My Little Dynamite: Book Two

by Fuzzyfurvert

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Princess Cadance, Spike, Queen Chrysalis, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe
Length: 28692

Battle Mage Twilight, Spike, and Cadance have been thrown into the middle of a confrontation 1000 years in the making, as the Midnight Lord returns from his eon long banishment to once again challenge the Royal Sisters.

Twilight Sparkle, prodigy of Celestia's elite Battle Mage corps, has protected Princess Cadance from changeling assassins, but that can't prepare her for what she must face off against next. A foe even the Royal Sisters have reason to fear has resurfaced and he has debts to settle with the former High Priestesses of the Everfree.

In the far north, beyond the Minotaur lands and Caribou tundra, an unnatural storm is brewing. The Midnight Lord is returned and readying for war. He does not plan to fight fair.

Even Love can be a weapon.

Chapters to be posted on the 15th OR 30th of each month unless life gets in the way.

Published 2016-03-30 09:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-09-15 09:52:30 UTC

More Than Snow Falls

Chapter 2

She awoke to the coppery taste of her own blood.

Right on the heels of that realization, the rest of reality came crashing back down. She was cold. Freezing. It was the kind of cold she could feel all the way to the bone. She was in pain, but at this point, it was just so much background noise to all the rest. Her undercarriage felt particularly bruised, cold, and wet.

On top of it all, she could feel a hot weight on her outstretched arms, pressing them into the same cold wetness as the rest of her torso was sunk into.

Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes.

Her first impression was a blinding brightness. Whiteness on top of pink. Whiteness… snow...on top of her, on top of everything. Her eyes struggled to focus, mind turning gears over to recall the last few moments. Flying through the air.

They were in danger. Dark magic...arcane power—almost hungry, like I’ve never felt before. No wonder the Princess always warned me to never use it.

They were in the ruins, in the Everfree. The temple of the Sun with the defaced carvings. There was a monster in the darkness. It moved too fast. Impossible speed. It countered everything we threw at it.

Everything went black. I had to save Cadance…

Twilight Sparkle lifted her head, a groan escaping her lips with the movement. Cadance had been fighting the creature…Chrysalis...when the dark magic had enveloped them all.

Twilight forced her eyes to focus, squinting against the blinding glare. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza rested in her arms, sprawled limply. For a heart stopping moment, Twilight thought Cadance was dead, when the alicorn drew a shallow breath. I caught her.

“H-heck yeah...I caught you.” Twilight coughed, smiling weakly for a moment before she turned her head to look around.

Snow covered everything, but only lightly, as if it had just started coming down. She and Cadance lay on the ground in a puddle of quickly recooling snowmelt, large chunks of stone and tile surrounding them on all sides. The air was still, flakes of snow gently wafting down onto what looked like some sort of plain or tundra. It was hard to tell. Where in Equestria are we? It’s the middle of summer!

Twilight narrowed her eyes against the glare and looked up at the sky. Immense storm heads were rolling in above them, dark and ominous enough that she didn’t have to cast any magic to see they were more than natural. Something big was happening to effect the weather so strongly on such a scale. The foreboding cloud front stretched as far as she could see in either direction and were moving fast to swallow the sun.

She grunted with the effort to keep her head up, struggling to tug Cadance closer to herself. Twilight’s body immediately started lecturing her on the many places she didn’t know she could hurt and was now suffering. Cadance took another shuddering, ragged breath, her peytral askew and shoes only holding on loosely. Twilight didn’t see any immediate wounds and she prayed there wasn’t anything broken internally.

Twilight pried one hoof out from under Cadance’s prone form and brushed her mane out of her face, opening her mouth to speak when she heard a wet, scraping noise off to her left. Memories of the fight with the thing that called itself ‘Queen Chrysalis’ flashed through her mind and she was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that she didn’t know what had become of the threat. Or what happened to Spike and Zecora, for that matter.

The sound repeated, like metal against stone and something being dragged along the ground.

Twilight eased herself, as quietly as she could manage, into a sitting position and leaned up against a large piece of rubble that blocked whatever was making the sound from her sight. She took a calming breath. The sound continued, but she could tell whatever was making it was starting to move away from her and Cadance’s position. If the creature was still moving, they were in trouble, but then again, if it was Spike or Zecora, she needed to know what condition they were in. It would be a bad idea to get even more separated, if the monster didn’t get them, the temperature would.

Twilight took a risk. She moved slowly, peeking up over the edge of the rubble. Her eyes widened and she ducked back down, clapping a hoof over her mouth to keep from giving away her position. Four ponies—are they even ponies?—were not more than a dozen hoofsteps from her. They—are they made out of crystals?—each had a heavy chain that was wrapped around their necks—golems?—and the other ends were threaded through the open holes in Chrysalis’ legs. They were dragging the seemingly unconscious creature away through the snow.

Twilight ran her tongue over her teeth, tasting blood again. She took another deep breath of chill air, running her mind over her options. Cadance was still out cold, Spike and Zecora were unaccounted for. She was in a lot of pain. The one monster had been replaced by four new creatures that looked like ponies made out of gemstone. She would be one pony against four unknown enemies. Those were bad odds, and even if she won, there was no guarantee that she could get Cadance and herself into shelter soon enough to beat exposure from ending them.

Celestia...Princess, what would you do? Back in the Everfree, Cadance had told Chrysalis that the Princess’ teachings showed them those that dare prevail. But a daring stand now looked more and more like a last stand. Follow the mission, Twilight. Cadance is the most important thing. You are her guardian. Guard her. Protect her. Keep her safe no matter what.

Twilight held her breath, listening to the four pony-things dragging Chrysalis away, and made her call. She was a Battle Mage, but battle was not all her magic was good for. She wished that she’d had the forethought to pay more attention in the emergency medical classes, but she could at least make sure that she and Cadance were in good enough condition to move. She willed her horn to charge with arcane energies, shaping the spell into a basic scanning function that would assess her body’s physical integrity. It wouldn’t fix anything, but at least then she’d know if she had any internal injuries that weren’t outwardly obvious. She didn’t start breathing again until the spell reported back that her bones and organs were where they were supposed to be and functioning at a reasonable capacity.

Twilight slumped in relief and then recast the spell, aiming it Cadance. Her breathing remained slow and shallow, but the scan reported that her heart was still beating strong and her bones were fine. The Princess was bruised, but not broken. The diagnosis gave Twilight hope and her she intended to not let it go to waste. Quietly, she eased down against Cadance, and scooted them deeper into the lee of the large stone that shielded them. She had to get them both warm, then wake Cadance up.

Cadance awoke to warm arms holding her from behind.

The world creeped back into her senses slowly. She was cold, she ached, she was laying on something hard and wet. But she was also being held tenderly, the body pressed into her back a warm shield against the elements.

She remembered the temple, the traps, the flashes of blade and spell before Tartarus opened up under her hooves and Twilight rushed toward her from the side.

Twilight. Cadance opened her eyes and looked up against a bright glare. Open sky spread out above her. She heard a noise and turned her head slightly until she could see the silhouette of her Battle Mage above her.

“Twily?” She flinched at the croak in her voice.

“Yeah, Cady. It’s me.”

“You caught me.” Cadance smiled weakly, shifting her sore back into Twilight’s warm body. “I’m in safe hooves.”

“Yeah, Cady.” Twilight repeated herself. The unicorn leaned down, her bloodied muzzle swimming into view. “You can’t go to sleep, Cady. We’ll die out here if you do that. Can you stay awake?”

Cadance groaned. She might have just woken up, but her body wanted to rest. But for her Twily, she’d move mountains. She nodded. “I can do that.”

“Good.” Twilight sighed and Cadance could feel the relief in her voice. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere. Promise.” Cadance groaned again, but she smiled weakly. “Speaking of...where the hay are we? Where is Spike and Zecora?”

Twilight patted Cadance’s side gently, shushing the Princess. “Keep your voice down. There are...things...ponies maybe, nearby. They probably aren’t the friendly type, Princess, but they’re leaving with Chrysalis’ body.”

“Body?” Cadance hissed, pressing herself harder into Twilight. “What’s going on? I thought she cast that spell?”

“I haven’t figured it out either.” Twilight lowered her head, her ears alert and tracking the retreating pony-things. She worked her jaw, trying to keep her mouth from going dry. “I have no idea where we are, what those things are, or where our friends are. But I promise you, we’ll get through this, Cadance.”

The Princess nodded tiredly, biting down on all the questions that were bubbling up. There would be time for that later, if they didn’t freeze. Her body was already starting to shiver, and she could feel Twilight’s doing the same. She lowered her head, resting it on Twilight’s arm and prayed that her guardian was right about getting them out of this alive.

Four Once More

Chapter 3

Cadance worked her back deeper into Twilight’s warm embrace, the light snowfall around them coming from an increasingly dark and cloudy sky. The snowflakes were getting larger by the minute and she could smell the incoming storm on the air. The feathers along the forward edge of her wings tingled. Her pegasus heritage letting her know beyond doubt that the weather was shifting abnormally. Twilight was right, if they didn’t find proper shelter soon, the weather would end them both.

She turned her ears to listen for the fading sound that Twilight told her was a quartet of pony-shaped ‘gemstone creatures’ dragging away an unconscious Chrysalis. The noise of the dragging was almost completely swallowed by the background at this point, so she knew it wouldn’t be long before they started moving. Cadance frowned, thinking back to what the changeling had said to her in the Everfree temple. If Chrysalis wasn’t outright lying, it left the rather troubling implication that Canterlot’s upper echelons had be infiltrated long long ago.

Do the Sisters know? If they do...why did they never tell me, or do anything about it? The way Chrysalis spoke about Aunt Celestia...it’s like they knew each other. Like they were...close. If Zecora’s story holds any truth, then I suppose that’s entirely possible. Aunt Tia never told me anything about Chrysalis or other changelings like her. Everything I’ve been able to piece together about them comes from my other contacts. Rumors and hearsay across a dozen countries. It doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t tell me—if they knew anything—but the possibility of the both of them not knowing at all seems even more unlikely.

Cadance sighed, letting air out through her nose silently to mist in front of her face. She turned her head to look up and back at Twilight. The blood that had been dripping from Twilight’s muzzle was already starting to cake. It created dark red lines on Twilight’s purple coat. Twilight wasn’t looking at her though, instead focusing on her hearing and holding Cadance, to keep them both warm. The cold would take longer to really bother her, thanks to some minor passive enchantments in her vestments, but Twilight lacked that benefit and Cadance could feel her guardian shivering slightly. Hopefully, shelter wouldn’t prove too difficult to find.

“Twily?” Cadance kept her voice soft and low, barely more than a whisper. “What do you think Chrysalis meant when—” She clapped her mouth shut when she felt Twilight tense. A split second later, the sound of snow crunching under hoof suddenly came from behind the stone the two of them were backed up against.

Twilight’s horn started to glow, gathering her will and arcane power, while her hoof reached awkwardly toward her staff that was still partially covered in snow besides them. Cadance held her breath, readying herself to dodge out of the way and counter whatever it was coming their way with her own blades. She tensed, every tendon in her body going taut with the approaching steps.

Just when she was about to move, a blessedly familiar claw gripped the top of their hiding place and Spike’s face appeared a moment later. The tension spilled out of Cadance and she sagged against Twilight.

“Twi! Princess! I’m so glad you two are alive!” Spike bared row after row of fangs in his own relieved smile, reaching down to help the mares to their hooves. “I was afraid I’d lost you two when I woke up a few minutes ago.”

“We’ve only been awake for a few minutes ourselves, Spike.” Twilight sighed, taking a quick look in the direction the creatures had left in. They weren’t within sight, the now heavy snowfall obscuring all but a faint hint of shadows in the grey distance. “Did you see those...things?”

“Those crystal...pony...things? Yeah.” Spike nodded, following Twilight’s gaze. “I came to when they started dragging the monster off. I wonder what they wanted with her?”

“Who knows. It’s unimportant right now anyway.” Twilight coughed and shook her frame to clear the snow and dirt from her cloak and coat, the tiny burst of adrenaline already fading. “I have no idea where we are, but we won’t last long in this cold without shelter of some sort.” She looked back at Spike, her eyes going wide. “Spike, have you seen Zecora?”

“Yeah, she’s over there. Shaken and a little banged up, but she says she’s ok.” He pointed back at a pile of rubble nearly as tall as he was. “Whatever it was that hit us transported all of us, plus a lot of the material from the ruins here at the same time. That’s...that’s ridiculous levels of power, Twi.” Spike ran his claw back over his green frill, his own draconic eyes wide. “I don’t think even the Princesses could pull off something like that.”

Cadance placed her hoof on Spike’s shoulder, smirking at him. “I’m sure Twilight can run the numbers on it later, Spike. Depends on the distance traveled...I think. But for now, let’s focus on getting mobile and then getting someplace warm.”

“Good point.”

Twilight nodded and moved around the low wall, keeping her head down as she crossed the open ground to where Zecora was at. She found the older zebra sage awake and resting against the pile of rocks and jagged tiles that had provided her and Spike with cover.

Zecora smiled weakly up at Twilight and nodded along while the Battle Mage scanned her for internal injury. “We all alive, ‘hank de Goddess.”

