was approached by the farmer, a different emotion surrounding him. It was the most juicy, sweet thing I’d ever tasted. It was his love. He had learned to love me. I myself had begun to feel some kind of reciprocation. He loved me as a stallion loves a mare, and during those times, I was never happier. I grew so powerful from his most potent of emotions. But it was not to last.

“I could not stop myself gorging on all of his love. Very soon, I was taking much more than he could give. He came to resent me. He refused to lie with me, stopped speaking to me. Eventually, he had become so cold and devoid of emotion that he stopped responding to me altogether. One fateful day, he threatened my life, told me I was… disgusting. He told me to leave his property and never set hoof on his land again, under pain of death. Something in me just snapped… pretty soon, his neck had also.

“I retreated to the natural caverns beneath Sky Mirror Lake. There, several months later, I underwent the most agonising experience of my life: labour. I birthed exactly one hundred foals, all drones but for one little daughter. I suddenly found myself with an over-sized hive that I could not supply adequate nourishment for. Every minute, a foal screamed into my mind about the lack of food, and how they were starving. I cursed the day I had ever allowed that stallion to love me.

“It was not long before I discovered the accidental advantage of having a pony for a lover. My children were able to shape-shift their bodies into the form of any other pony they had laid eyes on. To do so required nutrition, though. Nutrition that we lacked. So began the raids. Every night, we would sneak around under cover of darkness, gently siphoning minute amounts of love from sleeping mares and stallions, feeding off their love for each other and their own children. Yet we never dared to openly reveal ourselves again. Stories and tales had already began spreading about the vampires in the night. The ones who would steal a pony’s soul before killing them.

“That,” concluded Mantissia, “is the reason why we are unable to act like decent members of society, Celestia. We cannot control our urges for the taste of love—we're insatiable.” The queen bowed her head. “I didn't ask to be made this way. Blame my creator, whoever they are.”

Vorjhan. It all comes back to him. The most wretched of all Dimiourgia’s creations. Celestia felt her own small amount of pity towards the queen, something she had not imagined possible only moments earlier. But the fact remained that the queen was attempting to overthrow an entire nation of ponies, make them emotion slaves, and feast on their feelings while draining their souls and hearts of any worthwhile substance. Whether I like it or not, they are the enemies of harmony. They must be stopped.

“I’m sorry.”

Celestia did a double take. The words reached her ears, but her brain delayed their processing. “What?”

Mantissia glared back at Celestia. “I said I’m sorry, Princess. Sorry it has to be this way. But nopony will ever accept us for what we are. Especially not now—not after what we've done. I have to continue this invasion. It’s the only way to feed my children. Now return to sleep, Celestia, and I promise the extraction process will be painless.”

“The process will never be completed, My Queen."

Rotating on the spot, Mantissia turned to face her new adversary. The waiting snarl on her lips died as suddenly as it appeared, to be replaced by a look of incredulity. There, standing before her in the throne room, were four of the most ridiculous-looking ponies she’d ever seen. She recognised one as Clover the Clever, one of her drones having briefly taken the mare’s form as a disguise. The other three she had never seen, nor even seen the likes of. A shining orange Earth pony mare, an equally-as-radiant light blue pegasus colt, and the most brilliant of them all: a small, pink unicorn filly.

“Hahahahahahahahahahaha!”

Mantissia’s cackle echoed throughout the room. “So, these are the champions that stand between me and the fruition of my ultimate plans? What a riot! You all look like you belong in a jewellery store!” As Mantissia continued to laugh, she failed to notice the berries that Aura and Clover popped into their mouths. She did, however, notice the beams of concentrated magic that shot past either side of her head.

Crash!

Startled out of her fit, the queen recoiled while pieces of Celestia’s pod rained down upon her. As the final shards fell across her protected face, she gasped. The alicorn had taken up a defensive position against her, side by side with the other mismatched ponies. Clover and the filly stood on either side of Celestia, horns lowered. Recovering rapidly, Mantissia readied her own defenses and faced her opposition.

“So this is it, huh? The battle for your precious Equestria?” Mantissia taunted the defenders. “You've forgotten who you’re dealing with! I hold the ultimate power, at my exclusive disposal. Now, your precious love shall be your undoing!” The queen took a single step forward… and slammed into Celestia from behind.

The champion of Harmony was sent flying towards the throne. Celestia grunted from the impact, though her shield had managed to absorb most of the blow. How did she move so fast? She barely had a moment to let the thought pass before a black hoof slammed down onto her face. Even through her shield, Celestia felt a bone in her nose crack as she tried to suppress a cry of pain. Charging up her own horn, she made to fire a concentrated beam at her would-be assassin…

Only to find that Mantissia had been knocked off her feet. Rising to her hooves—a healing spell already going to work on her bloodied nose—Celestia observed the cause for Mantissia’s unexpected flight: the pegasus. The little colt had flown at an impossibly fast speed, his dense bone structure inflicting massive damage to his target.

At least, it should have been massive damage.

Mantissia flitted back onto her own hooves, no longer grinning. “You pathetic, insignificant larva! You’ll pay for that!” The enraged queen zipped towards the pegasus, intending to squash him against the ceiling. An infinitesimal amount of time before she connected, the colt vanished. Mantissia was unable to pull up before the momentum carried her into the ceiling instead. With a soft pop! the pegasus re-appeared at Clover’s side, preparing another launch.

“You foals! Thinking you can defeat me!" Mantissia screeched. “My power stems from all of the love that my hive has absorbed. I myself possess the love of Celestia, along with your precious king and queen! I’m unstoppable!" Mantissia launched herself from the ceiling once more at Celestia, swerving at the last second to catch out an unsuspecting Valencia. The Earth pony gasped as she was hit in the face by a solid chitin hoof. She was launched back toward the opposite wall, lucky to be spared the second impact by the protective magical net that Aura cast her way.

Thinking fast, Aura altered the momentum of the pony in the net, flinging her back towards her target. Mantissia was unable to avoid the glistening Earth pony’s return hoof to her cheek, the power of an entire family behind the impact. A resounding crack cut the air as Valencia produced a break in Mantissia's face.

The queen yelped at the sudden, unexpected pain, knocked off her hooves once more. Valencia quickly galloped back into formation, bringing up a hoof to rub her own damaged cheek.

“So, you’re all fighting as one, are you?" Queen Mantissia panted. "I admit, your minds work well together. Perhaps even as well as my own connection with my children. But we’ll see who’s really the last one standing!"
> Love Conquers All... (part three)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The changelings buzzed around Luna, eyeing their target with glee. She had put up a courageous fight, knocking several of her foes unconscious to the ground. Still, this was the most grueling challenge she had faced yet. I cannot keep this up for much longer, she thought while ducking blows and evading magical beams. Everywhere she turned, one was in her sight. For every foe she defeated, another was there to replace its fallen comrade.

Luna could feel her shield deteriorating. Even Magic had its limitations. If I do not take care, I could end up just how Clover was. Shuddering at the thought, Luna returned her concentration to the fight at hoof. She put out a tremendous burst of speed, rising higher into the air above the changelings. A very quick approximation told her that she had decommissioned at least half of the horde. With this information, she contemplated her chances of emerging from the fight in one piece, or even alive.

It does not look good.

Every kick, every punch, every headbutt she landed—they were taking their toll on her strength. Kindness screamed at her to stop the violence, reducing her left foreleg to nothing more than a burning detriment. Laughter lay dormant. Magic, it seemed, was the only Element willing to help her succeed. With every blow that impacted on her shield, Luna felt it weaken. She was aware of each individual crack, like the shield was a part of her own body.

A most reckless idea came to mind.

Without hesitation, Luna dived. The changeling army, still ascending to catch up to her, split apart as she shot through the middle of them, heading for the rocky ground beneath her. Barely within a breath’s lifespan of hitting the ground, a multitude of boulders, stone and clumps levitated skyward. Luna slipped into the crater she created, sliding into a particularly large hole within. The rocks then floated back over her refuge, creating a sturdy barrier. A few seconds later, Luna dropped her worn-out shield and tapped into Magic once more, breathing heavily.

Celestia.




*  *  *  *  *



Celestia.

The call had registered in her mind, clear as if Luna herself had whispered into her ear. Celestia cocked her head slightly in confusion, but showed no other sign that anything abnormal was occurring. Mantissia continued to pace around the group, gloating at them.

“So, do you really wish to fight me? You know I’ll emerge victorious anyway, why fight? My power in indisputable.”
Luna? What is going on? Where are you? Are you safe?

“You wanna take all the love from our families and suck it up like the parasites you are! Give us one reason why we shouldn’t resist you?”
I am fine, for the moment. A little bruised, but I shall live. I am on the outskirts of Unitopia, holding off a changeling army. Probably the same one you warned me about. You all right there?

“You've tricked my brother into taking back a pretender in my place! How could I ever forgive you for placing my whole family, my entire home in danger?”
It does not look good. Our brother, sister-in-law and eldest niece have all been apprehended. The changeling queen is here, and she is immensely powerful. I would probably already be gone, if not for these four mysterious ponies that showed up.

“You've taken my father, my mother, even my sister as prisoners. No doubt you've managed to subdue the entire kingdom too. Everything you do is destructive and self-serving! I will stand and fight, I will defend my family’s honour!”
Oh, Celestia, I am so glad they reached you in time. Have they aided you well? The crystal ponies may be Equestria’s only chance. The youngest wields a powerful trinket, directly linked to some sort of Crystal Heart. She used its power to awaken her friend from an otherwise-fatal magical coma. Her strength may even rival our own.

“Your forces attacked me and my student. We woke up in your lair, ran for our lives; nearly lost them more than once, I might add! And for what? So you can undo everything we've worked so hard to restore? As a founder of Harmony, I refuse to allow this most heinous of crimes against ponykind to go unpunished!”
Such great power, for a little filly. They have certainly proved their worth against the queen so far. They were able to release me from captivity and shake the queen up a lot. Even now they continue to distract her, so we can have this conversation. But I fear for their safety, Luna. We need you here with us. I need you here.

“I will not be defied by the likes of you, Clover the Clever! My children require nourishment, and only the love of everypony in Equestria will end their suffering! What do any of you know about the burden of motherhood? The heartbreak that flows through me, on a daily basis, a mother struggling to provide for her foals? I did not choose this diet, I was made with it. I have no other choice. There is no other way to save them!”
I will be there as fast as I possibly can, Celestia. I promise. I would rather not bring back half an army on my tail, though, if the queen is as deadly as you claim. I shall take out as many as I can in the next five minutes before I join you all. I promise to see you soon!

“No more stalling. You will all bow before me. Equestria will be mine!"
Clock is ticking, Luna. Clock is ticking.

Mantissia’s horn glowed a lethal-looking shade of green. It grew brighter and brighter, until its light saturated the room. The defenders stood resolute, united in their cause, but unsure of the outcome. “Foals, each and every one of you! What is a pony? A miserable little pile of hope. Hope will get you nowhere now!”
Calling all drones! Return to me, at once! We have a battle to win!

As Mantissia’s mental command filtered through her hive-mind, her horn reached its peak. A powerful green blast erupted from it, piercing through the ceiling of the throne room to serve as an enormous, green flare in the twilit sky.

“Valencia! Cirrus!” The ponies started at the mention of their names, for Celestia had spoken with urgency. “Clover, Aura and I will keep Mantissia busy. You two have to locate and liberate the king, the queen and all of the townspeople. We are going to have an impossible fight ahead of us momentarily. There is only one reason she would fire a flare like that into the sky and not at us. She is calling reinforcements.”

“R-reinforcements?” Cirrus stuttered.

“Yes. Now go! Equestria depends on it!” hissed Celestia. Without a moment’s pause more, Valencia and Cirrus galloped off, together heading for the end of the throne room. The queen caught them in her periphery, though. Instead of moving to intercept, she merely laughed.

“Celestia, I’m surprised at you. Sending them off against my army to die? And there I was, under the impression that you cared for their safety.” Mantissia ended her flare and relaxed, strutting slowly toward the alicorn and her partners. “It won’t even matter if they get past any of my sons. The rest of them will be here soon. They’ll have my entire family to contend with. If all of you have had this much trouble with little old me, how do you think they’ll fare against our combined might?”

“Enough!” Celestia yelled, firing her own beam of brilliant golden energy at the queen. Mantissia merely sidestepped, boredom etched upon her face, while the beam blew a chunk out of the wall behind the throne.

“Really, Celestia, you’ll have to be quicker than—oof!”

Clover had teleported behind her while Mantissia was distracted by Celestia’s attack. Power already built up, she grabbed the queen in her telekinetic grip and flung her into the throne, knocking both of them over. “This is not—nor will it ever be—your throne, you fiend!” Leaping over the fallen throne, Clover sparked up her horn again… to find her target missing. “Wha—”

Wham!

