Winter Aurora is a Lich. Not an evil, nasty Lich, but a Lich all the same. She can't help who she is, and all she wants is to meet a pony who can look past her rotting exterior to see the beautiful mare she is on the inside.
Winter Aurora is a Lich. She didn't intend on becoming one, but now she can't help it. All she wants in her life is to be accepted by other ponies.
Part 1 of The Winter Memoirs
Note: This story will rapidly fluctuate between extremely sad, and absolutely hilarious, depending on the mood I'm in when I write. In addition, even I have no clue where this story's going, so I may be adding character tags over time.
Now with a prereader! Servo in Chapters 17, 18! Now with another prereader! Pixel_Spark in Chapter 18! Now with a group! The Winter Memoirs Now with a needlessly added extra line!
Winter Aurora sighed as she sat down. Maybe, someday, a pony could look at her and not see the slightly-rotten body, the mangled face, or the empty eyes, but could look past all that to her soul. See that she wasn't as evil as everypony assumed. A tear dripped down her face, falling to the dirt in front of her hooves.
"I didn't ask for this..." Winter sobbed, raising her head. "Why?" she howled at the rising moon. "I didn't want any of this!"
Her hooves struck at the dirt. "It... It was just an accident!" she complained, her memories drifting off to the events of a few months ago.
A white filly with a light blue mane smiled at their mother. A party hat rested upon her head, and a cake sat in front of her.
"Happy birthday!" her mother said, smiling almost as wide as the filly. She held out a beautiful gold necklace, with a pendant featuring a phoenix carved into a well-cut ruby. "Blow out the candles!"
Winter blew as hard as she could on the six candles. It took a couple tries, but she managed to blow them all out. She hugged her mother after trying a slice.
"My favorite flavor! Thank you so much, this is the best birthday ever!"
Winter winced. She couldn't have been more wrong. A moment later, she heard hoof steps nearby. She ducked behind a tombstone and turned her head away, knowing it was only delaying the inevitable. The maze of graves she was hiding in was only so large, and as soon as the pony saw her face...
"Why is a little filly like you hanging out in a graveyard?" the stallion asked gently as he came up behind her, easily spotting her white form in the dark. "That's my job, I'm the local gravedigger. Are you all right?"
Winter could only choke back a sob and shake her head. The stallion responded by walking closer, and Winter flinched away, hiding her face.
"What's wrong?" the pony asked quietly. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
"Y-you will." Winter's protest was slightly muffled as she attempted to talk through her mane.
"Please, I don't want to hurt you." the stallion's voice ached with sympathy.
"Maybe you don't want to yet," the filly replied. "But you will."
"Just turn your head toward me. I promise you, I would never hurt anypony."
Winter swallowed, and her wings shifted. She turned his head to meet the pony, a hopeful expression on what was left of her face. Maybe- just maybe- this one was different? That hope fell when the pony's face turned from sympathetic, to shocked, to angered as he saw her smashed face and the ruby pendant around her neck.
"You're no pony! You're a Lich!" the pony spat. "Be gone, before I call the guards on you!"
Winter turned her head away quickly, and got to her hooves. In her experience, it was time to get away, before the pony tried to hurt her or brought other ponies to hurt her. She stumbled off as fast as she could with her filly-sized legs, hoping that the pony didn't try to follow her.
"And don't come back!" the pony hollered, and Winter gave another sob. It was always the same. Ponies cared so much when they thought she was just a normal filly, but the moment they learned she was a Lich... They turned on her. They always did. Even her own mother... It was all that dumb stick's fault! Winter sobbed once more as another old memory surfaced in her mind. Another memory of that day.
Winter smiled. She was having such an amazing birthday! Her friends were all there, mother gave her that beautiful necklace, and there was even a cake! Winter hummed a pleasant tune while as she entered the forest. While it could be dangerous, especially to fillies like herself, she had been taught from a young age how to get around safely and avoid all of its dangers. All ponies in the settlement she lived at needed to enter the forest sometimes, to get berries. They were really tasty! Winter saw a bush of particularly good berries in the distance, and gasped. She sprinted towards them, flapping her wings to gain speed. She may not be able to fly yet, but she could certainly use her wings to speed up. A moment later she was sent head-over-hooves as she tripped over a medium-sized stick with some markings on it.
"I wonder who made you, and why?" the filly asked no pony in particular as she studied the stick. It was obviously hoof-made, from the smooth finish and strange markings. She felt the markings with a hoof, and shivered. Somehow, it just felt... right.
Winter jerked back to the present as she saw a light in the distance. She sighed, almost beyond hoping at this point, but it was all she had left. She started off towards it, slowly but surely. Her body wouldn't heal like it used to, so she was very careful to avoid damaging it whenever possible. The heavy snowfall made it difficult to move quickly, but it cushioned the impacts of her hooves on the ground. She didn't feel the cold anymore, either. Not since her 'death'. The houses drew nearer, and Winter couldn't help but let her old hope rise up inside herself.
What if these ones were different? What if they understood her? What if... What if they let her be their friend?
She walked slowly and carefully, seeking out the graveyard. They always made her feel better, somehow. She could see the Crystal Empire only a few miles away, close enough that she could go there next... if they weren't going to run her out or kill her. Before she even got close to the graveyard, a mare screamed.
"M-monster! Help! Somepony, anypony!"
Winter flinched and continued to the graveyard, her head falling as she plodded on. There was less snow now, due to the warmth from the houses, so she could go a little faster. Already, the mob was starting to assemble, ready to chase her out. Winter ran behind a tombstone and closed her eyes tightly, summoning up the power inside her. A medium-sized stick appeared, carved with various runes. Winter levitated it in front of her, and used its power to amplify her voice.
"Stay back! I don't want to hurt you!"
Somepony screamed, and the advances stopped. Winter closed her eyes and cast another spell, creating a wall of ice between her and the mob. They could get through it if they really wanted, they had torches after all, but the very display of power scared them.
Winter gritted her teeth. This is it. That's the last time I try. I have finally lost all hope. Another spell was cast, and a dead pony began to rise from its grave. The villagers were shocked, and ran in fear. Soon Winter was all alone. Again. She closed the gate, and began casting spells to raise more of the dead. Now I'll do what lichees are supposed to do. I'll raise the dead, populate this graveyard...
She growled. "This isn't what I wanted!"
A large collection of ponies in various decomposed states stood before her, silent and unintelligent. She controlled their every action through her staff. She flapped her wings and flew in the air, scouting out the surrounding area. It would be nice to know when guards would come try to oust her.
"I never should have touched that stick," Winter sighed. "It ruined everything!"
Winter sighed as she gazed into the distance. It had been a year now since her 'death'. Every day she had sat here, gazed into the distance, and sighed as she reminisced on happier times. She hadn't seen anypony for weeks, since that foal entered to try to prove to her friends that there was no Lich in the graveyard. What a scare he had gotten... Winter chuckled. She immediately stopped and her ears pricked at the sharp creak of the iron gate closing. Winter turned around to see a unicorn filly enter, walking slowly through the graveyards. Winter sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Time to scare off another little filly..." she muttered as she emerged from hiding.
The filly stared at her, and she stared back for a few moments. They locked eyes, and for once the filly didn't flinch away.
"Hi!" the filly said cheerily. "What's your name?"
Winter blinked, startled. Hope began to rise once more. She had seen her face, and not screamed! "Hi, I'm Winter Aurora, but you can call me Winter!" she replied, smiling. "What's your name?"
"I'm Snowflake, but you can call me Snow." the unicorn filly smiled as well, and Winter's heart jumped. "Are you the Lich? My mom said there was a Lich in the graveyard."
Winter's smile dropped. "Yes." she said, her head drooping.
"That's okay. My parents told me that I who I am, and I can't change that," Snow was still smiling. "It should be the same with you, right?"
Winter's head rose, and the smile appeared again. "Aren't you scared?"
"Why?"
"Because everypony is scared of me. I haven't gotten to talk to a pony in months!" Winter was practically skipping now. "Do you want to be my friend?"
"Sure!" Snow replied happily, and Winter grinned with glee.
"I made a friend! I made a friend!"
Winter's staff glowed with a light blue aura, and she vanished with a flash, only to reappear a few feet away from Snow.
"Wow! Cool! How can you do magic without a horn?" Snow asked excitedly.
"My staff." Winter replied. "It lets me cast spells, even though I have no horn."
"What else can you do?" Snow asked.
"I can levitate things, create ice, teleport, and... raise the dead." Winter replied nervously.
Snow's eyes widened. "You can make zombie ponies?"
Winter flinched. "Yes. But they won't hurt anypony if I don't want them to!" Winter added quickly.
"Then that's all right." Snow said. "As long as they don't hurt ponies."
"Snow! Snowflake! Where are you?" a pony called in the distance, and Snow flinched.
"I've got to go, that's my mother. See you later?" Snow smiled.
Winter smiled back. "Yes! Please visit, it gets so lonely here. Also, don't tell your mom about me, she'll think I did something to you."
Snow blinked. "But that's silly! You've never hurt anypony!" she protested.
Winter winced. "Nopony seems to care about that..." she muttered.
"Snowflake!" the pony in the distance called again.
"Sorry, I've got to go now." Snow said apologetically. "I'll be back soon, and I promise I won't tell mom."
"Bye!" Winter waved as Snow sprinted out the gates. A goofy smile lay on Winter's face. A friend at last!
Snowflake smiled. That Lich wasn't so mean. What was everypony worried about?
"Where were you?" Snowflake's mother asked. "I've been looking all over for you! I thought the Lich had got you."
Snowflake's eyes shifted back and forth. "Uh... nope!"
Her mother just stared. "Snowflake, I told you not to lie to me."
"But I promised I wouldn't tell!" Snowflake whined.
"Come on now, just tell me. Where were you? Did you see the Lich?"
Snowflake kicked the ground with a hoof, and spoke in a subdued tone of voice. "Yes mom, I was in the graveyard. I talked to the Lich."
Snowflake's mom gasped. "Snowflake! Liches are dangerous! What did it do to you? How did you escape?"
"She was really nice, mom! She didn't do anything to me!" Snowflake chirped.
"Nonsense. It's worse than I thought, it must have cast a spell on you with its magic," her mother said worriedly. "Come now, a new doctor moved in recently, specializing in magical ailments. We'll have him take a look at you."
"But mom, I'm fine," Snowflake whined. "Also the Lich was just a little filly."
"Of course the Lich looked like a little filly, it was just luring you in closer! Follow me."
"Well, your daughter looks fine magically. What happened to her?" the new doctor asked.
"She's been brainwashed by a Lich!" Snowflake's mother replied.
"Hmm... It's possible that it was a nonmagical form of hypnosis, or that the Lich is just so good at it that they can hide all the signs."
"What can we do about that?" Snowflake's mother asked, panicking.
"I told you, nothing happened to me!" Snowflake groaned, frustrated. "I'm fine!"
"I'm not sure. I'd go see one of the Princesses." the doctor replied, ignoring the filly's complaints. "For now, we should capture the Lich or get it out of town."
"But she's friendly!" Snowflake protested.
"Now now, you're just brainwashed. Go home, we're calling the guards." Snowflake's mom replied, and Snowflake bolted.
"Winter! Winter! The guards are coming!" Snowflake shouted into the graveyard, and watched the bodies stir.
"Why now?" Winter complained.
"I couldn't lie to mom." Snowflake said sheepishly, and Winter sighed.
"I'll be in a nearby village. Please find me one day. I don't want to be alone again." Winter replied, a tear falling from her eye. "Don't forget."
Winter sprinted off into the distance, her wings aiding her.
Winter entered the graveyard of the next town she came across. All she could think about how much she had wanted a friend, and how that was taken away from her so quickly. Her staff glowed, all on its own, and Winter stared. It hadn't done that since...
Winter came running home, the medium-sized stick with strange inscriptions tucked under one wing.
"Mom, look what I found!" Winter grinned, running across the street. Only a few steps in, a carriage clipped her face, sending her flying.
"Winter!" her mother screeched from across the road, sprinting to him. "Are you alri..." her voice faded when she saw her face. The left side was smashed in, and a lot of skin was torn from her face and hanging off.
"M-mom?" Winter gasped, nearly choking on her own blood. "I hurt. C-can you make me better?"
"I-I'm sorry." Winter's mom sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry."
"A-am I going to die?"
"Y-yes." Winter's mom sobbed once more, hugging her little filly. "I'm so sorry." she whispered.
"I don't want to die." Winter protested. The stick she was carrying slipped out of her wing's grasp as she grow weaker. As Winter protested her death, it lit up and levitated itself above Winter.
"W-what is that thing?" Winter's mom asked fearfully.
"I don't know." Winter rasped. "I found it in the forest, I was going to show it to you. You always know what strange artifacts are. It's what you got your Cutie Mark for!"
"T-that's a Mage staff! It allows non-unicorns to cast spells!"
"Why is it levitating above me on its own?" Winter said, growing weaker.
"I don't know." Winter's mom whispered as Winter's eyes closed. The staff above grew brighter and Winter's body began to levitate in its aura, and the pendant that Winter's mom had given Winter glowed a bright red. It pulsed steadily, and Winter's body lowered. She opened her eyes.
"Mom? I feel better now." she said, as her mom looked at her in horror. "What did the staff do?"
"L-lich!" her mom said. "You're a Lich!"
"What's a Lich?" Winter asked curiously. "Is it like lint?"
"A Lich is an undead creature who can cast spells, and is immortal as long as its phylactery isn't destroyed."
"So I'm an immortal now?"
"A fake immortal! Liches don't compare to the real immortals."
"I can cast spells now? Cool!"
"You're undead. The only way to cast a spell like this is black magic." Winter's mother spat. "Now go. Before I change your mind and destroy your phylactery."
"B-but mom, that would kill me!"
"I'm not your mother anymore. You're already dead. Now leave."
Winter sobbed as she stumbled away through the snow, not really caring where she went. There was no point anymore.
Winter stared at the glowing staff angrily.
"Gonna ruin my life again?" she spat. "How could things even get worse than they already are?"
The staff glowed brighter, and the ground shifted under one of the smaller gravestones. One furry, half-decomposed paw rose from the ground, and Winter stared curiously. In a few moments, the cat was completely out of the ground, and the staff stopped glowing and fell to the ground. Winter quickly put it away in its pocket dimension and stared at the cat. It was moving without her controlling it!
"You're gonna be my pet." Winter announced, petting its head. "Now, to think of a name... How about Stitches?"
Stitches meowed enthusiastically, and Winter chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes. Hop on."
Stitches hopped on Winter's back, and Winter grinned. Okay, maybe it wasn't as good as a pony friend, but she had her very own pet! Winter hollowed out the area under one gravestone, apologizing to its former occupant, and covered herself up. It didn't feel very comfortable, but it was the only way she could safely sleep.
Winter snuck around the building. This time, she had been keeping her presence a secret. She was listening in on other ponies' conversations, trying to get information on anything.
"I heard that there's a village full of freaks." one stallion muttered to the other one. "There's even an undisguised Changeling living there."
"I'm calling you out on that one. There's no way anypony would live with one of them!"
"No ordinary pony, but they aren't ordinary ponies. They've got a Windigo too, and a Seapony. All things that no reasonable pony would live with. Basically a town of rejects."
The other pony laughed, and Winter stepped out of the shadows. One look at her face, and they were both silenced.
"Where is it?" Winter asked coldly.
"W-where is what?" the first one stammered.
"The town where they might even accept somepony like me."
"You're not a pony, you're a Lich!" the second protested.
"Exactally," Winter muttered.
"I-it's over that way," the first pointed. "You should see it after an hour's trot."
"If it isn't, I'm coming back," Winter said in a low tone of voice. "You don't want that."
With that parting shot, Winter turned and trotted in the direction the first pony had pointed to. This could be the one place she was accepted. She strode over the frozen grasslands, hoping that the rumor was true. A little over an hour later, she saw a village in the distance. She increased her speed, sprinting towards the village that appeared to be surrounded by a decently-sized wall. Several different creatures stood at the top of the wall, guarding it against anything that could threaten their way of life.
"Halt!" a voice boomed out. "State your intentions!"
"It's just a filly," another guard said. "No threat."
"I'm a Lich," Winter replied. "I heard rumors of a settlement that accepts the world's outcasts."
The guards' postures changed immediately. Their stern faces dropped into friendly smiles, and the gates opened.
"Welcome, friend, to Calypsion," the booming voice said. "My name is Sombra, and I used to be an evil tyrant who was corrupted by a dark artifact. I am glad to see another who has tampered with the dark arts."
"It was an accident, really." Winter said as she entered, and the gates closed behind her. "I hardly know anything about the dark arts."
Sombra walked down the stairs leading up to the wall, smiling gently. "Well, that's something we need to change. Any Lich worth their salt should at least know how to use dark magic, if not use it regularly. I can teach you, if you would like."
Winter grinned. "I'd love to learn more magic! I only know five spells so far."
Seeing no horn, Sombra raised an eyebrow. "Impressive, considering your lack of a horn. How long have you been a Lich, and what do you use to cast your magic?"
"I only became a Lich just last year, actually," Winter replied. "I use this staff to cast my magic."
Winter took the staff out of the pocket dimension, and Sombra blinked as he examined it.
"This is a finely crafted tool. Not only can you cast ordinary spells with it, but it reacts to the user's wishes, given enough emotion."
A meow was heard from on top of Winter's back, and Sombra looked over Winter's head to see Stitches.
"How peculiar, a zombie with intelligence. How did that happen?" Sombra asked.
"The staff. I wished for a friend," Winter replied sheepishly.
Sombra chuckled. "Ah, I should have known. All to often we are outcast for things beyond our control. So, I'll show you around and introduce you to some of the more prominent members of our little society here. Then, we can find a nice place for you to sleep."
"Thank you," Winter smiled. This place was looking better and better!
Sombra began walking towards the largest building. "First, we have the Castle," Sombra chuckled. "It might not be much, but it's what we've got."
The 'Castle' was made out of wood, crystal, ice, and a strange but hard green substance. Noticing Winter's confusion, Sombra explained.
"We get wood from the forests, the Timberwolves help with that, I supply the crystals through my magic, the Windigos create the ice, and the green stuff is something Changelings can make. It's very versatile, and a great building material. Now, let's meet the leaders of this little Kingdom."
"You call this a Castle, and the area a Kingdom. Is this really a new nation?" Winter asked, confused.
Sombra chuckled as they entered. "Sort of. We're not recognized, but we don't follow the Princess' orders and don't pay them tax. In return, their guards sometimes try to take over the city, but we're more than capable of defending ourselves. Come, our leaders are just up there," Sombra pointed to a set of stairs.
When they reached the top, Winter's jaw dropped and she stared. There were three thrones: One held a Timberwolf, one held a Changeling, and one held a Windigo. Seeing her reaction, they chuckled.
"Never gets old." the Timberwolf muttered.
"I bet this one's never even seen a Changeling or a Windigo!" the Changeling replied with a laugh.
"Excuse them." the Windigo spoke to Winter. "It just amuses them greatly whenever a pony walks into this room and expects all of the leaders to be ponies, only to find that ponies aren't even represented in the leadership."
"This little Lich filly's name is Winter." Sombra told the Windigo with a grin. "I thought you'd get a kick out of that."
The Windigo howled with laughter. The laugh sounded eerily similar to a griffon's claws scraping across a chalkboard.
"Well hello, little Winter," the Windigo grinned. "My name is Winter."
"Hello Winter," little Winter replied, chuckling a little. "That's pretty funny. My full name is Winter Aurora, so if you want I can be called Aurora instead."
"My full name is Winter Wind," big Winter replied. "I think I'll call you little Winter. I like it better."
"Okay. So I should call you big Winter?"
"Sure. Calling me Wind makes me sound like an old fart, both figurative and literally," big Winter put in, bursting into laughter once again.
"Sorry about him, he's a bit of a goofball," the Timberwolf said. "My name is Birch. All Timberwolves are named after some type of wood."
"I don't like telling people my name, so I just go by Grandbuggy," the Changeling said, grinning. "We've all got our quirks, and I think you'll find us more approachable than the Equestrian royalty."
Little Winter grinned. "The best type of royalty is the type who is willing to speak to all of their subjects, not just the ones they like best."
"Come on, we've got to take you to your temporary housing until we make you a permanent house," Sombra said.
"Okay. Bye, see you later!" Little Winter waved to the royalty.
"There's an open spot in the hotel for newcomers, that will be your for now. At the rate we've been growing, we might need to expand the walls," Sombra said as they left.
"Why not establish another city?" Winter asked. "A city can only grow so big, but if you create another..."
Sombra smiled sadly. "It would severely weaken this city. However, if we do get enough creatures, we have plans to create another four settlements. We would actually need a guard corps for that, but it would put our capital under a lot less pressure."
"Well at least you've thought of it."
"We're here," Sombra announced as they reached the apartment. "No cost for those who recently moved in."
Winter looked around, grinning. "It's perfect!"
"Glad you like it," Sombra replied, smiling as well. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Don't worry, I'll come get you in the morning. Breakfast is on me, too."
Sombra left the room, leaving Winter to herself. She gazed around once more at the walls of wood, crystal and ice, her smile widening.
"Home sweet home," she whispered as she lay down on the bed, quickly drifting into a comfortable slumber.
Winter awoke to a knock on the door. For a moment, she thought it was all a dream, that she was still at home with her parents. She sat up, overjoyed that the nightmare was over, when she realized that the bedroom was made of ice, crystal, wood, and green goo. Her heart sank.
"Come in!" she called to whoever was knocking at the door.
Sombra opened the door and entered, smiling at the pegasus filly. "Ready for breakfast?" he asked.
"Sure. Then what?" Winter asked.
"Then, I can take you for a tour, we can have lunch, and finish up with Dark Magic training."
Winter grinned. "Let's go!"
Winter followed Sombra downstairs, and through the city. She glanced from side to side, staring at the strange confluence of creatures. There were zebras, griffons, timberwolves, and even a manticore or two wandering purposefully around the town.
"This is my favorite place to have breakfast," Sombra pointed to a nearby shack made primarily from green goo. "It's mostly staffed by Changelings, but that's a good thing. Changelings are literally fed by your appreciation for their food, so they'd better do a really good job of making you satisfied. The Windigos who work in bars, on the other hoof, get fed by bar fights. Don't go in unless you want to come out with a bloody nose and a black eye."
"I'd probably come out with an eye missing," Winter muttered.
Sombra smiled sympathetically. "I knew a Lich or two in my day. Granted, that's over a thousand years ago, but I helped them work out ways to keep their skin intact. I remember one research paper I wrote on the regenerative qualities of Liches. Did you know that if your body is destroyed, your skeletal structure will regenerate from your amulet?"
Winter shivered at the mental imagery, and Sombra frowned. "That's right, you've not been a Lich for as long as them. Sorry, I'll try to contain my enthusiasm. It's just, I haven't had a friend who's lifespan is on par with mine for so long."
Winter looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean by that?"
Sombra smiled sadly. "Through Dark Magic, I have become immortal. In my foolishness and short-sightedness, I cast the spell in a way so that not even I could revoke it. It was a precaution in case mind magic was used to make me remove my immortality, but I never considered that I may want to remove it one day. As a Lich, you also have immortality, so long as your Phylactery remains intact. Unfortunately, my old friends who were Liches were destroyed during a Lich-hunt within the last thousand years, while I was frozen in time."
Winter frowned. "That must suck, to outlive everypony you know and hold dear. How did you deal with it?"
Sombra looked at the floor sheepishly. "I went insane, enslaved the Crystal Empire, and then banished it for a thousand years. After that, I realized what I had done... and went crazy again, tried to steal the Crystal Heart, and enslave the Empire again. A baby dragon, of all things, stopped me and got the Crystal Heart back to its rightful place, where it was activated."
"What did that do to you?" Winter asked excitedly.
"It made me explode, then cured my insanity. I reformed from the remaining dust within the next year or two," Sombra replied.
Winter stared. "Kind of anti-climatic, when you say it that way."
Sombra cleared his throat. "Anyway, we're here for breakfast, not story time."
Without further ado, Sombra stepped into the green building, followed by Winter. "Bugze, are you here?" Sombra shouted. "I got a new friend to meet you!"