Twilight smiled reassuringly, her spell reporting no major injuries in the elder pony. “For now, at least. Can you walk?”

“I mus’, or I freeze here.” Zecora grit her teeth, accepting a helping hoof from Twilight, and grunted her way upright. “Where are we?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing, actually.” Twilight looked around again, scanning the area. Outside of the immediate area of fresh strewn rubble, the plain they were on was next to featureless. The snow certainly not helping with things.

Moments later, the battered and bruised, but otherwise healthy bunch gathered back in the small lee Twilight and Cadance had woken up in. Once they were seated, Zecora pulled two large metallic tubes from her vest.

“‘Hese be energy po’ions. Drink, will warm ya and give power. Like coffee, bu’ be’er.” The zebra grinned tiredly. “Glad I bring ‘em.”

“Me too.” Twilight popped the cork from one and sipped from the vial, grimacing at the too sweet flavor. The effect was much like coffee on a cold morning, but far more pronounced. She could feel a warming sensation in her belly and the weariness of the fight and the black magic fading into a much more manageable dull ache. She smacked her lips, passing the potion to Cadance. “Wow...that’s got a punch to it. What’s in it?”

Zecora cracked a sly smile and booped Twilight on the nose. “‘Rus’ me, you don’ wanna know.”

Cadance gagged when she swallowed, launching into a coughing fit. Twilight patted her on the back gently and after a moment, the pink alicorn managed to catch her breath and blink away the tears. “Wow...that is surprisingly better tasting than the stuff they sell as ‘coffee’ in the Diamond Dog Crowning!”

Spike snorted, rolling his eyes as he downed the potion with ease. “Pansies.” He handed his unused portion back to Zecora and hunkered down near Twilight. “Ok...so what’s the plan?”

Twilight took a slow breath, leaning on her staff. “First thing, we need shelter. Something defensible, if we can find it. But it has to get us out of the elements. Once we have that, I can make us a fire to warm ourselves and we can take stock and...figure out where the hell we are.”

She pulled her cloak tighter around herself. “You’ve got the best eyes, Spike. Think you can fly in these conditions?” Twilight cast a glance over her shoulder at the downpour of snow that was starting to really pile up. Energy potions or not, the biting cold was starting to make it hard for her to not shiver constantly.

“I’ll have too, won’t I?” Spike shook his head. “Let’s just hope that whatever those things were that dragged the changeling off don’t head back this way anytime too soon.”

“Let’s hope.” Cadance echoed, leaning against Twilight. “I wonder why they only took her? Why not the rest of us while we were all out cold?”

“I don’t know. But I’m not going to look providence in the mouth though.” Twilight gently patted Cadance’s shoulder. “We’re safe and I intend to do my best to make sure we stay that way. We can ask questions later.”

“Then I need to get airborne before the storm gets bad.” Spike grunted and stood up, walking away from the group. He winked at them and a moment later, his body started to glow and expand, loose powder blowing away from him as his body shifted from pony-sized biped to a winged quadruped that was easily twice the size of Princess Celestia. Spike stretched his wings and bound out over the snowy plain, flapping until he started to gain altitude.

Soon enough, Spike was completely obscured by the snow, leaving the three mares alone. Cadance hoped he was going to be alright, and that he found them someplace to get warm and dry. She was still staring up into the clouds when she felt Twilight wrap her cloak around them both. She smiled and nuzzled into Twily’s side.

“Cady?”

“Yeah?”

“When we get the chance...will you tell me where you learned to fight like that? And where you got those weapons?” Twilight’s voice was whisper quiet.

Cadance swallowed, nodding slowly. That was going to be a long conversation.

Gimme Shelter

Shelter, as it turned out, wasn’t far away.

Spike returned less than ten minutes after taking flight with news of a dense copse of fir trees growing around a large stony outcropping. After knocking off the icicles that were already starting to form on his wings, they set out to reach it on hoof.

Within an hour they were relocated, with Twilight and Spike converting the spot into something resembling a safe place. Spike’s claws dug out the base of the outcropping, displacing snow and moss, and he stacked the smaller stones around the base of the area. Meanwhile, Twilight’s force magic snapped logs and felled trees for the walls to cut off the biting wind. Cadance helped where she could, stripping the smaller branches of their needles to insulate the impromptu cave against the stinging cold while Zecora made a fire pit and did what she could to prep kindling.

They worked in near silence, focused on the task at hoof and claw. The unnatural seeming storm around them quickly blotted out the little light the day still offered until they had something that could—generously—be called a campsite. The logs and larger branches were stacked in a rough hemisphere up against the dugout overhang, the effort keeping them warm until fatigue and the snow that was quickly becoming more than shin deep sapped it away.

With the advanced protections of her enchanted vestments, it took the cold longer to get to Cadance, but it couldn’t stop her shivering by the time Twilight hefted the last of the wood into place with her magic. The rest of them weren’t faring any better, but at least they weren’t being actively snowed on. The Princess sank gracelessly to her knees in the dark enclosure, the hard dirt under her a far cry from the soft beds she’d become accustomed too.

“There...now, fire.” Twilight’s teeth started to clatter and she charged her horn again, concentrating on the pile of sticks in the firepit. A pale red-colored beam hit it a moment later, causing the wood to pop and smoke, but it steadfastly refused to light. “Well...horsefeathers.”

“It’s too wet…” Cadance shifted her wings awkwardly, eyes on Twilight. It felt weird to hear her friend curse. Twilight, no matter how flustered was always polite and proper around her. “Green wood won’t burn easily. But I know a spell that’ll dry it out pretty quickly.”

“Please.” Twilight gestured at the wood, her own tired eyes locked on the tiny curl of foul-smelling smoke rising from where she had turned up the heat. “I could really use some good news on the not-dying-of-exposure front.”

Cadance nodded, her horn flaring with arcane power, but she kept her eye on the despondent sounding Battle Mage. No sooner than the light from her own spell died, there was another blast from Twilight. This time the tinder burst to life with warm flames. She blinked away tears and looked up to watch the smoke drift upward and out through the haphazard roof of downed conifers. I hope no one sees the smoke in the storm and tracks us back here.

One by one, they huddled by the fire, the bit of snow that had gotten in as they completed the roof melting away to make the floor beneath the needles wet and soggy. Soon enough steam joined the smoke in the air and the enclosure slowly inched away from the dangerous levels of cold to something tolerable. Zecora was the first to succumb to sleep, her body leaning against Spike’s biped form. The dragon was not far behind and soon his light snoring was just as loud as the sizzling fire.

Cadance fought the weariness, shaking her head to clear the fog that threatened to overcome her. Twilight sat beside her in silence, staring into the flames. Cadance watched the light dance in the reflection of Twily’s eyes, wrapping her wings tighter around herself. When she couldn’t stand it any more, she turned her whole body to face Twilight and whispered. “Are you mad at me?”

Twilight jolted as if slapped, looking at Cadance sharply. “W-what? Cadance...I’m not mad at you. Why would I be?”

“Sorry.” The alicorn sighed, hugging herself with her wings. “It’s just...well, you got distant and we were just holding each other a few hours ago.”

“Oh Cady…” Twilight sighed and ran a hoof through her disheveled mane. “It’s not you. I...I’m sorry. But...it’s been what, hardly a week since I got my first mission as your guardian and I’ve nearly died three—four—times now? Equestria isn’t even at war or anything and I’ve already seen enough action to get a whole host of medals from Princess Celestia!”

Twilight paused and swallowed rapidly, looking Cadance in the eyes. “Not that I regret taking the mission or anything! I’ve missed you so much, Cady. I would protect you, no matter what I faced.” The unicorn sighed, her voice growing soft. “But it’s still a lot to take in. So much at once to deal with. When I rescued Princess Celestia a few years ago...I knew my life was in danger. But it didn’t matter. My Princess needed me. Now…you’re my Princess, and you need me to keep you safe, not space out when faced with my own fragile mortality. Sorry if I was being grumpy, focusing on our survival so much is starting to take a toll.”

“Twily, you are the best guardian I could ask for!” Cadance smiled gently, edging closer to the Battle Mage. “Trust that Aunt Celestia knew what she was doing when she assigned you to my detail. Learning to trust that she knows more than you do about most everything is a lesson I learned the hard way during my years abroad.”

“But Cady, this last time nearly got you, and Spike, and Zecora killed!” Twilight frowned, shifting her weight where she sat. “I don’t think I could stand to lose you and them too.”

Cadance got a little closer to Twilight and reached out her hooves to hold Twily’s, gazing into her guardian’s eyes. “None of this is your fault, Twily. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for bringing you into something blind. I’ve had more than a few attempts on my life now, and if that changeling is to be believed, she’s mostly behind it. Which, now that I think about it, makes a certain amount of sense.”

“Tell me about it, Cady.”

Cadance hung her head, resting her nose against Twilight’s shoulder. She took a slow breath, calming herself as she dug out the memories of the last five years. “These are still state secrets, Twily, even if Aunt Tia told me I could tell you, we can’t just be blabbing about my mission.”

“I understand.” Twilight opened her cloak, her magic tugging it and her hood around them for shared warmth and privacy. She gently lifted Cadance’s chin with her hoof, smiling at her when they were face to face once more. “I don’t need every gory detail...yet. I just want to understand what life has been like for you all this time.”

Cadance nodded. “Well, my mission was basically one part legitimate diplomacy with allied and potential ally nations. But that was mostly a cover story for my real purpose of espionage.”

Twilight hissed through her teeth. “I was starting to expect that, actually. But why you? Why did Princess Celestia feel she needed to spy on our neighbors?”

“From what I was told, Aunt Tia came across some compelling information that led her to believe that one or more of our allies were plotting against Equestria. Given my status as a newly risen Princess, and my talent for getting folks to work together, I was a natural pick. But she knew I was going to need more than a smile and a cutie mark enforced olive branch to find closely guarded secrets.” Cadance sighed, her muzzle bumping softly into Twilight’s. “The first year, she trained me in secret. She showed me how to read ponies and drakes and dog body language, how to wheel and deal in the courts and lounge rooms of power.”

“After that, I went to the Camule Republic and started my actual mission. Aunt Tia set me up with a local that would teach me how to pick locks and spot traps, how to move unseen and unheard.” She smirked at Twilight’s look of disbelief. “By day I wined and danced with the diplomats and rulers, by night I was raiding tombs.”

“When did you sleep?”

Cadance chuckled softly. “I honestly don’t remember. But other than those skills, I learned something about myself out there on the sand dunes.”

“Oh?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, slipping her hooves around Cadance’s barrel. “What’s that? A love for grit in your fetlocks?”

“No!” Cadance reached up and bopped Twily on the nose with her hoof. “I found a way to power through the grueling conditions and the training.” She leaned slightly to the side and looked back at the blue-colored heart and filigree that adorned her flank. “I found a new side to my ‘diplomagic,’ Twily. I missed you, terribly so. When I realized that the pain in my heart was from being without you...that I loved you, that’s when it kicked in. It gave me literal strength.”

She looked back at the purple unicorn, smiling. “You’ve been saving my life this whole time, Twily. My love for you kept me going to get back alive. And now...your love keeps me going to make sure we all get out of this alive.”

Twilight sighed and pulled Cadance closer until they were chest to chest, looking into her eyes. “When all this is settled...we’re going to have a long chat with Princess Celestia.”

“Must we?”

“But before that, you are going to give me the full details and I’m not letting you go for a full week.”

Cadance giggled. “Is that a prom—!” She didn’t get another word out, her mouth was too busy kissing Twilight. In a flash the last of the aches from the chill and recent struggles vanished in a pink wave of energy, leaving her relaxed and comfortable in the arms of the mare that loved her back.

Faking It

It was warm and bright when Chrysalis awoke. Her emerald colored eyes blinked numbly at the pink fur and fluff that surrounded her as she lay on her side in some large, plush bed. She remained still, letting her breathing continue in the steady rhythm from her sleep. The inner edges of the holes in her chitin, along her legs, were sore and felt raw and chaffed. Otherwise, Chrysalis felt surprisingly refreshed and rested in a way she hadn’t since the last time Monarca had slept over in her Princess’ bed.

Her thoughts were clear and strong. Her thoughts were her own. The voices silent again. The last thing she could clearly remember was making lunch for Celestia. Protein rich bundles of grains and artfully sliced vegetables. I hope she liked them. Then things started to become jumbled, flashes of incomplete memories bounced around inside her mind like a foal on too much sugar. Things got like that when the voices started getting loud, drowning out her own thoughts, her own will.

Those were the times when she lost herself. Chrysalis closed her eyes, hoping she hadn’t hurt anyone. Celestia always welcomed her back after these periods. Held her in those strong hooves and wrapped soft feather around her like the world’s greatest safety blanket.

”Monarca, you look tired! Why don’t you take a seat and I’ll have the maids bring us something?”

”Silk? I’ve been worried sick! Where have you been, it’s been days! Come to me, my little pony, let me kiss away whatever is troubling you.”

”Am I working you too hard, Sunchaser? You look exhausted! No, I insist, take a break. You can rest on my lounge while I do some of this paperwork. Don’t worry about it at all.”