Clover flew through the air to rest at Aura’s hooves, the victim of a powerful buck. “Ow, I think she’s bruised my hip. No, don’t worry Aura, I’ll be—wince—fine.” She looked back to where she’d flown from, as she felt a gust of wind. Her vision filled with a white pony rushing the queen, enraged. There was no mercy left in Celestia’s gaze. Every strand of her mane, every fiber of fur rippled with the fury of Loyalty.

"You will not harm my friends, Mantissia!"




*  *  *  *  *



“Where do you think they’re keeping the royals, Valencia?” Cirrus asked as they galloped along the hallways of the castle. Every so often, a lone changeling guard would surprise them around a corner, but the duo worked in tandem to take down their oppressors. Valencia would run headlong toward the changeling, while Cirrus would zoom around and surprise it from behind.

“Does this look like my castle to you, Cirrus?” the mare retorted. “I've got no flipping idea where any place is. We don’t even know if they’re still in the castle, for that matter. Odds are they are, though. Just stick with me and we’ll find them.” If only by process of elimination, she sighed inwardly. “This place must have a dungeon of some kind. We just need to find it. Come on!” Valencia traipsed through another castle door, emerging into an enormous dining room. Although it was lavishing and regal in all appearance, Valencia had no care for such things.

“There’s another doorway at the rear: I’m guessing it’s a kitchen. Cirrus, you check in there, I’ll guard this door.”

The colt nodded, then zoomed into the smaller room. He checked under benches, in pantries, up in the rafters… Nothing. Cirrus frowned as he made to return to Valencia, but a slight creak caught his ear. Looking around once more, he let out a startled yelp as a unicorn leapt on top of him from inside a pantry door.

"Ooof! Hey, what? Valen—"

A tan hoof slammed over his mouth, forcing him to remain silent. Terror filled Cirrus’ eyes as he caught sight of his assailant. The hoof covering his mouth moved to press threateningly at his throat.

“Changeling scum. What have you done with my king and the rest of the guard?” the unicorn demanded.

“H-hey, wait, I’m not a changeling!” Cirrus struggled against the grip. “I’m looking for the king too!”

The hoof only pressed toward his throat harder.

Cirrus squirmed and tried to prise the unicorn's hoof from his throat. “R-really, I’m not... lying to you! Why would—would I be looking for him if I was... gah... with those monsters? They already know where he is!”

The unicorn glared at him. “I suppose that pony in the dining room outside here can verify your identity?” Cirrus nodded vigorously. “Well, you come with me. One wrong move…” he threatened, as he released his hoof from Cirrus’ neck.

Cirrus brought his own hooves to his neck and rubbed them with a small wince. “Okay, I get the point. Here, I’ll introduce you. Maybe we can work together.”

Cirrus trotted slowly back into the dining room, to see the back of Valencia as she stood guard. “Hey, Valencia. No king in the kitchen, I’m afraid, but I did find somepony else. Or rather, he found me.” Cirrus grinned sheepishly as Valencia turned to face him, immediately narrowing her eyes at the unicorn.

“Two questions: who are you, and why should we trust you?”

The unicorn bristled. “Firstly, my name is Edge, from house Stalwart. Secondly, I could have killed this colt in the kitchen earlier, but I didn't. Are your questions sufficiently answered?” Valencia kept her eyes narrowed, but nodded slowly. “Now I would ask the same of you. Speak!”

Cirrus piped up before Valencia could reprimand his attitude. “She’s Valencia Orange, from the Earth pony farms. I’m Cirrus Spectrum, from Cloudsdale. We’re here trying to rescue the royal family and anypony else we might find. Will you help us find the king?”

Edge examined the pair of crystal ponies. “How did you come to be so… shiny?"

“That’s not the important issue here,” Valencia said. “We’ll tell you later. So, will you help us?”

“All right, all right. Fine. How may I assist you, Lady Valencia?”

“Firstly, if you’re really a friend, you can tell us where the changelings would likely be keeping their captives. I assume you work in this castle?” Valencia asked.

“Yes, I’m a guard. Or rather, I was a guard. There’s no way I’ll be allowed to continue serving after what I did. But anyway—”

“What you did?” interrupted Cirrus. “What was so bad that you can’t be a guard anymore?”

Edge glared at the colt, clearing his throat. “Because while the other guards stood and fought against the changeling ambush, I fled and hid. Is that reason enough to expect a discharge from the service?” Cirrus shrank down at Edge’s glare.

“Well—”

"Anyway," resumed Edge, “I believe the king—and possibly his family—are being held in one of the towers. There’s a powerful containment spell that I can feel coming from a location higher than this room. I just didn't want to go it alone for fear I’d be apprehended. I didn't really mean to ditch them, but I knew I’d be captured. They came on far too strong, far too fast…” he trailed off, lowering his head.

Valencia approached the remorseful guard. “Look, there was nothing you could have done. Don’t beat yourself up too much over it.” she placing a hoof over his back. “Besides, you’re here now, helping us, instead of captive with the others. I’d say you did the right thing, in the end.” She looked into his eyes. “Now come on. We've got some royals to rescue!”

Cirrus punched the air. “Awww yeah! Come on, let’s get ‘em! Sock it to those changelings!” Cirrus bolted to the dining room door. “Well?” he insisted as he waited for the others to catch up. “Let’s go already!”




*  *  *  *  *



Celestia’s power leakage was enough to make Aura’s own crystal fur bristle. Wow, she’s such a powerful pony. Just like Luna. But the queen still stands there and makes fun of us, like she’s playing a game with us. Has she really drank that much love already? Did we get here too late?

Aura’s thoughts were interrupted by a tremendous ching. Celestia locked her own straight, grooved horn with Mantissia’s twisted, deformed one.

As they struggled, Celestia dug her hooves into the velvet carpet as best she could. Mantissia leaned forward, desperate to overpower her adversary. She raised a leg, bringing her knee hard into Celestia’s chest. The alicorn grunted, but did not succumb to the blow. Her huge white wings stretched past her face, the tips of their feathers poking Mantissia in her large, emerald eyes.

The queen backed off, howling in agony. Celestia seized her opportunity and levitated Mantissia aggressively into the ceiling. There was a sickening crunch, a shard of the queen’s outer carapace detaching itself from her right side. The chitin piece fell to the floor while Celestia reversed the direction of her magical grip. Mantissia slammed into the floor, emitting a grating cry of pain.

“I warned you, Mantissia,” Celestia threatened, while the queen lay injured a short distance away. “When I was captive in that pod, I told you I would forsake mercy and deal justice upon you if you didn't give up. Do it now, and your life may very well be spared. Continue this destructive crusade, and you will be destroyed!” Celestia’s eyes glowed as she brought her full power to light. A powerful breeze flowed through the throne room, buffeting Clover and Aura. The unicorns huddled together while Celestia radiated with golden light. “This is your final chance, Mantissia. Step down, and you will survive this morning.”

The changeling queen glared at her oppressor, teeth clenched in the act of pain suppression. She spat out a few drops of green blood, while more leaked from her side. Her carapace was multi-layered, but the separation from that fragment of outer shell was no tiny thorn in her side. She flitted once more to her feet, leaning slightly to the left.

“You think this fight is over, Celestia. You’re truly confident that you've got me pinned down in defeat. But yet again, you show your ignorance of the power of love.”

All divisions, your power is mine. Send it through the mind-lines to me.

“Love cannot be quantified. It cannot be contained. In its purest form, love is the most potent power source this world offers.”

Yes, more. More! More, my sweets, send it all!

“For you see, there is no being who understands this more than I. Now, I shall prove it to you!"

Mantissia reared up in defiance. As she did so, all of her pain evaporated. She cackled while she absorbed the stored love from one hundred changeling foals. Tainted energy pooled around her as her body swelled. Still cackling madly, Mantissia drank more and more love; the power lengthening her horn, filling in her holes, healing her wounds. Aura and Clover could only stare, shocked and awed. Celestia held her ground, though she’d taken a solitary step back.

The newly-transformed Mantissia towered over Celestia. Her emerald eyes blazed with the intensity of an enchanted flame. Her elongated fangs pointed beyond her jawline. No longer did she hold the appearance of an overgrown insectoid. Celestia could now only liken her to… a dragon.

As the mega-changeling approached her target, the two unicorns rushed to Celestia's side, each conjuring a barrier around Unitopia’s defender. Celestia cast her own defensive spell on Clover and Aura. These actions served only to produce more laughter from the over-sized queen.

“Your pathetic little shields will not help you now!” she rasped, her voice much harsher and deeper than before. “For daring to stand in my way, daring to threaten me with extermination, you shall face your own judgement! The inhabitants of this world will come to love me, whether they want to or not. Such a shame that none of you will live to see it!”

She pounced.
> Moonfall And Sunrise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“So, what brings an Earth pony and a pegasus to Unitopia anyway?” Edge asked Valencia. The three ponies trotted back down the spiral staircase, having examined the east tower—or rather, what was left of it—and found no sign of the royals. “It’s rare, even in these harmonious days, to see any of our other racial brethren inside the city.”

Valencia simply shrugged. “Heck if I know. Two days ago, if somepony told me I’d be here in this castle, trying to rescue the unicorn king from an invading changeling horde, I’d have smacked them upside the head to knock some sense back into them. But the four of us have really been on quite the wild adventure lately. Now we’re the only ones who can halt this insane infestation.”

“The four of you? I only count two. Where, may I ask, are these phantom companions of yours?”

“Well right now, they’re in the throne room, fighting to save the world from an evil changeling queen,” Cirrus piped up. “They’ll be fine—how hard can a changeling be to take down?”

Edge stopped short; Valencia had to pull up sharply to avoid colliding with his flank. “They’re fighting the changeling queen? Are they insane?"

Edge set off into a much more hasty gallop down the stairs, as Valencia and Cirrus shook their heads and sprinted after him.

“Now wait just a minute, Edge!” Valencia called out, “Aura and Clover aren’t alone down there. They have backup—we’ve got our own super-powerful secret weapons. Alicorns. Two sisters named Celestia and Luna. Trust me, they’re more than a match for Queen Mantissia.”

Edge’s eyes bulged once more. “Alicorns? Clover? Princess Aura?" Edge rounded on the pair. “The king’s youngest daughter is fighting the queen? By Levitatus’ beard! We have to go help them, right now! She’s barely older than twelve winters! Why is such a young, important, vulnerable filly risking her life alongside some random alicorn and… Clover? As in, Clover the Clever?" The stallion stopped to lean against a wall at the base of the staircase, his head swimming.

“Yes, indeed she is. We owe her our lives. Everypony in Equestria does, in fact. Again. The mare is making a habit of accumulating life-debts,” chuckled Valencia. “But you don’t need to worry about her or Aura—”

“Princess Aura.”

“—Yes, her,” Valencia huffed. “Celestia will make sure that no harm befalls either of them. Now come on! They must be in one of the other towers.”

“But you don’t understand, Valencia! Princess Aura—”

“—Is an incredibly powerful young filly. She’s casting high-level spells now that most adults couldn't possibly dream of accomplishing in their prime. Whatever version of Princess Aura you may have known before… no longer exists. You’ll see what I mean when you look upon her again.”

Valencia closed off her statement, poking her head around a corner, which Edge had earlier informed her led to the north tower.

“Hey, Valencia, how do you think they’re going down there? I hope everypony’s okay,” Cirrus said.

Valencia picked up on the worry in his voice, unable to keep herself as calm as she would have liked. We have been searching for a while now…




*  *  *  *  *



“Hahahahahahahaha! You all look like a bunch of deer caught in a fireworks display! It’s quite amusing, actually, how you all thought you stood a chance against me. Me, wielder of the most potent form of power! Well, have you any last words, before I pound your worthless skulls into dust?”

Mantissia, still super-buffed by the collective pool of love from her children, gloated down at the exhausted trio beneath her hooves. Celestia’s shield still held up, but it sported more cracks throughout it than a ruined spiderweb. Clover and Aura were also at their limits trying to sustain the shield while Celestia battled bravely on. Every blow from Mantissia generated a quake throughout the room.

Such overwhelming power… Aura could feel her own beginning to fade. The waves of darkness and evil coming off the mega-changeling were more intense than any power she’d ever felt. Concentration already lapsing from the pressure of the situation at hoof, Aura reached out a mental link to Luna.

Luna? Are you there? We really, really need help here. Celestia’s fading fast and the queen just doesn’t slow down. We can’t keep this up for much longer.

Fear not, dear Aura, I will be with you soon. For some reason, the changelings pursuing me just started dropping like flies. Like their energy was instantly sapped. I cannot explain it, though I assure you that I am not complaining either.

Please, hurry! We need—

Wham!

The connection was cut off as Mantissia sent Celestia flying, directly into Aura. Stunned, she lay beneath the injured body of her guardian. Celestia looked worse every second. With Aura’s focus broken, the shield had been dispelled. Only then did the extent of Celestia’s injuries become evident.