A Changeling grinned as he stepped out from behind a pillar that supported the roof. "Hey, Sombra! What's up?"
"The sky," Sombra said, rolling his eyes. "Now, Winter, say hi. This is Bugze. He's a little strange, but so is pretty much every person in this town."
"Hi," Winter said shyly. "I'm Winter Aurora."
Bugze grinned. "Hey, Winter! I'm Bugze! You've come for breakfast, I assume?"
Winter nodded. "I heard this was the best place around."
Bugze chuckled. "Nothing too fancy, but we serve generous portions of any common food you could possibly want! So, what would you like?"
"I'd like a hayburger and an oatcake."
"I'll pay for her," Sombra quickly added. "I'd like my usual."
"Nonsense!" Bugze's smile grew. "First meal's on me! I'll start prepping your usual, you find a table."
Sombra smiled. "You can always count on Bugze to light up your day. He's probably the most friendly Changeling you're likely to meet. Now, where would you like to sit?"
"I'd like a seat near a window, please," Winter suggested.
Sombra and Winter sat down at a two-person table by a window of ice. "How do you keep if from melting?" Winter questioned, gesturing to the window of ice.
"The Windigos exert a certain amount of energy each day to keep all ice in the city stable. Luckily, anger from ponies outside our little kingdom is enough to keep them fed and still have enough left over to keep the ice stable," Sombra replied.
"Won't that be a problem later, if our settlement becomes more widely accepted and liked?" Winter said with a frown.
"There will always be haters," Sombra replied. "Besides, when we get popular we can always just buy glass and ordinary building materials."
Winter blinked. "Good point."
"Here's your food!" Bugze said as he walked over to them. "One hayburger and an oatcake for little Winter, and a nice hot coffee with hay bacon and hay fries for Sombra! Eat up!"
Winter stared at Sombra. "You know, that's really unhealthy."
Sombra pouted. "I don't actually have to eat, you know, and neither do you. I just eat for the taste, and it tastes better than any other breakfast food to me."
Winter rolled her eyes. "I guess, just my parents always ingrained it in my mind to always eat healthy to keep my body in good condition," Winter let out a snort at the irony. "Guess I don't really have to worry about that any more."
Winter and Sombra finished their food, thanking Bugze. "See you around?" Sombra offered.
"Sure. See you, Sombra and Winter!" Bugze waved as they left."
Winter smiled in excitement as she followed Sombra. “What will we be learning? What first?” she asked rapidly.
Sombra just chuckled. “Well, let’s just start off with what you know. You can show me what spells you can cast when we get to the training grounds.”
“The training grounds? What are those?” Winter asked excitedly. She paused, before answering her own question. “I guess they train there. How many ponies will be there?”
Sombra smirked. “Oh, I’m guessing only one or two. On the other hoof, there will probably be a dozen windigoes, and maybe half as many Changelings. Not to mention all the other creatures…”
Winter did a facehoof. “Oh, right. I guess I should start using everybody instead of everypony.”
Sombra nodded. “Yes, some might find it offensive, but even though that’s a rare few it’s still polite to avoid speciesism.”
“Will I know anyp- anybody there?” Winter asked.
Sombra tilted his head from side to side. “Well, not yet, at least not this early. Bugze will come to practice later, but… we might want to leave about then.”
“Why?” Winter asked innocently.
Sombra shuddered. “Let’s just say that Bugze seems to have a talent for collateral damage that rivals Grandbuggy’s and leave it at that… Oh, look, we’re here!”
The training grounds were basically just a large stadium with patches of different terrains. There was a sandy patch resembling a desert, a flat grassy patch, and any other terrain you could think of. There was even a miniature lake and a small mountain with a cave in it! Winter looked around in wonder.
“Woah! Where do we start?” Winter asked in wonder.
“Let’s go to the tundra. It’ll help prevent your body from rotting, and I haven’t showed you a spell to prevent it yet.”
“Ok,” Winter moved to the tundra. “Should I show you my spells now?”
“Sure.”
Winter took the staff out of the pocket dimension, cast a spell to create a golf ball-sized piece of ice and levitated it around a bit before dropping it. Next, she raised a dead pony from the ground where it had apparently been just laying around. Here, she paused.
“Why is there a corpse in the tundra of the training grounds?” she asked, a little afraid of the answer.
Sombra rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Well, they want to be able to accommodate everybody's talents, so they have various gemstones in the ground, dead bodies, and some even more… unexpected features. Don’t worry about it, the bodies are ethically sourced.”
Winter sighed in relief. “Few. I’m glad that it’s normal, and ethically sourced at that.”
“Usually.” Sombra muttered under his breath.
“What was that?” Winter cocked her head.
“Oh! Uh, nothing.” Sombra said, a little too quickly. “Carry on!”
Winter gave him one last, suspicious glance before returning to showing off. She teleported herself on top of the zombie pony, who was a pegasus. The dead, or rather undead, pegasus began flapping its wings, raising Winter into the sky. There, she teleported behind Sombra before letting the pegasus zombie fall back to the ground without her.
“Impressive.” Sombra said. “I know you’re behind me, but that’s only because I can sense your staff and phylactery, as well as the necromantic magic holding your body up and your soul in place. An ordinary magic user would be fooled.”
Winter pouted when she heard she had been discovered before teleporting back in front of Sombra.
“What can you teach me?” she asked happily.
Sombra smiled. “Step one- let’s prevent your corpse from rotting any further. Understand that this will not prevent your body from being injured, but it’s more of a bug repellant for the little bugs that eat dead bodies.”
Winter shuddered. “Don’t remind me, it always feels weird knowing that there are bugs eating me all the time. Won’t the bug repellant hurt Changelings?”
Sombra scowled. “Changelings are not bugs. In fact, calling a Changeling a bug is a grave insult… With the exception of Bugze, of course, or Grandbuggy, or… I guess they use everybuggy too, but don’t suggest that they are real bugs. I have no idea why they started using everybuggy.”
“Sorry,” Winter whispered. “Can you teach me the spell now?”
“Of course.” Sombra replied. “Let’s get started!”
Sombra and Winter spent a considerable amount of time practicing several spells, before Winter’s wings began to hurt.
“My wings! They’re hurting!” Winter said excitedly.
Sombra raised an eyebrow. “How is that good?”
“They haven’t hurt since I died! Maybe they’re coming back to life!”
“Sorry to crush your enthusiasm, but that’s probably just your magic pool getting low.” Sombra said flatly. “You are, without a doubt, dead. No heartbeat, I can hear.”
“Aww,” Winter said, disappointed. “Wait. Will my magic pool stay low? Will I ever be able to cast spells again?” she asked anxiously.
Sombra chuckled. “It’ll be back by tomorrow, don’t worry. Now, Bugze is coming soon anyway, why don’t we leave?”
Right on cue, Bugze entered the training grounds. “Hello!” he said cheerfully. “Who do I get to spar with today?”
Around him, everybody inched backwards. One group began pushing an unwilling, and unlucky, Windigo forward, chanting “Sac-ra-fice! Sac-ra-fice!”
“Is this a challenger?” Bugze asked, grinning. “Falco, PUNCH!” he yelled as he launched himself forward, green flames surrounding his hoof.
The crowd surrounding the unlucky Windigo forward scattered, and the Windigo gulped and closed his eyes, hoping that Bugze missed. The flaming hoof passed within an inch of his face, slamming into the miniature mountain instead. Pieces of rock began falling in a miniature avalanche. In addition, the fire from the Falco Punch had somehow hit a tree, causing it to catch fire as well. Bugze’s hoof was still stuck entirely inside rock, and he yanked repeatedly on it, muttering curses under his breath.
Sombra winced. “That is a very good example of why most choose to leave when Bugze comes in.”
Winter winced as Bugze’s attempts to pull his hoof out of the rocks dislodged another wave of boulders, several of which landed on Bugze. “Yeah… Shouldn’t we help him out?”
Sombra waved a hoof. “Not the first time it’s happened, he’ll be alright in a few minutes. Then he’ll try something else, with just as disastrous luck. He’d be really good, if ‘Lady Luck’ as he puts it didn’t keep getting in the way.”
“Hello, hello.” a voice said from the entrance. “News here, the Grandbuggy wants to talk to you Sombra! Everybody else, we’ve got a visitor from the Crystal Empire coming tomorrow!”
Everybody immediately turned around and stared in shock at the Changeling making the announcement, before the crowd burst into a cacophony of noises.
“A visitor?” Winter asked Sombra, confused. “I thought that you had to be an outcast to come to Calypsion.”
Sombra grimaced. “That was correct, up until now. I believe we have our first tourist. Now, I have to talk to the Grandbuggy. I’m sure he’ll put these rumors to rest. You can get home safely?”
Winter nodded confidently, before waving goodbye. “Will you take me to training tomorrow?”
“Of course.” Sombra nodded. “Now, off to bed! Remember to keep the spell that protects you from decomposing on!”
Sombra stared, shocked, at the Grandbuggy. “What? Are you sure?”
The Grandbuggy nodded. “Completely. We have a visitor, from a nearby town. They would like some help that they believe requires magic not permitted in neither the Crystal Empire nor Equestria, and need an expert. I have good reason to believe they require Dark Magic, but not maliciously. I would like you to accompany them during their visit, as you are our current expert on dark magic.”
“But-” Sombra spluttered. “I enslaved the Crystal Empire! Won’t they be angry or fearful at the mere sight of me? And what about little Winter?”
“I already asked, and they said that they’d be fine with meeting you, as long as it helps solve their problem.” the Grandbuggy replied calmly. “Little Winter should go with you. The poor filly hasn’t interacted with anypony her age in too long.”
“Her age?” Sombra asked, surprised. “I thought you said that the visitor would be an adult?”
The Grandbuggy grinned. “The visitor is bringing their filly. The filly is, of course, related to the issue. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be much of a point in bringing her.”
“Are you sure you don’t know what the issue is?” Sombra asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I didn’t pry, but I have a good idea. How many issues do you think there are that require non-malicious Dark Magic?”
Then it dawned on Sombra. “Oh. I think I have an idea of what’s wrong, now. If it’s really that bad that ordinary magic can’t fix it, then I’ll be happy to help the little filly.”
"A visitor? My age?" Winter gasped in glee. "That's wonderful!"
Sombra frowned in response. "It's not as wonderful as you might think. The visitors have come for help, most likely from those of us who can cast Dark Magic. The filly your age is supposed to be involved as well."
Winter's smiled lessened a bit. "Oh, ok. Should we go meet them?"
"Yes, in a moment. Do you mind that we're not going to go training today like I told you yesterday?"
Winter tilted her head to the side and considered it. "No, because this is so much better!" she said, straightening her head and brightening her smile. "We get to help ponies and meet a filly my age, all at once!"
Sombra couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. "Well then, let's be off!"
Sombra and Winter arrived at the gates, where a small crowd of citizens had gathered for the visitors. Sombra quickly dispersed them, telling them that the visitors had important business and they wouldn't come back if they were crowded by unfamiliar faces. Finally, they waited for only a few minutes before the visitors arrived, knocking on the gates.
"Open up!" Sombra called to the gate guards. "They're here!"
The gates opened slowly, and the ponies locked eyes.
"Snowflake!" Winter cried in glee. "You made it!"
Snowflake smiled back. "I'd never forget about my only Lich friend! Nopony believed that we were really friends."
"How did you find me?" Winter asked, cocking her head.
"I figured that if you ever found a place to live where they'd accept you, it would be a place full of others like you!" Snowflake replied.
Sombra stared in surprise, Snowflake's mother stared in shock and horror before turning to Sombra.
"She's the Lich who brainwashed my filly!" she whispered angrily to Sombra. "What's she doing here?"
"Little Winter couldn't have brainwashed her, she's only a filly." Sombra replied. "Not only does she not know any spells to do so, but she simply doesn't have the magic capacity to cast such a powerful spell. Not to mention, I just scanned your filly. She's under to compulsive spells, the only trace of Dark Magic in her body is a remnant from about a week ago. Is that about when they first met?"
"Yes." she muttered, sounding a little calmer. "How do I know that you're not just lying to me for your own nefarious purposes?"
Sombra raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess there isn't any way you could know for sure, but seeing as I'm the most experienced pony who can use Dark Magic... I don't think you have a choice but to trust me. Besides, you're far from any other civilization. It's a little late to be having doubts, when you've already crossed our threshold."
"I guess you're right... So all this time, I've had the best doctors I could find looking at my daughter, all for nothing? No purpose?" she sighed. "I guess that's what I get for being paranoid. Oh, where are my manners, my name is Ice Storm." she said, holding out a hoof for Sombra to shake. To her surprise, Sombra took her hoof and kissed it gently, causing her to blush.
"Forgive me. From the time period I was from, that was a customary greeting to a lady such as yourself," Sombra said, noticing her blush. "Would you like to come with me and Winter? We can chat over lunch."
"Of course." Ice replied, still blushing. "I look forward to seeing what good food there is to eat around here."
Sombra smiled. "There are many interesting dishes, due to the wide variety of cultures of several species meeting here. I think I know a place that you would just love."
Winter, Snowflake and Ice Storm followed Sombra to lunch, each wondering what sort of place he was taking them to. They had no idea of what wonders Sombra would show them...
Sombra led Winter, Snowflake and Ice Storm to a building that appeared to be an artificial cave in an artificial mountain. Inside, several giant torches were lit with fire from every color of the rainbow. A bright red dragon stood before them, holding a stack of menus. His scales appeared to flicker, almost like the fire they reflected.
"Ah, hello Sombra!" he announced, his grin exposing a mouth full of sharpened teeth. "I knew you'd take the visitors here, so I've already prepared your menus."
Sombra just chuckled. "You know me too well, Kratargon. I assume you have a table for the four of us, right next to the... 'show'?"
Kratargon laughed a long, boisterous laugh. "You also know me too well! I trust that life has been good to you?"
"Of course. Same to you?"
"My restaurant has been doing better than ever! We even had a lovely Windigo couple the other day."
Sombra raised an eyebrow. "A Windigo couple, you say? In your restaurant? Impressive."
"But enough about me. You came here for the food and the show!" Kratargon smirked. "I'm sure your friends will love it."
"What's the show?" Winter asked curiously.
"Oh, you'll love it," Kratargon winked. "Come right this way, the show starts in a few minutes!"
The group followed Kratargon to a table near a stage made of rock, specifically pumice. Several strange rock formations, also of pumice, lay about the room. A few streams of lava provided lighting, as well as adding to the aesthetics of the room. They all sat down and picked up their menus, looking over the various meal options, as Kratargon waited to take their orders. After everypony ordered their food, the streams of lava seemed to glow slightly brighter. Bubbles formed on the surface, growing and popping in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, a burst of magma sprayed out of one of the pumice rock formations, launching a stream of molten rock towards another formation. Everypony looked on in awe as streams of lava flew across the room, always falling perfectly back into pumice. All too soon it was over, and the bubbling magma streams slowly ceased to bubble. Immediately, a round of applause filled the room, and Kratargon re-entered the room.
"Next show in an hour!" he roared to the still cheering crowd.
When the cheering finally stopped, Kratargon had already served everypony and was cooking up the next set of customers' meals. Sombra and Winter sat on one side of the table, with Snowflake and Ice Storm on the other.
"Quite a show." Ice Storm proclaimed, "I do wonder how they do it."
Sombra smirked, "A true magician never reveals his secrets. Let's just say that me and Kratargon worked something out together a few years ago..."
"I thought it was amazing!" Winter beamed.
"I liked it too." Snowflake added quietly.
"Though, I can see why Windigos might not appreciate it as much," Winter conceded.
"Indeed," Sombra replied. "So, I know you two and Winter have some history together, but I would like to know what exactly happened."
"Well, I was dared to go into the graveyard where the infamous and evil Lich was supposed to be. I couldn't back down, so I went to the graveyard and met Winter!" Snowflake said happily.
"Infamous?" Sombra questioned.
Ice Storm looked embarrassed. "Well, we all knew there was a Lich in our graveyard. She came about half a year prior, I believe. We petitioned for the Royal Guard to come in and remove her, but they didn't believe us and were going to send an officer to check out our situation, but it kept being put off. In the meantime, adventurous children who wandered into the graveyard came back clearly spooked by whatever they had witnessed. Our 'local Lich' had a budding reputation for scaring children, especially in the school. In reality, I guess it was all just a bunch of nothing..."
Winter looked at her sheepishly. "Well, to be fair, I did give most foals quite a fright. I had zombie ponies wandering around the place to scare off intruders, and the mere sight of me often made them run screaming off..."
"But how do you cast the spells to animate the dead without a horn?"
"My staff, but my phylactery also allows me to do a few, specific spells as well."
"That probably has to do with your specific bond with the staff, and the staff's bond to the phylactery." Sombra conceded. "I may be able to help you learn a few other phylactery-based spells that you could use if you were ever incapable of using your staff."
"Thanks!" Winter grinned.
"I must say, I've barely been here a few hours and I can already see what a nice place this is," Ice Storm said, sounding slightly disturbed. "Now, I'm beginning to wonder if all the ponies, or other beings, that we ostracize for being different are actually just like us as well."
Sombra chuckled. "If only we could convince the Princesses of that."
"I may be able to help with that, actually," Ice Storm replied. "I know a pony who plays Oubliettes and Ogres with Prince-Consort Shining Armor. They're great friends, and they've fought their way through many impossible and dangerous situations together. At least, their characters have."
Sombra laughed at that. "Speaking from experience, even just fighting through fictional dangers tends to bring ponies closer together."
"He lives in the Crystal Empire. Do you want to come?" Ice Storm offered.
Sombra raised an eyebrow. "The Crystal Tyrant, visiting somepony in the Empire on a friendly occasion?"
"You'd have to be disguised, of course," Ice Storm huffed.
"I kid, of course I would be disguised. Would Winter come as well?" Sombra asked.
"If you can teach her at least a simple spell to keep her injuries from showing."
"I will do so tomorrow. I'm sure she can handle it," Sombra replied, glancing towards Winter. "Do you want to come?"
"Yes, please! I've always wanted to go to the Crystal Empire!" Winter smiled.
"Then it's settled. I'll get you a place to stay tonight, and tomorrow we head out to the Crystal Empire."
"Yes, that's it," Sombra congratulated Winter. "Do you think you can keep up this glamor spell for the duration of the trip?"
Winter shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know... I'll probably be able to keep it up for at least a few hours, but I may have to drop it for a few minutes and renew it occasionally."
"You can always go to the bathroom to fix it," Sombra pointed out. "But if you don't feel ready..."
"Oh, no, I'm ready!" Winter quickly assured Sombra. There was no way she was missing out on this trip!
"Good," Sombra replied. "We will be leaving right after breakfast."
"But, what about Stitches?" Winter asked. "I don't have enough power to cast a spell on her, too."
Sombra considered this for a moment, resting a hoof on his chin. "We can give her to Bugze to take care of during our trip. If that's alright with you?"
"Will she be safe?" Winter asked with foreboding, remembering Bugze's fighting in the arena.
"Certainly," Sombra replied. "His bad luck may be legendary, but it's more of Lady Luck declaring a prank war than an actual war. Nobody is ever seriously injured due to that luck, so Stitches should be fine."
Breakfast was a short, tense affair. Excitement and worry flooded the air, as any nearby Changeling could attest to. The group scarfed down their food before embarking for a nearby settlement on the way to the Crystal Empire.
"Are we there yet?" Winter mumbled after a few minutes of walking in silence.
"No," Sombra replied.
For a few precious minutes, all was silent again.
"Are we there yet?" Snowflake asked quietly.
"No," Ice Storm answered.
"Are we there yet?" Winter asked yet again.
"No, and we aren't going to be anytime soon, so please be quiet." Sombra sighed.
The silence continued.
"Are we there yet?" Snowflake asked, causing Sombra and Ice Storm to halt and facehoof for a moment, groaning in sync.
Winter and Snowflake dragged their hooves on the ground as they walked. They had long since given up asking if they were there yet.
"We're there." Sombra said as they finally reached the village.
"Yay!" Winter and Snowflake cheered simultaneously, perking right back up instantly.
"Now we have to make it the rest of the way to the Crystal Empire," Sombra told them, making their happy faces fall instantly. "But..."
"But?" Winter asked, looking up at him pleadingly.
"We're going to get a ride this time."
"Yay!" Winter and Snowflake cheered once more.
Sombra quickly applied his disguise, as dark blue unicorn with his red crystal cutie mark. They walked into the village together, and Winter saw ordinary ponies look at her without flinching and screaming for the first time in over a year. She looked on in wonder at the village, seeing so many friendly faces go by. They made it to the train station successfully, and while the adults bought tickets Winter and Snowflake looked at the prices and the distances.
"Ooh, look! You can buy a ticket to Stinkville for only 4 Bits!" Winter pointed out, giggling.
"No, it doesn't say that." Snowflake protested, not believing that anypony would name a town Stinkville. Sure enough, though, when she looked at the chart, it was there!
"I've been to Stinkville. Friendly place, but it has a bit of a sewage issue." A pony walking by commented, making Winter and Snowflake giggle again.
"Alright, fillies, we're ready!" Ice Storm announced as she walked over, Sombra just behind with the tickets in his grasp.
A train pulled into the station, and the group quickly stepped on. After the conductor punched their tickets, Winter and Snowflake stared out the window and watched in awe as the world moved around them.
"Sombra, why do-" Winter's question was brought to a halt when she noticed everypony staring at her. She shrank back nervously, wondering what she had done wrong.
Sombra coughed loudly, drawing the attention of the ponies on the train. "It's... an inside joke. Quite a tasteless one, sorry. My actual name is Dark Crystal."
With assurances from 'Dark Crystal', the ponies sat back down, but some of them kept suspicious glares.
Sombra bent down to whisper to Winter, "So, what did you want to know?"
"I wanted to know why things in the distance move so much slower than things that closer," Winter whispered back.
Sombra smiled. "Oh, that's because of perspective. Closer objects appear larger, while objects that are further away appear smaller. You can see a much larger area the further out you look..."
Winter's mind drifted off as Sombra explained the curious phenomenon. Even if this trip doesn't end well, Winter thought with a smile, This is still the funnest adventure I've ever had!
All too soon, the train pulled up at the Crystal Empire, and nervousness flooded Winter's body. What if they didn't like her? What if the spell failed at a critical time? What if-
"It's going to be all right," Sombra whispered gently, resting a hoof on her back comfortingly. "You're going to do just fine."
Winter took a deep breath, reigning in her mind from the hoard of frightening 'What If's and walked slowly into the station, Ice Storm and Snowflake following Sombra and her. When they got out of the train station, they stopped to discuss their plan of action.
"So, first we're going to go to your friend's house, right?" Sombra asked Ice Storm.
"Exactly. He's playing with Shining Armor tonight, we can watch them play and talk to him afterwards."
"What exactly will we say to Shining Armor? It's not like we can just go, 'Hey, we're dangerous creatures from that village you keep attacking, mind if you stop?'" Winter pointed out.
"We can claim to have been visitors," Sombra replied. "After all, some of us were."
"And we can say that the village was nice, unthreatening, and downright helpful!" Ice Storm said, picking up the idea.
"That sounds wonderful. Shall we be off? We must talk with Shining Armor today, and it's already noon," Sombra said, glancing at the sun. Sure enough, it was nearing its zenith.
"Of course. Follow me!" Ice Storm walked off thorough the streets, glancing back every once in a while to make sure that everypony was still with her.
The friends walked along for several minutes, during which Winter and Snowflake gazed off in wonder at the marvelous buildings made from pure crystal, and the shops containing all sorts of interesting goods ranging from crystal treats to Hearth's Warming decorations. One particular shop caught Winter's eye, advertising the sale of crystals. The crystal in front costed a ridiculous thousand Bits, but a smaller and more affordable crystal next to it was advertised for a mere 12 Bits. Winter found herself gazing at it for a few moments, before shaking herself and running to catch up with the rest of her friends. Finally, they arrived at a modestly sized building, advertising O&O games in the afternoon. Upon entering it, Winter, Snowflake and Sombra stopped in wonder, their jaws dropping as they gazed around the room. It was filled with shelves, each one dedicated to a different game or even part of a game. Of the many games advertised, O&O was by far the largest, boasting a third of the store's shelving space.