Flashes of white, gold, and rainbows sparked behind her eyes. Her Princess danced through her memories like lighting in a storm, making her world brighter, making everything make sense. Celestia was her rock. Her lighthouse upon the shore. Chrysalis focused on that smile, those eyes, and slowed her heart to something approaching normal. She opened her eyes again to the chaos of pink around her and opened her mouth enough to lick her lips.

Chrysalis could taste ancient magic in the air. Everything around her was thickly coated with the ethereal residue of it. Under the magic, she could taste the emotions of those who cast it: desperation, anger, fear, pride, and loss. There was something else too, something she couldn’t easily place. It had a hauntingly familiar quality to it, like something she hadn’t tasted in ages. It was nothing more than the vague feeling, but it sparked in her oldest memories.

As she searched her mind, ancient, unbidden memories and feelings she had thought long since lost, arose. Light filled hours spent in a room that was decorated in pink fluffy things. Years spent as a filly in a huge palace surrounded by snow where she would gaze at paintings of places that were located to the far south, where everything was lush and green all year. Months spent in dim rooms, drilling spells in her head, into her horn until she could cast them without thinking about them. Days locked in the darkness whenever she failed one of her father’s tests.

“I know you are awake, my little Crystal. You can stop pretending.”

The voice was deep and thick, rumbling against her back like distant thunder. It was just as she remembered it: rich and warm with a caring tone that promised support and unconditional love. She’d learned the basics of deception from that voice. She learned how the honey concealed the iron underneath. Her father had always been a fine teacher.

Chrysalis curled her legs against herself, focusing on the sore feeling in the openings in her chitin. The discomfort was the truth. It was real. “I liked it better when you were just another one of the voices in my head.”

“I was never just a voice in your head. You know that, Crystal.”

“I prefer ‘Chrysalis’ now. It suits me. She gave it to me.” She wound herself into a tighter fetal position, her throat plates constricting and her breath growing a little ragged. “I had things under control. I didn’t need you to interfer.”

“I beg to differ, Crystal.” The voice chuckled softly, the tiny barbs in his tone slowly revealing themselves. “You were dilly dallying. Playing overly long with those lesser ponies. I taught you better than to disobey me.”

Chrysalis shuddered, tensing when she felt the blanket draw up higher onto her shoulder. “You taught me to take what I want from this world and buck the rest.” She swallowed with some difficulty and took a calming breath. “I-I don’t want you. I don’t want th-this. What I want, you can’t give me. So, you tell me what category that puts you in.”

“I am in control.” Chrysalis muttered, more to herself than anything else. “I am my own…”

A broad, heavy hoof touched her mane, smoothing it. The smell of smoke flooded her nostrils. “I believe you may want to re-think that. I can give my little Crystal whatever she wants. Join with me, as is your duty and birthright. Let us be a family again, Crystal, and I will give you everything you have fought for for so long. I’ll even return to you all that which you’ve lost these long centuries.”

As the voice continued, the hoof drifted back, brushing aside her web-like mane from her ear. It rubbed her there, like a father sooths the bad dreams from a filly. “I can give you the world and your priestess. I can make you not just my own little Princess again, but I can make you Princess to the entire world, Crystal. All you need to do is just what I bid you to and it will all be yours.”

Despite herself, Chrysalis started to relax under the gentle massage and the waves of deep baritone as it washed over her. My father is dead. Killed by his greed and hubris when he challenged a goddess. I can remember feeling him become no more. I can remember it! She forced her body tighter into the safe coil of limbs and torso, all but her eyes and ears below the blanket that covered her.

Across from the bed, in the bright light that was streaming in from above, she could see a simple end table. It was made from the stained wood of sub-arctic pines—she was sure of it—and on top was a filly’s toy, a dolly with golden hair and a blue dress. I used to have one just like it. I called her… Chrysalis closed her eyes again, fighting for the memory. It was so close, but kept eluding her. Her eyes snapped back open and she looked around the room as best she could without moving her head for fear of seeing the pony that stood behind her.

Toys, replica keepsakes from her first dozen or so birthdays littered the dresser and large vanity. Earthen jars, that she knew would hold make up, stood at attention like soldiers in front of the glittering mirror there. Just like I left them…

Chrysalis shuddered again. That phantom feeling, so much like home, so much like the place she had left and vowed—out of her father’s hearing—she would never return to, arose again like bile at the back of her throat. It’s all a lie...right? It can’t be him...it can’t be here! I-I...I checked. There was nothing left, not even a coin or a brick, just holes in the ground and fresh snow! The Empire is gone. Right?

“I know what you’re thinking, Crystal. You’re wondering if I’m telling the truth. You remember my training—and I will be the first to admit it was harsh and I was hard on you—and you are wondering if it will be like that again.” The voice got closer and the hoof at her ear dropped to her shoulder and tugged gently at her. “Well, I promise you, it won’t be. I want you at my side, Crystal. I want us to be a family again, just like old times. I know things...didn’t...go according to plan, but I know we can overcome it. This time...this time, my little sweetling, those abominations won’t stop us. They can try, but no matter what, I know that this time, we will prevail.”

It will be different...right? Chrysalis shook her head, biting her lip to hold back the whimpers that were trying to escape her. The room, the voice, the smell all screamed at her ‘This is real! This is home!’ He...he isn’t just a dream. This isn’t just in my mind, right?

The hoof tugged at her incessantly, growing firmer with each pull. “This time they won’t catch me by surprise. I’ve learned from my mistakes. I’ve become stronger whilst in my exile. Stronger than they can even fathom. No longer will you need to slink in the shadows to get close to the priestess. I will just give her to you on a silver platter.” The hoof grabbed her and yanked Chrysalis around onto her back. Above her, her father in all his dark presence, Sombra the Black smiled, his teeth gleaming white amid his inky coat. “I’ll even let her keep most of her limbs. I promise.”

Chrysalis jerked away, backing as far as the pillow would allow her from the apparition. His eyes were the same carnelian she remembered, but now they were surrounded by a sickly green glow. His mane was wild as ever, and it waved in a wind only it felt, the dark hair becoming like smoke as it flowed away from Sombra.

Sombra leaned closer, his smile widening to reveal almost saber tooth-like fangs. His voice lowered to a silky smooth whisper. “Welcome home, my little gemstone.”

Several hours previous:

Celestia blinked the residual aura of the Corona’s experimental transport gate out of her eyes, the arcane energies it channeled to perform the long distance teleport leaving a rainbow of afterimages in her vision. The ship seemed to be holding together and she made a mental note to congratulate the engineers later for the achievement. Out through the portside windows, Celestia could make out the grey and white mountains of the Northern Splithoof range. Tiny blots of bright color color peeked out from some of the distant ledges and crannies, Minotauran tribal kits flying in the air.

“At least it looks as if we are on course.” She murmured to herself. They were far, far off the course of established airship lines where ley lines and placed towers powered and guided flights around Equestria and beyond. The Corona’s engines were one of a kind, powered internally with some very strong spellcraft based on her own teleport spells. Previous versions of the engine tended to explode, but added shielding from matrices based on Luna’s famous barriers helped keep this one stable-ish.

Celestia looked down at the nearest minotaur village. No doubt there would be more than a few of them looking back at the ship and wondering where it had come from. Hopefully, they wouldn’t notice the cannon ports. “What do you think, Luna?”

The night Princess took a deep breath and held it for a moment, straightening up to stand as tall as her harness permitted. Luna’s eyes sparkled a little, looking not at the outside scenery, but at the ebb and flow of natural magic around the airship. When the Gibbous Shield failed and her magic returned to her, it left a trail, subtly disrupting the arcane landscape in its wake. “Yes...I can feel that we are much closer now.”

Luna sighed tiredly, unlocking her harness to wheel next to Celestia a moment later. “We are still a far ways off though, and in the middle of foreign airspace, I might add.”

“I personally sent word to the Collective’s elder council before we left, alerting them to our movement through their skies. It should reach them before news of our passing through does.”

“And what if we should run into the Collective’s airforce out here?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “I realize the need for haste, believe me, but we run the risk of an international incident, Tia. An experimental airship suddenly appearing where conventional wisdom says it cannot, and it’s loaded with cannons? They may not like what they hear, regardless of who tells them.”

“Unloaded cannons.” Celestia clarified quickly before shrugging. “Not that they will know. If things proceed according to plan, we will be long gone before they can make a formal inquiry.” She scanned the horizon again. “I’m hoping that the secret airbase that they are rumored to have out here is just a rumor.”

Celestia clicked her tongue and looked back over her shoulder at the rest of the bridge crew that were busy checking the Corona’s systems and telemetry. “Helm! Where’s my report?”

“Y-you’re real?” Chrysalis gurgled, her throat plates refusing to loosen up, her heart pounding in her ears. “You’re a-alive?”

“I am very much alive, daughter mine.” Lord Sombra sneered. “Always have been, Crystal.”

“My name...” Chrysalis felt her limbs shifting, fight and flight waring in the back of her mind. She willed muscle and sinew to move and reshape, her chitin morphing from a pony leg to an immense crab claw. Her body moved faster than eyes could follow, striking out from under the blanket, her pincer closing on her father’s extended neck. “...is Chrysalis!”

Sombra’s next offered only token resistance, the flesh giving way with little effort. His eyes widened for a split second in surprise before Chrysalis’ claw tore his head off. Sombra’s body exploded into a smokey cloud, his head doing the same an instant later.

Chrysalis rolled away from the cloud, her body already reshaping itself into a slick, aerodynamic form. Hooves and wings worked together to turn her roll into a dive, changing her trajectory towards where her memories told her the bedroom door was. To her immediate relief, the door was both there and open. She shot through it, sparing her father and her cage one final glance.

She was at the end of the short hall half a breath later. Chrysalis powered through the corner, kicking off the wall hard enough to send shallow cracks through its crystalline surface. The halls were empty, stone and crystal walls oddly featureless. In the shaky memories of her youth, the castle had been filled with artwork, paints and statues that commemorated some conquest of her father’s. The endless staff members were likewise absent. The servants nowhere to be seen.

Her pulse refused to slow or stabilize as she took turn after turn at speed, putting space between herself and whatever called itself her father. There were few lights, room after room she passed dark and murky. Everything felt unreal, dreamlike, but the more she railed against it, the more sure she was that her father and her home where returned. Ahead of her, a large set of double doors sat open, revealing a large, lit space beyond.

Chrysalis shot through it and screeched to a halt. She was in some giant room that reminding her of a ballroom. It was mostly empty, except for a couple of low tables set with beakers, flasks, and other alchemical equipment. A good third of the room, was filled with row upon row of crystal statues of random ponies.

Are...are they all looking at me? Chrysalis took an unsteady breath, turning her ears about to hear any pursuit. Vaporized or not, she had the bad feeling that her father was still very much alive and active. She needed to find other ponies and blend in, hide.

“I need to lay low, find a way out.” Chrysalis nodded to herself, swallowing and choking back a sniffle. “I can do this...Celestia is waiting for me. She has to let me know if lunch was good...do I have books to organize? Or was I...was I folding her sheets?”

It doesn’t matter. Just live. Escape. Get back to Canterlot. Back into routine. Celestia will make the things make sense.

Chrysalis looked across the room at the next set of doors. If this truly was the Crystal Palace, then she felt that passing the ballroom would lead her toward the courtyard and the gate. The layout seemed like her vague recollection of her foalhood home, but she wasn’t completely sure.

She flared her wings to take off again when a noise caught her ears. She looked back over her shoulder but nothing was there except the statues.

“My father has picked up some odd habits in the centuries he’s been away.” She frowned, the phantom noise bothering her. “Why he’d want to carve a bunch of statues with eyes that follow you everywhere, I’ll never know and I don’t intend to find out.”

“I find that they give me a sense of peace. A people I can always rely on.”

Chrysalis spun around, staring wide eyed at her father who now stood next to the alchemy tables. He was wearing his crown and royal cloak now, and looked none the worse for having had his head removed minutes ago. The tip of his curved horn pulsed a dull, angry red and he levitated a large heart-shaped gem off the table towards himself.

“Unlike everypony else—family included—they never stop to question me or go off on their own chasing a lie.”

“It wasn’t a lie.” Chrysalis hunkered down, bunching her muscles to move the moment her father tried anything. “It was a promise. She promised me a place by her side.”

“By her side?” Sombra smirked, pulling the gem closer to examine it. “All you ever managed was under her. The priestess broke you, Crystal.”

Chrysalis growled low in her throat, her cheeks warming.

“She will never hold you up as her equal.” Sombra continued, turning the crystal he was holding around to catch the light. It glimmered in his grip. “She used you.”

“She loves me!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you see the truth yet.” Sombra narrowed his brows, the shine coming off the floating gem getting brighter. “I can cure of these lies. Take her to my lab.”

Chrysalis leaped, her wings buzzing hard to push her even faster. Whatever Sombra had planned, she had no intention of making it easy on him. She barely had her eyes off him, turning toward the far doorway when it felt like a mountain was dropped on her. Hooves, hard as stone and just as cold piled down on her, driving her to the floor and the wind from her lungs. “Celestia!”