Her nose was once again bloodied. Multiple gashes stemmed from her neck where Mantissia’s unnaturally-enlarged horn had slashed her. Her back, sides and legs showed multiple blemishes where the skin had been broken against the floor, the walls, or from the queen’s powerful blows. Her breathing came out shallow and ragged. Had she been just a normal unicorn like me…

Clover looked on in disbelief. The three of them were giving all they had to subdue Mantissia, but their enemy laughably brushed off any attack they landed on her, returning the power tenfold. How can we contain such strength? We’ve not the spell-power to land any worthwhile hit, much less a stunner on this abomination! Our shields are gone, she’s pressing her attack relentlessly… Valencia, Cirrus, Luna, hurry!

“Well? I won’t ask you again, ponies,” Mantissia taunted. “What sort of epitaph should I engrave on your tombstones? 'Here lies Clover the not-so-clever?' Or how about 'Celestia, the one who let the world down?' Or even 'Beneath this stone, the brightest Aura lies extinguished?' You know, all you had to do was let me take over and you could have spared yourselves this terrible fate.”

“Personally, I’d prefer a headstone engraved with Alicorns rule, changelings drool."

"What?" Mantissia choked and cast her wild gaze around the partially destroyed throne room. “Who said that? I’ll have your head next, after I'm finished with these pathetic excuses for 'high-level unicorns'."

“Oh come now, Queenie. Can you not take a joke?”

The newcomer materialised between the queen and the downed Celestia. Another alicorn—this one of midnight blue, adorned in jewellery and a tiara—stood before Mantissia, obstructing her view of her prey.

"Luna!" Clover cheered, running up next to her. “Are we glad to see you. Did you come alone?”

Luna tossed her mane with a large grin on her face. “Oh, it was no trouble at all, in the end. Seems our mistress of tainted love here has sucked all of the nutrition out of her troops. They put up a negligible fight. What sort of mother—" Luna’s expression turned stormy “—does that to her own children, My Queen?"

“I’ll tell you what sort of mother does that: the sort that knows a temporary sacrifice will lead to a glorious, extended future! Don’t you lecture me on the right and wrong way to raise foals, you orphaned, barren freak!” Mantissia’s terrible voice washed over Luna, deathly intent lacing every syllable. “You have interrupted and insulted me—for the first and last time!"

Mantissia raced towards Luna in a flash, hoof poised to strike her head from her neck…




*  *  *  *  *



“Psst—changelings at the top of the staircase. I think this is the place, you two,” Edge whispered. The aura around his horn glowed with a short-range presence locator spell. “All right, we need to work out some kind of plan. I count two changelings at the front of the door, standing guard. There’s an unknown number of bodies in the actual tower room. There must be some kind of defensive spell set up to disguise the amount of occupants. My horn only tells me six, but there may be many more.”

“So what’s the plan, Mr. Elite Guard?” Cirrus asked. “Are we gonna rush up and show 'em what for?” He readied his wings, prepared to zoom up the staircase.

“Well, not we, I think. Just you.” Edge smiled at the colt. I can make use of his eagerness. “Cirrus, you fly up and distract the guards while we hide in the nearest room. I need you to lead them away from the door, but make sure you lead them past the one we’ll be hiding behind so we know it’s safe. Keep them distracted for as long as possible—Valencia and I will need all the time we can get.”

The colt gave a salute to the guard. Edge then turned to the mare. “Valencia, while we’re hiding, we need to be completely relaxed, meditative. Changelings can sense all of our emotions, so even if Cirrus leads the guards past the room, they’ll still detect us if we’re too emotionally worked up. We need to stay perfectly calm and relaxed. Deep breaths and all that.”

Valencia nodded. “Sure, I can do that. Keep calm and rescue the royals. Yep. Well, shall we get started?” She looked to the crystal pegasus, observing the willingness he displayed. “Cirrus, are you sure you can handle this responsibility? Everypony is counting on you right now.”

“Hey, I’m confident enough,” he said. “Lemme at them changelings! They’ll find out the meaning of speed.” As he made to zoom up the passageway, he felt a curiously warm sensation enshroud his body. “Uh hey, what gives, Edge?”

“I’m casting a very light protective spell on you,” Edge informed him. “Normally, it’d be an obvious sphere of energy, but I’m making it as skintight as possible so the changelings don’t notice it. It won’t be very powerful, but it should protect you from one or two spells and impacts. No need for you to unnecessarily endanger yourself more than you already are.”

“Cheers, dude. Well, wish me luck! You two’d better go hide now. How about behind that door there?” He pointed to a nearby opening. Valencia scoped out the room, seeing it held nothing more than spare guard uniforms.

“It’s pretty small in there, but we’ll have to work with it. You don’t mind getting a little cosy, do you Edge?” Valencia teased. The unicorn blushed.

“Er, well… sure, why not. Since this does seem the night for hiding in small, enclosed spaces.”

“Well, go on you two, hide already! Just remember, keep calm and relax. Seeya!” With no further delays, Cirrus raced up the staircase. From within the small room that the two adults hid in, Valencia could hear Cirrus’ deliberately obnoxious banter floating down to them.

“Hey, you two, our glorious queen wants you in the throne room. She just defeated the alicorns. Everyone else is arriving there shortly to discuss the final stage of Equestria’s takeover.”

“Wow, you got pretty lucky with your victim! I’ve never seen a pegasus so shiny before. Of course, I’ve never seen a pegasus before, so—”

“Hey! The queen wants everyone there, now! No time for chit-chat, let’s go! But, er, yes, I do love that I got so lucky. I don’t have the heart to change back to normal!”

The guards looked at each other, laughed at Cirrus’ joke and shrugged. “Well, we should go, I suppose,” the second one hissed. “But why didn’t Our Queen send for us mentally, like normal?” He glanced at Cirrus, suspicion growing on his face.

“...Well, she used so much power taking down her enemies, that’s she’s too exhausted to talk on the thread to everyone. So, those of us lucky enough to have found very loving families have been given the job of messenger, for the time being.”

Brilliant, Cirrus! Valencia thought from her enclosed room. She became uncomfortably aware of just how closely she was pressed up against Edge in the gloom, after he turned to glance at her, a small smile gracing his own face.

“Sure, that sounds like reason enough. But what about the others inside, guarding the prisoners—”

Valencia and Edge’s ears perked up.

“—Shall they come too, or remain behind?”

“Her Majesty said everyone. I assume that means, everyone."

“Hold on then, I’ll send for them.” The first guard deactivated the enchantment and opened the door. “Everyone, assemble in the throne room for a debriefing with Queen Mantissia. Ensure the prisoners are doubly secure and meet us down there immediately.”

Valencia and Edge could hardly believe their luck. Valencia would have jumped for joy, had Edge not been so pressed up against her. Even so, she could not prevent the feeling of elation rise, warming her chest.

“Valencia,” Edge whispered, “remember to remain calm and neutral as they pass by, or all of Cirrus’ efforts will be for naught. Take some deep breaths and let your mind go blank.”

With that, Valencia felt Edge exhale and go limp against her. I can’t tell if he’s enjoying this or not. But whatever, he’s right. Okay brain, heart, settle down. Breathe. Relax.

Valencia kept her emotions hidden while the sound of a small group of changelings passed by their hiding place. She struggled to keep her heartbeat regular as the procession marched on. There must have been twenty or more in that room! I’m glad we didn’t have to fight them all…

With the danger gone, Valencia cautiously opened the door, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. “Whew! That was mighty close. I just can’t believe Cirrus pulled that off so well!”

Edge spilled out after her, dusting himself off. “Yeah. In all honesty, I thought the squirt was just gonna kick them in the face and get them to chase him or something. He really surprised me, too. I suppose I shouldn’t take everypony I meet at face value.” He straightened up and stretched out. “But, to business. Let’s liberate some royals!”

Edge ascended the staircase, Valencia following behind and watching the rear. As Edge magically unlocked the door, the most peculiar and creepy sight swam before his vision:

Eleven out of twelve royal guards—as well as other castle staff like chefs and maids—were encased in a strange, green, pod-like prison. They floated in some form of viscous liquid, their eyes closed as if in a deep sleep. “Wait, everypony on the castle staff is in here?” he asked, incredulous. There's at least thirty unicorns in this tower. This is practically a fifth of the population of Unitopia!

“Never mind about the numbers, Edge!” Valencia cried. “Just focus on getting everypony out of there!”

“Oh. Right, of course.” Edge smacked himself lightly on the forehead. “Where are you, Platinum? Levitatus? Portia?” As he passed pod after pod, he lit his horn and levitated each captive pony out of their creepy encasing. Well, that was easier than I thought, he mused silently to himself. “Valencia, are you going to be all right rescuing ponies from these pods?”

“Don’t you worry about little old me. These pods are designed to keep prisoners in, not to keep captors from extracting them. I’m doing just fine here,” she reassured the guard. To prove it, she gave one of the pods a mighty kick, shattering the thin, crystal-like covering. Edge smiled, then resumed his search. Ponies had begun to awaken, or at least stir from their sudden release.

Rounding a final pod, he found them.

King Levitatus floated before him, in a much more magnificent pod. At least they know how to treat royalty. Next to him, in a smaller, slightly less flashy pod, rested Queen Portia. The queen looked to be in a very deep, placid dream, in contrast to the king who was tossing and turning. Having located his king and queen, Edge shifted his attention to the one he’d really been searching for with most desperation.

Platinum.

The white-coated beauty loomed before his eyes, her pigment creepily tainted by the green liquid containing her. Taking more care with her than the others, he gently levitated her out of the pod and laid her on the floor before him. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you, my love. But I’m here now. As Platinum opened her gorgeous purple eyes, he smiled.

Platinum’s piercing scream sent him back a few steps in shock.

“Ahhhhhhhh! Get away from me, you horrible disgusting fiend! Get away, back off! You’re not taking advantage of me again!”

“Whoa, Platinum, relax! You’re safe now. It’s me, Edge!”

Far from being reassured, Platinum backed away.

“What’s the matter with you?” Edge questioned the hysterical mare. “I’ve come to rescue you! Look, you’re free of this horrible cage now. Calm down.” 

The princess looked to him, then around at the rest of the pods’ previous occupants, still breathing scared, shallow breaths. “...Edge? Is it really you? I mean, really you this time?” Her breathing slowed as she visibly relaxed. Edge smiled as she threw her hooves around his neck. “Oh, darling, I was so afraid. There was a changeling, I didn’t realise that you weren’t you, and… and…” she broke off, crying, even as Edge realised what must have happened.

I’ll kill them all. Every last one of them.

“Good, you found the princess,” Valencia said, interrupting the tender moment. “Now, how about you work on rescuing the king and the queen?"

“Oh, right. Yes, we should do that. Come on, Platinum—let’s rescue your parents.”




*  *  *  *  *



What in Dimiourgia’s name is this creature? Luna thought, ducking and weaving around Mantissia’s relentless attacks. She’s like nothing I’ve ever encountered. Even Vorjhan himself would be on level terms with her. She could feel the dark power, the tainted love being excreted by the queen. Luna zipped back across the room, putting some space between herself and the mutated beast before her.

“This is a surprising turn of events, Mantissia,” Luna admitted. “I expected a foe worthy of nothing more than a few minutes of exertion, followed by an exhausting but satisfying victory. You have certainly given me cause for concern. I see now, though, how you were able to reduce my sister to the sorry mess she is in.”

The queen laughed. “It’s too late for flattery, my dear Luna. You, as well as everypony else who opposes me, shall be crushed for insubordination!”

“Oh, that was far from flattery, Mantissia,” Luna corrected. “That was just an audible self-assessment of the situation. You are still not going to win.”

The queen glared at the alicorn, so foolish to goad her into attacking. “Yes, I will! My strength is immeasurable, my power absolute! Now, die!" The queen rushed her target, only to be outdone by Luna’s somehow superior speed. “You can’t fly in circles forever, you coward. Stand and fight me!”

“Oh, what’s this? Are you beginning to slow down, Queenie? Can’t keep up the flow of power? Why don’t you show me the true extent of—”

Bzzzt!

Luna’s taunts were cut off as a sizzling bolt of power hit her square in the chest.

"Luna!"

The shout had come from Celestia. Broken, beat, scarred, but not completely down, Celestia struggled to her hooves as she watched her sister’s eyes widen in shock. Her gaze followed Luna all the way back to the floor, where she fell with a solid thump. Gasping, she staggered over to her sister and examined her limp body. Luna emitted no signs of life.

"Mantissia…"

Clover and Aura looked on as their broken guardian rose her head to glare at the changeling queen. Having used the distraction of Luna’s entrance and interception of the fight, Clover had cast healing magic on her niece, who in turn, had started doing the same for Celestia. Although, what they came to witness would suggest that Celestia had not required it at all.

“My sister... you will pay for this, Mantissia! With every fiber of my being, I swear on my sister’s existence that you will suffer for your crimes!”

Mantissia looked on, a smug expression adorning her draconic face. “Oh please, spare me your sentiments, Celestia. I’ve already defeated you, remember? And now your sister lies before your hooves, useless. What measure of power could you possibly possess that can trump my divine strength?”

“My Queen? You summoned us?”