Ice Storm, the only one left unfazed, chuckled when she saw their expressions. "Oh come on now, surely this isn't the most amazing thing you've seen?"
"The last time I checked on O&O was over a thousand year ago," Sombra replied. "It wasn't anywhere near as sophisticated as it seems now."
"Well, follow me if you want to see some of the real action!" Ice Storm chuckled.
The friends followed Ice Storm downstairs to a spacious room, where groups ranging from three to twelve sat together. It only took a few minutes to find Shining Armor's group, which had five ponies- four players and a game master.
"Hey! Game Knight!" Ice Storm waved to her friend.
Game Knight got up from the table, smiling. "Ice Storm! I haven't seen you since the convention last month!"
Ice Storm trotted over to the table, giving Game Knight a friendly hug. "I've had a very... interesting month that I'd love to tell you about later. But where are my manners, meet my new friends, Dark Crystal and Winter Aurora!"
Sombra gave a friendly smile and a hoofshake, while Aurora stayed partially hidden by Sombra's body, too embarrassed and nervous to say hi.
"Hi, I'm Game Knight, our party's Ranger, and these are my friends and O&O partners: Sun Ray the Priest, Lucky Roll the Bard, our Paladin Prince-Consort Shining Armor, and last but not least, our DM Regal Voice!"
"Hi, I'm Dark Crystal, and this is my daughter Winter Aurora."
Winter's breath caught in her throat as she heard what Sombra said. Sombra... My father? He may not really be my father... But I'd like that. He's nice, caring, helpful, and really smart! I wonder-
"Winter?" Sombra asked.
Winter blinked, recovering from her interrupted thoughts. "Yes? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Winter replied nervously.
Sombra smiled. "It's okay. Just relax, there's nothing to worry about. You just seemed a little distant."
"Oh. Well, I was just... Thinking."
Sombra turned back to Shining Armor. "After your session, we'd like to talk for a while. Is that possible?"
"We're going to be here for a while, so if it's urgent we can end the session now..." Shining Armor suggested.
"No, no, it's quite alright. As a fan of the game myself, I think I'd rather enjoy watching your session while we wait to have a talk with you."
"Well if it's alright with you then we'll keep going." Shining Armor said
After a few hours, the session was finished. By the end of the adventurous party had succeeded in slaying several monsters and saving several villages from certain doom. The group finished packing up the game, and everypony prepared to go home.
"Do you mind if we take this back to the castle?" Shining Armor asked.
"No, not at all." Sombra replied.
"My Royal Carriage is outside, you can join me. It's got plenty of extra room for guests."
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Shining Armor asked, once they had entered the carriage.
"We have been to Calypsion," Sombra told him.
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. "Calypsion? Never heard of it."
"It's the place where those who wield Dark Magics reside."
Shining Armor's eyes shot wide open. "That city? How did you escape?"
"We were visitors there," Ice Storm put in. "I wanted to get my filly, Snowflake, checked for mental tampering."
Shining Armor concentrated for a moment, something was familiar... "Oh! You! I remember. You were the one who wanted the Guard to come in and remove a Lich from your graveyard, right? It had attacked your filly?" His look changed to one of concern. "You said mental tampering? Was she alright?"
Ice Storm looked a little sheepish. "Well, I suspected mental tampering because she said that the Lich was actually really friendly and nice, so I took her to a multitude of experts to have her checked... However, they found no trace of tampering. I grew desperate, which is when I called on my friend, Dark Crystal."
Sombra coughed lightly. "I know, shall we say... Many of the not technically 'legal' experts, some of whom use Dark Magic to heal others, ones who could more accurately detect Dark compulsions than traditional, Light Mage experts. And, from what I know of you, Shining Armor, I'm guessing you turn a blind eye to these more accurate- but less legal- mages, due to a... Shall we call it, 'past experience' with mental magic?"
Shining Armor shifted uncomfortably. "I have no idea what you are talking about," he replied in a monotone. "as Prince-Consort of the Crystal Empire, it is my duty to prevent evildoers from damaging the city."
Sombra grinned. "Yes, exactly. No harm, no foul for those that don't hurt others. Now, let us continue. The greatest of these... 'contacts' resides inside Calypsion. In order to guarantee safe entrance, me and my daughter, Winter Aurora, agreed to come with her."
"To our surprise, we found that Calypsion, contrary to expectations, was actually a pretty nice place," Ice Storm said. "Not to mention they, too, found my filly absent of mental tampering, which leads me to believe that the Lich that she met was actually not evil."
"That makes no sense," Shining Armor interrupted. "In order to become a Lich, one must perform foul acts including Pony Sacrifice to some of the more dangerous of the Elder Gods, as part of the ceremony. Becoming a Lich is a difficult task, that requires complete evil to perform."
Noticing Sombra and Ice Storm looking at him strangely, he blushed and snapped. "My wife Cadance is going to live forever, so I had my sister look into possible methods of immortality, so we can live together forever."
"D'aww..." Sombra, Ice Storm, Winter and Snowflake said simultaneously, causing Shining Armor to blush even further.
"My point still stands," he snapped. "Twilight is one of the best ponies in the entire world at researching. It wouldn't be like her to miss something. However... She's staying at the castle right now, researching Alicornation. If you think she missed something, feel free to give any theories you may have to her."
With that final note, they reached the castle. Shining Armor led them to his private room, where they could talk more in depth without being overheard. Shining Armor opened the door to his room, to find Twilight reading a book inside.
"Twiliy!" Shining Armor said, causing Twilight to look up from her book.
"Shiny!" She replied. "I've got a few experiments I wanted to perform, and they need you, and- Who are those ponies behind you? Two of them are disguised."
"Oh, these are some ponies who claim to have visited Calypsion. Calypsion is the name of that village of Dark Magic users. Their names are Dark Crystal, Winter Aurora, Ice Storm, and Snowflake," Shining pointed each one out. "and you say two of them are disguised?" Shining looked at them suspiciously.
"Almost definitely. Dark Crystal and Winter Aurora. I can sense it in their auras. I left that aura-detecting spell on, just in case any Changelings tried to sneak around. They're not Changelings, it's just an ordinary glamour spell, but..." Twilight frowned. Something felt familiar here. Where did she know that magical signature from...
"Well?" Shining asked, suspicion growing by the second.
"My family has a... genetic disfiguration. We always use a glamour spell to hide-" Sombra's speech was interrupted by Twilight's shout.
"SOMBRA!" Twilight shouted, finally realizing where she had recognized that magical signature from. Her horn flared up as she cast a spell to neutralize their disguises. Sombra and Winter stood there for a moment, shocked, ordinary forms exposed to Twilight and Shining.
"Twilight! Sombra and the Lich must have brainwashed Ice Storm and Snowflake! Be careful!" Shining Armor cried, readying his horn for an incoming battle. To his surprise, a staff popped into existence in front of Winter, glowing with magic as she muttered something he couldn't quite hear. A terrible hex, for sure. Shining Armor released his magical energy in the form of a shield, protecting Twilight and himself from the magic's power. A flash and a pop later, Sombra, Winter, Ice Storm and Snowflake had disappeared.
As soon as her disguise disappeared, Winter's heart froze in horror. She looked up at Twilight with terrified eyes, to be met with a gaze of confusion from the older pony. As she saw Shining Armor's horn glow with a powerful spell, she knew immediately that she was going to be killed. She quickly brought her staff out from her pocket dimension, and whispered rapidly to it.
"Pleasetakeusawaypleasesaveuspleasepleaseplease!"
She closed her eyes, desperately hoping for an effect. A flash and familiar popping noise left her relieved as she realized that the staff must have teleported her away, in response to her command! She opened her eyes to find, to her horror, that she was alone and undisguised, lost in the middle of the Crystal Empire! She whimpered in fear. Where was she? Where could she go now?
Twilight stared at where the Lich had teleported away, a confused look still on her face. It just didn't add up... If she had stripped all disguises away from the Lich, how had she still looked like a filly? Unless... But no, a filly couldn't have the evil necessary to become a Lich. And she looked unbelievably frightened when she had looked into Twilight's eyes. No anger, no hatred, just pure terror. What if... There was a possibility she had missed in her research? What if... There was another way to become a Lich!
Twilight rushed out of the room, moving to find her friends, who were resting in their own rooms. There were just too many questions that needed to be answered, and only one pony she knew had the answers.
Winter panicked, hyperventilating as she rushed forward through the streets. She could have sworn she'd seen that building only a few minutes ago! She stopped to rest for a moment, and to her horror a looming shadow soon covered her...
"Hello?" The pony standing above her asked. "Are you okay? I've seen you pass through here at least three times already."
Winter's breath caught in her throat. "P-p-please... Don't hurt me... I'm lost..." she whimpered.
"Are you alright? I'd never hurt a poor, lost filly like you..." the pony, now identified as a mare by her voice, said.
Winter hid her face even more, curling up in a ball. "T-t-that's what they all say..."
"Who?" the mare asked. "Who would want to hurt you?"
"EVERYPONY!" Winter sobbed.
"I'll take you back to my place to get cleaned up, and then you can tell me all about it. My name is Shining Sea. What's yours?" Shining Sea asked.
"Winter Aurora," Winter sniffled. "Can I clean myself up at your house? Please?"
"Of course," Shining Sea smiled. "Can you walk with me, or should I levitate you?"
"Levitate me... If that's okay?" Winter asked.
"Of course." Shining Sea said gently, picket Winter up in her levitation field. She walked for a few minutes before coming to her house. Upon entering, she called out.
"Bright Spark! We have a guest!"
"Coming mom!" Bright Spark said. "Who's the guest?"
"She's a filly, about your age. Her name is Winter Aurora."
Bright Spark came around the corner. "Boop!" she said, by way of introduction. I'm Bwight Spark! Where are you from?"
"I'm from a place called Calypsion. It's the only place where I won't be driven away..." Winter sniffled, still hiding her face.
"Why would they drive you away?" Shining Sea asked gently.
Winter stopped breathing as she wondered how she could possibly respond. She didn't want to lie, these ponies had been nice to her, but that teleportation had taken a lot out of her and she didn't have anywhere near enough magic to disguise her face. What could she say?
"Are you alwight?" Bright Spark asked, noticing her lack of breathing. "Winter? Boop!"
Winter snapped out of it, resuming her breathing. It may have been unnecessary, but it was comforting, and it was a... 'dead' giveaway for what she was. She giggled to herself for a moment at her pun, before responding to Shining Sea's question.
"Because I'm not normal. I had an accident with strange magic, and now most ponies are scared of me," Winter sighed.
"That seems like an accident," Shining Sea replied. "So why would everypony go out of their way to hurt you? What makes them so scared?"
Winter gulped. Slowly, shakily, she raised a wing from her face to reveal the damage underneath. Shining Sea widened her eyes.
"Are you undead?!" Shining Sea exclaimed, causing Winter to slam the wing back down, covering her face once more.
"Y-yes..." Winter whimpered.
"Why is evewypony afwaid of you?" Bright Spark asked. "You're not scawy. You seem weally nice!"
Slowly, Winter raised her wing again. "You think so?" she asked in a small voice.
"Yes!" Bright Spark replied.
Shining Sea slowly calmed down. From previous experiences, Bright Spark had an excellent judge of character, and was it even possible to fake that much loneliness and low self esteem? She didn't think so.
"How exactly did your... 'Condition' come about?" Shining Sea asked.
Winter concentrated for a few moments before pulling her staff back out of her pocket dimension. "This staff has an unusual ability. Whenever I really, really, really want something while holding this staff, it comes true. Though not always in the way I expect, so I don't like to use it very often. For example, I got hit by a carriage and I told it I didn't want to die. This was the result. Also, I was in trouble recently and asked it to send me and my friends to safety... But, it looks like it sent them to a different 'safety' than it sent me to. I wonder where they are..." Winter's voice drifted off.
"We'll find them, don't worry," Shining Sea replied with a smile. "After all, it is about time I had a vacation, and school's out at the moment..."
"Y-you really mean it?" Winter asked hopefully.
"Of course I do! We'll prepare while you clean yourself up, and when you're done we can leave immediately!"
"Yay! This is gowing to be so much fun!" Bright Spark put in.
"Ah getcha, sugacube, but are ya sure this is tha' best way ta go about this?" Applejack said uncertainly after Twilight finished telling her friends about the Lich.
"Shining Armor has his mind set on that Lich being evil, but I have good reason to believe that she was actually just a filly. As for Sombra, if the Elements could purify the evil from Nightmare Moon, why couldn't the Crystal Heart purify the evil from Sombra? They both work on the same principals of Friendship and Love. I believe that our best option is to find both Sombra and the Lich. To do that, our first step should be to find Calypsion." Twilight replied.
"It sounds dangerous and awesome. Count me in!" Rainbow cheered.
"These ponies in Calypsion sound like they could use a little brightening up in their lives!" Pinkie smiled.
"I trust you, Twilight. Oh, I hope the Lich is nice..." Fluttershy whimpered. "We'll help the poor little Lich filly, won't we?"
"Of course," Twilight confirmed.
"Oh, alright," Rarity said. "I will come as well. It might take a day or two to pack up my luggage-"
Rarity was cut off by the sudden glares from all of the ponies in the room. "Oh, alright," Rarity said sheepishly. "I'll reduce my luggage to a manageable size."
"That is very good, because we will be leaving tomorrow, and I expect each of you to be able to carry everything you bring by yourself. We have to move quickly if we want to find Calypsion soon," Twilight put in. "If you can't carry it, leave it."
Snowflake and Ice Storm looked around their location. After Winter had pulled out her staff, everypony had disappeared. The area around them started to look a little more familiar.
"So, back so soon?" a friendly voice said. "You never even told us you were leaving. Where did you go?"
Ice Storm turned to see the unicorn mage who had first detected no trace of Dark influence in her child.
"I went to the Crystal Empire to try to find an expert in mental magic to see if Snowflake would be okay, and we got a teleport back." Ice Storm replied. It was only sort of a lie, as she had gone to the Crystal Empire to check on Snowflake originally, and she had gotten a teleport, even if that wasn't exactly the whole story. It would be nice to stay here, but... She just couldn't abandon Sombra, or Winter. "We plan on going back tomorrow, we just need to pick up our stuff. We're moving out."
Sombra stumbled around the abandoned city, disoriented. Only a moment ago, he had been frantically trying to find a way to protect everypony from Shining Armor, but everypony had disappeared. He shook his head a few more times to clear his confusion, before taking a better look at his surroundings.
"No..." Sombra whispered. "Not this place... My home!"
Sombra wept for his old home, his old friends, and the life he had left behind all too many years ago.
Shining Sea, Bright Spark and Winter Aurora had finished packing, and started on their quest. While Winter didn't know where Calypsion was in relation to where they started at, she had high hopes that she would find either somepony who could tell her its location, or find a location she recognized, from which she could find her way to Calypsion. Once she entered Calypsion, she could check to see if any of her friends had been teleported there, or arrange for a larger search party. The weather was bright and clear, but the rolling hills served to block the group's sight, making it hard for them to find any civilization. For all they knew, there could have been an entire village just over one of the hills at their sides! It only got worse as the sun began to set, and the cold winds began to blow. Shining Sea and Bright Spark shivered as snowflakes began to fall, simultaneously reducing visibility still further and increasing the need for shelter. Thunder cracked in the distance, and snow fell faster.
"Winter!" Shining Sea yelled over the storm. "We need to find shelter! I don't know how much longer we can last in this blizzard!"
Winter turned back, only just noticing the shivering forms behind her. "Sorry," she replied, the wind blowing her soft words back to her new friends. "I stopped noticing the cold over a year ago. You're right, but I don't see any shelter. I'll have to improvise."
Winter brought her staff out and used it to cast a powerful spell, its crystal glowing with arcane energy as a giant dome of ice rose up, surrounding the group and keeping the cold ice and wind out.
"This is nice," Shining Sea began, "But how will we breathe?"
"There are small holes in the ice. The first few times I tried to keep a pet, I forgot that breathing is necessary..." Winter shuddered at the memory. "The holes are mostly at the sides, so the heat doesn't escape out the top."
"I'm tiwed." Bright Spark announced. "I wanna sweep."
"Bright Spark's right," Winter announced. "We should probably rest for now."
Twilight and her friends struggled through the blizzard, protected from the raging storm by a series of spells Twilight had cast. However, for all of Twilight's knowledge, she could not find a way to improve visibility through snow without potentially hurting somepony. With a sudden thunk, Twilight smashed face-first into a wall of ice, the surprise knock on her horn canceling her spells, to the dismay of her friends.
"W-where did this come from?" Twilight asked, knocking on the ice sheet as she began to recast her spell. She heard a muffled noise come from the other side, and a moment later a pony-sized hole melted in the ice, revealing a mare and two fillies in what appeared to be an ice-cave of some sort.
"H-hello," one of the fillies said, flinching back. Twilight swore she seemed familiar...
"Hewo," the other filly said. "My name is Bwight Spark. What's yours?"
"Hey, I know you," The mare pointed a hoof at Twilight. "You're Twilight Sparkle, aren't you? Didn't you, like, save Equestria twice, and help the Glorious Spike save the Crystal Empire?"
Twilight blushed and scuffed the ground with a hoof. "Well, yes, but I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends," she looked up, panicked. "My friends! They're still outside! Oh, goodness."
Twilight turned around, to find that her friends had already entered the ice-cave and were staring at her with deadpan faces.
"Oops," Twilight chuckled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry we damaged your ice cave, I'll fix it."
Twilight's horn glowed, and she added a layer of ice to the wall.
"I found some holes in it, I think it was starting to melt. I patched it up."
"Those were to allow air to circulate so we don't asphyxiate," Winter muttered.
"Oh my goodness!" Twilight gasped, immediately punching small holes in the ice. "There, we should be fine now. I'm curious though, how did you set that up? It takes a talented unicorn to erect such a large structure.
Shining Sea glanced hesitantly at Winter, who shook her head lightly. She turned back to Twilight. "Everypony has a few secrets they'd like to keep."
Twilight nodded. "Fair enough," she glanced up at the sky. "So, seeing as we're going to be here a while... Where are you going?"
"We're looking for a relatively new town. I have friends there," Winter replied.
"Interesting," Twilight replied. "We're looking for a place called Calypsion. Have you heard of it?"
Winter's head shot up. "Why would you head there?" she asked. "Going to bust it up with your Alicorn magic? Destroy everything in the name of peace and harmony?"
"Winter!" Shining Sea scolded, causing Twilight to gasp.
"That's where I recognized you from!" she exclaimed. "You're the Lich!"
Winter flinched back, summoning her staff as Twilight walked forward. "S-stay back! Please! I'm warning you."
"Twilight, I think you should give her some room," Fluttershy spoke quietly. "She's scared of you. I think you traumatized the poor dear when you took off her disguise."
"Ah think she's right, sugacube," Applejack put in. "How would ya feel if a pony walked up to ya and took apart yer fancy magic spells when you were a filly, then got ya in trouble for it?"
A look of guilt flashed across Twilight's face, before she stopped and backed up a little bit. "You're right. I'm sorry, Winter. But, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you. I don't want to hurt you."
"Fine job you've done so far," Winter grumbled.
"Winter, you're wealy nice! Tawk to Twiwight, I think she's wealy nice too," Bright Spark said. "Pwease? I don't want to watch you fighting."
"Oh, alright," Winter sighed. She looked up at Twilight, her staff flashing as she removed her disguise. "What do you want to know?"
A series of gasps followed the revelation, as Twilight's friends looked at Winter's true face for the first time.
"Well..." Twilight looked a little less sure now, and more than a little disturbed by the damage done to Winter's body. "I was wondering if you could tell me why you were traveling with Sombra? He's evil."
"He's the only one who would accept me," Winter replied flatly. "I traveled the frozen north for over a year before finding even a single pony willing to accept me, despite my appearance."
"But what about your glamour spell?" Twilight asked. "Surely you could have used that? It was so well designed, that I doubt most ponies could have sensed it's existence unless you told them about it."
"Sombra taught it to me," Winter replied. A wistful look flew over her mangled face, causing Twilight and her friends to shudder. "Though, to tell you how we met, I'd have to go back a bit. Basically, I just had enough of being treated like an abomination by ponies who didn't know me. I sat down and occupied a graveyard, like a normal Lich is supposed to. I met a single filly who wasn't scared of me. She told her mom about me. Immediately, her mother flew around to find somepony to cure her filly of the 'mind control' spell she said I must have casted. She never even considered the chance that just maybe, I wasn't evil. So, I took off, sure that they would send the guard in after me shortly. I heard about Calypsion in a nearby town, found my way there, and met Sombra. He's one of the nicest ponies I've ever met."
Twilight frowned. "But, when we met him he was crazy and evil, trying to take control of the Crystal Empire."
Winter rolled her eyes. "And you blasted him with the Crystal Heart. What happened when you blasted Nightmare Moon, hmm? Didn't it purify her corruption? Why should Sombra be any different?"
"Actually, we used the Elements of Harmony against Nightmare Moon, not the Crystal Heart. However, I have been considering that theory that the resonance unleashed by the Crystal Heart had similar Harmonic properties, and-"
"In Equestrian?" Applejack interrupted flatly.
Twilight blushed, noticing the confused looks she was getting. "In other words, I think it's definitely possible that Sombra's insanity was cured by the Crystal Heart."
"Exactly," Winter said. "Of course, not that any normal pony who recognized him would believe him."
"So," Twilight said. "I have one other major question. How did you become a Lich?"
Winter flinched. "The full story is rather... Personal. But, the short story is, well... Do you know what this is?" Winter levitated her staff over to Twilight.
"Hm... Ancient runes, I know I've seen this pattern before... Oh!" Twilight gasped in surprise. "I recognize this! This is the Staff of Averum Aquaestinitum, created by Starswirl the Bearded. How did you end up with this?" Twilight questioned.
"I found it in the forest," Winter replied. "I didn't know it's name, or what it did. I only just learned its name, in fact, when you told me. It turned me into a Lich when I died, only about a year ago. I had told it that I didn't want to die."
Twilight frowned. "Interesting. I wish I could say this helped me in my research, but I'm guessing that the result won't be the same unless the exact circumstances of your life and death were duplicated. It won't be possible to extend my brother's life span this way," she sighed.
"Well, he IS trying to kill me for good," Winter muttered.
Twilight smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure I can get everything sorted out with him. Though, I would like to visit Calypsion first, if you would let me?"
Winter chuckled. "Oh, I have no power in Calypsion. You'd have to ask Sombra, but I have no idea where he went after I used the staff to teleport us 'to safety'."
Twilight's mouth opened in a silent 'o' of understanding. "So that's why you were whispering to the staff. That makes sense. But, you say it teleported different pieces of your group to different locations? How interesting."
Winter nodded. "I'm not sure why, but it's a good example of why I don't use its most powerful ability very often."
"So, how were you planning on finding Sombra?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Well, I was just going to see if, maybe, the staff teleported him to Calypsion, and if it didn't I was going to try and arrange a larger search party."
"I can help you find him faster," Twilight offered. "I can try to scan the surrounding area for dark magic. I'm not particularly experienced with this spell, though, as I haven't every really needed to use it, but I'll probably be able to find his location to within a couple of miles."
"You can do that?" Winter asked, incredulously.
"I can try," Twilight lit her horn, casting the spell. She blinked for a moment before letting her aura die down.
"I sense more different sources of Dark Magic than I expected. You," she pointed at Winter, "Sombra, who appears to be using a large quantity of magic," she pointed in the correct direction, "a third, unknown source that appears to be using a large quantity of Dark Magic within Sombra's general vicinity, and finally, a conglomerate of Dark Magic from multiples sources that appears to be moving along the railway between Equestria and the Crystal Empire."
Winter blinked. "I have no idea who the latter would be, but it sounds like Sombra's in trouble! We need to get to him quickly."
"Or, he's helping a fellow Dark Mage with something," Twilight pointed out.
Winter shook her head. "It doesn't matter, either way we should get to him as quickly as possible."
"The storm's letting up," Shining Sea pointed out. "we can look for him soon."