Mute Function

Aboard the HMAS Corona: Hours ago

“Chrysalis…” Celestia murmured to herself, eyes focused on nothing. Events were moving fast around her again, and she felt ill. Peace made her soft and when these conflicts arose, it took her time to adjust. Celestia watched the mountainside below them, memories of wars raging through her mind. Times in Equestria’s history when war raged and the ponies, drakes and dogs under her rule were forced to survive in harsh conditions they didn’t ask for.

Times when she felt most alive. As the mountain crawled by, she could could feel her heart aching to start beating again. To sound the drums of war. To live and be reunited with her dark shadow and her purpose as the Sword of Equestria.

Celestia clenched her jaw lightly, keeping the strain from her face. Luna would likely notice it, but she didn’t need to let the crew see it. They didn’t need to see their Princess crack under her own pressure. Especially in a situation where lives would depend on it.

Thought of the Corona’s crew drew her out of her memories and Celestia allowed herself to frown. “Helm, where’s that report?”

“Sorry ma’am!” The diamond dog at the helm saluted smartly. “I just got word back from the engine room. There was a small fire, but it is now contained. The lead engineer isn’t sure when the gate generator will be useable again, as of yet.”

“What about the standard aether engine?” Celestia turned around fully, stepping over to the helm to glance over the multitude of gauges and dials that displayed the condition of the Corona’s systems.

“Operating within optimal conditions, ma’am.”

“I see.” Celestia nodded to herself. “Get Navigation to pinpoint our location, then I want this ship on a course my sister sets at full speed.” She tapped a hoof against one of the pressure gauges and watched the needle move slowly away from the red end.

“How far do you think we have yet to go?” The Princess looked over her shoulder at her sister who was still gazing out the window.

“Leagues, easily.” Luna gestured vaguely with her horn. “That way...a day’s flight by our wings. A few hours at worst with the Corona. I think.”

“She’s as fast an airship as any Equestria has ever produced, Luna. We’ll be there before this Sombra can muster forces enough to face us.” Celestia bared her teeth, her heart turning over to thump in her chest.

“About that…” Luna frowned, looking back at her sister with a steady stare. “Might we speak in private? There are things we must discuss.”

Crystal Empire: Present

“How are you enjoying you return home so far?” Lord Sombra smiled broadly, nodding to himself as he levitated the heart-shaped crystal from his lab upwards above their heads. “I’m so glad you are here, my child! I have so much to show you! I have not been idle in my imprisonment.”

He gesture around them and more lights from embedded crystalline structures set the halls a-glow at his command. “Just listen, and you can hear the advancement, the progress I’ve made. The walls hum with power like never before, every movement made to my exacting will. It was hard won, but peace came to my empire the day that fallen, false goddess came to visit. I would do well to thank her before I grind her to paste.”

Sombra paused, narrowing his brow in thought. “It is the white one you like, right? I’d hate to break your toy accidentally.” He shrugged a moment later, his smile returning. “It doesn’t matter, I suppose. One priestess is as good as another in the end. Maybe I’ll save one and see what I can gleam from her insides? Goodness knows I learned a lot from your’s.”

His smile turned sly. “Oops! I wasn’t going to tell you that yet, but now the cat’s out of the bag, I suppose! You are the reason I am here today, my dear, and not just because you finally got off your flank and opened the seals. I’m here because I learned so much from you, from your experiments and delves into madness that twisted the arcane matrices within yourself. I sought to copy it, but I couldn’t…”

Sombra faded out and looked back up at the crystal above them. “So I improved upon what I could decipher from the mewling wails of some half thing. I opened whole new schools of thought and study. I’ve pushed the boundaries of pony magic farther than even you. Now, it is I who am the god, not those priestesses. Me. Sombra the Black! The Midnight Lord! I. AM. THE. GREATEST!”

The room shook with the force of his shout, echoes bouncing wildly through the castle silence. When they too faded out, Sombra chuckled quietly. “To think, Crystal, I once thought ruling this castle was an accomplishment. Conquering those tribes in the tundra was to be my crowning achievement back in those halcyon days. How small I was then. How short sighted. It took a moment of humility to see that, and once I did, I did not look back. But I am not so blind as to miss your contributions.”

He looked back over his shoulder, pride plain on his face. “It is thanks to you, to your madness, that I was able to create this; my Crystal Heart. It is the very real heart of the Empire. The lives of all of my ponies bound to it, and thus, to my will. Together, the empire is like a single pony spread over thousands of bodies. Isn’t that miraculous, Crystal? Isn’t that an even greater peace than anything those priestesses achieved?”

Sombra lowered the Crystal Heart down into his waiting hooves and stroked it lovingly. “Soon I will bring peace to all the world. I just need to take care of a few loose ends first.” He turned, looking at his daughter where she thrashed against the metal braces and straps that held her in place against one of his lab tables. The bindings crawled with arcane runes that flashed in time with her movements. He set the Heart aside and reached over to the binding that held her head back. Gnashing fangs snapped at him as he twisted a knob and pulled it back.

“AaaaRaagghh! I will kill you! If you touch a single strand of hair on her I will end yo—!”

Sombra closed it back, smiling ruefully. He glanced at one of the silent, crystal ponies that stood around them. Its eyes tracked Chrysalis’ movements with just a hint of the brows narrowing in some sort of emotion. Perhaps even concern. “Aren’t you glad I enchanted these with a silencing effect? Learned from that mistake a long time ago, didn’t we?”

The crystal pony nodded. They all did. Because Sombra willed it so.

Aboard the HMAS Corona: Hours ago

Celestia led the way to the Corona’s captain's chamber. There was barely room for the two of them and the basic furnishings inside. Celestia settled herself on what passed for a bed, her bulk making the fresh mattress creak.

As soon as Luna’s wheeled harness crossed the threshold, she closed the door with kick of her hoof. She lit her horn with magic, sealing them inside a hemisphere of privacy.

Celestia raised an eyebrow, her voice making the bubble ring with a dull tone. “Was the door not private enough?”

“Not if I want full disclosure from you.” Luna deadpanned and rustled her feathers, getting comfortable as the little space allowed. “I want to know why you were so gung ho to come after Sombra, you would risk an international incident that could throw the country into a war with the Minotauran Collective.”

“If this Sombra is as bad as you recall, the war would come anyway if he were allowed to gain a hoofhold on the north. We’ve been allied with the Minotaurs for generations now, I’m sure things may get tense, but would be smoothed over.” Celestia leaned forward, facing her sister. “I believe my actions thus far have been logical.”

“Oh drop the act, Tia, you are talking to me, not some noble or pack of reporters!” Luna rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes, I know Sombra is a threat like no other. Better than you do, in fact! We cannot underestimate him, sister. But...I know you too. The Flaming Sword of Equestria does not go storming into battle half cocked. You plan, you prepare, you stack the deck. And yet, here we are about to charge into the dragon’s den without so much as checking the color of the scales on the ground!”

The younger Princess sneered. “Tell me what has you in a vise. I know you like your secrets, Tia, but I need to be in on them this time. Hesitation or mistrust might end us against this threat.”

Celestia scowled, her eyes on her hooves for a long moment. When she looked up, Luna could see a touch of fear in those lavender irises. “Lulu...I’m worried. Things are coming together in a way I wasn’t prepared for...and I fear I may have been complicit in this situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...lots of things—disseperate things going back centuries—are all coming together. Connections I only suspected are suddenly becoming clear, Lulu.” Celestia hung her head. “There are times...when Chrysalis is stable. She’s a wonderful mare when she is...but then there are other times and she goes to some place...else. I-I just wonder if in those times when she wasn’t stable, did she set these things up? Did she manipulate me, and if so, was it intentional? Or was it her madness? I sent Cadance out based on rumors I picked up from my informants...but was that all from her, Lulu?”

“Oh sweet Goddesses, Tia...are you serious? I know you fancy the bug, but this?” Luna slumped in her harness. “You think this some mistake of yours that needs to be corrected? Unless you taught her how to break my seals, then there is none of your fault for Sombra’s release here. Rest your soul on that, at least. But what does the changeling have to do with this anyway?”

“I’ve suspected, since you told me about Sombra, that he might be her father.” Celestia was silent for a time. “I don’t claim to know any details...but I remember from before, in the Everfree when she was simply competing for your place, hearing her sometimes speak of her father in hushed tones. She was scared of him like nothing I’ve ever known, Luna.”

“And now he is back.”

“Yes.” Celestia wiped her eye with the edge of her hoof. “And I’ve lost contact with Chrysalis. She hasn’t been seen in any of her regular haunts. I was concerned she might go do something to Cadance...but now I’m terrified to think she released Sombra and he has her again.”

“So...we are rushing to war with a stallion that fought me in my full goddesshood to a standstill to rescue your...is marefriend even the right word? Is she a pony any longer?”

Celestia snorted, smirking up at Luna. “She’s not a pony, technically. But trust me, she’s all mare.”

Just Like Old Times

Aboard the HMAS Corona: Hours ago

Luna shook her head, looking at her sister with tired eyes. “You can keep the details to yourself. But…I understand the feeling, Tia. You have my support in rescuing your bug, if she is even there. Sombra, however, comes first. He was a psychopath and he wielded power like I’ve never seen in a non-alicorn. He is dangerous, Tia. Strong, fast, and when he fought me, he wasted not a thought on sacrificing his people if it led to a benefit.”

She looked away for a moment, her eyes searching the room until they returned to Celestia. “He will make us kill to defend ourselves. Are you ready for that?”

Celestia nodded, her horn sparking and her eponymous warmug appearing beside her, steam wafting off the Foalgers blended coffee inside it. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had to do that, but I am ready. I will protect my peoples and my country with my life.” She smiled ruefully. “I am Equestria’s Sword.”

“And I, Her Shield.” Luna’s smile matched her sister’s and she held out her hoof. Celestia met her and they bumped their hooves together. “Together we will prevail. Stop the evil, save the kingdom.”

“Get the mare.” Celestia finished for her sister. “Just like old times, eh Lulu?”

“I suppose so. When was the last time we did this?”

“The War of Endless Plains, wasn’t it?” Celestia took a sip of her coffee, brows narrowed in thought.

“Was it? We put down the mustang barbarians over a century ago.” Luna frowned, tapping her hoof as she wracked her mind for any more recent conflict where either of them had taken the field. “Wow, has it really been that long? I hope you’ve been staying sharp.”

Now Celestia rolled her eyes. “Not as much as I would like, honestly. I haven’t sparred with a serious opponent since I sent Sunset out to deal with that issue down in Seavannah.”

“What about Twilight? She’s easily as skilled as Sunset.” Luna smirked. “I should know.”

“Exactly!” Celestia gestured at her sister’s wheeled harness. “I want a serious opponent, not someone that might have a powersurge and accidentally put my rear in a sling!”

The dark alicorn snorted, her face serious. “This was no accident, Celestia. Twilight broke me, in a single blast. That level of power is just as insane as what Sombra wielded. It is a shame she is not with us.”

“Personally, I’m glad she’s not.” Celestia took another slow sip from her warmug. “She’s protecting Cadance. This way, neither of them will see me like this. I’ve wanted to keep war as far from their lives as possible, Luna. Part of the reason I had Cadance spying on our allies was to prevent the kinds of conflicts that destabilize whole regions of the world. I want this world to be safe and beautiful for them and for all ponies.”

“So you want them to see your war face only in paintings then? Never the reality?” Luna shrugged. “A noble pursuit.”

“Ultimately, it’s why I fight. To make the world a better place.”

“Using force to create peace tastes bittersweet to me, Celestia. But I understand how you feel about it. I see it as penance for our great arrogance...but that’s me.” Luna shrugged again. She opened her mouth to say something more, when she paused and looked back at the door behind her. Luna canceled her silence spell and the tiny cabin was suddenly filled with loud banging.

Luna opened the door and both sisters regarded the pegasus stallion that had interrupted them. The ensign wore a uniform that placed him with the helm command structure. “Yes?”

“Pardon me ma’am...ma’am’s...I was sent to inform you that Navigation has our current location.” The stallion swallowed nervously. “We’ve also sighted another airship. It’s too far to make clear identification, but it looks Minotauren. It changed course to intercept us almost as soon as we spotted it.”

“Thank you.” Celestia sighed, climbing to her hooves. “Why is nothing ever easy, Luna?”

“Blah, blah, ancient arrogance, or some such.” Luna smirked, giggling when the ensign looked back and forth between them, confusion clear on his face. “Come sister! It’s been too long and now is a good time as any to shake off the rust.”

“The rust?” The ensign backed up, one wing scratching his head while the Royal Sisters filed out of the tiny captain's chambers. “I don’t understand.”

“Is this your first tour?” Celestia smiled kindly, falling in behind her still giggling sister. She brightened a little when the pony nodded up at her. “Then you are in luck. You are about to see what happens when Alicorns go to war.”

“Don’t lie to the boy, Tia.” Luna looked back over her shoulder. “His luck is not the good kind. When we go to war, so to does Death and Destruction. You and I are not meant to ride out upon the fields of battle. Our place is in preventing those battlefields in the first place. Peace is always an option, and the one we should consider first.”

“Oh don’t be a spoilsport, Lulu.” Celestia lifted her warmug, taking a heavy sip of the steaming liquid. A moment later she looked out the porthole toward the Corona’s aft end and groaned. “Yes...that would indeed be a Minotauren airship. Gorgon-class by the looks of it, probably a couple of canons and some short range missiles onboard, if they are armed at all. We’re pretty far out for more than a scout ship.”