Taken by surprise, Mantissia turned to the voice. All of the subjects she’d left guarding the prisoners stood before her, having entered the throne room from the same corridor that those other two crystal ponies had departed through. “What? Why are you all here? You’re supposed to have the north tower under surveillance!”

“But, My Queen, one of our brothers informed us that you couldn’t communicate to us because you were too exhausted. He passed the message from you saying you’d emerged victorious and was now holding a meeting to decide Equestria’s future.”

"Lies! Who told you such a ridiculous thing?” the queen spat.

“...He was disguised as a pegasus, his coat shining like the sun. Do you know who it is, my Queen?”

Cirrus? Clover thought, again using the distraction to tend to Luna’s condition. Why would he lead a changeling battalion here? Unless… For the first time since the battle had begun, Clover grinned. Unfortunately, Mantissia chose that moment to detect her elation.

“Pray tell, what are you so pleased about, Clover?” she rasped deeply.

“Oh, nothing much,” Clover said. Her smile widened. “Just them.” Pointing over her back, Clover grinned even harder. Mantissia followed her hoof. Her menacing pupils contracted with disbelief.

The entire population of Unitopia, led by Levitatus, entered the throne room from the entrance hall and congregated around Clover. Aura’s family rushed to her side, while other ponies—Cirrus included—milled around the broken, but determined Celestia. Many of the unicorns sported mild wounds, though excluding that, they appeared to be perfectly fine, if a little shaken.

Mantissia raked the now-crowded room with her piercing sight. They think they’ve saved the day, do they? Well, they’re mistaken! “Changelings!” she yelled, “assemble! Subdue your enemies and return them to the blissful slumber from whence they came!” The air immediately filled with the buzzing of drones as they launched themselves at the unicorns who’d escaped their gullible clutches.

“Citizens of Unitopia!” bellowed King Levitatus, his voice magically enhanced, “stand with me now and repel this menace.” He continued to yell, even while the fighting began: “They’ve hurt your families, stolen from you and held you against your will. Now is the time to fight your oppressors, to reclaim what was always yours. Fight for me, fight for yourselves, but most importantly, fight for the ones who have truly fought tooth and hoof for your freedom on this night! Fight for your rightful rulers, the mighty alicorn sisters, your Aunts and great-Aunts—Celestia and Luna!”

An enormously loud cry reverberated around the room as the unicorns roared their approval at the king, even if they were somewhat confused about the mention of the alicorn sisters. The sounds of yelling, horns clashing and spells firing filled the room. Clover continued to tend to the unconscious Luna and the enormous burn mark on her chest. Levitatus conjured a barrier of his own and stood next to Celestia—joined by Portia and Platinum—shielding them all from the weakened changeling attack force. Valencia, Cirrus and Edge formed a perimeter around Aura, daring to stand in defiance of the queen once more.

Mantissia observed all of the going-ons with an expression of pure venom. Why is my plan in shambles? It was supposed to be fool-proof! And where are all of my reinforcements? She let out a piercing scream of frustration. “Nothing has changed here! You will all still bow to me when all is said and done! I shall end your precious princesses, and you will all tremble at my hooves!”

"No. We will not!"

Celestia had risen, defying the leviathanic beast before her. All around her, the fighting stopped. Bolstered by Platinum’s anaesthetic spell, Portia’s first aid spell and Levitatus’ energy transference spell, Celestia stood tall and proud once more. The elements of Loyalty and Generosity shone like beacons in the twilit room.

"You have chosen your path of destruction, Mantissia. I warned you. You thought the corrupted power of love would grant you invincibility. But the real truth is, nothing you do can stand up to the power of Harmony! Not while we all stand united here before you: Earth pony, pegasus, unicorn, alicorn, even crystal pony now fights together. You cannot win this war, Mantissia. Surrender. Do not make me destroy you!"

The queen looked in vain to her subjects, wondering why her other children had not yet entered the fray. Before her eyes, each one fell to their unicorn opponents. The ones who should have subdued their prey already were instead being effortlessly trampled under hoof. For the first time, Mantissia questioned her collective acquirement of all the love she’d absorbed. Realising that she faced an entire city worth of unicorns, as well as a re-energised alicorn, Mantissia considered raising her hooves in defeat.

For all of one second.

"You shall not have me! I am the great destroyer, the taker of life! It is my will that this land and everypony in it be assimilated!" she shrieked. Charging up a final attack, she poured every remaining shred of cruelty, malice and will to dominate all life into the beam. Her horn glowed with the intensity of a second sun, before she brought it down upon Celestia. The alicorn barely had time to react as the destructive beam sizzled through the air towards her.

There was a mighty explosion. Everypony in the room was forced to their knees as the entire city trembled on its foundation. A cloud of smoke originated from the place where Celestia had once stood.

...Still stood…

When the smoke finished clearing, Celestia gazed at her body, remarkably unscathed. Shock lined everypony’s faces as they realised what had saved her. Or rather, who.

King Levitatus lay facedown on the floor, still crackling with spent power.
> Un/Conditional Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Father!” Platinum cried, releasing her spell on Celestia to focus on the king. “Father, get up, please. Please, Father, wake up. You have to get up.” Platinum shook Levitatus with a hoof as she sat down near his face. Lifting his head up, she gasped, painfully aware of just what the blast had done to him.

Such was the power of the residual energy still coursing through Levitatus that the shockwaves extended to her own body. A vicious tingling spread through her insides, rippling through her organs, her blood. Platinum yelped at the sensation and reflexively dropped her father’s head. The tingling ceased, but there was a new sense making itself aware to her.

The smell. The king did not simply crackle. He smelled… burnt. Mantissia’s final parting shot had more than rendered him unconscious. Such was the unparalleled amount of energy she’d unleashed, that the king hadn’t just been stunned. He’d been cooked alive, from the inside out.

The smell of her father made Princess Platinum physically sick. Unable to take it, she backed away, crying, into the waiting hooves of her mother. Portia fared no better—the queen was in hysterics, having just witnessed the death of her husband. Celestia looked upon the broken family with the greatest remorse.

That shot was meant for me, brother. Why did you protect me? Although unlikely, I might have survived it… maybe. Celestia continued to gaze upon the mares, at least until she felt the presence of the younger princess at her hooves. Aura looked up to her, shedding her own tears. Crystal tears. Without words, Celestia pulled her into a comforting embrace, her least-damaged wing draped around the princess.

Cirrus looked around. Everypony in the room—even the changelings who’d not yet been rendered unconscious—had stopped to stare at the scene. There had never been a more chilling silence. A sudden stirring nearby captured his attention briefly.  Luna had regained consciousness, though she appeared to be in quite dire straits. How is she still alive? Cirrus wondered while he cautiously trotted over to her.

Edge had no other concern for anypony except Platinum. Knowing his secret would be exposed, and that he would immediately be discharged from the royal guard, Edge walked over to Platinum and placed a tender hoof on her shoulder. With a look from the queen—too distraught to object—Edge held his beloved close.

“I’m so, so sorry, Platinum. I wish there was something we could have done. Something I could have done.”

Hic “It’s okay, Edge. He hic made his ch-choice.” Her body racked with sobs, Platinum continued to pour her heart out to Edge. “I just… he j-just can’t be…” The rest was lost as she began to wail. Everywhere around the room, changelings were covering their ears and falling to the ground. The immense amount of negative emotions filling the room played havoc with their senses as they found themselves writhing and rolling on the ground, all bodily control lost.

Every unicorn in the room had gathered to form a wide perimeter around the royals, Celestia, Luna and the crystal ones. The atmosphere could have been swam in. Tears fell in multitudes as the citizens of Unitopia mourned the selfless loss of their first—and greatest—king.

Valencia placed her own head in her hooves. No… how could it end like this? We were so close to victory. We had the power, we had the support of everypony here... why has this happened? Turning to the culprit, Valencia felt, for the first time since the fell winter, the true essence of hate.

Mantissia had reverted to her original form. The changeling queen looked worse for wear than even Celestia. She lay next to the throne; the ultimate seat of power she’d been so desperate to attain, it had driven her to cold-blooded murder. Far from her fearsome, draconic form, she looked more fragile than a broken glass window. The queen could barely lift her own head to analyse the situation.

“So that’s it, then?” Everypony looked up, for Valencia had taken a position before the defeated usurper. “This is the end result of everything you’ve planned for years? And what do you have to show for it? What does anypony have to show for it, besides hatred, darkness and despair? You’ve slain the leader of an entire race of ponies. What now, huh? How can you possibly expect anypony to even consider loving your race now?”

Mantissia gurgled as the waves of hatred flowing from Valencia cut her deep.

The Earth pony persisted. “You’ve dug your own grave. Yours, and your children’s.”

Portia took advantage of the distractions to approach her husband’s lifeless corpse. She lowered her own head to nuzzle Levitatus’ face, ignoring the unsettling odour. “My love… how could this happen to you? Why did you always have to be the hero?” She wept openly, stroking his once luscious mane. It felt frizzled to the touch, though mercifully she was not overcome with residual energy as Platinum had been.

…“Mother?”

Portia glanced up at her youngest as Aura also approached her deceased father.

“Daddy’s… dead, isn’t he?” Slowly, her mother nodded. Looking back at her father’s body, Aura’s tears continued to flow. “Daddy…” she whimpered, laying her own head down on his body in turn.

Celestia, while saddened by the loss of her brother, found herself more immediately worried about her sister. I shall mourn Levitatus later, but for now, Luna needs my support. She lowered herself—painfully, no longer having the royals’ spells to bolster her—down to examine Luna. She examined her body, checking for injuries. A nasty burn coated her chest, spreading to her sides and up to the roots of her wing-bones. The blast had been nowhere near as powerful as the king’s fatal spark, though.

“Sister, how are you feeling?” Celestia continued to check her over, even as Luna tried to stand.

“I live, Celestia. Not gonna lie though, it hurts like you would not believe. Then again,” she amended, glancing over Celestia’s own battle-torn body, “perhaps you know exactly how I am feeling.” She took a deep breath, willing the pain to vacate her system. She rose to her hooves, unsteady, yet successfully. “How is everypony else?”

“They seem fine. Shaken from the ordeal, but physically and mentally sound, still." Celestia glanced around at the crowd of unicorns. Never had she seen so many in one place before. It was only then that she became uncomfortably aware of the fact that almost everypony in the throne room was now staring at her and Luna.

“Well, Luna, I suppose now would be as good a time as any to introduce ourselves.”




*  *  *  *  *



"Citizens of Unitopia!" Luna bellowed. The room fell silent, all eyes on her. "My sister and I believe that we owe you all an introduction, as well as an explanation of recent events. So, to all of you here now, bearing witness, here we are: Alicorn sisters, Celestia—” she waved a hoof “—and Luna. We are the two most powerful ponies to ever exist. At least, we were, for a time. But we will elaborate on that a little further in a few moments. For now, my sister will explain this situation to you all.” Luna turned to Celestia, waving her forwards to face the crowd. Her sister smiled, and began to recount the events of the previous forty-eight hours...

Finalising her speech, Celestia smiled at Aura. “Now, Aura, would you kindly step over to the center of the room here?” Celestia requested. Nodding, Aura did as she was told, the last of her crystal tears falling to the floor. “Everypony, behold your Crystal Princess. Behold her cutie-mark. Behold the pendant adorning her neck. But most of all, behold the greatest powers that exist in this world: the powers of Harmony and love!”

Celestia and Luna each took a position on either side of Aura. Nodding together, they touched their horns to Aura’s, the three connected. At once, all six elemental jewels began to glow, as well as Aura’s Crystal Pendant. “Everypony,” Celestia said, “I ask that you join us in wishing your king well, through the love that you bear his princesses and his queen. Let Aura feel the power of your love, and watch her put it to use.”




*  *  *  *  *



Back in the heart of the icy tundra, from within the shielded crystal city, the Crystal Heart began to rotate rapidly. Immense waves of power flooded out of it, stretching to all corners of the world.




*  *  *  *  *



The Crystal Pendant glowed. Waves of glorious light washed over everypony, turning them all shimmery for a solid moment. Never before or since was the throne room of Unitopia awash with such radiance. As the citizens, the princesses, Queen Portia, the alicorns, Valencia and Cirrus concentrated, something remarkable happened…

The sound of rushing wind filled the room, loud as a pegasi-generated tornado. Great amounts of love—in the form of energy—left everypony’s heart, to be absorbed by the Crystal Pendant. Vibrating violently around Aura’s neck, the gem inside shined with the light of ten suns. Adding their strength to the pendant were the Elements of Harmony, resonating with the gem and each other. The power saturation in the room would be talked about for generations.

“Aura.”

The princess looked up at the musical sound of Luna’s calm, kind voice.

“Take our power, all of our love. Use it well.”

Nodding, Aura focused on directing all of the converging energy into a convalescent beam of pure power. Her eyes—along with Celestia’s and Luna’s—turned completely white while she surrendered to the guiding power of the Crystal Pendant and the Elements of Harmony. The pendant finally expelled the built-up power with tremendous force, directly at King Levitatus’ body.