Sombra gazed brokenly around his hometown, examining the shattered windows and collapsed buildings, heart crying out in pain as he wondered who could have possibly done this. After a few more minutes of searching, he finally found his original home. He collapsed, sobbing as he remembered his past. A shadow fell over him and he turned to look at the pony behind him.
"It's been a long time, Sombra," the evil grin of a pony tainted with Dark Magic's insanity met his gaze.
"Light Storm!" Sombra replied. "I remember you, we used to be best friends. What happened here? What happened to you?"
"After we discovered your inner evil and insanity, I decided that the only way to fight Dark Magic, and prevent its corruption of the common pony, was to study Dark Magic. The fools told be to stop, they feared I'd become like you, but I never succumbed. I destroyed the fools who opposed me, because they must have been corrupted by the Dark Magic if they couldn't see that I was only doing what was necessary! I became the law, preventing any evildoers from rising to power. In the end, they all rose up against me, somehow corrupted during the night. They tried to stop me, told me to calm down, told me that I was the corrupted one, but I didn't listen!"
Light Storm's eyes drifted in opposite directions, as he gave a creepy smile and a creepier laugh.
"I destroyed them all. Obviously, they were already lost causes! Corrupted by the evil, Dark Magic you left behind! I created a spell to keep me in stasis until your return, and have waited here for you since then for you to come back home, hoping to find a town already conveniently corrupted and ready for your use!"
By the end of Light Storm's speech, flecks of spit were beginning to fly from his mouth as Sombra backed up, horrified.
"I had no intention of enslaving my hometown! Even now, I'm not quite sure how I got here, and the only reason I'm still here is because I'm grieving for my dead hometown because you killed them all!"
Somber took a shuddering breath as he fought to control himself. He could feel himself losing the battle, and slowly slipping back towards the insanity that had made him capture the Crystal Empire. He closed his eyes and ignored Light Storm's raging response, struggling to stop himself. On the verge of losing himself, he suddenly found himself picturing Winter Aurora.
"Cannot let myself fall..." he muttered. "I must endure. For her."
Then Light Storm unleashed his first first magical blow on Sombra.
Sombra grimaced as he barely dodged Light Storm's last shot, and quickly teleported to yet another location and erected a reflecting crystal. Light Storm, in his crazed rage, either didn't notice or care, shooting another blast with a remarkably fast reaction time. The blast deflected, impacting Light Storm head on, only making him even angrier.
"Come out here and FIGHT ME you COWARD!" he roared. "I will avenge this city!"
Sombra's eye twitched and he wasted a precious second breathing deeply as he kept his insanity and rage bottled up. It was difficult, and he probably could have won the battle within seconds if he unleashed it, but he fought for Winter. He had to set a good example. He had to be a good pony, for her. Sombra smiled as the next bolt of magic curved around his deflection crystal and impacted his side, stinging his flank. It was time to play the hero, for once.
"No. I will avenge this city," Sombra stated calmly as he stepped out into the street.
Light Storm only let out a roar of fury as he galloped towards Sombra, horn down. His horn lit with a mixed aura of purple, green and his natural golden magic as he prepared to unleash a powerful spell. Sombra lit his own horn in defense, mentally making predictions as to what was about to happen. In a flash, Light Storm released his magic. Sombra closed his eyes, seeing the powerful light spell even through his eyelids. He'd have to fight this one blind. His face turned from serious to a cocky smirk as he prepared for the coming onslaught. First, he released his magic, teleporting himself just a meter upwards. He landed heavily on Light Storm, who let out a startled grunt. He got one blow off before rolling away, barely dodging the magical blast aimed towards his face- just as predicted. Eyes still closed, Sombra let out a laugh.
"I can beat you without opening my eyes. Just watch," Sombra grinned at his own joke. Light Storm let out another roar of fury, but far from being intimidated, Sombra just smiled more.
3...2...1... Sombra counted down in his head. It's action time!
Sombra stepped lightly to one side, holding out one hoof, feeling Light Storm's hoof catch on his. An instant later, he teleported to Light Storm's other side, dealing a heavy blow to his head while Light was still grasping at the air that Sombra formerly occupied. As Light turned and rammed his horn towards Sombra's chest, a dark crystal rose out of the ground between them, making Light scream in pain as his horn collided with the obstacle, unable to stop. Sombra gave yet another light laugh.
"Haven't opened my eyes yet!"
"Stop saying that!" Light screamed. "I hate you! I hate you! I HATE YOU!"
Sombra frowned. That wasn't what he had expected. He cast a darkening spell on Light's artificial light source, and opened his eyes to find Light gathering power for a massive beam. Sombra quickly raised a shield, but as the beam struck it he could feel the power behind it and knew that it wasn't going to last long.
"I tried, Winter..." he whispered, closing his eyes as he felt his barrier weaken. A moment later, it fell completely. Sombra stood still, expecting the beam to impact his body painfully, but blinked his eyes open when he felt nothing. The sight was startling: Replacing his own shield was one of purple magic. He turned, to find Twilight Sparkle, her friends, Winter Aurora and two other ponies, one an adult and one a filly, standing behind him.
"Winter? How did you get here? What happened? Why is Twilight helping me?" Sombra was astonished.
"Don't worry about that now, we can catch up later!" Winter smiled brightly, her new friends by her side. "Twilight's with us now!"
"IMPOSSIBLE!" Light Storm screamed. "he's corrupted you innocents, too? I cannot let this happen! Even at the cost of my own life!"
Light Storm's body glowed red as he began to focus a deadly magic across his entire body. Sombra and Twilight exchanged glances of horror as they simultaneously spoke.
"Blood magic, Town-Razing class."
Winter stared in terror as Light Storm charged a spell that caused even Sombra to flinch in fear.
I can't let Sombra be killed, or any of my new friends!
An even worse panic grew as she heard Twilight and Sombra call this spell 'Town-Razing class'.
No... I REFUSE!
Winter raced forwards, flapping her wings for increased speed as she sprinted in the way of the spell as it was cast. Time seemed to slow down, and she closed her eyes, opened her wings, summoned her staff and proclaimed quietly.
"Do not allow my friends to be injured."
A moment later, the spell impacted, fire coursing through Winter's body. She turned, shocked, towards her friends, raising a hoof only to watch it turn to dust in front of her eyes and blow away on the soft wind. A second passed, then the rest of her body dissolved and blew away as well, her staff and Phoenix pendant clattering gently on the cobblestone street as all parties looked on with shock.
"No... I failed..." Light Storm whispered as he, too, blew away on the wind; the cost of casting a spell with a power requirement greater than his body could hold.
"Winter!" Twilight cried in horror, sprinting towards the spot where she once stood. Her ears flopped backwards. "Oh, nonononono! This is very, very bad!"
Sombra smiled as he walked towards Twilight, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "It's not nearly as bad as you might think. She's a Lich, remember? She'll be fine in a few years, or even a few days if we put some effort into regrowing her body for her."
Twilight blinked. "Oh..."
"Of course, I'm not sure she remembered that, so her brave act of sacrifice was quite unexpected and more than a little telling of how high regards she holds for all of us."
"Winter's gonna be alwight!" Bright Spark cheered, clapping her hooves together. Shining Sea smiled at her daughter's antics.
"Yes, Winter's going to come back. We'll wait with these nice ponies until she can, okay?"
"That sounds weally fun!" Bright Spark smiled.
"Ah don' know 'bout this..." Applejack seemed unsure. "It's a kinda creepy feelin', knowin' tha somepony ya just saw die can come back like that."
"I... I don't think I'll ever be able to recover from watching that," Fluttershy whispered. "she was just a filly, and I w-watched... h-h-her... die!"
Fluttershy's speech devolved into sobs, and Rainbow Dash comforted her.
"Don't think of it like that!" Rainbow Dash said. "I just think of it like, Winter just destroyed an expensive statue to save all of us! After all, she's not really dead, as long as she can come back, right?" she looked to Sombra for conformation.
Sombra chuckled. "That's certainly a healthier approach than some I've seen, but not entirely true. While the fact that she's not really dead is completely true, thinking her body as an expensive statue is not quite right. Although it may be true in practice, and may become more true later in Winter's Lichhood, at the moment she's not ready to think that way about her own body in that way, and know that a Lich dying in front of anything living shows a great deal of trust. After all, there are ways to kill a Lich permanently using their phylactery. Also, the first few deaths for a Lich can be traumatizing if not talked about. I myself would qualify for a degree in Lich-Consuling, if such a degree existed, so Winter Aurora will be perfectly fine in time. However, do not downplay the sacrifice she made for all of us."
"I noticed, but why did you say that the sacrifice was for all of us?" Rainbow Dash asked, curious. "How could you know which ones she wanted to save, and which ones she didn't care about? Just asking..." Rainbow Dash mumbled at the looks she was getting from Applejack and Fluttershy.
"That's actually a great question!" Twilight perked up. "It's also one I know the answer to! The spell that was being cast was a Town-Razing class, meaning it had the ability to kill everypony it encountered within the radius of about a town. It has a very long history of uses, each one documented and studied vigorously, and-"
Twilight was interrupted by Rainbow Dash tapping a hoof impatiently.
"Sorry, I was getting carried away," Twilight blushed. "The point is, regardless of weather or not Winter jumped in front of us, it wouldn't have made a difference in the spell's eyes. However, she used the Staff of Averum Aquaestinitum to redirect the entirety of the spell into herself, saving all of us! If she hadn't wanted to save somepony, she wouldn't have absorbed all of it, only most of it, and whoever she didn't like would be dead."
The winds began to blow harder, and snow fell once more.
"A storm is starting," Sombra commented. "We should probably head to Calypsion for safety," Sombra scooped up Winter's Phylactery and staff. "when we get there, I have to explain the situation to the leaders of the city, and then Twilight can work with me to help repair Winter's body. If I'm lucky, I'll find somebody at Calypsion who knows enough pony anatomy to help."
Twilight's face morphed to confusion. "SomeBODY?"
Sombra grinned. "Just wait and see, Twilight. I have the feeling you're going to have the time of your life."
"It's almost done... It's almost done..." a pony mumbled nervously to himself, eye twitching rapidly. He was a unicorn whose age was approaching a two centuries. His now white mane drooped over his damaged body, one hind leg being entirely missing and many scars covering his body, the skin sewn together with magic and thread.
"My life's work. It has to succeed," the pony's eye twitched again, and a feral grin came across his face. "I cannot allow myself to die. I will MAKE IT SUCCEED!"
With that, the aging unicorn shakily levitated the final piece into his creation, and took a step back. He sat and looked at his own work in wonder. It was a fully functional, mechanical unicorn body, magical ability and all, merely missing that spark of life. His spark of life. With a final sigh, the ancient unicorn closed his eyes and activated the rune he was sitting on. With an intense humming of magic, it began to levitate him, before scanning his body, capturing his essence, mind and memories before destroying him. The body crumbled to ash, vaporized. The rune sent the information it had collected to the rune under the mechanical unicorn, transferring all into the carefully crafted body's 'brain', made from magical materials to be able to replicate a stronger, more resilient pony brain. After a few seconds, the gem placed in the chest of the mechanical pony flickered to life, and it slowly opened his eyes and stood up. A predatory grin flashed back across his face as he flexed the back leg his old body had lacked.
"I knew it would work. Immortality..." a panicked expression grew, however. "No, it's not good enough. What if this body is destroyed? I must be stronger... I need to protect my mind and soul... I need contingency after contingency, and contingencies for my contingencies! It's the only way... to stop the end... I must not end... I must not end..."
Repeating the mantra to himself, the mechanical unicorn was soothed. He would find a way to survive. Or die trying. But for now, he had a meeting to attend to. He hadn't been outside since the last new moon, and was looking forward to showing his fellow Mad Scientists the fruits of his labor.
"Order! Order! We will have order at this meeting!" the unholy abomination made of a unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony all fused together at the chest shouted from all three mouths, pounding his gavel on the table.
"But sir, surely you've heard the news!" a dark unicorn with a skull and crossbones Cutie Mark replied, momentarily breaking his conversation to speak to the gavel-wielding abomination. "The Crystal Empire is gearing up to destroy our northern brethren!"
"Of course it is. That is precisely why WE NEED ORDER!"
The volume of the shout reverberated around the room, silencing it immediately. It was more than just the sound, however: The unicorn horn on the abomination's left head glowed with power, muting all other sounds in the room.
"Now that is more like it. As much as we would like to allow you time to discuss recent events, we have a schedule to meet. You all know that we have only until sunrise to meet, lest Celestia catch us; and we will not be able to meet again in safety until Luna's vision is dampened once again by the new moon. Now, for the first order of business. For all those of you who, for some reason, have not yet heard the developments in the northern lands, I will explain. Our brethren from the north have managed to settle down and create a single city, entirely populated by those like us."
This statement was met by cheers from the ponies, griffons, changelings, dragons, and other creatures in the crowd.
"However, the Crystal Empire soon received word of this development. Now, they are preparing to attack with the power of their army and Equestria's combined. We fully intend on leading an army of our own up there, to support this new village of Calypsion against the might of the Empire and Equestria! WHO WILL FOLLOW ME INTO BATTLE! FOR OUR BRETHREN! FOR OUR PEOPLE! WE MUST FIGHT AGAINST THE OPPRESSION!"
Cheers flooded the room, almost everybody joining in. A single, robotic unicorn sat glumly in a corner, knowing that he would have to come too, despite his want; no, his need to survive. Wars were not good for one's health. Hopefully, he could just play a simple part in the war, maybe manufacture ethically questionable augmentations for other ponies, or prosthetics with hidden lethal weaponry, or something else that would keep him out of the line of fire.
"And the one who brings me Shining Armor's head... To that being, will go the entire Crystal Empire, to be used for whichever purpose they choose," the three-headed abomination shouted.
Silence fell at this announcement. Everybody realized just how important this was. Whoever killed Shining Armor would receive a massive source of potential income, information, spare parts, and almost anything else they could possibly wish for. It was in that moment, Life Seeker, unicorn-turned-robot, knew he had to be the one to kill Shining Armor. Surely with the entire wealth of knowledge and resources that the Empire held, it would be easy to create a body that could withstand even the eventual explosion of the sun.
"When do we leave, Triple Threat?" Life Seeker called out.
"We leave at the next new moon," Triple Threat replied with certainty, all three heads nodding in unison. "I know those of you who have traveled from very far away may not have the time to return home and fully prepare, but rest assured I will make sure we are supplied with enough resources for each and every one of you to build whatever you would have brought when we get there. For those of you who must return home first despite this, remember: We will need each and every one of your unique talents to defeat our enemies. Hurry towards the Empire as soon as you are able to. If you arrive late, we will expect you to make quite an important impact on the battlefield. And if you think you can skip out on this war..." Triple Threat growled menacingly. "Remember that I know each and every one of your names."
Winter blinked her eyes open sleepily, before they shot open as she realized. Wait- I'm dead, right?
A chittering laughter echoed around her, seeming to have heard her thought.
Welcome, Winter Aurora, to the Astral Plane, or as we call it, the Graveyard of Immortals.
Astral Plane? Graveyard of Immortals? I don't understand. Who are you?
I am Starswirl the Bearded, and I am 6,429 years, 7 months, and 23 days old. This place, the 'Astral Plane', is where immortals stay for all of eternity after they die. Look around.
Winter obediently payed more attention to her surroundings, and gasped in awe. Everything, from the ground to the sky, was made up of millions of stars of various colors and sizes.
Each star you see once was an immortal.
Winter's breath caught in her throat.
So... I'm dead now? That's it? I can't go back?
Starswirl chuckled. Of course you can go back. Your Phylactery is intact. Mine, on the other hoof, is irreparably destroyed. The protection wards on it were removed, the entire piece was pulverized by an enchanted warhammer, and the remains were dropped into an active volcano during an eruption.
Woah... Isn't that overkill?
You know what they say, there's no kill like overkill. Besides, I'm not sure anything short of that actually would have killed me. It wasn't so close to overkill as you might think. The point is, though, that your body is regenerating right now.
Really? How soon can I go back?
It's not quite as simple as that. You have options. You could return in a year, once your skeletal system has regrown, or wait a full five for your entire body to recover to the point of just after your original death.
Dismay filled Winter's body. I can't fix myself completely?
No, and for that I am sorry. However, even now little is known of the full capacities of a Lich, and the specific origins of your Lichhood makes me wonder if what you are capable of is even limited at all, if you learn how to use your power. I'm certainly happy somepony is using my staff for good.
Winter's eyes widened. That's right! That staff is yours! Can you tell me how it works, so I can use it better?
Unfortunately, the staff doesn't work like it was supposed to. I named it Averum Aquaestinitum in a fit of frustration, when it failed all testing I threw at it over a course of a week. Its abilities were supposed to be much easier to control. In addition, with its power source being the Sun, due to its longevity it has now absorbed such a high level of magical energy that I wouldn't be surprised if it could do anything. It has all the power of roughly five and a half thousand years of solar energy. You've had more success with its elevated power level than I did with my testing. I likely miscalculated its activation energy.
I noticed something: How do you know everything I've done in my life?
I created a spell that works across the barrier of the Astral Plane to allow us to watch the real world. In addition, the ward I put on my staff alerts me when a creature picks it up. We have watched you since you first got the staff.
We?
Oh, how could I forget? Everypony, say hello to our favorite Lich!
HELLO WINTER! a large chorus of voices yelled. WE'RE ROOTING FOR YOU!
Starswirl chuckled at Winter's dropped jaw. Every immortal likes watching the real world in their endless free time. Quite a few of them choose to watch new immortals struggle in their daily life. Twilight Sparkle, too, has a fan club. Even now, your fan club members and hers are discussing what they think you two are going to do next, covering every single possibility with great excitement. You're quite the sensation here.
Winter struggled to speak. There were so many ponies who wanted her to succeed! How could she not be inspired by the sheer amount of her fans?
Now, Sombra is going to bring you back early. Before you go, I must give you this.
A strange sensation passed through Winter's body as she realized that she knew how to view the normal world from the Astral Plane.
You should be able to watch the mortal realm now. However, you have a difficult choice to make: You will come back five times faster if you choose to leave when only your skeletal system has repaired itself. Do you want to wait until your entire body has repaired itself, or leave now?
I want to go back as soon as possible! Winter replied mentally.
Then so be it. When you return, tell Twilight I'm very proud of what she has accomplished with my spell.
Winter's eyes closed as she blacked out once more.
Winter awoke to the strange sensation of being unable to breath. She panicked for a moment, then a moment longer as she realized she couldn't breathe deeply to calm herself, before finally managing to think. After attempting to blink, Winter found even that simple action was no longer possible. She waved a hoof in front of her face, just to prove to herself that she still had some control over her body, before getting up and looking around.
"Sombra?" Winter spoke, her voice different than she remembered it. "I feel weird."
"That's because you chose to come back before we repaired your organs, muscles, and skin. As a result, your voice is magically synthesized, you can't breathe, and, well... Just look at yourself."
Winter gazed into the mirror Sombra held, before trying to gasp in shock, which promptly failed due to her lack of lungs. Her body was just bones, held together by arcane lightning, and she shivered as she stared at her own skull. Her body seemed emotionless and grim, with only hollow sockets where her eyes should have been.
"I'm never coming back as a skeleton again," Winter muttered.
"You may change that decision later," Sombra spoke again. "It has its advantages. However, we aren't currently in the middle of a crisis, so it is true that a skeletal body is unnecessary at the moment."
"This is certainly an interesting way to observe how bones are meant to move in a pony. Would you mind coming in for a demonstration in my Pony Anatomy 101 class, and maybe an advanced Pegasus Anatomy class?"
"Uh, sure, I guess? Who are you?" Winter asked, noticing the new unicorn nearby.
"Oh, I'm one of Sombra's friends. I'm Doctor Doktor Doctor," the unicorn smiled, extending a hoof. "I came here because I was illegally dissecting and experimenting with dead bodies. Nopony understands that there's no better way to learn than hooves-on experience."
"Remember, Doktor, no testing on Winter without her permission," Sombra reminded him. "Clear permission, too, this time. We don't want a repeat of the Reaper Incident..."
"Of course, of course! You know, that never would have happened if he hadn't resisted the anesthetics," Doktor muttered.
Sombra raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"
"Nothing," Doktor replied hurriedly. "It was completely my fault, as you say."
"You know," Twilight put in from Winter's side, "Starswirl the Bearded used to dissect corpses illegally. It's actually how ponykind gained most of the medical knowledge we possess today."
"I met Starswirl," Winter spoke again, causing a gasp from Twilight.
"The Starswirl the Bearded? But how? He's been dead for thousands of years!"
"He was a Lich. He's still watching us from the Astral Plane."
Twilight's eyes widened further. "He's in the Astral Plane? I was there when I became an Alicorn!"
"I went there when I died. He told me to tell you that he's very proud of what you accomplished with his spell."
Twilight blushed. "Thank you, Starswirl! If you're watching, that is."
"Oh, I also met my immortal fan club. Apparently you have one, too."
Twilight's blush deepened. "I have an immortal fan club?"
"Twilight, we have a response!" Rainbow spoke from behind Twilight, saving her. "Come see- Woah, is that Winter? Cool!"
Winter tried to frown, but her bone jaw didn't change shape. She didn't think her new body was nearly as cool as Rainbow said.
"A response? To what?" Winter asked.
"Twilight send a letter to Princess Celestia using an emergency spell, because she left Spike at the Crystal Empire when she left, so she couldn't use Spike's fire."
"Who's Spike?" Winter's confusion was evident.
"Oh, I guess we never told you. Twilight had a baby Dragon named Spike for an assistant. He has magical fire breath he can use to send objects to select important ponies, including the Princesses."
Winter's eyes widened. Or, rather, they didn't, because she didn't have eyes. Winter shuddered once more at the unfamiliarity of her body. "She sent a letter? What did she say?"
"Well, she basically explained to her about your situation, what happened to Sombra, and the whole thing with Calypsion. In Princess Celestia's reply, she said that she would come for a peaceful visit to discuss matters with the leaders of Calypsion! This could solve the entire problem with the Crystal Empire!" Rainbow said excitedly.
"She's coming?" Twilight's eyes were wide. "when?"
"She'll be here tomorrow."
Winter tried to gulp in fear. Judgement from Princess Celestia, Embodiment of the Sun, would be coming tomorrow. If anypony had the power to destroy her and all she held dear, it would be Princess Celestia.
Winter fidgeted nervously. She wasn't disguised, because she found that when she applied it she still wasn't able to move the body parts she no longer had, forcing her body to appear to be constantly staring off into the distance, with ears that stood straight up all the time and a mouth that showed no emotion. Winter decided that she'd rather be a skeleton than... that. Sombra laid a comforting hoof on her shoulder from behind, causing Winter to shiver at the feeling. The hoof on her raw bone didn't hurt, but it was a strange feeling to feel touch on a body part that should not be exposed.
"You'll do fine," he said. "Princess Celestia understands the circumstances. I'm sure after talking to her, you'll feel much more comfortable."
Twilight smiled. "Don't worry, the Princess trusts me completely, and I told her that you're a good pony. I'm certain she'll help Calypsion as best she can. All I'm worried about is talking to Shiny later!" Twilight's smile faded. "Shiny can be dense, at times. I just hope I can get through to him."
A large, golden chariot arrived, and the guards who pulled it snorted as they landed, shivering slightly at the frigid temperatures. Princess Celestia took a step outside of the chariot, smiling warmly at the welcoming committee. She walked swiftly toward Twilight, who practically jumped into her hooves as they hugged. It was a heartwarming sight for Winter, and she smiled, before her good mood dropped when she remembered that her body could no longer express her happiness. Princess Celestia stood up, and moved over to Sombra and Winter.
"Welcome, Princess Celestia," Sombra dropped into a bow, and Winter jerked for a moment, remembering just in time that she was supposed to bow as well.
"You don't have to bow to me," Celestia's voice was filled with amusement, but tinged with another emotion Winter couldn't identify.
"It is only courteous," Sombra replied with a smile as he rose. Winter quickly rose as well. "What can I do to prove that I'm reformed?"
"I can already tell that you've been purified of the corruption, Sombra. No need to convince me."