“Unless the Collective really does have that secret airbase out here.” Princess Luna rolled her eyes, pausing where she was to look out at the distant airship. It was too far to pick up any details other than a double envelope and glinting metal sprinkled across the gondola like some flying inverted death cupcake. “I’ll direct the semaphore to send them a request of non-interference.”

“No.” Celestia flicked out her wing in front of her sister, halting the other Princess. “Go with him to Navigation and get us moving. I will handle the semaphore communication.”

“Be sure you do not confuse the codes for ‘don’t shoot’ with some colorful insult of the vessel captain’s mother.” Luna smirked and nodded at the stallion. “Come, let us get the Corona out of range and on the way before my sister starts a fight with our neighbors.”

“I’ve never picked a fight I couldn’t win.”

“Now is not the time for bravado, Tia.” Luna narrowed her brows, her jaw firm. “We must move and do this smart, if we are to do it at all.”

“I will try to not fall from the deck, sister dear.” Celestia scoffed and took a sip from her mug.

“See to it that you do not. I’d hate to have to hold some sort of tournament to determine your successor.”

Celestia snickered, lifting her mug again to her lips and she turned away from her sister and the shocked looking airpony. She stepped out of the cramped halls onto the open main deck, the cold wind hitting her like a runaway steam carriage. A lesser pony would have stumbled, but Celestia took it in stride, her mane and tail continuing to waft about gently in defiance of the gale.

Airponies and airdogs of a distinctly more mortal classification were bustling around the deck, secure lines lashed to their waists and anchor points sunk into the Corona’s frame. Equipment was being hastily battened down, unicorns taking their places in the gunhouses that lined the edge of the deck while the cannons were being readied below. When the action found the Corona, they’d be ready to repel it.

Above her, some fifty feet over the deck, the airship’s gas envelope crawled with pegasus airponies and a few flight capable diamond dog mages. The envelope’s netting was being tightened and reinforced while the mages saw to the enormous aether rings that provided the ship’s primary propulsion. Runes glowed a bright scarlet against the silvery steel, gathering power from the ley lines of energy that traveled deep below the mountains. Unlike the standard fitting of rings, the Corona boasted two extra that made her among the fastest ships in all of Equestria or any other nation. The rings likewise had several smaller spars that reached out, away from the envelope that collected and moved air around it, like a shield, making precision targeting next to impossible. Additionally, there were two hardened containers—small armored bunkers really—on the port and starboard sides of the aether rings that protected the experimental and highly secretive drives that gave the Corona her greatest combat assets; the ability to open teleport gates without the need of a strong ley line.

Celestia rounded the airship’s wheelhouse, heading for the aft and glanced up at the one drive she could see. Besides everything else bad with being stopped by the minotaurs, letting the drives fall into their hands was not something she was willing to let happen. The deck here narrowed to little more than a walkway which was thankfully clear of other crew and allowed Celestia passage.

The strip of deck and railing curved around the back of the wheelhouse and unto a recess that was barely large enough for two ponies. The small ledge shielded the two ponies that were there already from the bulk of the tearing wind currents. Both airponies were pegasi with bright coats and glossy feathers, hoof picked for this very position. Their large wings were visible at a long distance on a clear day, and the position they held their wings in would telegraph messages to other ships or flying units.

When Celestia rounded the corner, the semaphore ponies were rapidly opening and closing their wings, changing position and sending the commonly recognized message for “friendly; do not fire.”

One of the ponies, a mare with bright blue fur and a shock of rainbow-colored hair, acknowledged her with a nod of her head.

“Princess,” the pony’s voice rasped loud against the wind, her wings moving in fluid, precise movements, “the pursuing vessel has not responded to our messages. They might not be close enough to see us clearly, but they’re gaining on us fast.”

“Any sign of weapons movement?” Celestia hooked her hoof on the edge of the railing and leaned forward so she didn’t have to shout. “I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they make a show of force, but they cannot be allowed to halt our mission here.”

“Hard to say, your Majesty. We’re in the mountain’s shadow here, and they’re in the glare. I can make out some movement, but I can’t make out any flags or lights that might be a communique.” The mare flicked her wings in a new pattern, changing her message to a peaceful hail request. “If you think it’d be faster, I could swoop over there and ask them to let us go.”

“No point in leaving you behind, even if they stand down.” Celestia smirked. “I wouldn’t want to leave anypony in the minotaurs’ custody while we deal with another threat.”

“You wouldn’t leave me behind!” The air-pony brayed with laughter, her wings slowing down slightly. “I’m the fastest flier in the entire force! I hold the record for top aerial speed and maneuverability!”

The Princess raised her eyebrow, eyeing the pony critically. “Oh? I thought I still held that honor?” Celestia’s smirk turned competitive. “No one informed me that my old records had been beaten.”

“Oh! Uh...er...the non-alicorn record, ma’am.”

“What’s your name, soldier?”

“Rainbow Dash, Air-pony First Class!”

Adolescent Fantasies

Princess Luna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The ponies and diamond dogs that made the Corona’s navigational team collectively held their own breathing at the same time. Their charts and maps littered the tight area near the wheel, opposite of the tactical station, showed the surrounding mountains, tiny colored flags pinpointing minotaur settlements and installations.

Green for civilian. Red for military.

If their telemetry was accurate, the Corona was hovering above a civilian village called Goatheim. There were three grey colored pins stuck to the nearby peaks, places Equestrian intel thought might be secret military bases. Given the Minotauran airship closing in on them, that intel might be more accurate than they’d assumed.

’Equestrian intel,’ pfft...more likely what our dear adoptive niece or my sister’s bug have passed our way. Luna frowned, her thoughts swirling up memories of a younger, more innocent Cadance. I pray you are still in good hooves, Cadance. Celestia and I well know the sometimes monstrous strength of your guardian...but I fear Twilight’s lack of practical experience. It is not just your aunts that have gone soft from a long peace.

Luna opened her senses to the remaining magic that tied her to the ruins of the Gibbous Shield. The ghostly pull was stronger now, the ragged edges of what was once a nigh perfect work of weaved arcanic matrices sharper and more acute. She tilted her head, pointing with her horn toward the pull.

“That way.” Luna kept her eyes closed, savoring the sensation of her ancient spellwork on her horn ridges. She heard the navigation staff break their trance around her, maps and measuring tools shifting around on the limited tablespace.

“How far, Your Highness?”

“Hard to say...perhaps a day’s flight? Maybe a half? I do not know how fast this vessel can move.” Luna sighed, opening her eyes again and shrugging. “I would not call it ‘far,’ personally, but that is me.” She turned toward the navigation crew and was about to speak again when the Corona rocked noticeable to one side, spilling unbraced crew and everything on the table tops to the deck. A second later klaxons started to wail.

Voices, speaking fast and loud, competed with the sirens for volume in the command room, forcing Luna to press her ears tight against her skull. Her harness was on its side, twisting her uncomfortably and dragging her halfway to the floor. Luna kept her forehooves planted solidly, however, and fired up her horn to start righting those around her. “What was that? Where is Shining Armor? SOMEONE REPORT!”

“Th-th Shieldmaidens were on the upper deck checking defensive hardpoints!”

“Oh sweet Sisters I hope no one was thrown overboard!”

“We’ve got airponies…”

“Did something explode?”

“Did we hit…”

“Is the envelope stable!?”

Luna groaned, her telekinetic aura grabbing her own harness and setting it back on its wheels. Then she slapped a thick film over the warring klaxons, muting them down to a level that would not need to be shouted over. “Everyone, becalm thyselves! Are you not my sister’s hoof-picked elite? Get me information!”

“Yes ma’am!”

Luna turned toward the windows looking out over the stern of the airship, squinting at the closing minotauren ship. It was still quite distant, but there was a large smoky haze in the air between them, pierced by a streak of vibrant rainbow. The Princess squinted harder, tilting her head as she tried to figure out what she was looking at. Before her mind could make sense of it however, thunder rolled over the ship, accompanied by several bright flashes that lit the Corona from below.

“What is going on out there?” Luna shook her head again. “Are we being attacked?”

“Princess!”

Luna whipped her head around at the sound of the Shieldmaidens’ captain. Shining Armor galloped forward from the command hatch, skidding to a halt and saluting in a single motion. His armor rattled as he shook himself off. “Princess, I have some news.”

“Well don’t keep me in suspense.” Luna grimaced, one ear angling back toward the window as the thunder echoed off the mountainsides around them. “Report!”

“Ma’am! I was leading your Shieldmaidens across the deck to familiarize ourselves with the ship’s defenses when we saw the minotauran ship open fire with several missiles.”

One of the helms crew diamond dogs perked up at that, his eyes going wide. “Missiles? At this range? Unless those are some special munitions, there’s no way that they could have hit us.”

“Message below decks for a damage report.” Luna hissed tersely. “I don’t think that lurch we experienced was from a missile impact.”

“It’s wasn’t.” Shining Armor doffed his helmet, holding it to his chest. “After the missiles launched, ma’am, your sister pushed off the rear deck semaphore, as did one of the air pony crew. That’s what rocked the boat.”

Princess Luna stared flatly at Shining Armor, the command cabin going silent around them. Shining was just starting to fidget with the blace lace part of his shieldmaiden plate armor skirt when she finally drew a calming breath. “My sister did what?”

She growled low in her chest and whirled around without waiting for her captain to repeat himself. Luna’s horn flared to life with her signature blue-white aura, until it was almost blindingly bright. Arcane energies surrounded her for a second before reaching out to the windows that lined the wall and yanked them out of their frames whole. She layered them in front of herself, her magic twisting the rigid glass until it obeyed her will and magnified the image on the other side and brought the distant valley floor into sharp focus.

It took a second of tweaking and moving the glass panes turned enormous spyglass, but Luna honed in on her sister where Celestia was moving at incredible speed toward the distant village they had spotted at arrival. Even as she fined tuned the magnified view’s clarity, Celestia unleashed a burst of magic herself, the golden glow focused into a beam and pointed at an even smaller and just as fast target.

There was another flash and Celestia started to slow down. Luna changed her view to look at the minotaur village, gasping when she saw the sinking plume of smoke and fire that had been a missile seconds before. Thanks to her sister, it looked as though it detonated harmlessly enough just above the community’s thatch rooftops.

“Oh bother.”

Shining Armor swallowed a lump that had been forming in his throat, pearing over his Princess’ shoulder at the magnified image. “What is it?”

“My sister has been heroic, Shining. She’s saved innocents.” Luna rolled her eyes. “I’m going to be hearing her retell this story for the next thousand years.”

Back in the Present

The constant gusts of arctic wind whistled around the edges of the heavy parka Twilight wore. The clothing was made from fibers the caribou gathered from the boreal forests and treated somehow to make them as pliable as anything she could find on sale in a Canterlot boutique. It was fur lined and amazingly warm, but it was already starting to make her neck and horn itch. She could only imagine how it felt against Cadance’s wings.

Twilight spared the Princess a glance, peeking out between the layers that wrapped over her muzzle. The caribou even had a nifty trick for folding the parka in such a way that it funneled her own warm breath back along her face and down her body. It added just a little more comfort from the cold, but at the moment Twilight was thankful for every little thing that kept her from freezing to death. She could use her magic to put a barrier around them to keep off the wind, but making it anymore than big enough to fit herself alone was a quick way to expend all of her stamina.

Cadance walked steadily along in the ankle deep snow drifts, head held low as she leaned into the wind. With her long mane wrapped up and her wings covered, the Princess could pass for a particularly tall pony, but even like this, Twilight could see the stately grace of nobility in Cadance’s movements. She could see the determination to continue on in the face of this magical gale and the bone-chilling cold. That was the kind of Princess Twilight knew she would follow into the jaws of Tartarus and beyond.

Which, all things considered, I’d doing now. Twilight shook her head and looked ahead past their caribou guide to the hazy horizon. It was hard to tell a difference in the what and grey where the snow ended and the sky started. If the guide was right, they’d reach his tribe’s ancestral forest home before what passed as nightfall in the far northern tundra. Twilight just hoped the trees would bring some relief from the weather.

Next to Twilight, Cadance folded her ears back against her skull. The snow was bad enough, but the wind was enough to drive an equine insane if she allowed herself to listened to it. The supplies they had traded Spike’s gem snacks for was keeping the cold generally at bay, but it did nothing for the noise. Cadance sighed and looked back over her shoulder. Twilight was looking straight ahead, eyes on the goal like a true professional. For the millionth time, she thanked the stars above for her aunts’ wisdom in putting her in Twilight’s capable hooves.

Cadance smirked at that thought, wondering if they had done so to literally put her Twilight’s hooves. The Royal Sisters weren’t blind. They knew about hers and Twilight’s close foalhood friendship, their more than friendship year just before she was sent abroad. Aunt Tia certainly felt bad about breaking them up. She could tell, in no small part, thanks to Aunt Luna’s courses on reading other ponies.

Cadance sighed again. At this rate, she didn’t know if she’d ever get to really feel Twilight’s hooves working their magic on her. An arcane snowstorm was blowing from the caribou’s ‘forbidden lands’ and shapeshifting bug ponies were after her all across the continent. They needed to get back with the Sisters and find the source of all this mess or the dreams of Twilight that sustained her through all the harsh training would just be dreams.