An incredibly loud, purely light-based rainbow explosion of power rocked the entire city to its foundations.

When the light had finally dissipated, Aura watched a miracle before her eyes: King Levitatus coughed briefly, then made to stand up. Disbelief crossed the face of every unicorn in the room as their king—risen from the dead—finished getting to his hooves and turned around to greet all of his subjects.

“Hello, everypony. Did I miss anything?”




*  *  *  *  *



"Changeling Queen Mantissia!"

Mantissia, bound by magically tightened hoofcuffs, and a magic suppression ring around her horn, made her way slowly to the square that had been erected in the center of Unitopia. Onlookers—as well as other captive changelings—watched her intently as she passed. Many jeered at her and waved their hooves. Some threw fruit, although members of the Royal Guard leading and flanking her caught it and sent it flying back to its origin.

"Step onto the dais."

With hoofcuffs removed, but magic suppressor still locked on, Mantissia flitted up over the steps and landed on the raised platform. Everywhere she stared, she met the hate-filled eyes of ponies. It caused her enough physical pain that she could not have fled, even without any handicapping measures. She held her head high though, as she stood before King Levitatus himself.

"Queen Mantissia. You are brought here before this crowd today, to be held accountable for your recent involvement in a destabilising movement against Equestria. You are, today, hereby charged with:



Destruction of property




Leading an army in a coup




Plotting treason and regicide




Unlawful imprisonment of no fewer than five hundred ponies




Adultery


and


Murder."



How ironic that I stand here now and hear a murder charge, read against me by the very subject of the murder, Mantissia wondered to herself.

"To these charges against you: how do you plead?" King Levitatus asked.

“Guilty.” The queen’s expression was flat, emotionless.

"Queen Mantissia, for your plea of guilt, you face the death penalty." The crowd suddenly grew wild and riotous. “Order in the square! Order!" Levitatus commanded, but the ponies ignored him, his voice far too low to be heard over the neighs and whinnies of the crowd.

"Order! we say! Order!" Celestia and Luna lent their abnormally loud voices to the king’s, almost deafening the unruly crowd. Shocked into silence, the crowd settled down and sat on their haunches.

“While it is true that simply the crimes of treason and regicide carry the death penalty… certain events have been brought to light by my advisor and personal guardian, Celestia.” The king smiled at his sister, receiving a grin in return. “Celestia, if you may?”

Celestia took the stand and faced the crowd.

"Long before you ponies—or even I—were thought of, a being named Vorjhan held dominion over this world," she bellowed, loud enough to be heard by all, but not to deafen this time. "Vorjhan was the physical manifestation of the force of chaos, and he created many incredible, but horrific and dangerous creatures, simply at his own whims, for his own entertainment. One of these creations was the race of Changelings." The crowd murmured to themselves, wondering what the relevance was.

"Queen Mantissia here," Celestia continued, "Was the first changeling ever born into this world. It is my sister and I’s belief that she be allowed to tell you her story, in the hope that you may see some justification for her actions. After all, everypony who commits any crime has the right to a defense." Celestia stepped down from the stand, facing the queen.

"Fillies and gentle-colts, I ask now that you listen to her story in silence, without interruption, so you may hear every word of her testimony."

Celestia gave the queen a neutral look as she retreated to Levitatus’ right side. Mantissia swallowed some bile as she faced the angry—but now co-operative—crowd.

Mantissia delivered her testimony, the same story that she had shared with Celestia while she held her captive in the love extraction pod. At first, the faces of the ponies were unmoved and stony. But as she went on, drawing nearer to her conclusion, some of the faces slackened, taking on a more sad look. Others glanced around at her captive children, forced to do the only thing they’d ever known to survive.

Once Mantissia’s testimony had been delivered, Luna took to the stand. "Now that you have heard the testimony of the accused, we ask you to make a decision. You will decide Mantissia’s fate this day. You have three choices:

“One—her punishment is reflected by her crimes and she is put to death.
Two—her punishment involves eternal banishment from Equestria, along with all of her children.
Three—her punishment is decided by the Crystal Princess.

“Now that you have your choices, we ask: what is your vote? A call of aye for death?"

Less than a third of the crowd raised their voices with an “aye.” Mantissia’s shoulders visibly sagged in relief.

"Now I implore ye: a call of aye for banishment?"

Slightly more than a quarter of the crowd chanted an “aye.”

"Your final choice: a call of aye for punishment via Crystal Princess’ discretion?"

Over two-fifths of the crowd screamed their agreeing “aye.”

"The matter is settled, then," Luna declared. "Mantissia and her children’s fate shall be decided by Princess Aura: a filly with first-hoof experiences at the mercy, or lack thereof, of the changelings in the past." Luna smiled at her new niece. "Crystal Princess Aura, please take the stand."

As Aura climbed up onto the dais opposite her once-oppressor, she couldn’t help but allow a shiver to slip through her composure. Mantissia’s emerald eyes bored into her own, but they were no longer filled with greed or malice. Taking a deep breath, Aura turned to face the crowd, shining in the sunlight.

“Mantissia, Queen and Mother of the Changelings, today I pass your judgement.”
> The Royal Decree
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Queen Mantissia.”

Crystal Princess Aura stood on the raised platform, in the center of Unitopia square, surrounded on all sides by the victims of the accused. The subject of her address gazed back at her, wearing an expression of defeat.

“You stand before us today, accused of the worst crimes in our young world’s history. You have conspired to seize control of these beautiful lands: not only those belonging to our city, but also the fertile fields, tranquil forests and beautiful skies. You sought to enslave our entire race, sapping our hearts of the very love which we are still rebuilding our world upon.

“You plotted to steal my father’s throne right out from underneath him. You posed as my mother to steal the love he bears her, my sister and I—love which knows no bounds. You waited until the perfect day of our year—Hearts And Hooves Day—to infiltrate our beautiful kingdom, the one day of the year when the love in everypony’s heart burns with the most passion.

“You ordered your troops—your children—to assault, apprehend and imprison every member of Unitopia, Cloudsdale and the Earth pony pastures. They each took on a disguise before doing so, that of one member of each family—even my own. With the amount of love on display throughout the land, your children overcame their targets easily and sealed everypony up in cocoons—Cocoons that stole their love and held them in a sleeping stasis.

“Finally, you committed the worst offense of them all: you aimed to mercilessly crush any and all opposition directed at you, no matter who stepped up to challenge you. My father, my elder Aunts—Celestia and Luna—the entire Royal Guard, even myself and my friends. Your final, desperate act involved the absorption of every drop of love from your entire swarm, transforming you into a soulless, powerful beast. This act included the subduing of everypony who challenged you… and resulted in the death of my father, the king.”

Aura ceased her accusations and bowed her head, taking deep, calm breaths.

I can’t let them see me cry. Not again. Not yet.

After a few seconds, Aura raised her head, resuming her speech once more.

“Everything that you have put our entire civilisation through, over the past forty-eight hours—everything that you’ve put my friends and I through—warrants the punishment of death, many times over. It could be argued that each and every one of your children should share such a fate. Be that as it may, I cannot find it in my heart to go through with that punishment. I simply cannot ever consider that my word would put another’s life to an end.

“It is now that I shall tell you, along with every other citizen of Unitopia, why I am not ordering your death on this day.”

Aura took a moment to pause and assess the crowd. Everypony had been hanging onto her every word, Mantissia included, as she recounted her adventure with her new friends and all of the perils they had faced. She blushed. I never thought my first oral presentation would be to an entire kingdom full of ponies, she thought, allowing a small smile to creep onto her face. 

“Aided by the alicorn Luna—” Aura turned to her elder aunt and beamed brightly “—my friends and I were able to restore Clover from the brink of death. We returned home, only to find it completely besieged. Luna’s sister, Celestia, had already engaged in battle with you, Mantissia, stalling your takeover efforts to the best of her ability. The rest, you—and now everypony else—knows."

With those final words, Aura concluded her speech. Her gaze lingered now on the eldest alicorn. Celestia simply smiled and nodded her head, urging Aura to continue.

Aura directly addressed the queen now, commanding her attention. “Queen Mantissia,” she repeated, “though your actions are deserving of the ultimate punishment, without the events that you set in motion, the Crystal Heart would remain, as-of-yet, undiscovered. The hidden power and knowledge that this adventure my friends undertook—instigated by your invasion plan—will be incredibly beneficial to ponykind all over the world. We have unlocked the true power of love. Not only that, but we have also restored Celestia and Luna to the world, themselves bearing artifacts of great value and importance to our society: the Elements of Harmony.”

Aura beckoned for her aunts to join her. Nodding to each other, the sisters took up a position on either side of Aura’s flank. “Combining the power of the Crystal Heart with the powers of Harmony, wielded by myself and by each of my aunts respectively, we were able to accomplish something phenomenal, something previously considered impossible: we revived my father from death, undoing your tainted, twisted magic.

"You were right, Mantissia,” Aura announced. “Love truly is the ultimate power that this world has to offer. But the way that you used it was so wrong, so unnatural, that it betrayed you and everypony else that your power touched. Only our harnessing of love’s true power could have undone the effects of your magic.”

“Today, I hoof down your judgement. Father!” Aura commanded. King Levitatus trotted to her side, scroll and quill at the ready in his steady, magical grip. “Record these words, for they shall determine the fate of Mantissia, her children and all of her descendants.”

The king nodded, smiling at his youngest daughter. His face glowed with pride. “I know that anything you decree shall be fair, but decisive, my little Princess,” he said. Aura returned his smile, before substituting it for a serious expression. Aura cleared her throat as she performed a sound-enhancing spell.

"On this day, I pass my royal judgment upon Queen Mantissia and her children, her subjects, her troops. For the crimes of destruction of property, leading an army in a coup, plotting treason and regicide, unlawful imprisonment of no fewer than five hundred ponies, adultery and murder, I find you, based on indisputable evidence and multiple eye-witnesses, guilty.

“Your punishment, however, shall not be that of death, or even exile. Based on the testimony you provided, you resorted to this takeover plan believing that you had no other alternative. You were starving, your children were starving and you were all desperate. While these facts alone are not justification enough for your crimes, I have taken into consideration that you were created the way that you are; that you did not choose the life you are forced to lead. Nor did you choose your unfortunately parasitic diet.

“As a pony who now understands love more completely than anypony else in Equestria could, I am overflowing with sympathy and willingness to forgive you of your transgressions. However, there is an alternate measure, something that will serve as a dual punishment for your crimes, and as a reward for indirectly enabling the discovery of the Crystal Heart.

“Today, I sentence you, Mantissia, as well as your children, to perform an indefinite amount of community service to the Crystal Empire—which I shall soon form in the north, in support of Unitopia. You will spend your days and nights there, bound to the city, ordered to patrol the perimeter constantly and protect it from any outside threat. An indefinite sentence may sound harsh," Aura said, "but not when you consider the less forgiving alternative. Also, I inform you of another decision which will lessen the burden—and may in fact enthuse you for the work.

“Mantissia, you shall relinquish your title of Queen and serve the Crystal Empire. However, should you choose to aid in the Empire’s eventual prosperity, you shall find the Crystal Heart’s power growing. It is a vessel of pure love and compassion, that which your kind requires for survival. So, in the spirit of peace between the pony and changeling races, I shall allow you and your children—in return for your servitude—to periodically feed off of the Crystal Heart."

An eerie silence filled the city square. Nopony could quite believe what they had heard. Mantissia herself looked stunned, shocked into silence at the surprise declaration. Valencia, Cirrus and Edge all looked at each other, eyebrows raised in confusion. Every other citizen of Unitopia now had their attention feverishly planted on Aura, like she was some form of demon.

The sound of rhythmic stamping began to fill the air. Aura turned to witness Celestia, Luna and King Levitatus standing together, clopping their front hooves repeatedly on the ground. Smiles matching the sun in radiance adorned their faces, clear approval filtering off them toward her. She could feel the slight tingle of their love through the Crystal Pendant.

Slowly, the sound amplified as Valencia, Cirrus and Edge added their own applause to the royals’. Following their lead, more and more Unitopian citizens added their hooves to the din, until everypony present was applauding Aura. The princess beamed, seemingly wider than her face allowed. Mantissia still stood silently aghast, immobilised by the sheer outpouring of adoration from everypony for their new Crystal Princess.

Aura walked back to King Levitatus, receiving an enthusiastic hug. “I’m so, so proud of you, my daughter,” he said. “You’ve already grown up so much. I believe that, in time, you will become a much wiser pony than I have ever been.” The king relinquished his hold, allowing Aura to accept a loving embrace from Queen Portia and Princess Platinum.

“Aura, I love you, so much. Everypony here owes their lives to you and your friends,” her mother said.

“You have performed your royal duties to the absolute letter, Aura,” Platinum agreed. “I never thought you would become so smart and well-beloved. Great job, little sister!”

As the hugs broke off, Aura leaped off the stage and galloped at full force toward Valencia and Cirrus.