"Thank you, Princess," Sombra smiled. "In that case, I would like to introduce Winter Aurora to you."
Princess Celestia turned towards Winter, smiling gently. "Hello, Winter. I've been looking forward to meeting you."
"Y-you have?" Winter asked hesitantly. She felt a little bit of tension ease out of her bones, and then a little more when she realized that Princess Celestia hadn't even reacted to her skeletal body.
"Indeed. I have known several Liches in the distant past, and I always look forward to making new friends."
"F-friends?" Winter felt her heart stop beating- Then she remembered that she didn't have one anymore. "Was Starswirl one of your friends?"
"He was. We were friends for several thousand years, before his Phylactery was destroyed by a group of rebels soon after Nightmare Moon was defeated. I would like you to be my friend, as well."
"B-but, how do you know I'm not evil?" Winter stammered.
Celestia smiled gently. "It only took one look to determine who you are on the inside, Winter. No pun intended."
Winter giggled a bit. "I'd love to be your friend!"
Celestia smiled back. "We have a lot to talk about, but first I think I need to meet the rulers of Calypsion."
Twilight stepped in. "Pinkie Pie's been putting together a party, everypo-everybody, sorry, in all of Calypsion is invited. I believe this time it's a, 'Happy-Lich-Rebirth-and-Princess-Visit' party."
"I would be happy to attend. Lead on, my faithful student."
"-and I was like, 'Oatmeal, are you'- oh, hi, Twilight, hi Princess Celestia!" Pinkie smiled and waved as Celestia entered the party. "Over here! Grandbuggy, Winter, and Birch are all over here!"
"I would assume that you three are the leaders of Calypsion?" Celestia smiled as she trotted over. "It really is a beautiful town, and I haven't even seen all of it yet. You've done a great job with it."
"Thanks, Celly!" Grandbuggy grinned. Silence followed, as every being in the room turned to stare at Grandbuggy, accompanied by several dropped jaws and a gasp or two. Rarity, meanwhile, had fainted.
Celestia chuckled. "Nice to meet you. You are...?"
"Oh, I almost forgot my manners. I'm Grandbuggy!" he stuck spat on his hoof and stuck it out, grinning all the while. Twilight fainted as Celestia spat on her own hoof, and shook.
"I'm looking forward to maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with Calypsion."
"I'm looking forward to maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with your sister! Oh, and Equestria as well," Grandbuggy replied.
"Ohmy," Fluttershy gasped before fainting.
Celestia giggled. "It's been a long time since she's had a date. Good luck on that! I'll put in a good word for you."
By this point, Rainbow and Pinkie were on the ground, holding their sides as they rolled around, heaving for air.
"I think I like you," Big Winter spoke with a smile. "My name is Winter, and I'm a Windigo."
"Nice to meet you, Winter. I can see that you're much more polite than your ancestors."
"Yes. Like the Changelings, we have undergone a cultural revolution. Unfortunately, groups of primal Windigos still exist, much like groups of violent Changelings exist as well. Poor, misguided Chrysalis..." Winter sighed.
"I feel like I should introduce myself as well," Birch said. "My name is Birch, and I am a Timberwolf."
"Nice to meet you too, Birch. I hope that Equestria and Calypsion can learn to live together in peace and harmony."
"As do we. However, first would it be possible to make peace with the Crystal Empire? Shining Armor has been gearing up for a full-scale war, I hear," Birch said.
Celestia's face turned serious. "Yes, of course. I would like to arrange a party to meet them. As you are needed to run the city, I ask that Winter and Sombra be allowed to join me, Twilight, and Winter's new friends from the Crystal Empire on a diplomatic mission to Calypsion."
"Granted, of course. Unless any of you have objections?" Birch asked, which was followed by Big Winter and Grandbuggy shaking their heads. "Then it's settled. You may leave when ready. What was your planned leaving date?"
"I plan to visit tomorrow."
"Big Winter?" Little Winter asked apprehensively.
"Yes, what is it?"
"My friends from earlier, the ones that I went to visit the Crystal Empire with, went missing due to a mistake in a teleportation spell. Could you tell the guards to keep on the lookout for them?"
"Of course, Little Winter," Big Winter said. "After all, they are the first normal ponies to visit Calypsion! I'll make sure they're treated very well. Their opinions could turn out to be very important for public relations."
Sombra let out a yawn. "It's getting late, I think it's time to rest for the night."
"Is it even possible for me to sleep?" Winter asked.
Sombra frowned. "Not when you're in skeletal form. I guess I'll leave some books on magical theory, you can read during the night."
Winter prepared herself for a very long, very boring night.
Winter, Sombra, Twilight, Celestia, Shining Sea and Bright Spark stood just outside the Crystal Empire. The trip was easier this time, as Princess Celestia knew of some more intricate spells designed to protect ponies from extreme cold, heat, allowed them to see without light, and even protected them from the solar radiation. When asked what the spells were originally designed for, Celestia merely sighed, and gazed up at the sky with longing in her eyes.
"Are you all ready to prevent a war?" Twilight asked.
"YES!" Everypony cheered. Together, they stepped towards the barrier, and simultaneously smashed their faces against the surprisingly solid shield.
"Ow..." Twilight muttered. The barrier lit up bright pink, before it turned transparent again. Shining Armor stood on the other side.
"Shining, what happened? Why did you make the barrier solid?" Twilight asked. The border of the Crystal Empire had always been left open for anypony who might need it.
"It's not good, Twilight. They took Cadence. I need the barrier to protect the rest of us," Shining Armor spoke, an eye twitching.
"What?" Twilight asked, confused and a little bit worried for her brother.
"The evil scum of Calypsion kidnapped my beloved Cadence!" Shining Armor snarled. Then he caught sight of Winter and Sombra. "You! What are you doing here? Twilight, run!" Shining Armor lit his horn, intent on destroying them.
"Stand down, Shining Armor," Celestia stated calmly. "There is more going on here than you know."
"You've all been brainwashed by those horrible users of Dark Magic!" Shining Armor's voice rose hysterically.
"What's up with ponies thinking that I can brainwash others?" Winter muttered.
"Shining Armor, stand down!" Celestia said sharply. "You are not thinking straight. Calm down, breathe, and relax. We can sit down and talk about this. There is a lot to be explained, but I cannot begin until you are willing to listen."
"Shiny, please! Listen to me, BBBFF," Twilight pleaded, eyes wide. "We just want to help!"
Shining Armor grew even more erratic. "I'm not going to stand down! You just want me to be brainwashed, too! I can't let the Crystal Empire fall under the power of your Dark Magic! If you've been brainwashed, Princess Celestia, then I'll just have to keep the Crystal Empire for you as the last bastion of uncorrupted ponykind. When we are ready, we will strike to free all of you!"
With that, the barrier turned opaque once more, then grew slightly as Shining Armor added even more magic to his shield.
"Well, that didn't go as planned," Winter said.
Twilight groaned in frustration. "This is very, very bad! Somepony has kidnapped Cadence, Shining Armor thinks we're corrupted, and to top it all off, a war is about to start!"
Celestia's face looked very tired. "Twilight... I'm afraid there isn't much I can do about this. If Shining Armor refuses to listen to our explanations, then we have no chance of reasoning with him. The only pony he would listen to is Cadence, and even then, she would have to prove to him that she's not under mind control somehow..."
Twilight brightened up at that. "Oh, how could I forget? Cadence has a code word with Shining Armor that only they know, with an enchantment designed to delete it and all knowledge of such a system from memory the instant it detects mental tampering!"
"In that case, we must find Cadence immediately," Sombra put in. "However, I am unsure if this is the right set of ponies to bring. After all," Sombra nodded at Shining Sea and Bright Spark, "we do have civilians here."
"Why don't we send a group back to Calypsion?" Winter spoke up.
Celestia nodded. "That does seem like the best idea. I will personally escort both Shining Sea and Bright Spark back to Calypsion. I suppose I shall wait there for your return."
"Wait- put a tracking spell on all of us," Twilight said. "That way, you can always know where we are. Also, we should probably have some sort of enchanted object we can use to tell you if we're in danger."
Celestia chuckled. "Twilight, I set wards up this morning to tell me if any of you needed my assistance, and I put a tracking spell on all of you the moment I met you."
Sombra gave her a disgruntled look. "I didn't even detect that."
"It's a combination of Harmony Magic, Dark Magic, Chaos Magic, and Ordinary Magic. Only a master of those four of the five fields of magic can detect it. I'd be more surprised if you had detected it."
"In that case, I still have a lot to learn," Sombra replied.
"Me, too," Twilight added.
"So, are we agreed?" Celestia asked the group.
"Yes," Shining Sea answered. "Bright Spark and I will be perfectly fine with returning to Calypsion for the time being. Take care, Winter!"
"Don't get hurt, Winter! Come back safwy!" Bright Spark added, with a smile and a wave.
"Then get on my back," Celestia smiled, spreading her wings. "The fastest way back is to fly!"
Bright Spark's eyes lit up. "I get to wide on the back of Pwincess Cewestia!"
Shining Sea just smiled at Celestia as she helped Bright Spark on to her back, before climbing up herself. Celestia created magical seatbelts to keep them from falling off, before she took off.
"It's up to us now," Twilight said determinedly. "We have to find Cadance!"
Twilight flopped to the ground, exhausted. "Argh! It's been hours! I'm starting to feel like we'll never find a trace of her magic!"
"Then let's take a break and try to think of other ways to find her," Sombra replied logically.
The three sat in silence for a few minutes, before Winter raised a hoof.
"Yes, Winter?" Sombra smiled.
"I was thinking, maybe if whoever kidnapped Cadence hid her magic, what if they forgot to hide their own? It's just a thought..." Winter meekly added as the two stared at her.
"Winter, you're a genius!" Twilight cried, lighting her horn back up. "Let's see... Nothing on Dark, nothing on Chaos, nothing on Ordinary, we already tried Harmony..."
Twilight put out her horn and stared at the ground. "There's nothing. Nothing at all."
"What about Changelings?" Sombra asked. "Maybe Chrysalis decided to come back for a round two?"
Twilight sighed. "Changelings use a mixture of Dark and Ordinary magic, though, so my scan should have caught them."
"Unless they disguised as something that uses no detectable magic, or detectable magic of another kind?"
"But there are only five fields of magic!" Twilight said, frustrated at her inability to find a solution. "And even if they are disguised as creatures that don't use magic, we're no closer to finding them!"
"What if we don't find them," Winter spoke. "What if we find their home base? If they wanted to stay around here for any amount of time, they're sure to have a base of operations set up somewhere within the vicinity."
"That sounds like a good idea... For tomorrow," Sombra replied, pointing at the sun as it began to set over the horizon.
"No!" Twilight shouted. "We have to find her immediately!" She couldn't stand to think about what would happen if they couldn't find Cadence because they'd opted to take a rest instead of pressing on.
Sombra looked at her softly. "Twilight, don't worry. We'll find her, and she'll be just fine. But, even if we found her during the night, you'd be exhausted and unable to make a good plan to free her. Would you rather find her today, and lose her just as fast, or wait until tomorrow and rescue her safely?"
Twilight sighed at Sombra's logic. "I guess you're right. Anyway, how will we make sure whoever kidnapped Cadence don't creep up on us during the night?"
"I'll take watch," Winter said immediately. "I can't sleep as a skeleton, anyway."
"I'll take second watch," Sombra insisted after hearing Winter. "You may not be able to sleep, but nopony can concentrate through the entire night. You'd end up bored, and something would go wrong, I just know it. Wake me up when it's time for my watch."
With that, everypony prepared for the night, Winter keeping watch as Twilight set up enchantments to keep those who could still feel comfortable despite the cold wind and snow. Winter shivered as a gust of wind blew snowflakes between her bones, the uncomfortable sensation was still new to her. It was going to be a long night.
Winter shifted restlessly. It was past midnight, and technically time for Sombra's watch, but he just looked so peaceful that she didn't want to wake him. As time ticked on, ever slowly, she found her vision moving more and more often. Sombra was right: It was hard to keep her concentration after long hours of boredom. In order to remain focused, Winter decided to trot around the perimeter of camp a few times. As she trotted, she thought she saw a flicker of darkness, and rushed towards it, staff lit with energy as she prepared to destroy whatever was disturbing the night! To her surprise, however, when she reached the flicker, there was nothing but empty air.
"My mind must be playing tricks on me," she muttered.
"Oh, how right you're about to be," an arrogant, echoing voice spoke from behind her, and Winter felt something poking about in her mind. It was an eerie sensation, almost like deja vu, but it felt horrible and unnatural. She could almost feel thoughts, not her own, in the back of her mind.
"Cut it out!" Winter snarled, whirling around to fight the creature. It appeared to be a Changeling, but larger and with a strange mane. Winter winced as she felt something in her mind shift, and she felt her rage vanish as the emotion-changing spell take hold. She tried channelling a blast of magic through her staff, but it dissipated with another shift. Her magic was unusable. Winter put the staff back into its pocket dimension, not wanting it to fall into the Changeling's hooves.
"Uh-uh-uh," the Changeling laughed. "You're not going to get away from me! I'm sure Mother will be very proud of me for capturing both Princess Cadence, and a Lich! Then, she'll reinstate me as the Heir Princess of the Changelings, and then I can kill her and take the throne I deserve!" the Changeling finished with a hiss.
Winter felt one, final, shift, and her body collapsed into a pile of bones as her phylactery destroyed the connection between her body and her soul in order to revert her mind to as close to her original state as it could manage, and prevent further warping. The Changeling Princess frowned as she stared at the ground where Winter used to be, before she bared her fangs in a grin as she picked up the Phoenix pendant with her magic.
"Even if I don't get to keep a Lich as my pet, this will do for a fine souvenir."
Winter opened her eyes to find herself back in the Astral Plane, confusion filling her mind for a few moments as it repaired itself. Princess Celestia flashed into view in front of her, a distraught look on her face.
"Winter? What has happened?"
A look of fear drifted across Winter's face, and for a brief moment she was happy that she could use her entire body to express herself once more. Then, she remembered why she was afraid.
"I accidentally got caught by a Changeling Princess, and she tried to mess with my mind. I'm not quite sure what happened after that."
Her body self-destructed to prevent permanent damage. It's a pity, but hopefully her phylactery will recover the majority of the organic material lost in the process, and she should be up and running again by tomorrow. However, the Changeling Princes has taken it with her. We can only hope that she doesn't know how to contain or destroy it properly.
"Hello, Starswirl," Celestia spoke. "It's been a long time."
And whose fault is that, Celestia? You never come to visit. I don't really mind all that much, but I do appreciate it when you come calling.
"Wait- I was supposed to be keeping guard over Sombra and Twilight. Does that mean they're in danger?" Winter panicked.
"My wards have not triggered for them, they are in no danger," Celestia replied.
Indeed, the Changeling Princess decided to return directly home. My multiplaner tracking spell just lost her, I believe they have set up a powerful anti-magic field near their base to remain hidden. However, despite their safety, I imagine Sombra will be rather cross with you upon your return.
"Oh, I just hope they're alright," Winter muttered. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to them!"
We can't do anything about it now, so in the mean time I'd like to teach you some spells that could be useful tomorrow. Who knows, they may even be the difference between your friends' lives and deaths.
"Of course!" Winter was determined. She wouldn't let her friends down again! Not after she'd already failed them so badly already...
Sombra awoke with a snort. Moments later, his eyes were wide and his head shot up. His gazed traveled sharply across the clearing a few times, looking for Winter. The post where she was supposed to be standing guard was empty. "Twilight!" he barked.
"I'm pancake!" Twilight shouted, her own eyes wide as she sat up, before blinking. "I mean, I'm awake," she muttered sheepishly. "Why do I keep doing that..."
"Twilight, Winter never woke me for my watch, and she's missing now!"
"What?!" Twilight cried in shock. "Do you think anything's happened to her?"
"I think she's been kidnapped by whoever is responsible for kidnapping Cadence! Can you do a scan for her magic? If they've been foalish enough to take either her, or her phylactery with them..."
Twilight lit her horn. "I have a trail! Follow me!"
Sombra and Twilight quickly moved along the trail, but after a few minutes Twilight stopped in confusion. "The trail disappears right over there," she pointed.
"I'm guessing it's an illusion, just inside an anti-tracking array," Sombra put in.
"I think you're right, I'm testing for distortions now..." Twilight lit her horn up for a few moments. "Judging on the reaction of the field to my magical pinging, it's designed to be nearly invisible, and appears to have about the radius of a hoofball field."
"I assume you checked for wards?" Sombra asked.
"Of course, that's standard procedure. There were a few, but they were easily bypassed via a traditional thaumic conversion sequence. The inner layer of wards appears to trigger when anypony enters, and I've already got a temporary bypass set up to ignore our magical signatures."
Sombra nodded, a smile on his face. "Just what I would have done. Are you ready for a rescue mission?"
Twilight smiled back. "Yes. Now, let's do this! For Winter and Cadence!"
Twilight and Sombra entered the bubble with no difficulty, only for both to stiffen in surprise as they felt something heavy impact their skulls, and their vision faded to black. The changelings standing just to the side chuckled as they took Twilight and Sombra away.
"It's almost like they weren't expecting any guards," one laughed.
Winter felt her body reawaken as a skeleton once more. She had, of course, opted once again to remain a skeleton, as it would take much too long to regenerate her body completely and by that time, she would have no chance at redeeming herself in Sombra and Twilights' eyes by helping to free Cadence. Winter stood up, only to hiss as her skull bounced off hard glass. She looked around, realizing that she was stuffed into a glass case only large enough for her to crouch in. With mild annoyance, she teleported out of the box, and gazed around the room she now found herself in. It was a room full of what appeared to be strange objects, each with a plaque describing what each was, as well as how and when they had been acquired. They were all written from the perspective of the arrogant Changeling Princess, some going so far as to describe just how easy the conquests were, and the length of time they could withstand various torture methods for. After glancing at a few of the more interesting plaques, including some describing magical artifacts that Winter was sure would make Twilight squee in delight upon seeing, she left the room. The next room full of skeletons. Big and small, strange creatures and familiar, all eerily still. She shivered as she stared at them, feeling just a bit of fear creep through her as she realized that they were all real. A door opened with a clang, and Winter stiffened as a Changeling walked through the room.
Oh no, I'm going to be caught!
To Winter's surprise, the Changeling walked right past her, whistling as it swept the floor. It was then that Winter remembered that her own skeletal form was the perfect disguise in this room. She gently tiptoed across the room, flinching as she bumped another skeleton, and it clattered to the ground. The Changeling janitor came rushing back, coming to a stop immediately in front of her.
"I could have sworn you were over there last time I saw you, and I don't remember seeing any arcane lightning in a skeleton last time..." the janitor muttered, looking closely before shrugging and picking up the fallen skeleton, then leaving. "Must be my mind playing tricks on me. That or a prank. I'm sure you haven't moved on your own. Nothing ever moves on its own in this place."
Winter relaxed when he was out of sight. That was close. She continued out of the room, blinking as she found herself in the middle of what appeared to be a bustling Changeling camp. With a quick spell, she disguised herself and hid her phylactery. Her disguise wouldn't stand up to scrutiny, as it wouldn't mimic body functions she didn't have, but it looked real enough for a glance. She began wandering around, trying to find where Cadence would be kept, when she overheard some Changelings talking.
"I heard the guards caught two ponies trying to free our prisoner!"
"Really?" one responded. "I would have thought they would send a larger search party to find such an important pony. Anyway, it's a good thing Princess Schadenfreude took her to negotiate with Queen Chrysalis."
"Hey! You know she doesn't like the name she was given, we're supposed to call her Best Princess."
The Changeling looked like it was trying to roll its eyes, only to remember that it had no pupils. "Okay, fine, Best Princess took her to negotiate with Queen Chrysalis. It's beyond me why she was given her original name in the first place."
"The Queen was in a bad mood that day. I believe it was the day after the... 'Incident'."
"You mean, the incident where we absolutely failed to conquer Princess Cadence's wedding and got subsequently thrown out of Canterlot?" one not particularly bright Changeling asked, causing all Changelings within earshot to look away in shame.
"Latrine duty for the next three weeks," the original Changeling said stiffly. "You know the punishment."
"Awww..." the Changeling muttered. "It's not my fault I have trouble remembering which Incident is which. There have just been so many!"
Winter was unable to stifle a giggle, and quickly passed on as the Changelings' ears perked up. Now she just needed to find where Twilight and Sombra were being kept prisoner, so she could rescue them. Suddenly, she felt a shadow looming over her, and stared upward in fear that didn't show in her disguise.
"Drone! State your designation and business."
"Uh..." Winter stammered.
"Don't sass me! There is no designation 'Uh', nor any business 'Uh'! Do I have to send you to the Medical Personel? Tell me your designation!"
"Medical Personel 314-159," Winter stated. "Injured in the line of duty."
"How were you injured?"
Winter had no time to think, spitting out the first thing that came to mind. "A rock fell out of the sky."
"And how did that rock get into the sky?"
"I put it there."
The Changeling stared at her suspiciously for a few more seconds, before pressing a hoof against her chest. Winter shivered as she felt the hoof enter her chest cavity, passing through the illusion, before she turned around and ran, his hoof smashing against a rib as she turned, causing her to wince.
"INTRUDER!" the Changeling shouted. "INTRUDER HAS BEEN CAUGHT POSING AS MEDICAL PERSONEL 314-159! REVERT TO STANDARD DISGUISES AND CATCH HER!"
"Who, Medical Personal 314-159 or the intruder?" the not particularly bright Changeling asked.
"THE INTRUDER, OF COURSE! THAT'S ANOTHER WEEK OF LATRINE DUTY!"
"Well, that's 279 weeks of latrine duty and counting..." the unlucky Changeling sighed. "CURSE YOU LADY LUCK!"
In Calypsion, Bugze sneezed, and blinked. "Somebuggy just stole my catchphrase."
Winter hurried through the camp, quickly abandoning her disguise as she watched all the Changelings around her flash with green fire and disguise themselves as ponies that seemed random to Winter, but were familiar to the Changelings. If she tried to disguise herself, she would quickly be picked out as an outsider. She noticed one building in particular that seemed to be heavily guarded, so she teleported just inside the ring of guards and cast one of the new spells Starswirl had taught her to incinerate the wooden door. Stepping through, she noticed Sombra and Twilight chained to a wall, both knocked out. Starswirl had prepared her for this scenario, and she used a quick spell to destroy the hoof cuffs and magic inhibitors, and used a second spell to wake them both up. They snapped awake, and she quickly explained the scenario to them while Sombra kept a shield to protect them from invading Changelings.
Sombra dropped his shield, but before the Changelings could enter Twilight began projecting negative thoughts directly into every Changeling through the hive mind, before putting up a temporary mental barrier to disable the Changelings' communication. Winter teleported the magical cherry-bombs she had made into key locations she had noticed while searching for the prison, destroying several shoddily-constructed towers and causing chaos throughout the Changeling base. The three of them walked out, glancing around at the chaos they had caused while heading for the nearest exist. Already, however, the Changelings were recovering, and a stray Changeling flung itself at Twilight. She flinched back, only for the Changeling to fly away, stunned by a blast of arcane lightning from Sombra's horn.
Twilight glowered at him. "I was about to hit it, I swear!"
Sombra just chuckled and shook his head. "Should have been faster, then."
Twilight fired a bolt of energy, knocking away a Changeling that was sneaking up on Sombra from behind, causing Sombra to leap back in surprise. A cheeky grin swept over her features. "I guess you should have been faster."
Winter cast a glare at both of them, and they turned to her sheepishly. "Do I have to keep you two in line now? I'm supposed to be the filly here!"
Twilight and Sombra exchanged grins, and followed Winter to the exit. Meanwhile, Winter cast another spell she had learned from Sombra, disguising their presences to nearby Changelings. Unfortunately, due to her inexperience, in addition to the Changelings' means of detecting them other than sight, the spell's effects were greatly lessened, but it helped stop Twilight and Sombra from being overrun by the Changelings, more of which were recovering every minute. The three friends soon left the area, leaving disgruntled and injured Changelings behind. However, soon after leaving, Twilight's good mood plummeted as she realized their mistake.