Cadance looked back the way they’d come. Their trail was already starting to fade as fresh snow came down and whatever they kicked up was blown away. Spike and Zecora trailed behind them by a few more body lengths than the last time she looked. The dragon was fine, but the older zebra was really struggling.

If we don’t figure out something soon, it won’t just be my adolescent fantasies that get buried by this snow.

Muay Caw

The cold and the wind was making it harder and harder to breathe. Even with the heavy cloaks and yakfur wraps that caribou had traded them for a hoof-ful of the young drake’s snack gems, it was getting to Zecora. The walk through the knee deep snow was bad enough, but now they were starting to climb low hills. Her legs ached and she was getting winded quicker. The group of them and their caribou guide had to keep stopping because of her and it was turning the already tough travel into something hellish.

Give her the wide, warm plains of her homeland and she could trot for hours. Even the dangerous, root-choked interior of the Everfree was preferable to this.

“Want me to carry you?” Spike’s sudden question shocked her out of her thoughts, her legs coming to a stop in the snow.

“No. T‘ank you, Spike. I can keep up...for now.”

The dragon nodded, but he didn’t look convinced under the thick parka hood that protected him from the worst of the wind. She didn’t sound convincing to her own ears. If they did not stop for rest soon, the choice to keep walking was likely be out of her hooves. They both started moving again and she looked up to the two ponies and their guide, off a short way from them. The guide was saying something to the Princess again. The mare spoke back in the same language and then turned and translated for her guardian.

Zecora shook her head. The alicorn was an amazing creature. She spoke the caribou’s tongue as fluently as she spoke Equish and Swayhili. It would not surprise her to learn that the mare knew the languages of every ally that Equestria had. Princess Cadance not only knew how to communicate, but fight like a demon too, if the experience in the ancient Sun temple was any indication.

Cadance and the unicorn, Twilight, shared some words and the Princess laughed at whatever passed between them. The Princess leaned in and they smiled at each other, their horns touching gently. Even in this horrible cold and weather, that small show of affection warmed her old bones. Oh to be young, so talented and so very much in love. It’s a shame that they are being forced into an uncertain future by the events around them.

“How much farther do you think it is, Zecora?”

She looked at Spike and shrugged, but his eyes were focused on the couple in front of them. “I canna tell t‘at, Spike. T‘e Nort’ is unfamiliar me. I’ve walked t‘e Everfree for a long time, studying all it learn me. T‘is place is alien to me.”

“I know. I’m just worried that the storm is making us walk in circles. I feel like we should have seen something by now.” Spike grunted and shrugged. “But all there is, is snow and ice and lichen and rocks. The caribou tribe said there was a forest and then we’d come to the place they say this storm is coming from.”

“‘T’ey also say t‘ere be ‘ills before t‘e forest and t‘ese already kill me knees.”

“The offer still stands to carry you.” Spike gave her a thumbs up. “I’m pretty strong.”

“I know. You ‘ave me t’anks, but I can go for a bit more. I t’ink.” She bit down a pained grunt, lifting her legs to dig her hooves out of the fresh snow. “W’at you t’ink ‘bout da legend t’e Princess translate for us from t’em? T’at t’ey slaves long ago until some goddess come an’ save t’em from a crystal devil?”

The dragon shrugged again, stomping his way through the drifts next to her. “I dunno. But I’ve seen and heard a lot of weirder things. We did see those ponies that looked like they were made from crystals dragging the changeling off. Why do you suppose that was anyway? We were all laying there around it, but they only bothered with her.”

Zecora shook her head. It puzzled her, but now that they knew about the caribou tribe’s origin legends, it did oddly mesh with the legends of the peoples of the Everfree. From what she understood, the changeling started out as a foreign-born pony, possibly named Crystal. And the Moon Priestess had gone to the far north when she stepped down from her position of rulership. Could she be the same ‘Goddess’ that freed the ancient caribou?

“I wonder t’at, same. Maybe t’ere is connections we don’t see. Makes me want to know more ‘bout t’is place.” Zecora sighed, watching her breath mist for a moment before the wind ripped it away. Up ahead she could make out a dark line that separated the snow covered tundra from the snow-filled mass of clouds in the sky. “Wendigos take me...is t’at...the forest?”

Spike held up a claw to block the wan light and squinted. “I think so.”

“T’en I’ll take you up on t’at offer.”

Twilight pulled back the heavy hood of her parka, craning her head back to look up at the huge wooden structure before her. Logs, each as thick as pony and twenty paces long if they were a yard, were set pointing toward the heavens, their branches long since carved away, but the rough texture of their bark still clinging in places. The logs formed a gigantic gate, bound with twisted vines that looked as thick as her leg. On each side, boulders that must have weighed hundreds of tons each, hung as counterweights to the massive doors.

She took a deep breath and coughed in the pine scented air. Under it there was a hint of mold and rot. The mud under her hooves was probably to blame for that. Here, near the huge wooden structure, the breeze wasn’t very strong, but the heat was making her start to sweat under her furs. Her saddle bags with her spell book and supplies and her battle staff’s holster felt like they were plastered to her already. The snow was gone at this point, deep in the foothills. The unnatural storm raging from over the mountains carried equally unnatural heat with it, and this close to the caribou’s forbidden lands, it felt almost like a early spring day rather than the deep of winter. The snow had turned to slush an hour’s walk ago, the permafrost losing the ‘perma’ part of its name shortly after.

The trek up the last set of hills was literally miles in muddy gunk, uphill the whole way. Their caribou guide turned back after the ground really started to get soft. The look of pure confusion and fear was clearer than any translation Cadance could provide of his parting comments. Thankfully, by the time he’d turned away, it was fairly obvious where they were headed.

She turned and looked over at the Princess, who was equally in stunned silence, staring up at the huge gate edifice. “So...what did you say the guide called this place?”

Cadance shook off her own hood, frowning in thought. “Roughly translated...’Vise Gate’. Looking up at the sheer cliffs on either side of this...gate...I’d say it fits. Beyond this lies the caribous’ forbidden lands. The place the caribou say the their crystal devil lives and where they said the Royal Sister’s airship was headed.”

“This has got to be the worst idea in the history of ideas.” Twilight chuckled morosely. “Walking into the unknown in the face of a massive magical weather phenomenon, all to chase the possibility of finding the Princesses on the other side. We don’t even know for certain what’s out there. All we have to go on is vague details.”

“And hope.” Cadance sighed softly, looking at Twilight out of the corner of her eye. “How else are we going to get back to Equestria? We’re more than two thousand miles from Canterlot.”

“I’m supposed to keep you safe.”

“Can you make food for us? Protect us from the weather?” Cadance’s ears flicked back, turning to focus on the second half of their group. Her voice grew quieter so it wouldn’t carry. “What about Spike and Zecora?”

“Spike’s a tank. And he can literally eat rocks.”

“But we can’t. Zecora isn’t going to make it through the pass without good rest.”

“I know.” Twilight sighed, glancing over her shoulder at their companions. Spike had switched to his quadruped form, carrying the elder zebra on his saddle since they had reached the edge of the arboreal forest. That was nearly seven hours ago as far as she could tell. Her internal clock was having a hissy fit with the sun appearing to not even move this far north.

Spike sat on a wooden platform that passed as a sort of porch or common area for one of the abandoned huts the Arboreal caribou tribe had left behind in their mass exodus. He was breathing slowly now, but the strain was showing even on his draconic face. Zecora looked hardly any better.

Twilight turned back to Cadance. “We’ll rest for the night...the day...I can’t tell anymore.” She sighed tiredly. “At least it’s warm and the caribou must have left some supplies behind. But tomorrow, we open the gate and tackle the pass.”

The Princess nodded slowly. “I’ll find us something to eat. Think you can fix up a place for us to rest?”

“Yeah.” Twilight put a hoof on Cadance’s shoulder. “Don’t go too far, ok?”

“I can take care of myself, at least for a little bit.” Cadance smiled, patting Twilight’s hoof with her wing. “Thank you for trusting me enough to let me.”

“I figure you deserve it at this point.” Twilight smirked and leaned in to Cadance, her voice growing quiet. “I mean it though about not going far. Best friend privilege allows me to slap you for being dumb, Princesshood or not.”

“I’ll be good, I promise!” The alicorn giggled, ducking in to kiss Twilight’s cheek. “Besides, you have a lot more than just ‘best friend privilege’ with me, my little dynamite. Under the right circumstances, I might even allow you to spank me.”

“Cady!” Twilight squeaked out her name, leaning away from Cadance. “Th-there is a time and p-place for that, and this is not—”

“Either one, I know.” Cadance’s smirk softened, her wing holding Twilight’s hoof in place against her side. “I’m still going to hold you to that promise about holding me for a week once all this is over. I really am.”

“I honestly wouldn’t expect otherwise.” Twilight huffed, shaking her frazzled mane back into some semblance of order and slowly let go of her Princess. She reached up to her own chest and pulled the tie that kept her parka on. “After we get everything set up, I want to hear more about your time abroad, ok?”

The Princess nodded curtly and shot her guardian a wink before she trotted off to search the nearby abandoned caribou homes.

About an hour later…

Twilight sighed contently. She was comfortable for what seemed like the first time in ages, the parkas she and Cadance had worn earlier now acting as bundles of cushions on the hut floor. The temperature was still climbing, and it felt like a chilly Canterlot spring morning more than night in the arctic. Even so, it still seemed prudent to light a fire in the hut’s cooking pit, which Zecora was tending at the far end of the large single room caribou building.

After some rest, the older zebra had perked back up to her usual self, but she was being oddly quiet beyond the occasion murmur in her native tongue. Spike, on the other hoof, was already out. The cold and effort of aiding Zecora though the hills had taken a larger toll on him than they’d realized. He was still in his winged, quardepedial form, curled into a loose ball between them and the fire, breathing gently. His bellows-like snoring put Twilight more at ease. If she let her mind wander, it felt like they could almost be back home.

The cold meal of scavenged sweet grass, lichen and some sort of small nuts they’d shared earlier sat heavily in her gut, but at least she was fed. That was nice. Nicer still was the warm weight of Cadance against her side. The Princess yawned again and Twilight flicked her tail to rest protectively over Cadance’s curly tri-colored tail. “No going to sleep yet. You promised to tell me more about these past five years.”

“I don’t remembering promising, per se…” Cadance chuckled softly, leaning harder against her guardian. “But I suppose I can keep going.” She bopped Twilight on the snout with her wing.

“I want to know more about where you learned to fight.” Twilight nodded at the golden vambraces she now knew hid at least a talon-long weapon apiece. If she were a betting mare, she’d put good bits on the vambraces being enchanted in some way. “Where did you learn how to use blades so fast like that? I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

“Pfft!” The alicorn waved dismissively. “It’s not that impressive. I basically failed at all the lessons I was given. I’ll need decades of practice if I want to truly master it...but to be honest, I don’t think I have it in me to be a warrior.”

“That’s my job, Cady. I’m your ‘Knight’ and you’re my Princess.”

“I always fancied myself more the Lady, really. The ‘Princess’ role in all those old foals’ stories is the innocent damsel, while the Lady knows when to let loose and party.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “I always knew you had a hint of the more rebellious ‘Commoner’ in you.”

“More than you know!” Cadance laughed. “But if you’re really interested in my technique, I’ll tell you. After the first year in Camule, learning how to schmooze and raid tombs, I was moved to Mustangia.”

“Why?”

“There...was an attempt on my life. A bombing. Thankfully, no one was seriously harmed, but it scared me. Aunt Celestia had told me many times that it was a potentially dangerous mission...but it didn’t hit home until my room at the embassy went up in flames.” Cadance sighed, looking down at her hooves. “Later I was told that it was some radical that was responsible, and the Princess had me secreted away to the wilds of Mustangia. I know it’s technically a part of Equestria now, but you’d never know it by looking. The Mustangs run in massive herds across the Endless Plain, just as they have for thousands of years. It’s like stepping back in time, Twilight.”

The unicorn nodded. “Okay...I get that taking you there would be a great place to hide you, but wouldn’t that impede your spying mission?”

“That was put on hiatus while the Princess introduced me to some of the Mustangs’ grandmasters of Hoof Boxing. I spent the next three months getting a basic primer for the style, but let me tell you, I can’t hold a candle to those ponies. The sheer force they put into a strike is unbelieveable, Twily”

Twilight raised a suspicious eyebrow, leaning back and fixing Cadance with her gaze. “Do I need to be concerned about you being under the care of all these stallions?”

“Ew. Of course not. Could you see me really wanting to hang out with some hulking, shaggy coat guy? I firmly prefer the sleeker styling of mares, thank you very much!” Cadance giggled and then tapped her chin contemplatively. “Though, come to think of it, there were some cute fillies I sparred with while in Mustangia.”

“Cady!”

“Oh hush, you know that my heart only flies for you, Twily” Candace chuckled softly again, nuzzling Twilight’s neck. “You have nothing to fear in that respect. Besides, all the Mustang fillies made fun of me for being so bad at boxing. Until I finally managed a win in one sparring match by increasing my speed with my wings. After that, I started to incorporate it more into the style, which earned me some begrudging respect and few unkind nicknames.”