“I did it, guys! I did it!" She cheered, tackling them both in a very non-princess-like manner.

“You sure did, love,” Valencia confirmed. “Nopony could have given a better judgement.”

“You are awesome, Aura! I’m so glad to have shared this adventure with you!” Cirrus shouted.

“I love you both, so much,” Aura said. “So, so much. Without you two, none of this would have been possible at all. Thank you. I’m ready to be a princess now. A true Princess.”

A sudden hush descended over the crowd. Aura looked up at the strange silence. Her eyes widened in disbelief. A bright spotlight shone down from on high, completely illuminating Celestia and Luna. From within the epicentre of the glow, six different coloured lights gleamed.

The Elements of Harmony combined their power; six beams of light shot out of the alicorn sisters' adornments. They converged and struck Aura square in the chest. The resultant flash illuminated the still-twilight gloom with the force of the sun, forcing everypony to avert their eyes.

When the light had dissipated, a collective gasp rang through the square.

A heart-shaped scorch mark covered the ground; Aura was nowhere to be seen.
> Divinity's Blessing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Aura awoke, feeling completely weightless. As she slowly opened her eyes, her vision took its time focusing on her surroundings. There seemed to be a shimmery, multi-hued blur around her. For a moment, Aura thought she might be somewhere back in the crystal mountain again. She finished opening her eyes and willed her vision to return.

She soon wished that she hadn’t.

With a scream, Aura realised that she was indeed floating. The area all around her was a sparkling, misty blur. It was impossible to tell where her hooves should touch any type of “solid” ground. Reassessing her situation, Aura realised that she was not in any immediate danger. Her panic subsiding, Aura took a deep breath and lowered her hooves, testing whether or not she would still float.

As if by her will alone, her hooves touched solidity. Tentatively, Aura placed her weight on her hooves, testing the new “floor” she’d created. As she did so, the feeling of weightlessness left her body and she stumbled in surprise. Glancing around, she saw nothing but ethereal mist.

“Where am I?” she cried, to nopony in particular. Silence responded, the only way it knew how. With another deep breath, Aura slowly placed one hoof in front of the other, seeking any sort of landmark. It was the most curious feeling, walking towards nothing, along an invisible floor, in this plane that seemed outside of existence.

“Am I dead?” she asked the silence. But wait, I can’t be. I’m still here, I can still think, still feel… what’s going on?

Suddenly, the mist shimmered all around her. Colours raced past her, blurring together to create many different shades of light and density. The colours swirled around, captivating Aura with their beauty. At first, they blended together, completely at random, forming a blob of an incomprehensible, chaotic palette. Then they started to rearrange each other, not only into a more realistic shape, but into separate colours too.

Some kind of life form began to materialise into being, before her eyes. Strange, how so many colours mix together to form one that looks like it has none at all. The mass of colours had combined to form a body of purest white. The shapes and shades continued to swirl around sections of the mysterious body, eventually settling on an auburn, rusty-red. These parts converged on specific sections of the body, giving it what appeared to be a short-cropped mane and lengthy tail.

Finally, the mass reformed into its true shape: the body of a tall red-and-white alicorn. As Aura stared, unable to look anywhere else, it slowly lifted its head. A pair of terrifyingly blue eyes gazed into Aura’s, stealing away all other thoughts.

The alicorn smiled.

Hello, Crystal Princess Aura. We meet at last.




*  *  *  *  *



"Everypony, remain calm!" Celestia bellowed. The citizens of Unitopia had descended into chaos at the apparent vaporisation of their princess. Everypony either screamed, paced on the spot, galloped in circles or mobbed the alicorns.

“Murderers!”

“They killed Princess Aura!”

“Put them to death!”

“Where’s the princess? What’s going on?” As the sisters found themselves surrounded by angry, frightened unicorns, they backed away. Luna activated a mental link.

What do we do, Celestia? Everypony thinks we killed Aura!

I do not know, Luna. We cannot exactly fight back, and they will not listen to us.

But for all we know, the Elements did kill Aura! You saw what I saw, it was our beams that made her vanish.

I know... I refuse to believe that the Elements would have killed her.

What then?

Thwack!

A discarded horseshoe connected with Celestia’s horn, startling her. The blow wasn’t painful, but the implications of the reasoning behind it were immediately obvious. The rest of the crowd joined in, pelting the sisters with iron. Celestia and Luna did their best to catch all of them in their magic, but a few still struck home.

Fighting back tears, Celestia cried, "We did not kill your princess! We are unsure what happened, but we know she is not dead!"

"Listen to us, please, ponies! Why would be do something malicious against you? We saved you, just hours ago!" Luna added.

As the sisters’ reasonings fell on deaf ears, a magical, dome-shaped, purple shield was conjured around them. Horseshoes, tomatoes and more clanged and splattered themselves upon the barrier. Confused, Luna looked to her left. King Levitatus had conjured the shield. His grey horn glowed brightly among the cacophony of other multi-coloured horns in the square.

"You will cease your assault on my sisters, this instant! Or you will all be granted a greater punishment than the changelings have been!"

At the words of their king, the hysterical citizens deactivated their magic and lowered their makeshift weapons. “That’s better,” the king resumed. “Now how about you give them a chance to explain, or at least theorise, before you pass judgement on the ponies who rescued you from the changelings and brought me back from the dead?"

Everypony lowered their heads then, falling silent. Satisfied, Levitatus lowered his shield. “Celestia? Luna? Have you anything to say?”

All eyes returned to the eldest as she stepped forward.

“Honestly, everypony, Luna and I have no explanation for what has transpired here this morning. Even if we knew, we fear that you would choose not to believe us anyway. I cannot fathom what has occurred here today; my sister and I have only had possession of these Elements for two days now. However, I do know that the Elements have been imperative to our successes these last few hours. It is their very nature to reinforce the values of Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter and Magic.

“I do not pretend to understand their motive for activating by themselves like they did. What I can say, with absolute certainty, is that they did not kill your princess, for that would go against every aspect of their existence. Instead, let’s think about what we do know.

“Aura is now more than just a princess by birth. She has become a princess by inheritance. The inheritance of a crystal legacy. You all saw her coat. Remember how she now shines, like a sunrise. The Crystal Heart infused her with its power, resulting in her physical change, as well as a dramatic increase in her magical ability.”

Celestia halted. What more can I say? These ponies are patient for now, but they won’t stay that way for long…




*  *  *  *  *



“I know who you are. You’re that alicorn who brought us to the Crystal Heart,” Aura said. “What’s going on? What is this place, and why are we here?” She stared into the haunting, yet beautiful eyes of the alicorn before her. She’s even taller than Celestia. Who exactly is she?

This is my domain, young princess. The ethereal world, the one where ponies shall dwell with me, once their lives expire, provided they have lived by the ways of harmony. This realm of mine, is called Elysium. The alicorn beckoned for Aura to come to her side.

Aura trotted warily next to her. A long wing, wider and taller than she, blanketed her in its warmth. Suddenly, Aura felt completely at peace. I have watched over everypony since their beginnings. I am the benefactor of this world, the one who all life owes their existence to.

I am the Creator of All Things. You may call me Dimiourgia.

Dimiourgia. She has a name. Aura walked out from underneath the creator’s wing and examined her once again. That regal pose, that glorious colour scheme, those kind, but piercing blue eyes…

“Lady Dimiourgia.” Aura sank into a low curtsy before her goddess, remembering Platinum’s lessons on courtesy and etiquette. “It’s an honour to be here with you. But please, tell me: why am I here? Am I dead, or dreaming, or—”

I assure you, young one, you are most certainly not dead. The alicorn smiled, then resumed, Yet for the time being, neither do you live. Consider yourself in a sort of stasis. The reason you are here is because you have truly become the Crystal Princess you were meant to be. While we may have had a small coronation back in the Heart’s home, you were only named the Crystal’s Keeper. You were not truly a princess—not yet.

Dimiourgia set off on a light stroll. Aura followed, able to match her pace without much effort. You see, she continued, you have proven, beyond a shadow of doubt, that you deserve the title of Crystal Princess. You have shown every aspect of Harmony within yourself:

You showed Loyalty when you would not give up on saving your aunt, Clover. Generosity when you offered your power to assist Luna in her time of need. Honesty when you admitted that you were frightened in the caves, but still willing to continue your journey. Laughter whenever you made jokes with Clover about your lessons. And—most importantly—Kindness when you extended an unparalleled act of mercy to the foe who not only enslaved your kingdom, but also murdered your own father.

Dimiourgia stopped walking. They had arrived at a shallow, shimmering pool. Aura glanced into it, confused as to why it should be there. “What’s this for, Lady Dimiourgia?” She glanced up at the alicorn, confused. Her Lady smiled down at her.

Take a bath, Aura. You shall receive your reward, and begin down the path of righteousness.

Nodding, Aura lowered her gaze to the shallow pool. The water, devoid of ripples, showed her reflection perfectly. Her pink coat shone, her mane billowed out and her eyes filled with wonder.

Here goes…




*  *  *  *  *



“Luna, I don’t know what else to tell them. What do I say? I don’t know how to put their minds at ease.” Celestia looked around at the crowd of ponies. Her eyes fell upon the trio of Valencia, Cirrus and Edge. Something unexpected was happening to Valencia and Cirrus’ eyes. “Luna, look at those three,” she said. Luna glanced around in the ponies’ direction. The eyes of the crystal ponies glowed completely white. Edge was slowly backing away, unsure what to make of this development.

“What does it mean?”

Celestia opened her mouth to respond, but no sound left her throat. A brilliant light shone once more upon the city square. The whisperings of the ponies that had crept up again fell immediately silent. This time, however, the light did not shine on the alicorn sisters. Instead, it hovered over the site of Aura’s disappearance.

With a loud crack of lightning and a swirl of mystical power, an enlarged, Crystal Heart-shaped cutie-mark descended slowly to the site. Ponies everywhere were silent, witnessing the event with bated breath.

With a blinding flash, a surge of magic illuminated the twilit sky. Everypony averted their gaze from the intensity. When the light vanished a few seconds later, everypony returned their attention. A collective gasp rang through the square. Unicorns stared in awe. Alicorns smiled to each other. The king and his family wiped their eyes in disbelief.

Aura stirred in the wake of her return to the Equestrian realm. Shakily, she propped herself up with a hoof, shaking her head to clear it. Her vision swam, but returned to focus quickly. The first thing she saw was an entire kingdom staring at her.

“Er... hello… every...pony?” she shakily offered.

“Princess Aura!”

“You’ve returned!”

“It’s a miracle!”

“Whoa, she’s got wings?”

Aura’s eyes contracted at this last statement. A strange sensation covered her back and sides. Glancing around, she witnessed her new, miniature, lovely pink wings. Did I just become a pegasus? she thought. She checked for her horn, raising a hoof. When it connected with the sensitive magic-rod, she felt a shiver run down her spine. No, it’s definitely still there…

Before Aura—or anypony else—knew what was happening, Celestia and Luna descended upon her, lifting her up in their magic. Quickly, they flew back to the raised platform, each holding Aura up with a wing.

"Fillies and gentlecolts! Your princess lives!" Luna boomed.

"Behold! Your princess is now an alicorn!" Celestia announced.

Still shaken by her return to the world, Aura was almost blown away by the force of the cheering:

"Princess Aura! Princess Aura! Princess Aura!"

Gathering her thoughts, Aura shook her head. What? An alicorn? With her mouth open, frozen in shock, Aura re-examined her body. Yes, there was no mistaking it—she was as much an alicorn as Celestia and Luna. Her cutie-mark shone with new brilliance. Her horn felt slightly longer. Her wings—By Dimiourgia, I actually have wings!—unfolded of their own accord, casting a shadow of herself that she didn’t recognise. Not to mention the amount of depth her magic pool seemed to have gained.

Levitatus walked over to Aura, interrupting her self-assessment. His eyes remained wide, but there had never been a larger smile gracing his features.

“My daughter… an alicorn… never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine the possibility. How did this happen?”

Aura hugged her father. I don’t think I’ll tell him about Dimiourgia. I got the impression she wished to remain hidden. “I guess the Elements of Harmony did this to me. I heard voices in my head, telling me about how I fulfilled each of their conditions. But I think it’s more than that,” she suggested. “I think it also has to do with the friends I made along the way, for without them, this would never have happened.”

The crowd continued to cheer. As Aura basked in the love of her supporters, she sensed a slight tingle from her Crystal Pendant. Following the “feeling,” she lightly fluttered off-stage, stumbling a little as she hit the ground. She walked up the the cage containing the former changeling queen.

“Oh, come to gloat at me have you, my Crystal Princess?" Mantissia hissed.

“No. In fact, quite the opposite,” Aura countered. “You see, nothing that has transpired in the last few hours would have ever been possible, were it not for your existence in this world. So I’ve come here now, to personally thank you for that. Thank you, Mantissia. Thank you for existing.”

The changeling stared in complete disbelief as the alicorn foal lowered her head. Just the smallest incline, but it was there. The former queen simply sat where she was, once more immobilised by the waves of gratitude and compassion she felt leaving Aura’s heart.