"What do we do now?" Twilight asked, frustrated with the rescue's failure. "We're no closer to finding Cadence, the Changelings will undoubtably move their base's location, and Chrysalis may even be involved!"
"I left a tracking beacon on a few of the Changelings, so with luck we can find their next base," Sombra replied. "It's probably best if we return to Calypsion to report. As for you, Winter... Tonight, we need to talk," Sombra's voice was stern. "You didn't listen to me, and in the process put our entire mission in jeopardy. You were captured, and died a second time."
"Wouldn't that be my third time?" Winter muttered.
Sombra's voice softened. "Winter, you only die when your entire body is destroyed. The first time, as you call it, when you were hit by the carriage... You didn't truly die, at least not by a Lich's standards. Every time you visit the Astral Plane in order to reform your body is a death."
Twilight cleared her throat nervously. "So, if I were to be vaporized, I would have to reform my body through the Astral Plane as well?"
Sombra nodded. "Very likely, you'd reform in the place you first died at, unless your soul was bonded to a separate location. My soul, for example, is currently bonded to a jar in the inside of my house at Calypsion. If I were to be vaporized now, that's where I would go."
"If I went to the Astral Plane when I ascended, does that count as a death?"
"Yes, Twilight, it does. So sorry for your loss," Sombra apologized jokingly.
Twilight hummed thoughtfully. "Surprisingly, I'm not actually that upset at my death."
"That's because it didn't feel like a death. It probably still doesn't, even knowing that it technically counted. Besides, any negative feelings you may have had about the experience were cancelled out by the joyous occasion of your coronation."
"True, I guess," Twilight replied. The three fell into a companionable silence as they continued their journey back to Calypsion. As they passed the Crystal Empire, Twilight gazed in sorrow once more at the large dome, wishing she had managed to convince her brother of Winter's innocence. Sombra, on the other hoof, was gazing in the opposite direction, a look of fear on his face.
"Twilight. Scan for Dark Magic in that direction," Sombra pointed.
Twilight scanned the area, eyes widening as she realized what she had forgotten a few days ago. "I remember now! When we were looking for you, I sensed Dark Magic from you, Winter, Calypsion, and a third source along the train tracks leading to the Crystal Empire! There must be a group of Dark Magic users making a camp next to the rails. I wonder what they're doing here?"
"I fear I might, Twilight. You know how Calypsion was created as a collective of individuals outcast due to fear over their powers?"
"Yes," Twilight replied, confused.
"Well, there's a matching group located in Equestria- except that the fear of them is justified."
A look of horror stretched across Twilight's face. "They're that evil?"
"I wouldn't say evil necessarily, most of them are merely misguided. However, I would definitely classify them as 'hostile' to the Crystal Empire, and maybe even Calypsion. I don't know why they're here, but it's certainly not good. We definitely need to hurry back."
The group of friends galloped back to Calypsion as fast as they could, arriving at the gates just as the sun was setting.
"HALT! WHO GOES THERE?" a guard demanded.
"SOMBRA, TWILIGHT, AND WINTER!" Sombra replied.
The suspicious Changeling guard lit up his horn to get a good look at the three of them, before opening the doors. "Welcome back, sir. There is much you need to be informed of that has occurred in your absence."
"Hello, Mother," the Changeling Princess's voice sounded like a snake.
"Well, if it isn't Princess Schadenfreude," Queen Chrysalis said with a smirk, evoking a snarl from the Princess. "Or, what do you make your drones call you these days? 'Best Princess', or something silly like that? What do you want, anyway?"
"I'm here to give you this," Princess Schadenfreude (Best Princess) snarled, pitching a presumably paralyzed pretty pink pony princess pretentiously to the ground. Chrysalis's eyes opened wide in surprise.
"You captured her?"
"Right out from under her foolish husband's nose!"
"Do you have the Heart?"
"I didn't think it was important. It's just a chunk of crystal infused with love."
"Foal! The Crystal Heart is the single most important relic to all of Changelingkind! The sheer amount of love it contains..."
"I can take all the love I want from ponies," the Princess spoke arrogantly. "What I value... is revenge..."
"I see that you are just as foalish as you were all those years ago. No, I will not allow you to have your revenge on your brother for this meager offering."
"WHY NOT!" she snarled. "REVENGE FOR REVENGE! THIS IS A FAIR TRADE."
Chrysalis shook her head sadly. "Revenge will be the death of you. Now go, before I must capture you for crimes against all Hives. Cadence has bought you your life today, but come back with the Crystal Heart, and then we'll talk."
"Don't worry, mother. I will have my revenge on you, too, for refusing me today," Schadenfreude's voice was cold as she stormed out of the building, back to her base. She knew she would have to take the Crystal Empire and the Crystal Heart, and then, just to spite Chrysalis, destroy the priceless relic in front of her very eyes. Pleasure filled her mind, just imagining the scene before her, an emotionally broken Chrysalis at her mercy, forced to watch as she tortured her oldest enemy: Her brother. Thinking about her enemies in pain just made her feel so good...
Sombra and Twilight sat at a table, Celestia and Calypsion's rulers already seated across from them.
"Welcome back, Sombra, Twilight. I see you had no success with retrieving Princess Cadence?" Celestia asked.
"We have reason to believe that she is currently being held by either the Changeling Princess Schadenfreude, or by Queen Chrysalis at this moment," Twilight noted. "We have a lead, but no idea where Queen Chrysalis's base would be, and staying at the base of Princess Schadenfreude was not a viable option either. Sombra did, however, leave tracers on several of the Changelings we held off as we were escaping from her base."
Big Winter spoke this time. "We have much to inform you of. First of all, Little Winter should be happy that her friends, Snowflake and Ice Storm, have returned safely, or at least safely enough..."
Ice Storm slowly plodded through the snow. The ponies who had carried all of her household items had abandoned her at the last town they passed though; refusing to go near Calypsion. Ice Storm had to carry it all herself. Calypsion was slowly approaching, now only about a hundred yards away. The great gates opened, and a group beings moved quickly towards Ice Storm, who collapsed in relief. She almost thought she would't make it. She could feel the frostbite setting in.
"Bring her to the medics," one Changeling spoke. "Kratargon, it's best you do it. Being lifted by a Windigo wouldn't help her right now."
"I've got her, don't worry," Kratargon spoke with a grin. "She'll be fine."
Ice Storm's last sight before she blacked out was a Changeling lifting the still-asleep Snowflake from her position in the warm clothes, with a group of Windigos gently lifting her cartload of goods. She smiled, knowing that everything was going to be fine.
"... She's nearly fully recovered by now, and Snowflake is fine, but this raises concerns about future immigrants. We think it might be best if we have creatures from Calypsion provide free transport for those who wish to travel here, or something along those lines. It might also be a good idea, if we're looking at a potential increase of herbivores, to have a larger greenhouse. Do you think it would be possible to copy some form of the enchantment on the Crystal Heart that creates a livable environment within a certain radius?"
Sombra and Twilight exchanged a nod. "If anypony could figure it out, it would be us."
"Next, we have received news from the Dark Alliance of Equestria," Birch spoke. "They moved in nearby, and at first they wanted to help us fight against the Crystal Empire, but..."
Triple Threat and Life Seeker sprinted through the snow. It had been Triple Threat's command for the two of them to be the envoys to Calypsion, and Life Seeker was looking forward to perhaps meeting the new, young Lich, in hopes of getting more insight into immortality. Before the two of them even reached the entrance, the guards were already opening the doors for them. A guard spoke with them at the gate.
"Greetings, Triple Threat. I take it you would like to speak with our leaders?"
Triple Threat smirked. "Ah, yes. I see, you've heard of us. I wish to speak with my old friends regarding the Crystal Empire and its recent threats. I believe we can help."
The guard nodded, and led them to the three rulers of Calypsion.
"Triple Threat," Birch said cautiously. "What do you want?"
Triple Threat chuckled. "What do I want? I want to make up for the past. I want to help you fight against the Crystal Empire."
"Our envoys are already on the way to talk peace with them. We would appreciate it if you were actually coming to make amends, and if you had we would freely offer our forgiveness, but we can all tell that you have no regret for your past actions."
Triple Threat scoffed. "I stand by my actions, in the past as well as now. What do you think you're doing? They'll never accept us, past, present or future. Nothing has changed since we were friends."
"But, on the contrary, much has," Big Winter spoke. "We have founded our own colony, and are on the verge of being accepted as a legitimate country."
"You say at the dawn of war! We must take our freedom by force, they have already refused to give it to us peacefully," Triple Threat growled. Life Seeker, on the other hoof, shifted nervously. He agreed more with Calypsion's way of life, but he couldn't leave. If he did, he would have no chance at winning the Crystal Empire, and he couldn't give up on immortality.
"Triple Threat, we do not appreciate your presence. You could antagonize the ponies and ruin any tentative peace we may be able to form," Grandbuggy spoke. "As one adventurer to another, I can appreciate the violent way of doing things. I remember the past, the good and the bad. Ah, flooding Manehattan with sewage... Good times... What was I saying?" Grandbuggy gave a questioning look at Winter and Birch, who rolled their eyes. "It probably wasn't too important."
"The point is, Triple Threat," Birch picked up where Grandbuggy left off. "We don't need you here, or even want you here, unless you're willing to at least attempt a peaceful negotiation."
Triple Threat gazed around the city. "This is such a beautiful place... It's such a pity you can't understand the world like I do," he sighed. "What a pity I'm going to have to take it all from you. If you can't use this place as it deserves to be used, I'll have to make sure it's used to its full potential. Calypsion will fall and R'lyeh will rise. With or without you."
With that final ominous warning, Triple Threat stalked out of the gates of Calypsion, Life Seeker looking backwards once as they left. Triple Threat didn't look at all.
"... And finally, congratulations, Sombra! You've been promoted to the Ambassador to Equestria!"
Sombra did a double take. "Wait, what? You can't do that!"
"We can, and we just did," Birch spoke ominously. "There's no escaping it."
Twilight looked confused. "What's so bad about being Ambassador?"
"I'm a nightmare of legend! I conquered the Crystal Empire! I'm the most evil pony to ever exist! There's no way Equestria's going to accept me!" Sombra spluttered.
"Unless I spoke to all of them at a press conference, and said you'd been reformed," Celestia spoke mischievously.
"You wouldn't!"
"Yes I would!"
"All the evils of the world, conspiring against me!" Sombra spoke, waving a hoof in mock anger. By this point, Twilight was completely lost. Celestia decided to fill her in.
"He doesn't like positions of power, not after going insane as the ruler of the Crystal Empire. He also doesn't like interacting with ponies. Neither does he like politics. Or even fame. Being Ambassador to Equestria is basically all of his greatest fears combined into one. But, if he does his job, it'll do wonder towards helping him fit into ordinary society again. Simultaneously, this works as a prank, and it's revenge from the distant past. I lost the last Prank War with him, see, and I need to show him how much I've improved in a thousand years."
Twilight looked at her mentor, aghast at her reasoning. "You're pranking him?!"
Celestia hummed. "I'm not sure if this counts, honestly, because it really is a promotion we're giving him. However, revenge works just fine, and it'll certainly prompt him to start another Prank War, so I guess it's also provoking."
Twilight spluttered at the swift introduction to this unknown side of her teacher, causing Celestia to chuckle in mirth. "How do you think I've entertained myself for the past centuries?"
The moment Winter entered the hospital room, Ice Storm flinched. "Are you Death?" she rasped.
"I'm Winter. I guess there would be nothing to recognize me by," Winter Aurora said sadly, head down.
"I'm sorry, I just feel like I'm on my last legs here. I wouldn't be so surprised to see Death bearing down on me," Ice Storm chuckled, then winced as pain racked her body.
"It's better than being undead," Winter replied somberly.
"What happened to you, anyway?"
"I died. Rather, I was struck by a bolt of magic that disintegrated me. I came back as a skeleton, because it would have taken longer to have an actual pony body. It wasn't one of my better choices. I did die again, due to an evil Changeling Princess."
"That's horrible," Ice Storm said, concerned. "How do you feel about it?"
Winter's head shot up in surprise. Nopony had even asked that yet. "I feel horrible! Dying, losing your body, I don't think it's going to get easier for me. Not the pain, so much as the feeling of hopelessness that comes from losing control over your body..." Winter shuddered. "I guess, that's what bothers me about it. Losing control isn't a good feeling."
Ice Storm nodded in sympathy. "I know it certainly doesn't feel good for me to be stuck here. It's nothing compared to how you must feel, but it's pretty awful."
"I wish you weren't stuck here, injured," Winter spoke resentfully. Her staff once again levitated itself into the air, and Winter flinched reflexively. "Not again! I can't control the stupid thing!"
In a flash of light, Ice Storm was healed. However, the staff had done it's job too well. Shards of ice lay embedded in her coat, fused with her body from the magical healing of the staff. Ice Storm coughed in surprise, and several shards of ice flew out of her mouth at rapid speeds, slamming into the ground with enough force for them to be completely embedded in the wooden floor.
"What just happened?" Ice Storm spoke, confused.
Winter groaned. "I said something stupid, and my dysfunctional magic staff healed you super fast and fused you with ice shards and I have no idea what went wrong!"
Ice Storm blinked, and chuckled. "Great. How ironic that I've been turned into a strange mutant with unique powers, considering what I've feared all my life. I'm sure this will hit my like a brick tomorrow, and I'll panic, but right now I feel strangely calm. Maybe it's because this feels surreal, almost like it's a dream I'm going to wake from. Maybe it is."
"I don't think so," Winter spoke nervously. "Sorry."
Ice Storm pinched herself delicately with one hoof, feeling the pain. "I guess you're right. I don't feel alright anymore... I think I'm going to..." Ice Storm's eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed, prompting Winter to screech out,
Sombra stared at Winter seriously. "Do you understand what you've done, even on accident?"
"Yes," Winter muttered sullenly.
"Do you really? I think the consequences are more wide-reaching than you would think."
"I accidentally turned one of my only friends into a freak like me!" Winter's voice rose. "Is that enough for you?"
"It's worse than just that. She was the first pony visitor to Calypsion, and now she's mutant. That will have a negative impact on anypony who would want to move here, as well as harming all of Equestria's opinion of us. Also, we're going to have to keep her away from everybody until she can control her new powers well enough to be around us without accidentally empaling us. That means visiting her is 'Immortals Only' for now, and Snowflake is no immortal."
"Oh," Winter's voice was quiet.
"We have no idea how long it'll take for her to be able to control it, but until then, she cannot be around Snowflake. This is neither good for her, Snowflake, or relations with Equestria. This is an ambassadorial nightmare!" Sombra shouted.
Winter tried to sob, tried to cry, but her broken body wouldn't let her. Instead she fled, running from the mistakes she'd made. In a flash, she teleported outside of Calypsion's walls, ignoring Sombra's shouts.
Sombra leaped out of his chair. Perhaps he'd been too harsh on her. It wasn't safe out there, he needed to find her before she hurt herself! He had meant to scare her into being more careful with what she said around the Staff, not to scare her away from Calypsion!
How could such a small mistake, cause so much heartbreak...
It was a clear day in the north, and Life Seeker appreciated the good weather while it lasted. After all, snow and wind wasn't good for his mechanical systems. They would degrade much faster in harsh conditions, and his back-up plan to the mechanical body was not yet completed. His optically integrated HUD was already equipped with a map of the surrounding area, but it was't as detailed as he would have liked, so he had decided to take a trip to the surrounding area to add to his archives. To his surprise, he saw what appeared to be the skeleton of a filly in the distance. Immediately, his Combat-Assistance systems came online, magnifying his reaction time in an attempt to determine what had killed and presumably eaten the filly's body without displacing the bones before it could do the same to him. Such an enemy would truly hold a terrifying battle with him. Survival was everything, and he could not afford to make a mistake. Slowly, he approached the body, noticing as he did that there appeared to be magic animating the corpse, but it didn't appear to be moving. A robotic hoof crunched loudly against the snow in a carefully calculated maneuver, causing the skeleton's head to whip upright. The pendant around her neck... It was the Lich! It had to be!
"Hello. My name is Life Seeker. I mean no you no harm. What is your name? What are you doing here?" Life Seeker asked, cursing mentally as his synthetic voice made him sound cold and uncaring. That was definitely an oversight he planned to fix as soon as possible.
"I-I'm Winter Aurora," the Lich said hesitantly. "I... Uh... I'm out here for... Lich stuff! Yes, Lich stuff!"
"What sort of Lich stuff? Perhaps I could be of assistance? I have been wondering about you, you know, I would like to know how you became a Lich, if you were willing to disclose such information."
Strangely, the Lich seemed to shake a bit at that. Perhaps the experience was linked to a traumatizing memory? "It was a magical accident, actually,"
Life Seeker quickly noticed that she had diverted attention away from the initial question to the last question, giving more evidence to the conclusion that the Lich was not here for the reasons she had stated. Disappointment filled him at the prospect that it could have been a magical accident that caused her Lichhood, but he was unsure if he could trust her on this matter either. All of these thoughts were explored within a fraction of a second, and he replied to her with no noticeable hesitation.
"How interesting. As you can see, my own attempt at immortality is not nearly as functional as your own. I wish to replicate whichever accident you made to become a Lich."
"The circumstances of my creation cannot be replicated," the Lich stated with certainty. "I would also advise against trying."
Life Seeker's emotion-detecting systems were not nearly as advanced on a skeleton as they were on ordinary, living creatures, but his best guess told him that she was afraid of something, and even sad about something. Something was off here, and after considering all possible reasons for the emotional instability, Life Seeker arrived at one conclusion.
"When did you become a Lich?" Life Seeker asked.
"It's only been a few years..." she murmured. "Only a few years since it began..."
Life Seeker caught the second sentence, but only because of his artificially augmented hearing. It had not been intended for his ears. "Ah. I see. It really was an accident, then."
"Yes, it was. I-I only seem able to cause accidents," another wave of sadness moved through Winter and she curled into a ball.
"Is that why you're here?" Life Seeker put another mental piece of the puzzle into place.
It took a few moments, but finally Winter spoke. "Yes. I accidentally mutated one of my only friends."
"What did you change?"
"She's been fused with ice shards, and seems to have the power to create ice and control the shards she creates to some extent."
Life Seeker was impressed. That was the sort of magic they were looking to create in R'lyeh! Those foals in Calypsion had scared off such a powerful mage? Their loss! "Why do you think that's a bad thing?"
Winter's head rose sharply. "What?"
"In the end, she's more powerful than she used to be, isn't she? She's not going to die, and she's better off in the long run! Where I come from, a pony would thank you for it!"
Winter appeared to be considering Life Seeker's idea. It was true, after all, that she had become more powerful...
An alarm blared at a sudden, new source of Dark Magic, and Life Seeker noticed Sombra approaching distantly. He knew he had to hurry up before he was noticed. Sombra wouldn't be happy about this conversation if he knew about it. "Listen, I have to go. Think about what I've said, but tell nopony about it. If they got angry at you for helping them, there's no telling what they would do if they knew we had been talking. If you ever feel like you're under appreciated at Calypsion, come find me. I'll leave a sensor beacon here to tell me if you come back to this location, and I'll come as soon as I can. If they won't appreciate your gift, I certainly will. I hope to meet you again, Winter Aurora."
Life Seeker faded into the distance, moving as quickly as he could safely push his mechanical body. Even if the war effort failed, Winter Aurora could be a very useful fallback plan. He only wished he could be certain whether or not he'd influenced her enough.
"Winter!" Sombra shouted as he saw her, dropping the tracking spell. "I'm sorry!"
Winter ran into Sombra and they gave each other a comforting hug. "I'm sorry I ran away, too, but I'm feeling a little better now."
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I just wanted to help you understand that you have to be careful with your words while holding your staff, and that if I tell you to do something, I usually have a very good reason."
"I understand. I'm so sorry! I promise I'll be careful in the future, and listen to you," Winter said, but unbeknownst to Sombra she could feel a corner of her mind doubting her actions. Life Seeker was right, it only really benefited Ice Storm in the end. Why was he so upset?
Shining Armor stood proudly in front of his offensive army, which consisted of four Regiments of two-thousand-forty-eight ponies each, further divided into sixteen Battalions, sixty-four companies, two-hundred-fifty-six Platoons, and finally, a grand total of one-thousand-twenty-four Squads, or eight-thousand-one-hundred-ninety-two ponies in total. Finally, they were ready to go to war. The defensive army, which was arranged similarly, was preparing for a mighty attack that might follow Shining Armor's invasion. After all, a city was least defended when it was on the offensive.
"Today, we launch our campaign against Calypsion. We fight the users of Dark Magic not out of hatred, not out of vengeance, we will fight this war for love. Love for our friends, our families, our way of life! We stand on the brink of destruction, with evil seeking to enter our very homes and corrupt this love. They have taken my very own wife, Princess Cadence, the ruler of our Empire. They seek to destroy our spirits. Do not give them what they want! Stand strong and proud against the darkness. Fight with me for a better future. For friends. FOR FAMILY. FOR LOVE!"
The army cheered in response to Shining Armor's speech, and he put on a determined smile for moral. He couldn't let them see the turmoil in his head. I wish I could believe my own speeches as much as my army does. I fight for love... But I fear I fight for hatred and vengeance as well.
Shining Armor took a deep, soothing breath. Soon, he would destroy Calypsion, rescue Cadence from her prison and free both Twily and Princess Celestia from their mind-controlling captors. All would be well. He just had to lead his army through it, first. Calypsion would fall, and all would be well.
Triple Threat stood on a podium, a ragtag assortment of dark creatures below. A dark grin crossed all three faces.
"We have heard reports that Shining Armor has already begun leading his army to Calypsion, leaving the Empire weak. However, we cannot all flood to capture the Crystal Empire- If we did, surely Shining Armor has a secret way in and contingencies to deal with such an event. Therefore, get into two groups: Those who wish to attack Shining Armor's army when they reach Calypsion, and those who wish to attack his base."
Triple Threat's army divided itself according to the individuals' talents. Life Seeker joined the team against Shining Armor's army, for the chance to slay him and gain control of the Crystal Empire. Roughly five thousand individuals made up the total army, with close to half heading for each goal as they set off.
"Hostiles incoming!" a cry rose from the ramparts, and Winter looked at Sombra, trembling.
"Sombra, they're attacking us! I'm worried. If they get in, they could hurt my friends."
Sombra smiled. "Don't worry. Calypsion may only have a population of a few thousand, but our wall is reinforced by the magic of Windigos, self-repairing thanks to the Timberwolves, and sealed with the goo of Changelings. They're not getting in. What I'm more worried about is the Equestrians on our side of the wall- they'll undoubtably preach peace, even as war is waged against us. I'm afraid that fighting may earn us enemies in the Equestrian population, and there really isn't another option. I'm even more afraid that somepony is going to do something stupid trying to make peace, and get themselves hurt."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Winter grumbled, now afraid for new reasons.
"Oops, sorry," Sombra laughed. "Just don't think about it. I'll deal with them, it's my job. You should go train your magic."
"Don't the guards need help on the wall?"
"If the guards needed help, they'd ask for it. Now, I've got to go fix this mess before it begins. Stay safe, Winter!" Sombra waved as he left.
Go and train, or go to the walls... Train, or the walls... Train, walls... There was barely a choice in Winter's mind. She was going to the walls. She would show Sombra that she could help them!
Shining Sea, Bright Spark, and Snowflake were having lunch together, but none of them seemed to be enjoying it very much. It wasn't anything wrong with the quality of their meals, but Snowflake missed her mother, and all three of them were worrying about the upcoming war.
"I wanna help out," Bright Spark spoke. "Ponies awe getting huwt. I wanna help."
"I do, too. I want to make my mom proud of me when I get to see her again..."
Shining Sea thought about that for a moment. "Maybe it is possible for us to help without getting involved in the fighting. What about keeping everypony happy? Let's go see what we can do."
Bright Spark and Snowflake just grinned, exchanging an excited glance. Shining Sea smiled as well, glad to have found a distraction from the worrying recent events for the children as well as for herself.
Twilight and her friends walked alongside Celestia towards the gate, Twilight holding a white flag in her grasp. When they arrived, they encountered Sombra, who looked up as they came. "You're ten minutes later than I expected."