She held up one of her vambraces, turning it slowly so that the light caught on all the intricate filigree and tiny etched runes that hinted at its hidden inner workings. “One of the my instructors said it reminded him of the griffons’ martial art, Muay Caw. That was all it took for Aunt Celestia to uproot me again and drop me in Griffonstone. Three more months of training went by while these were commissioned from a Minotaur smith and then enchanted by a Diamond Dog mage that both owed Equestria a favor.”

“Wow…” Twilight squinted at Cadance’s weapons, leaning close.

“It’s not that impressive, really. I’m just trained enough to get out of a bad situation. I’m no fighter...diplomacy and stealth are far more my speed. Which I suppose is my pegasus heritage shining through.” Cadance snorted dismissively. “When we were ambushed back in the Everfree, I was getting owned, Twilight. If Chrysalis hadn’t been distracted with her banter, she could have snapped me like a twig! Any real warrior would. That’s why when I officially went back on mission, I had this commissioned for myself.”

Cadance patted her side where her under-the-wing holster kept her hull-breacher gun. “The Goddess may have created ponykind, but Sam the Colt made them equal.”

Muzzle Control

Her dreams—when they finally came to her—where broken, disjointed things full of nonsense and images too distorted to make any impression other than confusion. Flashes of sensation crashed against her unconscious mind, washing colors and scents through her mind, leaving her even more confused when she forced her eyes open in complete darkness.

Fur tickled against her nostrils. The heady smells of sweat and mildew fighting each other for dominance as Cadance forced herself to lay still and keep her breathing steady. Her legs ached a little and she wanted to shift her weight off of them, but something felt off. The fire they had going in the caribou hut’s cooking pit was nothing but gently smoking coals now. Combined with the closed shutters warding off the midnight sun and unnatural storm outside, the interior of the hut was pitch black.

Cadance parted her lips, breathing through her mouth to keep from sneezing. Her muzzle rested on Twilight’s back, one of her wings slung over Twilight’s dock. Spike’s breathing was the loudest noise she could hear. The wind outside seeming to have died down considerably. Something just felt wrong to her though. Something had woken her.

Did Twilight shift? Did Spike start snoring? Cadance searched her vague memories of her broken dreamscape, looking for what may have triggered her waking. Nothing came through the haze to stick out as the culprit, and though Cadance trusted her senses, she hoped there was nothing to be concerned about. They needed the rest that the abandoned village at the gate provided them. She knew Twilight was still recovering from the changeling attack from last week, and the trek through the the tundra was rough on them all. That alone had nearly spelled the end for the kindly old sage, Zecora.

Wait...where is Zecora?

Cadance’s ears swiveled back and forth as she tried to pretend she was still asleep while also searching for any sounds other than the wind and her companions breathing. She could hear the hut around them shifting slightly. Wood scraping across wood. The dried thatch and moss cracking as the wind blew across them. Everything else was silent. Still.

She licked her lips furtively. Her hull breacher was set on the wooden floor within easy reach, but there wasn’t a way she could grab it without revealing her consciousness. She could take it in her magical grip and attempt to shut down the aura’s faint traces, but that little trick took a huge amount of focus to pull off. Using it would leave her out of breath for a crucial couple of seconds and unable to defend herself from a magical attack.

I bet Twily could do it without breaking a sweat. Cadance chewed her lip in thought. She could try to gently wake her guardian mage up, and trust that Twilight’s training would kick in, giving their small group two minds and a hell of magical leg up against...whatever might be out there.

CREAK

Cadance’s breath caught in her throat, her ears turning toward the door that lead towards the back of the massive caribou home. The sound didn’t repeat, but a tense minute later, she head another quiet murmur as somepony was moving slowly nearer to the door. Magic power flared through her horn, Cadance narrowing her eyes to focus on the door and her hull breacher at the same time. She put as much energy into it as she could, suppressing the natural glow and buzz of an active magical effect.

A hoof’s reach away, the huge iron hand-cannon lifted its muzzle off the floor and the hammer eased back gently for the softest click possible. She had a horrible angle to aim from, but at this range, she just had to point it at the door way for the resulting spray to fill the entire entryway. If it didn’t outright stop whatever was on the other side of the door, the sound would be enough to rouse even Spike. No matter what came through, it was about to trot right into the mouth of Tartarus.

The door eased open slowly. Cadance could hear her own blood pumping through the tiny capillaries in her ear leather. She could feel her heartbeat pounding through her horn at the effort of holding the gun still and cocked without the telltale blue glow of her magic aura. She was already feeling the strain. Come on...just a little more.

Cadance started to squint. The instant she saw what was coming in, she would release the pressure she was applying to keep the hull breacher’s hammer cocked away from the frizzen. She’d have to shut her eyes to keep from getting flash-blinded at this angle. Hopefully the blast would give her the time to recover.

In the dark, across the common room, the door swung fully open.

Hold it steady. Remember your training, Cadance. Don’t shoot until you know what you’re shooting. Even in the relatively mild temperature the air had climbed to, she was already starting to sweat. She held the gun rock steady, however. Her firearms trainer, an old minotaur named Iron Bullet, would have been proud.

A dark shape, darker than the surrounding shadows, tip-hoofed into the room with them. It was pony shaped and about her size. Cadance kept the gun up, willing herself to see through the darkness and identify the target. Just a little closer...please.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

The deep, rumbling bass voice sounded mildly incredulous. She groaned with a ragged throat. Her eyes stung when she forced them open, the orbs dry in their sockets now. Her tears were long spent, the moisture from them making her chitin raw where the metallic contraption her father had strapped her into held her head still.

Chrysalis blinked the blurriness from her sight. Her father, Midnight Lord Sombra, leaned over the table she was bound too, his eyes on her lower body. She felt numb, with a few spots on her form screaming out in over-sensitive pain.

“Spreaders.” Sombra’s horn lit up, levitating a large tool that looked like a reversed set of tongs above her. He turned the tool over in his magic grip, examining it for a moment. “Write down her reactions. It might be useful to me later on.”

Chrysalis groaned again, gurgling on the liquids in her throat. It hurt to move her head even a little, but she shifted to see one of the crystalline pony statues lift a quill and pad of paper in its hooves. It glanced at her, its stone eyes meeting hers for a moment. The movement was miniscule, obviously unnecessary for the task her father commanded. Through the haze of discomfort she was in, that struck Chrysalis as odd.

Hadn’t her father said something about the golems being tied to his will by that heart-shaped crystal he’d held so tenderly? Chrysalis grit her fangs, shoving away the pain and the sensations coming from her chest as the spreaders lowered beyond her view. Her father had said something about it while she’d been trying to escape these bindings, she was sure, but the words refused to come into focus.

CRACK

Chrysalis sucked in air through her teeth as a new, sharp pain shot through her. She felt her chitin moving, the plates pressing together and sliding over each other unnaturally. At the edge of her sight, the tips of the spreader’s handle pulled apart in her father’s horn glow.

“Make sure you also make an accurate sketch of the connective tissue. I want the next subject to be as resistant as my dear daughter here.” Sombra smiled slightly, his eyes on his handiwork while his pulled another lantern close. “The embedded runes are doing their work well too…” Sombra faded out, murmuring to himself while his crystalline subordinate dutifully took notes.

Chrysalis shook in place, fighting the pain her father caused. She wasn’t going to give the monster the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of her. The stinging in her eyes got worse as dry ducts tried to produce new tears. She squinted against it, and in her swimming vision, the note taking golem took on a ghostly familiar air. The way its brow was shaped. The way the mane hung. The hint of a scar—or maybe just a fracture in its crystalline structure—between the nostrils. The golem reminded her of a pony from her foalhood.

“I-I...know...you.” Chrysalis forced the words out through her teeth, the shaking nearing spasm-levels as Sombra continued his work. For a second, those gem-like eyes moved. Locked with hers. The quill stopped in place. The nose twitched.

Sombra looked up, turning his smoldering glare on the crystal pony. “I did not tell you to stop.”

The quill started back up, the eyes glued back to the notepad. Chrysalis swallowed raggedly. “That...th-that’s Miss Copper...she w-worked in the laundry. Isn’t it?” Sombra didn’t look up, his attention back on the opening in her chest cavity. The tool pushed her chitin a little wider.

“Not any more, I’m afraid.” Sombra hummed tunelessly to himself for a moment, locking the spreaders in place before adjusting the lighting. “Now let’s see what we’re working with here…”

He reached out with a hoof and pulled a tray of smaller surgical tools closer. Sombra chewed on a lip thoughtfully, hoof hovering over the collection of scalpels and saws well within his daughter’s line of sight. If he was going to have to work on her while she was awake, he might as well get a full set of reactions out of her. He bit down a little harder to keep his lip from curling up when he heard her gasp and struggle feebly against the restraints.

Sombra selected one of the longer blades and held it up to the light. “You know, I’m curious to see if the underlying connective tissue is like what I designed when we mimicked your shape changing ability on those ponies? I’ve always felt that if I wanted to master the process of creating a new changeling like I did crafting my crystal ponies, I’d need firsthoof experience with the base model. Now I finally get to test that hypothesis. Isn’t that grand, my dear?”

“What’s th-this ‘we’ business?” Chrysalis coughed, looking back at the crystalline structure of Miss Copper’s muzzle and away from the glinting steel of the scalpel. “I wasn’t your partner in th-that. You u-used me.”

“You were the vehicle of my will in the world while the Empire was away. You certainly were useful...when you weren’t head over hooves for that priestess.” Sombra sneered. “To think, my brilliant daughter Crystal, a mare-lover and a traitor to her own peoples.”

“S-screw you.”

Sombra turned his sneer into a mocking smile and flipped the scalpel over in his grip. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

He made a show out of lowering the blade toward Chrysalis’ exposed tendons and musculature, drawing a whimper out of her. He positioned the scalpel to make the first incision when a shift ran through the crystal ponies around them, all of their eyes flicking to the same point beyond the castle walls. An instant later, the information reached him and he smiled genuinely. “Ah, just in time! Your sisters have arrived, dear.”

Sombra set his tools aside and stood up so he could look Chrysalis in the eyes. “I knew sending out a recall to our little changelings as soon as seals were broken would be a good idea. More forces to grind the Sun priestess to paste, no matter what powers she dares bring to face me.”

“You don’t g-get to harm a hair o-on her!”

“Oh, I beg to differ. Be good for daddy while I address the troops and I might yet keep her alive long enough for you to say goodbye too.” Sombra turned away and started toward the door, calling back over his shoulder. “Keep recording her reactions while I’m away. This won’t take long.”

Chrysalis sucked in a breath of air as soon as her father was out of the room, throwing all of her strength at the shackles that held her. Next to her, the mockery of a pony that used to be a simple servant in time lost to the ages, made a note of it.

He’s going to hurt Celestia! That wretch! I will end him as soon as I can get out of here! The more she struggled, however, the stronger the enchanted restraints kept her in place. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t close the hole in her chest either. The same enchantment that kept her from shifting her way out of the bindings kept her from healing.

I can’t let him get away with this...Celestia...I need you.

Somewhere, her body found the moisture for a few tears. Visions of Celestia swam behind her eyes, memories of dozen of lives spent with the pony she loved. A pony her father was determined to destroy. In the thousand or so years of her life, she’d never determined if there really was a higher power than her love. But if there was some such deity out there, Chrysalis swore she’d not let her father succeed.

The crystal pony next to Chrysalis watched the former princess twist in her binds. The quill in its hooves noted each move. It wrote down each pained cry and mumbled curse. It wrote down every time the changeling said ‘Celestia.’ As it copied the name down again for the dozenth time, its eyes looked up in time to see the chitinous plates held apart by the locked spreader start to shift and push through the metal and enchantments placed on it.

Crystal eyes looked back at the face of the creature that it once called Her Majesty. It didn’t write down that last observation.

Bumpy Ride

Several hours ago…

Celestia coughed hard, smoke and dust mixing with the last swallow of coffee she’d had before leaping off the HMS Corona. The gunpowder and other accelerants the minotaurs used in their airship mounted missiles didn’t taste good—not even when mixed with the Neightucket Blend from her warmug. She hacked, her eyes watering and wished she’d had the forethought to grab a filter mask from the ship. But then again, she’d only barely made it in time to detonate the explosive before it careened into the village below.

Celestia wrinkled her nose and hoped no pony was watching as she gagged on the thick smoke and spit. Holding her breath to keep the acidic taste at bay, Celestia powered her wings in a few quick flaps to disperse the surrounding haze. A hoofful of yards under her position, the slat and thatched roofs of the minotaur village were intact, if peppered with the smoldering debris of the exploded missile. Just a bit beyond that, dozens of minotaur faces stared up at her and the warships above in literal shell shock. Several of the faces belonged to children. Living children.

Celestia breathed a sigh of relief and turned her gaze to follow theirs. Above her there was a fading rainbow contrail that led straight from the Corona to the minotaur vessel. The airpony it belonged to, Semaphore Communicator Rainbow Dash, was hovering just outside the minotaur’s bridge view ports angrily flashing their earlier message of peace with snappy wing movements.