“You do realise that you’re feeding me more power, right, Your Highness?"

Aura looked up, meeting her charge’s gaze with an unflinching smile. “If you want to get used to feeling this way, used to the idea of you and your children having full bellies every day, then serve me. Guard my empire, that’s all I ask. In return, you shall never want for anything again. You will all be given the same legal rights as everypony else. You may walk among us, if you swear only to do as I’ve sentenced you to do, and take your sustenance only from the Crystal Heart.”

Aura held out a hoof through the bars. “Will you accept my terms, and my friendship, Mantissia?”

The changeling felt her resolve weaken. Shattered was the old queen; in her place sat a penitent servant, reduced to a smidgen of her former glory. Yet here was redemption, something she felt she could never deserve, literally offering its hoof in friendship to her. A moment passed.

Finally, Mantissia offered her hoof to Princess Aura, her judge, jury and saviour. Her new princess.

“I accept your terms, Your Highness.” This time, there was no trace of sarcasm in her voice. For the first time in a very, very long time, Mantissia smiled with content. Aura matched her expression.

“Here’s to a new friendship, and the ending of all discrimination against changelings,” declared Crystal Princess Aura.




*  *  *  *  *



Levitatus watched the exchange, prouder than he’d ever been in his life. Together, six ponies had brought down an entire army, not only defeating it, but altering its allegiance in the process. Aura, Celestia, Luna and these other ponies too. Valencia, Cirrus, Edge… Amazing. Simply amazing, what the power of the heart can do. The values of Harmony surely have a place in this world.

A thought came to mind, one he could not believe he’d failed to consider until now. It’s still twilight… Levitatus leaped up to the front of the dais, utilising his sound-enhancing spell once more.

"Everypony! Your king desires your attention!"

The square diverted its attention from Aura and Mantissia, back to their king. "Thank you all," he began. "While we’ve certainly had more than enough excitement today to last a lifetime, there remains one issue yet unsolved. We still have to raise the sun."

A gasp rang throughout the square; how could everypony have forgotten something so important as keeping the time?

Levitatus shared the thought. "Never mind. Please, everypony, focus your energy. Let’s all do it together!" The crowd cheered. Everywhere, the sight and sound of unicorn magic activating filled the atmosphere. In the gloom of the overly-extended early morning, unicorns struggled to tap into their power reserves. Little by little, the moon crept toward the horizon.

It was as far as it would budge. No matter how much straining, concentrating and willing the unicorns put into their task, they were just too drained of power from their recent entrapment. With much panting, the kingdom reduced its magic little by little, until the most dedicated of the lot also succumbed to the over-exertion.

"Careful everypony, I don’t wish for any of you to put yourselves in a coma. Let’s just rest for the day and try again later." Levitatus sighed at the sight of the reluctant moon. Never before had they had so much trouble lowering the moon. It was usually more simple than raising it, and to raise the sun was many factors more difficult. I hope this night doesn’t last forever, he thought to himself.

Celestia observed the attempt, feeling sorry for the kingdom. Everypony in sight was clearly fatigued, in no shape to cast such high-level magic. There’s got to be a way around this. Perhaps we can help? Celestia sent a telepathic message to her sister, which the Tiara intercepted.

You called, Celestia?

I think it’s time we showed these ponies what we’re capable of.

How do you mean?

Your cutie-mark, Luna. Have you not wondered what it means?

Luna broke the connection, staring at her flank. There, the midnight patch of fur, stained with the emblem of the moon in a dark sea filled her thoughts.

Surely not…

Luna glanced at her sister. Wordlessly, she nodded. Shifting her focus to the moon above, Luna closed her eyes.

Dimiourgia aid me…

With every ounce of concentration, Luna directed her energies toward levitating the moon. It slowly became wrapped in the blue glow of her magic. Feeling her grasp on the moon tighten, Luna diverted all power to its descent. As the moon began to slowly but surely fall, Luna heard a gasp from the exhausted crowd. Ignoring it, she continued her task, even as others joined it. She could feel all eyes upon her now, but still persisted. Not until she felt the moon slide comfortably off her grip, did she chance a glance skywards.

The moon had been put to rest.

A multitude of cheering reached Luna’s ears. Grinning broadly, she turned to Celestia.

“Your turn, Sunbutt.”




*  *  *  *  *




One week later:


The festivities were in full swing. Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns alike made the trek to the Crystal Empire in the north. It was a glorious day, for it marked the official coronation of Princess Aura as Crystal Princess Aura. No longer would it just be a title gained from solitude. From this day forward, she would rule over her own empire.

To the surprise of all, the changelings had really stepped up to help Aura prepare her empire. It helped to have an entire city decorated and welcoming to all ponies. Everyling had been, true to Mantissia’s word, accepting of the terms of their punishment. Most of them didn’t feel like they were being punished at all. Having lived underground their entire lives, darting from shadow to shadow in the night in order to feed, they were ecstatic to be able to walk free throughout the city, whenever they wanted.

Mantissia had fiercely reiterated to her children that she would banish any of them, if they so much as considered leeching love from anypony. Under this threat, they behaved perfectly, being polite to all of their guests, as well as keeping their fangs in check. Aura’s decree had driven not only love into the changelings, but acceptance of their kind into the minds of their former victims.

Upon Aura’s coronation, equine and changeling alike had rejoiced. Even though the changelings had been expressly forbidden from leeching love from anypony, it did not stop many of the ponies freely giving it away, to be absorbed by the Crystal Heart. Everyling would feed heartily for weeks, at no detriment to the empire at all.

The largest surprise, however, came from King Levitatus’ shock abdication. After declaring Aura—officially—Crystal Princess and Keeper of the Crystal Heart, he had announced his own desire to step down, as ruler.

"I’m getting old, you see," he’d said. "I’ve been the King of Unitopia for twenty years now and I was certainly not a young stallion when I took on the responsibility. I’ve been the very best king that I could. I only hope that history remembers me as a wise and just leader." Next, he’d made another shocking announcement.

"I imagine all of you will now be expecting my daughter, Princess Platinum, to ascend to the throne. However, after much talk among our family, I have decided to hand the reigns of leadership instead, to our newest family members; my long-lost sisters: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" When the new princesses had finished being cheered and waved at, Levitatus had one more thing to declare.

"Before I officially step down from the throne, there is one final decree I wish to make. From now on, all ponies shall be welcome in the city on the mountain. It will no longer be an exclusively unicorn-populated kingdom. Since everypony will now be welcome within its borders, I decree that the city shall be renamed; from Unitopia, to Canterlot!"

If there was ever any cheer in Equestria that could match the one following that declaration, history does not remember it. Following the celebration, many ponies had elected to remain in the empire. Those that did so were subjected to a purity test from the Crystal Heart itself. Anypony who held even the slightest piece of disharmony in their hearts would be rejected by the Heart, until such time as they managed to purge the discordant feelings within them.

The Earth ponies who passed the test took up the task of growing crystal food. All were overjoyed at the deliciousness of the crystal carrots that they produced. While they did so begrudgingly, the Earth ponies also produced crystal berries and crystal corn, as well as regular fruits and vegetables. This lessened the burden on the southern farms and pastures, as a healthy trade flourished between the four major areas of Equestria.




*  *  *  *  *



Princess Aura leaned out over the balcony of her new castle. Her empire was beautiful. Every day, each building and resident on the streets would reflect the light of the sun, filling them with radiance. Everypony went about their business, in perfect harmony. The changelings patrolled the border in different groups every night, while others helped with the continued construction and prosperity of the city. Those that were off-duty were afforded sleeping quarters on the outskirts of the city, as well as the luxury of siphoning a drop of love each day from the Heart. Given the rate at how much love was filling the empire, the rate of withdrawal was greatly outweighed by the rate of deposit. It was win-win for everypony and everyling.

“Isn’t this magnificent, Clover? It’s only been a short time, but I know that all have done so well in building up this city.”

Clover walked next to her and placed a hoof around her, being careful of Aura’s wings. “Yes, it is indeed. You make a fine princess, my student.”

“I just wish my friends could stay here to witness it.”

Valencia and Cirrus had each left to return to their incredibly worried families. They wanted to help out with the restoration, after the destruction that the changelings had caused to their own homes, but had promised to one day return and catch up. "After all," Valencia had said, "with everything we’ve been through, we’ll always have a bond. You can count on it, Princess!"

She smiled at the memory. Yes. We’ll always be connected.
> The Other Royal Decree: An Alternate Ending
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Queen Mantissia.”

Crystal Princess Aura stood on the raised platform, in the center of Unitopia square, surrounded on all sides by the victims of the accused. The subject of her address gazed back at her, wearing an expression of defeat.

“You stand before us today, accused of the worst crimes in our young world’s history. You have conspired to seize control of these beautiful lands: not only those belonging to our city, but also the fertile fields, tranquil forests and beautiful skies. You sought to enslave our entire race, sapping our hearts of the very love which we are still rebuilding our world upon.

“You plotted to steal my father’s throne right out from underneath him. You posed as my mother to steal the love he bears her, my sister and I—love which knows no bounds. You waited until the perfect day of our year—Hearts And Hooves Day—to infiltrate our beautiful kingdom, the one day of the year when the love in everypony’s heart burns with the most passion.

“You ordered your troops—your children—to assault, apprehend and imprison every member of Unitopia, Cloudsdale and the Earth pony pastures. They each took on a disguise before doing so, that of one member of each family—even my own. With the amount of love on display throughout the land, your children overcame their targets easily and sealing everypony up in cocoons—cocoons that stole their love and held them in a sleeping stasis.

“Finally, you did the unthinkable: you aimed to mercilessly crush any and all opposition directed at you, no matter who stepped up to challenge you. My father, my elder Aunts—Celestia and Luna—the entire Royal Guard, even myself and my friends. Your final, desperate act involved the absorption of every drop of love from your entire swarm, transforming you into a soulless, powerful beast. This act included the subduing of everypony who challenged you… and resulted in the death of my father, the king.”

Aura ceased her accusations and bowed her head, taking deep, calm breaths.

I can’t let them see me cry. Not again. Not ever.

After a few seconds, Aura raised her head, resuming her speech once more.

“Mantissia, from this day and hour, I declare you and your race the enemy of ponykind. Your very existence, made possible by the vile magic of an ancient monster, threatens everything we have managed to build, everything we have managed to preserve since the most dreadful of cataclysms. You do not deserve to live.”

Aura looked at Mantissia with utmost disgust. “My judgement is as follows—Mantissia and all of her kin are to be executed immediately!”

The crowd gasped as Aura spoke the words. Everypony—her friends, her family—glanced at her with horror and shock.

“Aura… you mean…” Luna spoke slowly, but Aura interrupted her. 

“Yes. Every single one of them.” She grit her teeth and tried not to let the river of tears flow from her eyes. “That is my royal decree.”

Aura slowly descended from the dais, breathing heavily. She'd done it; She'd had enough courage to say everything. This decision was fledgling, growing inside of her ever since she found out about the invasion—cold, bitter anger of a child that hadn’t even discovered what hate was.

The crowd erupted, everypony wanting to express their opinion on the matter. Guided by loud discussion, Aura approached Mantissia and looked at her enemy.

The once great changeling queen now looked utterly pathetic, bound and powerless before her. Once pompous with pride, she was now nothing but a shell of her former self.

“Why am I not surprised?” Mantissia smirked at Aura. 

“You should have known better. Now you shall face the consequences of your actions, monster.”

Aura turned to the crowd, her horn sparkling as she cast a voice enhancement spell.

“On this day, I pass my royal judgement upon Queen Mantissia and her spawn. For the crimes of destruction of property, leading an army in a coup, plotting treason and regicide, unlawful imprisonment of no fewer than five hundred ponies, adultery and murder, I find you, based on indisputable evidence and multiple eye-witnesses, guilty.

“Your punishment shall reflect the burthen of your crimes: you are a spawn of evil, a being of pure darkness, and thus you do not deserve to live. Nor does your disgusting generation, who follow you blindly, for they are nothing but mindless drones.

“From this day on, every changeling encountered must be killed immediately, with no mercy shown and no words of compassion spoken. Your species are to be wiped out completely, for parasites have no place in the circle of life. As for you—”

“You’re all the same. That farmer, you, you’re all alike—selfish, bitter, cold!” Mantissia's anger flowed as the realization of her entire kin's demise hit her. “You think you’re the masters of the world, don’t you?”

“As for you, I shall carry out your sentence personally.”

Aura finished her speech, the entire nation gasping. She looked back. Her aunts, her friends and her parents were staring at her, watching her carry out the judgement. Their sight made her feel warm; she knew she was doing the right thing, protecting those whom she loved.

“No, we’re not the masters of the world.”

She turned her attention to Mantissia, looking her enemy straight in her deceiving green eyes. “That title belongs to a being beyond my comprehension. But it is I who decide your fate now, not her nor anypony else.”