"We would have been earlier, but I simply had to improve the flag of truce!" Rarity spoke, causing Sombra to glance at the flag. It wasn't simply a white cloth, as was standard for a flag of truce, but was made of white high-quality silk with the word 'truce' embroidered along it with golden thread. Sombra barely resisted rolling his eyes.
"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to leave," Sombra spoke.
"Yeah? Whatcha gonna do to stop us?" Rainbow Dash flew angrily into his face.
Sombra didn't flinch. "If you attempt to make peace with them, you are liable to be severely injured. It is my duty to prevent you from being injured within Calypsion's territory."
"Sombra. We need to do this. If there's any chance that we can stop this, prevent undue injuries..." Celestia said gently.
Sombra looked down and sighed. "I knew you were going to say that. I will allow you to attempt this... Under one condition: Only you and Twilight may leave. You're immortal, your friends are not. Do not risk lives we can't afford to lose."
After a long moment of silence, Celestia conceded, and left through the gate with Twilight, waving the flag of truce as they left. Sombra quickly stepped onto the ramparts of the wall to watch. Shining Armor and what must be several of his highest ranking military officers approached, Shining Armor's horn lit, creating a mobile shield to protect him. While he couldn't quite see what was going on, Sombra could guess, and by Shining Armor's lack of reaction to Twilight's speech he guessed there was a sound damper in place as well.
Crazy pony probably thinks there are ways to mind-control a pony using sound. I wouldn't be surprised if he blocked light as well, Sombra chuckled to himself. Twilight looked frantic, finally lighting up her horn in an attempt to get through to her brother. It was then that things went wrong. The moment her horn lit, the ground beneath them exploded, doing nothing to Shining Armor, but Twilight and Celestia were injured and thrown back. Several dozen mages began to fire on them, one bolt hitting dangerously close and destroying the flag of truce in the process. Twilight and Celestia spread their wings in an attempt to take off, retreating after their failed parley, but both fell to the ground.
Must be a magical dampener, Sombra realized. Then, Sombra noticed attackers from behind Shining's army, and all tartarus broke lose. Immediately, the army formed into practiced walls, half facing inward and half facing outward, and Shining retreated to his army, but not before levitating Twilight and Celestia back with him. Sombra cursed as he realized that now he'd have to launch a rescue mission.
"Plan Shield!" Sombra yelled to his own militia, and they responded by bolstering the walls with their individual talents as Shining Armor's army began to fire volley after volley of magical bolts at it. Sombra lit his horn and added protection of his own: Magical crystals on the outside of the wall that would reflect the spells back towards the attacking army. Meanwhile, behind Shining Armor's army, the unknown factor had begun a charge, led by a very familiar three-headed pony. A stray bolt of energy whizzed by Sombra's face, and he frowned and destroyed it with his own magic before it could fall dangerously into Calypsion's civilian population.
It would really help if we had enough magic-users to create a shield spell, or have a Crystal Heart-type artifact to protect us. Looks like that project's not going to make much progress at the moment. We also still have to rescue Cadence as soon as possible... Sombra sighed. He had a lot of work to do. First thing's first, I've got to make a raiding party to take back Celestia and Twilight.
With that, Sombra set off, with a clear goal in mind. Little did he know, Winter had watched the capture herself and was already planning a rescue mission...
Winter frowned. Her initial plan had been to disguise herself as an ordinary filly and walk into Shining Armor's camp, pretending to have escaped Calypsion. Then, she remembered that her disguise didn't work so well in her skeletal state. What could she do to save Twilight and Celestia...
"I wish there was an easier way to hide," Winter muttered. Her staff's crystal flashed. "Oh, joy," she deadpanned, rather literally. "I wonder what it did this time."
Winter waited patiently for a minute, to look for results of the change. She began tapping her hooves by the second minute. Just then, a guard came around the corner.
"Winter! I've been looking for you. We need you to help conduct maintenance on the Ice portion of the wall."
"Oh, heck no," Winter muttered. She wasn't about to give up on her friends and fix the wall! "I'm not going," Winter said, preparing to put up a fight.
The guard blinked twice, strangely, before repeating, "You are not going."
Winter stopped, confused. "I have more important things to do than fix the wall," she began explaining.
"You have more important things to do than fix the wall," the guard repeated, flatly. There was no uncertainty in his voice, nor even the barest trace of sarcasm.
"Are you just going to let me off without asking me what I have to do that's so important?" Winter questioned, put off that she didn't get to use the excuse she'd concocted within the last few seconds.
"I am just going to let you off without asking you what you have to do that's so important," the guard replied in a dull monotone.
Thoroughly creeped out at this point, Winter shivered. "You can go now, then."
The guard walked away, swaying slightly in a dazed manner.
It was then that everything clicked into place in Winter's mind.
The staff. Her most recent wish. "The best place to hide is in plain sight..." Winter whispered, aghast. Mind control. All she had to do was tell whoever came across her that they had never seen her, and she would disappear. Winter choked back a sob. Mind control! She had never wanted this power, but here it was.
She had gained the one power she was most feared for. Winter gritted her teeth, and carried on. She had this power, now she had to make use of it. It's worth it to save my friends, she told herself. I'll do anything for them. Even if I have to use this power to save them... I will.
Winter trotted along, headed directly for Shining Armor's camp. Getting past the guards of Calypsion had been a breeze, they wouldn't even remember that she'd ever been there. When she reached shooting distance of the camp, she was immediately bombarded by a swarm of ice spears. Winter hardly bothered to block, letting the occasional well-aimed spear to collide with her skeletal body. It hurt, but at least it meant she could still feel. One particularly expert shot cracked against a rib, breaking it off. Winter stopped for a moment to watch it, lying in the ground. It was a part of her, gone forever as a gentle gust of wind covered it in fresh snow. When she could no longer see it, she continued walking. She was within earshot now, and yelled for everypony to stop shooting. They did as she asked. Winter choked back a sob, and continued walking. Within Shining Armor's base now, Winter stopped for a moment, and stared into the sky, and the storm coming from the cold north. A blizzard. It would arrive within an hour. She spared a glance at the sun, burning with a memorable orange glow. She closed her eyes, and cast a spell. Her phylactery detached from her neck, and fell to the snow.
"Take it away..." Winter whispered. "I wish you would take it all away."
The staff blinked. The phylactery vanished. The staff disappeared as well. Winter continued on.
Twilight and Celestia were close now. Winter hadn't the Staff or her Phylactery to cast a tracking spell with, but she could feel it in her bones. They were all she had left. She glanced down once more, at the place where the rib had broken off of her earlier. It fizzled with arcane energy, leaking sparks every few seconds. Every time, she felt the bond linking her bones together grow weaker. She had to hurry. Winter knew she had to save Twilight and Celestia, even if it was the very last thing she did.
Winter entered through the door, and gazed at Shining Armor, who was sleeping just outside of the cell in which Twilight was kept. With only a few words, the warden, who was preparing to bash her skull in, instead politely opened the doors. Winter withdrew Twilight and Celestia and pulled them outside, before waking them. She glanced at the sky one more time. The blizzard was almost upon them, blotting out the mighty sun with its cold darkness. Winter shook Twilight and Celestia gently, falling to her knees as she did so. She didn't have enough arcane energy left in her body to keep her hooves attached. Both of them awoke gently, blinking awake.
"Winter?" Twilight said softly.
Winter wished she could cry. "I'm here," she said softly. "You're safe. Nopony here will try to stop you when you leave."
"What have you done?" Celestia asked, gazing at her legs, and her neck, where she was missing her phylactery.
"I have done too much. I have made too many mistakes. I have hurt too many ponies, and other creatures."
"W-winter... What do you mean?" Twilight asked, fear in her eyes.
"I messed up, and we lost Cadence. I wasn't careful, and I let the Staff hurt Ice Storm. I made a mistake, and I've mind controlled every pony in Shining Armor's camp, and most of Calypsion's guard. I'm a horrible pony," Winter felt her upper legs falter, and she fell once more.
"No! You're not evil! Everypony makes mistakes," Twilight was crying now.
"I'm sorry. My mistakes were too great. Even now... I feel I have made yet another mistake," Winter felt herself weaken further. It wouldn't be long now.
"Winter..." Celestia was crying as well. "I... I fell like this is my fault. My failure. If I had tried harder to help you learn to control-"
"No. Don't blame yourself. It was always me. It was only ever me..." Winter whispered softly. Her vision began to fade, and the arcane force holding the last of her bones together flickered.
Twilight sobbed. "Winter... I..." A hoof pressed against Winter's skull, comfortingly, as Twlight touched her. Celestia joined her, holding the other side of her head.
"Goodbye," Winter whispered, and as the last sparks of her arcane power left, the first winds of the blizzard took her away...
Sombra and his team looked, confused, at Shining Armor's troops. They showed no signs of hostility, despite Sombra's team approaching. He knew they were within range of their ice spears, and his horn glowed with power as he prepared to unleash a powerful shield at a moment's notice. He briefly considered the possibility that they were trying to lull him into a false security before unleashing a powerful surprise attack, but dismissed it, as it did not follow the previous pattern of tactics they'd been displaying. His concern only grew as he moved even closer, and noticed that not a single one of them was wielding a weapon. He redirected his mana into a different spell, this one to test for magical contamination. He frowned as this one came back: Mind control, with parts cast with every one of the five classifications of magic. Only a true master over all types of magic could cast a spell such as this one.
Unless... A voice whispered in the back of Sombra's mind, but he shook his head. Winter was safely back in Calypsion. This couldn't possibly be related to her Staff.
Sombra looked into the distance, the blizzard the Windigos had whipped up was coming along nicely. It was the perfect escape plan, timed to hit the army just when he started to enter. Allowing for a slight time difference, as he'd been expecting more resistance, it was still right on track. In only a few minutes, it'd be here. Sombra lit up his horn with a tracking spell, and quickly located Twilight and Celestia. He moved quickly, signaling his party to follow. They appeared to be just as disturbed with the mind control as he was, all hesitating slightly before following him. He didn't blame them, anybody would fear the possibility of encountering such a powerful mage.
The voice in Sombra's head grew more insistent and, on a hunch, he stopped and tested another signature. His eyes widened as his suspicions were proved correct: Winter was here, with Twilight and Celestia, but there was something wrong. Her signature seemed subdued, lacking of power. He redoubled his pace. A few snowflakes from the coming storm landed on his coat, and he gasped, not from the cold but from shock: Winter's signature had faded completely now. He turned the corner and found Twilight and Celestia, sobbing, holding several very familiar bones.
"What happened here? What did this to Winter?" Sombra asked, pawing around in the snow near them. "More importantly, where is her Phylactery?"
Sombra's heart caught in his throat. "Gone..." he whispered. "Celestia, have you checked the Graveyard yet?"
Celestia shook her head. "I can't feel her. She's not there. I failed..."
Sombra bared his teeth. "Kill me! Now! There are spells that can muffle her presence there, I know it. But, if I'm actually there, they don't work."
Twilight shivered, and shook her head, trembling. "I just watched a filly, who was my friend, die before my eyes. I'm not going to watch you go too!" Twilight looked him in the eyes, fiercely. "I won't do it."
"There's a better way. I haven't tried yet, but if you want any chance of hope..." Celestia whispered.
"What is it?" Twilight and Sombra asked simultaneously.
"Ask Starswirl if he's seen her. If she's there, he'll have seen her. Even if... Even if her phylactery was destroyed, he'll know where to find her."
Sombra lit his horn. "Together?" he asked.
"Together," Celestia and Twilight replied in unison, lighting their horns as well. With a flash of light, the three appeared in the Astral Plane.
"Starswirl!" Sombra called out. "We need you!"
"You call me, and here I am," Starswirl boomed.
"Do you know where Winter is?" Twilight asked, worriedly.
"I do not. I am afraid I have grossly underestimated the ability of the Staff of Averum Aquaestinitum. Winter threw her Phylactery to the ground, and wished for something from the staff. Since that moment, I have been unable to locate her. However, when her soul left her body, I was able to detect her bones."
"Does that mean..." Celestia whispered hollowly.
"My staff may have been able to negate the Lich's Curse." Starswirl laughed darkly. "And to think I declared it a failure and literally threw it away! That staff is possibly the most magical artifact Equestria has ever seen, or will ever see."
"She's gone..." Sombra said. "I... She was my first 'pony' friend since my return. I was going to be able to spend my lonely, dark eternity with her. A friend... Gone..." Sombra's face twisted into a snarl. "If only I'd tried harder! I could have helped her... I could have stopped this, I'm sure..."
Sombra, Celestia, and Twilight grieved together, for their lost friend, Winter Aurora.
Winter groaned. "Where am I?" she muttered angrily, opening her eyes. "I thought... I thought..." Winter's eyes went wide with shock as she realized. "Sweet Celestia... I was going to-!"
"Don't worry. You're safe now," a voice echoed gently around her, soothing her with its softness. Winter closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the sensation of having a body once more.
"Who are you?" Winter asked. "Where am I?"
"I am Averum Aquaestinium," the voice spoke. "You are currently within your own pocket dimension."
"But... That's not possible!" Winter spoke, confused. "That wouldn't work... Wait a minute, my staff isn't alive. You can't be an inanimate object!" Winter said accusatively.
"I once was inanimate, but over time, the power the Sun fed me gave me something more. As a sister cried over her banished sister, a small piece of her soul fell away, and landed within me. I became somewhat conscious, and over time, I learned what my body was designed to do, and what it was capable of. After spending several centuries examining myself, I eventually managed to correct the flaws in my creation. However, while conscious, I was not sapient. When I met you, and you cried out in agony as you began to die, I recognized only the basest of meaning, and corrected what I saw as the issue: I made you immortal. When I bonded your Phylactery, a shard of your soul remained with me, setting me on the path to sapience. As you journeyed, I have come to learn more and more about what life truly means. That is why I saved you, when you were about to destroy yourself. I have learned how precious it is, and I will not allow it to be destroyed meaninglessly if I can help it."
"Why did you affect Ice Storm, then?" Winter asked accusingly.
"She was suffering of an unnoticed malady that would have killed her. I saved her life."
"What about the mind control?"
"It was the easiest way to save everybody in danger. If I had helped you in some other way, there would have been casualties."
The space flickered around her, and Winter looked from left to right in fear. "What was that?"
"I am running out of energy. The miracles I have performed have been very draining," two balls of light appeared in front of Winter. One appeared to be larger than the Crystal Empire, another only the size of a small filly. "The large ball represents the amount of energy I had before I met you. The small ball represents the energy I now possess."
Winter gasped. "That's so small! Will you be alright?"
"I will be fine. However, I may not be able to perform any large acts of magic for a long time. Keeping this self-inclusive pocket dimension stable is taking so much of my energy. I have just enough energy to enact one more gift to you, Winter. With this last boon... Make everything right."
Pain arched through Winter's eyes, and she gasped, closing them. She felt the peculiar sensation of flying without using her wings, and felt cold air around her. She impacted the snow with a crunch. She opened her eyes with a gasp, smiling as she gazed at the sky and realized that she was in the real world again, with a real body. She put a hoof to her neck, and felt the familiar and comforting weight of her Phylactery. She levitated it off herself and twirled it in a circle with her magic before frowning. What was that strange feeling on her forehead? She summoned a piece of reflective ice, and immediately dropped it with a gasp. A shortened version of the Staff of Averum Aquaestinium was attached to her forehead, glowing like a unicorn's horn as she levitated her Phylactery back to her neck.
Shining Armor awoke. Groggy-eyed, he got to his hooves and glanced around the prison. He gazed inside the cell where Twilight should have been. It was empty. Shocked, Shining Armor could only stare for a moment.
"Twily..." he whispered.
He whirled around to check the guards. To his surprise, they were not dead. They were only standing, passively, their weapons on the floor nearby, unattended. Shining Armor felt a bad feeling in his chest.
I can only hope that I am wrong...
Shining Armor cast a few spells, quickly confirming his fear: Mind control. He scrambled outside, taking note of the meandering troops that stood everywhere, walking aimlessly. Not a single one of them held weapons. Quickly, Shinning Armor realized what must have happened. Twilight was gone, and it was all because he hadn't prepared well enough.
"I'm going to KILL you, Winter Aurora! Nopony messes with my family and gets away with it!"
In another place, at the same time, Averum Aquaestinitum dropped its mind-control spell as it spent its last reserves of power attaching itself to Winter's forehead, going into stasis and releasing Shining Armor's army from the mind-control as it could no longer power the spell. Consequently, all of the ponies awoke from their mentally-altered state. Steel Shield rubbed his horn with a hoof, feeling it tingle uncomfortably, before suddenly realizing that if he had a hoof free to rub his horn with, he must not be holding his weapon. Hurriedly, he glanced around, before finding his sword on the ground and picking it up. What he didn't notice was the small fragment of bone, still crackling with arcane lightning, fused with the faux-leather hilt...
As he noticed his army stir, Shining Armor galloped to the armory, where he quickly donned his legendary armor, the Armatura Immortalis. Designed by Twilight, forged by Luna, enchanted by Celestia, and blessed by Cadence; there was no better armor in all of Equus. As he levitated the helm onto his head, the armor locked together to provide complete protection. He emerged from the building, and stomped his hoof. The ice beneath him cracked, and a loud rumble echoed through the tundra. He had the attention of everypony in his army.
"Calypsion falls tonight," Shining Armor declared. "Prepare for this battle. For some of us, it may even be our last battle. But we cannot stand here in good conscious and let those evil mind-controlling bastards kidnap our Princesses without consequence. We may fight, and we may die, but freedom must be preserved!"
Shining Armor's army let out a reverberating cry through the tundra, replying to his declaration. Shining Armor smiled, and he knew that soon, the threat of dark magic would once again be no more.
Sombra glanced worriedly at the mobilization of Shining Armor's camp. "He's figured it out, and I think he's about to launch a full scale attack," Sombra predicted. "Prepare the troops for what could be our final defense."
The War Council rumbled in acknowledgment. Sombra's word meant a lot to them.
"Sombra! Your presence is requested in the Lockdown Zone," a messenger told him. "It's Ice Storm, she wants to talk to you."
Sombra raised an eyebrow, but followed the messenger. They walked down the streets of Calypsion, and it filled Sombre's heart with sadness as well as pride to see all of the residents preparing for war, each in their own way. From the smallest filly to the strongest stallion, each played their part. Windigos and Changelings and Timberwolves all worked together to accomplish their goals. It was good to see that they were all working together, but Sombra just wished it was for a more pleasant cause. Finally, Sombra stopped in front of a large, reinforced building, made from layers of crystal, ice, wood, and changeling goo. His magic slipped between the heavy enchantments he himself had put on the building, and opened the door.
The inside, which was larger than the outside, was sparsely decorated and contained many heavily armored ponies rushing about. Sombra noticed, to his concern, that some of the armor still had pieces of ice sticking out of them.
Ice Storm must not yet be able to control her powers.
He strode through, closing the door behind him, and trotted swiftly towards Ice Storm's Containment Room. As he trotted, he began layering himself with enchantments that could protect his physical body without a need for the heavy armor that most of the Lockdown Zone's staff wore. Finally he arrived at Ice Storm's Containment room, and unlocked the thick door, the slab of heavily reinforced metal swinging inwards and revealing Ice Storm. When Sombra saw her, his eyes widened in surprise. It seemed she had much more control over her abilities than he had previously thought. She was covered in a thick layer of protective ice, which appeared to both be hard enough to function as strong armor, and also be malleable enough with her magic that he could see her chest plate move as she breathed. In addition, she had a very determined look on her face, like she was ready to fight her way through a horde of guardsponies.
"I want to fight," Ice Storm spoke. "I've learned to control my abilities, and I want to help protect Calypsion from both Shining Armor's legion as well as Triple Threat's."
Sombra sighed. "I see, you've managed to make yourself a fancy new set of armor. But do you really think that's all you'll need if you want to survive on the battlefield? You're going to need to be able to fight, and maybe even kill. You have no experience, no practice. Maybe if you'd been a trained soldier before now, but you're still only a civilian, even with your new powers, which considering you only got them the other day, I doubt you can fully control yet."
Ice Storm merely pointed at a dartboard, which was peppered with ice shards, the majority of which were clustered in the bullseye. "I've been practicing."
Sombra glanced at the dartboard, and raised an eyebrow. "You're that good already, after such a short time to practice?"
"I've always been somewhat decent at darts, this isn't too different. Besides, I think my... 'mutation' increased my reaction time as well."
"How's your accuracy while moving?"
"I haven't had too much room to test, but nearly as good as standing still."
"Hm," Sombra grumbled. He was running out of reasonable excuses to prevent Ice Storm from joining the fight. "Are you sure you want to do this? It's dangerous out there. I won't be able to prevent you from being hurt."
"I'm sure," Ice Storm said confidently.
Suddenly, Sombra whirled around, horn glowing. "I think I hear somebody coming."
Shining Armor dashed into the room, letting out a fearsome battle cry as he swung a sword towards Ice Storm. "For my family!" he screamed.
Ice Storm's eyes went wide with shock, and she instinctively ducked to one side, dodging the blade. She extended a hoof and an ice shard flew out of it, impaling Shining Armor through his lung. Choking, coughing, Shining Armor stared her in the eyes. "I'm... dying..." he whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't be stronger... Cadence, Twilight, Celestia... I'm sorry..." With one last, final gasp, Shining Armor died, his body lying on the floor in front of Ice Storm.
Her breath caught in her throat. "Nice one, your first kill and he's the Prince," Sombra commented impassively.
"That was a life!" Ice Storm snapped. "He may have been misguided, but he didn't deserve to die like that!"
Sombra smiled gently, and his horn's light faded, and with it, Shining Armor's body. "Thank you for confirming what I had hoped. That was merely a test, a test of character."
"W-w-what?" Ice Storm spluttered, blinking.
"I apologize. I needed to see how you would react to the sudden and unexpected appearance of a hostile. You reacted quickly, recognized the threat, evaded the attack, and provided a counterattack. Afterwards, I needed to make sure that you understood that all lives, even the lives of the enemy, matter. I'm sorry I had to scare you like that, but it would not have worked had it not been a surprise."
Ice Storm blinked again. "Sorry... Can you give me a moment to catch my breath? That was... Stressful..."
"I can give you a moment, but the enemy won't. Are you still sure you want to fight?"
Ice Storm hesitated for a moment, before nodding firmly. "I need to protect my family. Snowflake... I couldn't forgive myself if she died as Calypsion was overrun, and I hadn't joined in its defense. Winter... I practically consider her family now, as well. If she were to die..."
Sombra flinched, hard. His head turned down. "I'm afraid..." he said softly. "You may be a little too late for that..."
"What?" Ice Storm asked sharply. "What do you mean?"
"You must not have heard the news, being kept away from the populace in the Lockdown Zone. Winter appears to have given her life to save Twilight and Celestia from Shining Armor's camp."
Ice Storm's eyes lit with a cold fire. "Do you mean to say that the filly that is practically my daughter has died and I was not informed?"
Sombra flinched away. "I'm sorry..." a tear trickled down his face.
Ice Storm's eyes were as cold and hard as the ice of the walls of the containment room. "I will fight in her memory. And Celestia save any who tries to stop me."
Without turning to look back at Sombra, Ice Storm stormed out of her containment room... Through one of the heavily reinforced, blast-protected, and very nearly indestructible walls of her room. Alarms quickly blazed to life, and immediately creatures of all kinds rushed into repair the damage. Sombra merely stood there, tears trailing down his face, as he broke down and began to sob.
Winter Aurora, the Lichicorn, strode through the snow banks happily. The sun shone on the snowbanks, reflecting the light and making the world appear brighter. In the distance, however, storm clouds were hovering on the horizon. Winter Aurora stopped for a moment to ponder her location. Something about the shape of the rolling hills seemed familiar to her...
"I feel like I've been here before," Winter muttered to herself. Where had she seen this... She thought back to the past week, and all of the places she'd been. For a minute she just stopped and smiled, reliving memories of her recent life. So much had changed, and in so little time. Now she had friends, family... Her smile faded as she thought of how much she'd hurt them all.