Aura took a deep breath, her horn igniting the air around her. “I, Crystal Princess Aura, condemn you, Mantissia, to eternal suffering! I shall cast you back to the abyss from whence you came!”

Aura concentrated all her energy on Mantissia, sending forth a powerful sphere of energy. She watched as her foe gazed upon her impending doom… and panicked. She saw the terror in her foe's eyes, which made her feel confident, powerful, righteous. She saw true fear—fear of death, fear of righteous judgement.

The sphere hit Mantissia, engulfing her in pink flames. Her petrifying shriek filled the air, silencing the crowd who listened to the monster's death throes.

King Levitatus turned away, as did Telportia, Luna and Celestia, each feeling their stomach turn.

Aura watched the whole thing—her pure, untamed energy bit Mantissia’s flesh, stripping it from her bones. 

Finally, Mantissia’s screaming ceased, and her ashes fell down. Aura tilted her head a little, summoning a weak wind. It carried the remains of the changeling queen to the land yet undiscovered, never to be found.

Aura turned around and looked at everypony she had just saved: her people… the entirety of Equestria.

She smiled, watching as some ponies started clapping their hooves, congratulating the Crystal Princess on her first adult decision. More and more joined this chorus of congratulation, as they realized what sacrifice was just made for their sake, their safety, made by this tiny, little crystal unicorn, who went through so much, suffered and lost for this cause. The ovations grew, and soon became deafening.

“Death to the changelings!” Aura heard an ecstatic shriek, and smiled. “Long live Princess Aura!”

The burden of her decision now felt light as a feather, now that the ponies were at her side.

“Aura!”

She heard her name, and turned to the speaker. Luna and Celestia stepped forth, both shaking with shock and suppressed rage.

“Aura… what… what are you doing?” Luna said, her voice trembling.

“Carrying out justice, that’s what.” Aura's confidence increased as the ovations became louder. 

“Justice? This isn’t justice!” Celestia exclaimed. “Mantissia deserved death, but her kin is not to blame for her actions. Please, reconsider—you still have time to change your mind.”

“Yes! Please, Aura, don’t do this,” Luna pleaded. “Mantissia wronged you in many ways, but now she is no more. Please, no more pain, there has been enough. Just… let them go. They are no threat to you or anypony you love anymore.” 

“Aunt Luna… Aunt Celestia… thank you. But my decision is final, and it stands. You’ve seen what pain and suffering changelings caused to my people… you've felt it yourselves. I am the future leader of unicorns, and I would be no better than Mantissia if I allow those who threaten my family to live.” Aura turned away, feeling herself better than ever.

Ponies were shouting her name, hailing her, praising her. They recognized her intentions; she was doing it for them. They recognized the sacrifice she was making for their sake and for that, they welcomed her with open hooves.

“I love you both… but this decision was mine to make, and I made it. Please, let us speak no further of it. I understand you’re worried about me, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Yes… we see.” Celestia sighed. “You are right, Aura. The decision was yours to make.”

“Sorry for… what happened. We… I didn’t realize that you grew up so quickly.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, aunties!”

Aura smiled and turned to them. “Believe me, it was hard for me to make this decision, especially after I heard that story of hers. But then I thought, and made a small comparison: Mantissia was like a… wolf. Wolves are carnivores by nature. They shall hunt no matter what, they shall kill no matter what. The only way to protect your family from the pack of hungry wolves is to destroy them.”

“That makes sense, actually.” Celestia nodded. “Again, sorry. Shall we escort you to your parents, Princess Aura?”

“No, thank you. You see… my future subjects are waiting for me.”

Aura looked at the celebrating crowd. With a clean conscience and her soul at ease, she walked towards the ponies, ready to answer any question, accept any praise or critique, if such may arise. 
> Appendix of Characters (Alphabetical Order)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Princess Aura: A young unicorn filly, daughter of King Levitatus and Queen Portia, sister to Princess Platinum. Youngest member of the first self-declared royal family of Equestria. A filly of twelve years old, pink of coat and blonde of mane, curled, coat and mane later taking on a brilliant, crystalline sheen. Young protege and niece of Clover the Clever, bright of mind and sharp of intellect. Declared Crystal Princess and Keeper of the Crystal Heart by Lady Dimiourgia. Transformed into Crystal Princess Aura by the Crystal Heart. Later transformed into Alicorn Crystal Princess Aura by Lady Dimiourgia. Ruler of the Crystal Empire and wielder of the Crystal Pendant.

Blaze Stormbane: Middle-aged pegasus stallion. Husband of Dewdrop Spectrum, father of Cirrus and Cumulus. Coat of scarlet, mane and tail of silver.

Celestia: Firstborn daughter of Ilias and Rose, aged thirty-nine. Alicorn in appearance, in likeness to her father's creator. Able to communicate with nature, like her father. True, older sister to Luna. A mare of white coat and pink mane and tail. Obliterated in tandem with Luna, after the climactic battle with Morrow. Memory preserved and body refashioned within the mirror pool by Dimiourgia, to await the future resurrectors of harmony. Reborn from the mirror pool upon harmony’s re-establishment. Wielder of Honesty, Generosity and Loyalty, three out of six Elements of Harmony. Took up the role of Sun Shepherd after the battle with Queen Mantissia. Granted the title of Princess of Equestria in the wake of King Levitatus’ abdication.

Changelings: Race of shape-shifting succubi and incubi. Black of coat and fettered of wing. All are born male except for one female, who replaces the current Queen when her life ends.

Cirrus Spectrum: Pegasus colt, aged fifteen. Coat of cornflower blue and mane of silver, straight-styled, coat and mane later taking on a brilliant, crystalline sheen. Son of Blaze Stormbane and Dewdrop Spectrum, brother of Cumulus Stormbane. Erratically gifted at the art of cloud-bucking. Agile of flight, practical of thought. Adventurous of nature.

Clover “The Clever”: Unicorn mare, aged thirty. Purple of coat and evergreen of mane and tail. Three-leafed clover for a cutie mark. Sister to King Levitatus (by extension to Queen Portia), aunt to Princess Platinum and Princess Aura. Teacher and mentor to Princess Aura. Capable of powerful magic. Rational and logical of thought. Well-educated in history, culture, botany and practical magic. One of the founders of harmony.

Cumulus Stormbane: Pegasus stallion, aged eighteen. Eldest son of Blaze Stormbane and Dewdrop Spectrum, brother of Cirrus. Midnight blue of coat, silver of mane. Responsible of nature, ethical, family-orientated. Member of the lead cloud-bucker pegasi.

Dewdrop Spectrum: Middle-aged pegasus mare. Wife of Blaze Stormbane, Mother of Cirrus and Cumulus. Coat of sky blue, mane and tail of yellow.

Lady Dimiourgia ("dee-myoor-zha"): The omnipotent, all-seeing Creator, ageless. Created Ilias and Rose. Inhabits the realm of Elysium. Initially created the Everfree forest and all life within, before allowing Rose to take responsibility of the task. Created the sun and the moon, designating each to Ilias and Rose, respectively. Original creator and imprisoner of Vorjhan the Chaos. A tall mare-figure of pure white coat and auburn mane and tail. Alicorn in appearance. Eraser of all memories involving Ilias and Rose, at the request of Ilias upon his destruction. Guide to Aura, Valencia and Cirrus within the crystal mountain. Declared Princess Aura Keeper of the Crystal Heart and Crystal Princess. Eventually transformed Crystal Princess Aura into Alicorn Crystal Princess Aura upon her demonstration of the true understanding of all Elements of Harmony.

Edge Stalwart: Unicorn stallion, aged twenty-one. White of coat and gold of mane. Member of King Levitatus’ royal guard. Skilled in the arts of stealth and ambush. Horn sharper than other unicorns. Secret lover of Princess Platinum.

Elements of Harmony: Six powerful, magical artifacts containing the combined essence of harmony, consisting of Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, Kindness and Magic. Wielded by Celestia and Luna in the form of assorted regalia. Amplifiers of pre-existing values within each specific wielder.

Doctor Feathercross: Elderly pegasus stallion. Doctor and caretaker of all injured/laboured pegasi.

Free Spirit: Petrified unicorn stallion, relocated from the Everfree to the crystal mountain by Vorjhan the Chaos. Softened by Crystal Princess Aura. Coat of dark brown, mane and tail of two-toned yellow and gold. Age and fate currently unknown.

Hurricane: Middle-aged pegasus stallion, leader of the pegasus race, stationed in Cloudsdale. Boisterous of nature, motivational to his subordinates. One of the founders of harmony.

Ilias ("eye-lee-us"): The first stallion, father of all ponies, including Celestia but excluding Luna. Briefly alluded to by Lady Dimiourgia. Created into adulthood, lived a natural life of forty years. Husband and eternal partner of Rose, the corrupted. Able to control the sun, communicate with nature and feel disturbances in the Earth. Guardian spirit of the Everfree forest, existing solely to contain its uncontrollable growth began by Morrow. A stallion of grey coat, red mane and green eyes. Earth pony in appearance.

King Levitatus (“leh-vee-tae-tus”) (formerly known as Star Swirl): Firstborn son of Ilias and Rose, aged fifty-eight. Brother to Celestia, Luna and Clover the Clever. Husband of Queen Portia, father of Princess Platinum and Princess Aura. A powerful, elderly unicorn of chestnut coat and grey mane. First King and Grand Magus of Unitopia, following the downfall of the Everfree. Specialises in detection and release of magical potential from gifted unicorns. Said to have defeated a Karkinos in his prime years. Abdicated the throne after Alicorn Crystal Princess Aura's official coronation.

Luna: Daughter of Rose and Vorjhan the Chaos, aged twenty-one. True, younger sister to Celestia. Alicorn in appearance, in likeness to her mother's creator. Able to observe ponies' dreams, like her mother. Speculated to wield more powerful magic than Celestia. Contains a slight amount of corruption, courtesy of Vorjhan the Chaos. A mare of dark blue coat and blue mane and tail. Obliterated in tandem with Celestia, after the climactic battle with Morrow. Memory preserved and body refashioned within the mirror pool by Dimiourgia, to await the future resurrectors of harmony. Reborn from the mirror pool upon harmony’s re-establishment. Wielder of Laughter, Kindness and Magic, three out of six Elements of Harmony. Took up the role of Moon Shepherd after the battle with Queen Mantissia. Granted the title of Princess of Equestria in the wake of King Levitatus’ abdication.

Queen Mantissia (“man-tih-shia”): High Sovereign and mother of the changeling race. Age unknown but estimated at forty. Powerful succubus, capable of flawless deception. Black of coat, twisted of horn, fettered of wing and aqua-green of mane. Once loved by an un-named Earth pony, betrayed by said pony and twisted to the ways of malice and greed.

Mulberry: Earth pony, cousin to Valencia, aged twenty-four. Dark purple of coat and mane.

Princess Platinum: Young unicorn mare of nineteen years, firstborn daughter of King Levitatus and Queen Portia, niece of Clover and elder sister of Princess Aura. White of coat and blonde of mane, long and straight-styled. Eyes of verdant green. Lives a pampered lifestyle. A mare of grace and etiquette. One of the founders of harmony.

Rose: The first mare, mother of all ponies, including Celestia and Luna. Briefly alluded to by Lady Dimiourgia. Created into adulthood, lived a natural life of forty years. Wife and eternal partner of Ilias, the first stallion. Corrupted by Vorjhan the Chaos upon conceiving Luna. Able to control the moon, create nature and observe ponies' dreams. Now an evil spirit, doomed to forever attempt to expand the Everfree forest. Also goes by the names Morrow ("more-row"), Widower, Weaver of Dreams, Betrayer. A mare of white coat and tan mane and tail. Earth pony in appearance.

Starshine: Grandson of Ilias and Rose, nephew of Celestia and Luna. Aged thirty. Dreamed the first dreams about the corruptions of the forest, Morrow and Luna.

Queen Portia: Unicorn mare, aged forty-six. Wife of King Levitatus, Mother of Princess Platinum and Princess Aura. White of coat and silver of mane, curled. Eyes of hazel. The first unicorn to master the art of teleportation.

Valencia Orange: Earth pony mare, aged twenty-six. Cousin of Mulberry. Orange of coat and orange-blonde of mane, coat and mane later taking on a brilliant, crystalline sheen. Headstrong and sturdy. Physically strong, high level of endurance and stamina, fleet of hoof.

Vorjhan ("vore-jaan") the Chaos: An immensely powerful being made up of multiple other beings. Age unknown. Original creation of Dimiourgia. Imprisoned within the mirror pool for one thousand years, released unwittingly by Celestia. Father of Luna, by way of magical conception into Rose's womb. Possesses the power of chaos, allowing him to create, alter or mismatch anything he desires. Creator of all hybrid species including manticores, cockatrices, hydras, dragons, timberwolves, thestrals, changelings, griffons, carnivorous plants and the gargantuan ice annelid. Defeated and exiled from the Everfree forest by Morrow after her descent into madness and destruction. Creator of the crystal mountain and its trials, former possessor of the Crystal Heart.