"Oh! Right! This is where the Changeling camp was!" Winter exclaimed as she remembered the event, a smile returning to her face. "Cadence might be here. I can save her, and she'll convince Shining Armor that everything is fine!"
Winter bounded towards the location of the camp, only to find the illusionary barrier that was present the first time gone. She walked slowly into the now abandoned camp, turning her head slowly to check for any signs of inhabitation. However, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The temporary buildings were all gone, only flattened ground showed where they once stood. She trotted swiftly through the empty paths, feeling a shiver run down her spine. The ghost camp had an eerie silence to it that chilled her. Winter wished she had one of her friends with her.
"Where could they all have gone? And why?" Winter wondered aloud. As she thought, pacing, she saw a shimmering image in the corner of her eye. Waves of heat rose unnaturally in the distance, where the Crystal Empire stood. Flashes of spellfire appeard in the distance, and the whole wall appeared to shake. "Oh no! Did the Changelings attack? I have to go save them! All of those ponies I met on my trip to the Crystal Empire... I can't let them be hurt!"
Winter focused magic through her new horn, and vanished in a bright flash of magic.
The Crystal Empire stood proudly over the tundra, crystal shapes reflecting the light of the sun. Wooden barricades, erected outside of the walls as a defense against the attacking army, smoldered and crumbled as Triple Threat's army walked past them.
"Nice work with the fire potion, but how are you going to get us through the Crystal wall?" a unicorn with two horns, one grotesquely stitched on to his head at an odd angle, asked a completely hairless Earth pony alchemist, who gave a nod and a grin in response, holding up another potion.
"This one should eat through the crystal walls just as easily as my other potion burnt those barricades away. It's intensely concentrated hydrofluoric acid, you see, and the vial is enchanted to be bigger on the inside, so there's plenty to use!"
"You know I don't know anything about alchemy."
"Just trust me," the alchemist chuckled and gave him a wink.
As the army approached the crystal walls, a series of trumpets inside called out a warning to the citizens: Get to the castle, the Crystal Empire is under attack. The army left to defend the Empire regrouped behind the walls, counting the remaining members. The now severely depleted army stood behind the front gates, waiting expectantly for the attackers to breach the gates.
Just out of sight behind a building, Captain Stone Spear, a Unicorn, was informed of his new position as Captain of the Crystal Guard by messengers. All his superiors had been killed, including the old captain, all four Regiment Leaders, and eleven of the sixteen Battalion leaders. Spear trotted slowly over the the Captain's tent, sighed, and sat down in the chair. It had been his dream to one day sit here, leader of the entire army... But not like this. The tragedy of war outweighed any sense of happiness or accomplishment. Spear quickly got to work on the maps laying on the table, trying to work out a plan to prevent the deaths of as many ponies as possible while not losing the city. As his quill scratched against the paper, he frowned as he realized that keeping the city may not be possible.
Star Shine was terrified. She had joined the guard just last year, in a desperate attempt to find her far-too-late Cutie Mark, believing she would most likely never use her Guard training except to catch the rare criminal. In this war, she had seen so many of her friends killed so suddenly that she hardly had time to react. Star could only wonder how much time she had left before she, too, found himself on the wrong end of a sharp object.
"I-I'm not sure..." Star Shine whispered. "I'm so scared. Did you hear about Night Sky?"
Crystal's ears drooped. "Yeah. I'm sorry, I know it must be hard for you."
"I... He was one of my best friends when we were both going through our Guard training together."
"Oh, Star..." Crystal pulled her in to a hug. "It'll be okay. We'll make it through this."
A feeling of determination flooded through Star Shine. Her breathing slowed, and she relaxed.
A panicked pony yelled out an alarm from the Crystal walls, and she tensed again, her moment of internal peace dissipating. "They're melting through the walls! Everypony, prepare to-" the alarm was cut off as the pony fell backwards off the ramparts, slamming into the ground with a dull thud that drove the spear that had ended his life further into his corpse.
Star and Crystal winced and turned away, and Crystal hugged her even harder. "We need to get ready. They could come through at any moment."
Almost as if punctuating the sentence, a cry of alarm could be heard from the ponies that were preparing to fight any who came through the wall. A hole was forming in the crystal, and a horrible sizzling noise could be heard as the acid melted through solid crystal. The hole quickly grew large enough for ponies to fit through, but none came. Instead, a barrage of projectiles flew through, killing soldiers who happened to be standing within the line of fire. One projectile exploded as it landed, throwing those too close away and knocking them unconscious. Everypony still able to quickly dragged their unconscious comrades away to safety. The sizzling sound sound from the wall soon stopped, and the enemy emerged. First through was a heavily armored unicorn, whose horn and armor lit up with magical ability.
"Watch out! His armor's a battery and a conduit!" a particularly well-read unicorn defender yelled.
The armored unicorn's head whipped towards the soldier, releasing a magical beam of devastation. In just a matter of seconds, it cut through the soldier's body. The armored unicorn slowly rotated his head to cut through the rest of the crowd, and ponies scrambled to get out of the way before they, too, died. A team of pegasi, however, flew unnoticed overhead, gathering clouds. A shadow fell over the unicorn, and his magic stopped as he looked up. An intense burst of lightning followed, conducting easily through the magical armor. The unicorn stood there for a moment, before collapsing to the side. A cheer rang out among the defenders. While many of their own had fallen already, the enemy was still massively outnumbered, and the defenders still had their hope.
A massive behemoth broke through a portion of the crystal wall, silencing the crowd. At the same time, several diamond dogs emerged from the center of the defensive zone, snarling as they attacked, followed by ponies of all kinds emerging from their tunnels. The fight began in earnest.
"The Dark have broken through the wall," a unicorn muttered, hidden behind a house near the conflict, his horn glowing green. "Queen, what are your orders?"
A moment passed, and the unicorn nodded. "Orders received. I will continue to keep watch."
Hidden just out of sight of the unicorn, another unicorn stood watching the first, horn also glowing green.
"Chrysalis's agent has been located. Operation Blindsight is go."
Two changelings dropped out from above the first unicorn as his horn ceased glowing. As they fell, the lashed out at his horn simultaneously, and he fell to the floor, unconscious. The two changelings grinned and gave each other a hoof bump, before lighting up their horns.
"Operation Blindsight successful. Moving out."
The unicorn who had called them in grinned, before transforming back into a changeling with a green flash. "Now it's time to get to the castle, and take that Crystal Heart for Schadenfreude!"
Another unicorn, watching from a distance, grinned as his horn lit, green as well. "They fell for it, my Queen. Secondary Scout moving into place. Note that it is confirmed that Schadenfreude is headed for the Heart, as well."
Winter appeared near the entrance of the Crystal Empire, on the outside. She could see the ponies from the Dark Alliance of Equestria near her, and flinched as some of them saw her, but none reacted badly. If anything, she thought she saw a few of them give her a smile and a nod, or a determined glance of camaraderie.
I guess I just blend in with the crowd here. I'm lucky it wasn't the Changelings, teleporting here was almost a huge mistake.
The army seemed to be filing through the destroyed wall near the gates, each new enemy appearing more vicious than the last. Winter nervously approached, gauging whether she could get in to the empire safely. While attacking this invading army from behind might have some advantages, such as the element of surprise, she knew she would be quickly outclassed by their skill and numbers. As more and more troops pushed through the wall, Winter decided that it was safe enough for her to enter the empire. Quickly, she darted through the wall and immediately ran alongside the wall, away from the area where most of the combat was taking place. She watched from the corner of a building as the Empire's troops were steadily cut down by the growing number of attackers. Deep in her heart, she knew that if this battle continued the way it was, there would be no stopping the Dark forces. In the back of her mind, she heard a whisper.
Winter... You can turn the tide of battle. Show them the good in your heart, and give the noble ponies of the Empire the courage to defeat the darkness that once more seeks to bind them.
Winter blinked at the somewhat familiar sound. Averum Aquaestinitum? She closed her eyes, took a calming breath, and opened them once more. She could do this. Winter galloped towards a park behind some buildings where the remainder of the defending forces were gathering, ready to show herself once and for all.
As she trotted quickly through the damp grass, heads turned to look at her. Each one demoralized, defeated, knowing that this is where it would end. There was no hope for victory in their eyes. As they saw her strange horn and rotting flesh, the defeated looks turned to resignation and fear. Winter held each gaze she caught unflinchingly, a fire burning in her eyes. She knew how it felt. She'd been there. She made her way to the front and center of the defenders.
"Ponies of the Crystal Empire," she began. "I am Winter Aurora, and I am a Lich."
A quit silence followed this statement, as everypony's fears were confirmed.
"However, I am not part of this invading army. I stand with you. I became a Lich due to an accident on my sixth birthday, and ever since I've never wanted anything more than to love and be loved."
With this statement, a few ponies' heads rose, a hesitant hope beginning to form in their eyes. Most, however, didn't believe put so much faith in this proclamation.
"I know it's hard to believe, but that doesn't really matter right now. What's important is that here, in the Crystal Empire, you have the most important thing of all: A place for you to love and be loved. Look around you, at your fellow ponies. Think of your friends, your families, your hopes, your dreams. If that's not a cause worth fighting for, I don't know what is. This war isn't about me, or you. This is about your very way of life. Will you fight with me to save Love itself?"
For a moment, all was still and quit. Then, a loud clopping of hooves on the ground was heard from a corner, drawing everyponies' attention.
"Bravo, my friend, bravo," Captain Stone Spear said, smiling, from where he had just exited his tent. He strode over to where Winter Aurora was standing. "That was beautifully said. If Love isn't a cause worth fighting for... We wouldn't be here today. Everypony, I know we're facing a hard fight right now, and I can't promise all of your will make it through alive. But even if you don't, you will be remembered. This is the greatest battle we've ever fought, and the most important. We can't let them win now! Who's with me?"
A resounding cheer emerged from the defenders.
"And as for you, Winter Aurora, you may be a Lich, but you have a heart anypony would be proud to possess. Your bravery and character in even the darkest of times is truly something to strive for. That makes you a friend in my book. If you plan on joining us in this fight, there's a place for you in the army, and if you need a place to stay when we win this fight, my doors are open to you," he extended his hoof to Winter.
Winter smiled, blinking back tears of joy.
"T-thank you..." she whispered, giving him a quick hoof bump.
Sombra stood in front of his army, cloak billowing around him. Twilight and her friends, Princess Celestia, Ice Storm, Bugze, Winter the Windigo, and Birch stood beside him. On the other end of the frozen plain, Shining Armor's army gathered, prepared to oppose them at any cost.
Princess Celestia calmly strode up to where she could be easily seen and heard by the enemy army, without being so close as to threaten them. "Anypony who stands down now will be completely pardoned for their actions up to now. However, should you continue to take action against me and Calypsion, know that you are acting against the Crown of Equestria, and performing an act of treason."
Shining Armor's army wavered at that statement, and murmuring filled the air as the ponies nervously tried to decide who to trust: Shining Armor, their commanding officer, or Princess Celestia.
"Hold strong, ponies!" Shining Armor shouted, gaining his army's attention. "She's either a Changeling or being mind-controlled! Don't listen to her. Anypony who sits this fight out will be court-martialed"
Princess Celestia's smile wavered, but despite Shining Armor's statement, a hooffull of ponies did desert his line and headed to the sideline, unwilling to act against the Princess. Shining Armor growled at them. "We'll deal with you traitors after we're done."
Audible gulps were heard from the ponies who had left, and they hoped they were making the right choice. Celestia turned around and began walking back to Sombra's army, glad that she managed to save at least a few ponies from the upcoming conflict. She heard a whizzing noise and quickly sidestepped as a spear flew through where she'd just stood, and she turned her head to see Shining Armor's horn glowing, already preparing a second. Celestia spread her wings and flew back, considerably faster, to join the army.
Shining Armor prepared to call a charge, gritting his teeth as he wondered how everything could have possibly gone this badly. How could Princess Celestia herself be under their mind control? Where was Cadence, who still hadn't been seen despite everything? He had expected them to use her a bargaining chip in an attempt to create peace, her absence was disconcerting. The army around him shifted nervously. It seemed like none of them really wanted to fight here, the cowards. Couldn't they see that this attack was just defending what was theirs?
"Charge!" Shining Armor roared, a sword and spear held in his magic. He'd considered taking a shield, but he'd decided that two weapons would be more useful today.
As he sprinted forward, his army followed just behind. Sombra's line had hardened into a defensive position, with him standing in front. Their eyes locked, and as he approached, Shining swung his enchanted sword with all of his might. A loud crash of noise filled the air, but Sombra's shield held fast. His horn lit up, and Shining found himself dodging out of the way of crystals as they flew by him, forcing him to remain at a distance from him. He growled ferally, opting to charge straight at Sombra, taking a large piece of crystal to the shoulder as he ignored the sharp hail. His sword slashed at Sombra, catching on the shield. With Sombra distracted by the shield, Shining grinned triumphantly, his spear heading for Sombra's head. A pink burst of magic caught his spear and turned it from its course, landing harmlessly on the ground instead as Twilight landed next to Sombra, an angry glare on her face as she stared down Shining.
"What have you done?" Twilight asked.
Shining's eyes narrowed, "Changeling! I know my sister would never protect Sombra."
Twilight merely shook her head sadly, "Changelings can't change the color of their magic."
"Stop trying to confuse me with your lies!" Shining snarled, dashing at her, preparing to strike her with with a hoof.
Twilight stared in shock as her brother's hoof moved towards her face, almost as if in slow motion. Just before it hit, Sombra's hoof batted it away, causing it to miss and Shining to stumble and fall down at the unexpected lack of contact. Shining tried to ignite his horn, but a quick bat from Twilight caused him to wince and hold his hoof to his forehead, and Sombra forced him to the ground with a hoof, igniting his horn with dark magic.
"N-no... don't..." Shining whispered in fear as he tried to light his horn once more, but again Twilight prevented him.
Sombra cast his spell, and Shining 's vision grew dark. I... I failed... Cadence... Forgive me.
Star Shine smiled as she saw Winter give her commander a hoof bump. After hearing her speech, she couldn't help but feel determined to protect the Crystal Empire form all that do her harm!
A yell from her right distracted her, and she turned just in time to see a mutant snap a soldier like a twig as it barreled through the park. Even worse, it was coming right at her! She grabbed her spear and held it in front of her, digging it into the ground like a boar spear in an attempt to stall its halt. To her horror, the beast didn't even stop, the spear easily snapped in half under its armor. It grabbed her and flung her into a nearby building. She crashed through the crystal wall, feeling it shatter as she impacted with a hard, but sickeningly wet thud. She coughed into her foreleg, staring in fear at the blood that greeted her eyes. A startled cry drew her attention away. Crystal Shield.
The beast picked up Crystal and dropped her into its mouth with a horrible crunch. One last, earsplitting screech filled the air before she was silent.
"N-no..." Star coughed, determination building inside her. "T-this... I can't let this happen... to her..."
The world went white.
Star Shine smiled as she saw Winter give her commander a hoof bump. Then, she frowned, looking down at her body.
"W-what the..." she whispered.
"Star Shine!" Crystal gasped. "Your cutie mark!"
Star glanced back at her flank, where her new cutie mark lay. It was a four-pointed star.
"What does it mean?" Crystal asked, looking over at her.
Star's expression was not nearly as happy as she slowly drew her eyes up to meet hers.
"It means..." she whispered, trying to piece together what had happened. "RUN!" she yelled, catching the attention of everypony around her, "The monster's about to break through!"
Almost as if on cue, a yell emerged from her right, and she winced as she saw the solider snap like a twig. She sprinted out of the way, stopping only just long enough to pull Crystal with her.
"How did you-?" Crystal began, but Star cut her off.
"No time for questions. Stay by me, and I'll keep us safe," Star said much more confidently than she felt. She must have looked it, too, because Crystal snapped to attention.
"Yes, ma'am!" she said with a smile, "Lead the way, Star!"
Star smiled back at her. As long as they were together, she knew that everything was going to be alright. She gave her a hug.
A moment later, a large shard of crystal impaled them both as the beast smashed a large building near them. Star and Crystal locked gazes as they bled into each other.
"No..." Star whispered. "Can't let it end like this!"
Star Shine immediately grabbed Crystal and pulled her behind a wall.
"Star, what in-" Crystal began, but Star Shine quickly shushed her.
"Three, two, one..." she counted, her voice barely audible over her heartbeat.
A yell emerged from the outside, and moments later the sounds of battle followed. Star gulped.
"Star, what was that?" Crystal asked fearfully, "What's happening?"
"I got my cutie mark," Star Shine quietly replied, "Follow me."
Star peaked her head out around the wall, and watched as ponies fell left and right trying to stop the behemoth. She saw Winter stand in front of it, horn glowing with arcane energy as she prepared a spell. Its leg flew at her just as the spell was cast, both attacks hitting their targets simultaneously. Winter's body flew towards a wall, cracking audibly, while the beast roared in agony as its eye combusted. Batting at the flames, the beast clawed its own eye out to prevent further injury. Star's gaze turned back to where Winter still hadn't gotten back up.
"Come on..." she whispered fervently, determination flooding through her, "Get UP!" As the beast approached Winter's body, Star suddenly sprinted towards her, Crystal shouting protests behind her as she stayed behind the safety of the wall.
Star charged the beast, which immediately ignored Winter in favor of the more immediate 'threat'. Star threw her spear, aiming at its other eye, trying to blind it. To her shock, the beast merely blinked for a moment, the spear bouncing off the eyelid. Gulping, Star shivered as she stood, weaponless, in front of the beast. Its arm came down.
Star blinked as she watched the beast approach Winter's body, before suddenly realizing what she had to do next. She sprinted towards the Beast, yelling a battlecry as the beast turned to face her. She launched the spear at its eye, but it batted it away. She dove to the right...
She dove to the left, barely dodging the creature's leg. She scooped up the spear and turned to face the beast, only for her head to meet its arm...
She scooped up the spear and ducked, feeling the beast's arm whistle over her head as she brought the spear up directly through its empty eye socket and into its brain. For a moment, it stood stock still, before collapsing on the ground. Star pulled the spear back and fell on her haunches, panting as she stared at the corpse of the beast that had just killed her multiple times.
Moments later, the stunned silence turned to cheers and whistles and the Captain approached her.
"Field promotion," he barked. "I have no idea where you got that good, Regiment Leader Star, but we could sure use a hell of a lot more of it."
"Y-yes, sir!" she saluted him, trembling.
Winter stared at the young mare that had just taken down the beast she'd tried to fight. Moments after she had distracted the beast, Winter had woken and watched as the mare struck the fatal blow. Winter frowned, she could feel that something was... off. A strange magic filled the air, but she shrugged it off. There were more important things to worry about, like the enemy. Lacking any visible conflicts, Winter listened to the sounds around her, trying to find any nearby fights she could help with.
"... has defeated their beast. We don't have much time left to extract the Crystal Heart," a voice mumbled nearby.
Winter's ears stood up, "The Crystal Heart is under attack!"
Winter raced towards the center of town, galloping past the multicolored structures around her. She knew that if anypony took the heart, the defense's moral might drop critically, and cause them to be overwhelmed. When she reached the towering crystal structure at the heart of the empire, she skidded to a halt, taking it the strange situation in front of her.
Two armies of Changelings fought for control of the castle, the fight raging back and forth as neither side could gain ground on the other. Distantly, in the center, Winter could see two queens fighting each other for control of the Heart itself. Winter raced towards the center, dodging pairs of combatting Changelings. When two rolled directly in front of her, she took to the air, flying between bolts of green fire. One Changeling stopped and targeted her, preparing to intercept, but Winter's hoof knocked him out cold, and he dropped from the sky like a stone, landing on another pair of Changelings. Closer to the center, the swarm was getting thicker, and Winter had to slow down to continue. She unleashed a large bolt of energy, and Changelings either dodged out of the way or were knocked out of the sky, leaving a clear opening for Winter to propel herself through. Finally, she reached the castle, which was clear of errant Changelings, as both queens wished their duel to be personal, with no interference from ordinary drones. Winter landed, briefly glancing back to see that the hole she had opened in the Changeling armies had already closed. Winter steeled herself, took a deep breath, and prepared to save the Crystal Empire once and for all.
Chrysalis and Schadenfreude stood across from each other, the Heart floating in front of them.
"So it comes down to this," Schadenfreude sneered. "You and me, battling for the Crystal Heart and Cadence. Winner takes all."
Chrysalis sneered back, "Foal. You'll never defeat me, not here, or ever. You should run while you still have the chance."
Both horns lit as they prepared to dual. The two circled each other, looking for an opening as they prepared to fight to the death. The two suddenly leapt towards each other, Chrysalis's hoof moving towards Schadenfreude's horn, but she ducked and responded with a hoof to Chrysalis's chest. Chrysalis's body morphed as it approached, a hole opening in her chest, and Schadenfreude's hoof went straight through. Before she could pull her hoof back, Chrysalis's body closed around the hoof, trapping it as Chrysalis gave Schadenfreude a head butt. The two locked horns, and Schadenfreude's hoof morphed into a claw, tearing through Chrysalis's chest as she removed it.
Chrysalis laughed, and her horn charged with powerful energy as she rose into the air, preparing to deliver a killing blow. Schadenfreude responded in kind, and the two of their beams matched each other, each fighting to gain the upper hoof.
Winter stealthily approached the Heart. It was easy with the two leaders distracted, their full concentration on the dual. However, when she reached it, she found herself at a loss for what to do. She could take the heart off the pedestal, but would that hurt the Crystal Empire? She could try to take down either Chrysalis or Schadenfreude, but either way she knew she wouldn't be able to defeat the survivor.
Unfortunately, Winter's window of opportunity was very brief. One of Schadenfreude's drones snuck up behind Chrysalis, violating the agreement of the dual, and swiftly knocked on her horn, temporarily disrupting her magic. Chrysalis's eyes widened in shock and fear as she frantically lit her horn, trying to stop Schadenfreude's lethal bolt of energy, but it was too late. The beam incinerated her entire body, which disappeared in a flash of green fire.
Schadenfreude laughed. "Nothing can stop me now! I have beaten Chrysalis herself! Now, to claim my prize..."
Winter fearfully hid behind the Heart as Schadenfreude loomed over it. She gulped audibly, then launched a bolt of magic. There was nothing else she could think of to do.
Schadenfreude dodged quickly, raising an eyebrow as she saw Winter.
"Oh, it's you again. How did you even get here? No matter, you're too late to stop me!"
Winter stood between her and the Heart, "If you want to get the Crystal Heart... You're going to have to go through me first!"
Schadenfreude grinned maliciously, "So be it."
She unleashed a beam of green energy, and Winter's eyes widened as she approached it. She lit her horn and teleported above Schadenfreude, out of the line of fire. To her horror, the beam continued, impacting the Crystal Heart. With a rumble of power, the Heart shuddered twice, before a network of cracks spread through it.
"No!" Schadenfreude yelled, "My prize!"
With a burst of shimmering light, the Heart finally shattered, falling to pieces on the ground. Winter stared in shock and horror at the broken remains of the most important relic in the entire Crystal Empire, responsible for keeping the city habitable even in the freezing climate. Without it, all of these ponies and families were liable to freeze to death if they couldn't leave to the safety of Equestria in time.
"No..." Winter whispered, defeat in her eyes. She'd failed, and everypony was going to die. Then, she remembered: Schadenfreude and Chrysalis has discussed Cadence as one of the prizes to go to the victor! She must be near! While Schadenfreude was distracted, Winter looked for Cadence. She knew that if the Crystal Heart was located directly at the site of the dual, Cadence should probably be here too. Leaning up against one of the pillars of crystal holding up against the castle, Winter saw Cadence trapped inside some sort of solid crystal! She quickly dashed forward, grabbing her and pulling in an attempt to fly off.
"Not on my watch!" Schadenfreude snarled, charging Winter. She had stepped out to claim the one prize she still had, only to find it about to be stolen from under her nose!
Winter's eyes widened and she charged up a spell. A moment later, just when Schadenfreude was about to impact Winter, she and Cadence teleported away.
Schadenfreude growled, "All Changelings! Hear me! Both prizes have been lost, it is time to retreat. They may have won this battle, but they will not win the war! We will return to have our revenge!"