She also appeared to be screaming at the minotaur crew that had launched the ship’s ordinance.

“Well, there’s no excuse that they didn’t see the message now.” Celestia smirked, summoning her warmug through the aether with a thought. She took a palate coating chug of coffee and dismissed the hot mug back to the Corona a moment later. She chuckled when she saw Rainbow Dash flash semaphore code of some rather choice language before launching back towards the Corona.

The airpony left behind a group of very startled looking minotaurs to choke on dust and another multicolored contrail. It appeared that Rainbow Dash was in fact as fast as stated, and watching the pegasus’ streak away made Celestia wonder just how much longer she’d keep her own speed record. With one last glance at the village below for injured and unintended destruction, Celestia grinned.

“Let’s see if the old girl still has it in her…”

The force of her ascent pushed the remaining smoke clear of the village and the entire mountainside. Where once the alicorn had hovered was a blurry afterimage, her own pastel rainbow-hued streak marking her trajectory back toward the Corona’s rear communications deck and Airpony Dash’s own end point. The air around her screamed in her ears sharper and louder then she liked. Squinting, Celestia folded her ears back, cutting down her resistance as much as she could. Ripping apart the atmosphere to let her pass made her wings burn as muscles put to pasture decades ago struggled to meet the demands she placed on them.

The impromptu raced lasted just long enough to catch the other semaphore airpony’s attention, the stallion leaping out of the way just as their outstretched hooves passed the edge of the deck. A moment later, Celestia lifted her head out from the tangle of limbs, gear, and netting that was the result of their simultaneous crash. She chuckled lightly, lifting one wing to smirk at an upsidedown but otherwise unharmed airpony.

“That was close.”

“Ugh..” Rainbow Dash pulled herself out from under the Princess, kicking one leg that was caught up in the deck netting. “I coulda won it. Next time we’ll have to make a real race out of things, Princess! I’ll wager a whole month’s bits on it.”

“I do believe, Airpony Dash, that gambling is against Equestrian Navy rules.” Celestia smirked, climbing to her hooves and smoothing back her mane. “I should know. I wrote most of them.”

“Then you know that only matters when on duty.” Rainbow Dash returned the Princess’ confident smirk and turned it up several notches. “I’ve got leave coming up. Just name a place and I’ll be there to put you through your paces.”

“Assuming we make it back to Equestrian airspace from this operation.” Celestia shook her head, but patted the mare on the shoulder comfortingly. “In which case, you are on. I rarely get to go all out these days.”

Celestia drew herself to attention as the the two semaphore ponies gathered themselves, sober once again at mention of their purpose in the skies above the northern mountain ranges. As one, they all turned and looked at the minotaur ship. One of the gigantic propellers, each on either side of the minotaur zeppelin's envelope, was starting to reverse. The other airship’s forward momentum kept it moving, but it was beginning to turn off a direct intercept course.

“Thank you for your brave service.” Celestia murmured quietly, looking back at Airpony Dash. “Quick thinking is just as important as quick wings. Flying into the horns of a potential enemy takes heart.”

“Hey, I couldn’t just let those idiots hurt us just because we spooked them.” Rainbow saluted and flashed another smirk. “I like my assignment here, Princess. I’ve got friends on this boat.”

Celestia opened her mouth to reply, but snapped it shut a second later when a blaring siren rang out over the HRMS Corona’s deck. She widened her stance, while the communication ponies automatically grabbed the railing an instant before the ship’s engines roared to life and the whole vessel rocked into motion. Looks like Luna has us on a course. I need to get back up to the bridge.

She held her position, watching the village and airship above it start to sink away. When we make it back...I am going to have to have a long talk with the Collective’s elder council. Sending out Cadance to gather information paid off...this time. Celestia frowned, turning over the other information her niece had passed back along to her in the previous years. The rumors of a secret airbase this far out into the Collective’s territory seemed all but confirmed now.

She squashed the line of thought and pulled her warmug through the aether to herself full of steaming coffee. After snapping a salute, she took her leave of the rear communications deck, sipping black Neightucket Blend. When she rounded the tail end of the Corona’s wheelhouse, she looked forward, out over the prow. The airship was pointed between two imposing, snow-covered peaks and right into what looked like an enormous bank of ash grey clouds. As she watched, Celestia tracked flashes of lightning within the storm.

“Looks like this is going to be a bumpy ride.”

The Present

Cadance’s horn was starting to throb along with her heartbeat. Keeping the hefty iron firearm pointed and the hammer back, while also suppressing the sound and glow of her aura was already starting to tax her sleep-addled mind. If Twilight had been doing it, Cadance was sure her protector could keep up the feat for hours on end.

Or just blast the intruder with her own horn canon. Cadance’s grimace turned up at the edges. The thought of her Twilight making short work of whatever was trying to get the drop on them gave her the resolve to push away her concerns and focus.

The whatever in question moved into the room proper, tip-hoofing forward. Its silhouette turned a little, looking this way and that as it navigated the cramped space. As it got closer, vague details started to come through the oppressive gloom of the room. Black stripes alternated with a pale white on its side, and a hint of gold flashed as it found a tiny shaft of light mid-way through the room.

Cadance sighed, releasing the breath she’d been holding since the door opened. Gingerly, she lowered the gun and eased the hammer into the half-cock. She let her magic surge, the glow and light hum pushing back the darkness and most of the hut’s creaking and groaning. “Oh sweet Sisters, Zecora! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

Cadance groaned, raising her head up to regard the old zebra. Behind her, Twilight shifted a little, the rhythm of her breathing becoming unsteady. She kept her voice soft, not wanting to disturb her protector’s rest. “What were you doing out?”

Zecora froze when Cadance’s aura light highlighted the alicorn and blinked at the sudden intrusion of illumination. She sighed a second later and relaxed slowly, keeping her own voice low and throaty. “Bathroom. I didn’t meant to wake you, Princess.”

Cadance nodded, her ears turning forward to focus on the mare in front of her. She stretched out, lifting her wing off Twilight and the hull-breacher at the same time. She tried to make the movement look casual as possible. “Well, it’s a good thing I saw you. A blast from this will fill the whole hallway, so taking cover would be advisable.”

Zecora raised an eyebrow, green eyes tracking the floating canon. “That’s...good to know. But I’m tired. The weather here is hard on these old bones. So, why don’t we get some rest while we can?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Cadance nodded again, her eyes flicking over Zecora’s shoulder. Down the hall, there was another flash of black and white as a second Zecora dived awkwardly into another room of the caribou structure. As soon as the last hoof was out of the line of fire, Cadance dropped the hull-breacher gun level, muzzle pointed directly at the zebra’s chest. “You first.”

She clamped her eyes shut as the gun went off, filling the room with more light and sound than her magic could have. It also filled the Zecora in front of her with dozens of lead pellets. The force of the blast sent the mare up and over backwards down the hallway, landing in a crumpled pile of limbs and fur several paces away. Her ears ringed painfully, but Cadance pushed herself to her hooves. Weeks of practice under the old minotaur armsbull, Iron Bullet, kicked in, her aura going for more grapeshot and powder in her pack. She was yelling as she moved, her lips forming obscenities in a dozen languages, though all she heard was muffled mumbling mixed under the ringing from her gun’s thunder.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Cadance saw Spike and Twilight moving, startled out of their slumber. Spike’s scales and green frill were standing up, vibrating in surprise as the more beastial instincts inside the dragon came up claws and fangs first. Twilight wasn’t far behind, surging to her hooves, horn lowered to gore even as the battlemage fired up her own spells. Cadance stepped forward, following her target as powder and a hoofful of iron shots packed into the barrel and the pan of her weapon. She leveled the weapon again, taking careful aim, and unleashed Tartarus again from point blank range.

“I am really starting to hate these changelings!”

Roach Rodeo

The caribou village of the Great Gate was, traditionally, a quiet place where the Arboreal Tribe once maintained a constant—if relaxed—vigil over the mountain pass which led to the Forbidden Lands. Half of the year, the days were long, the sun low enough to paint the craggy snow capped mountains in shades of red and orange. The nights, conversely, were short and sweet, the sun’s light lining the horizon to cast the world in cozy purple twilight for a couple of hours. Rarely was the Great Gate lost in the shadows, but this night under the heavy cloud cover of an unnatural storm, it was as much a void of blackness as it was a barrier.

Until light, sharp and bright, flashed from the elder’s hut, illuminating the lower part of the wall. Thunder followed the light, rolling twice from the hut’s windows and bouncing off the Gate to shout at the sky. After the flashes, darkness descended again on the abandoned village, barely held back by a faint blue tinted glow flickering through the slats of the elder’s home.

Inside the hallway, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza lifted her minotauran-made blunderbuss above her head with her magic. She flipped it around with a thought and brought it down like a sledge, heavy reinforced oaken butt first, on the prone form of a zebra. The blow connected, the feedback from her horn grip telling her the target was a lot harder and more solid than the striped fur would imply. The hull breacher bounced off, the strips starting to run like wet paint and merging together, the black revealing an insectile carapace.

The zebra-ne-changeling coughed up something thick and yellow that smelt sickly sweet, turning over to scramble away from the approaching fury of Cadance. “How? Nopony has ever…” It coughed wetly again. “This isn’t what was supposed to happen!”

Cadance growled wordlessly and let the gun swing wide, glancing off the changeling's retreating flank and sending the would-be assassin into an uncontrolled wobble that bounced off the wall a few paces in front of her. “Two things.” Cadance stopped and took a steadying breath. “One, you aren’t as good of an actress as you think. You didn’t even try to get Zecora’s lovely accent right—not that I think you could. Two, I’m not stupid. This isn’t my first time to the changeling assassination rodeo.”

The changeling, its features more bug than equine now, shifted the plates of exoskeleton that made its face into a smile. It coughed and spit out a hoofful of ichor and a deformed lump of lead. “Then you really should have known to bring a bigger gun, Princess.” It lunged forward, one pony-like limb stretching impossibly long and morphing into more dull black uneven and pitted chitin. The leg hooked the narrow barrel and ripped it out of Cadance’s magic, smashing the gun against the hardened logs of the hut wall.

Cadance gasped, her year of harsh training under the Mustangian brawl masters kicking in. She dropped the grip on her gun and flared out her wings to push herself back as a second limb, twisted into a sharp stinger stabbed into the space she had stood in. That chitinous barb dripped with more of that sweet smelling fluid, no doubt poisonous enough to make a viper blush. Cadance focused on the tip, keeping her attention on the physical point of danger. In the fuzzy, dim distance she could just make out movement from the true Zecora. All it would take was a moment, a blink and the changeling would be on the old pony, and the last thing she wanted was to allow a hostage situation to arise. Behind her, she could hear Spike and Twilight roaring for her to get out of the way, to let them rain Tartarus itself down on the invader. If she did that, Zecora could be just as good as dead if she let the changeling move. She had to hold. She had to keep its attention until the others could safely take over.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza growled, dropping low and holding her forelegs back, her chin practically on the floor. Her horn fired, calling her vambraces to her. Someone, probably Spike, yelped in surprise when the two enchanted pieces of her raimeinent flew to her, latching to her hooves in time for Cadance to throw herself back forward. She twisted at the same time, extending the twin blades normally kept hidden in the armor, and drove the twin spears at her opponent. The changeling, all bug now but more or less pony-shaped, pulled itself back, retreating down the hall on its back. Huge multifaceted eyes stared back at Cadance, full of malice and flat with murder. She bared her teeth when she landed on top of it, one blade glancing off a plate of black, but the other found a weakened spot from the earlier spray of shot from the hull-breacher. Cadance leaned all her weight and momentum into it, forcing her way into the monster’s abdomen until the plates on the changeling’s back stopped her. Up close, her muzzle a breath away, Cadance was sure she saw a twinge of fear in those alien eyes.

“Cadance!”

“Princess, get out of the way!”

Cadance ignored the shouting behind her. She glared at the changeling, her voice hissing out between clenched teeth. “We’ve got you now. You’re not getting out of here.”

“We’ll...see about that.” The changeling grunted, wrapping its forelimbs around the alicorn while the flexible anatomy of its innards clamped around the blade stabbed through it. “Thanks for providing me with a shield, Princess. The Midnight Lord should get a good laugh out of you dying to your own comrades’ attacks…” The last word came out like a wheeze, the monster forcing them both up off the floor with surprising strength. Cadance tried to yank herself away, but that same strength held her in place. “The Queen might not like it, but who cares, so long as you’re dead, am I right?”

The changeling spared her a grizzly grin before looking past her toward the common room where Spike and Twilight held ground. “Go ahead and let your drake off its leash! Twenty bits says I get out anyway and this pretty little mare dies in the confusion! I’d wager those nags in their castle won’t even hold you responsible...assuming they survive long enough to make it back.”

“What?” Twilight yelled, wide eyed, leveling her battle staff down the hallway. “Survive what? What the holy hay is going on here?” She charged her horn, calling up the matrices for a half dozen spells. Getting Cadance out of this situation alive was her primary concern, but the changeling’s statements about the Royal Sisters rattled her. A quick glance to her side showed the same conflict rolling across Spike’s face. Lowering her voice to a whisper, Twilight flattened her ears back and aimed her horn to keep her mouth out of view, “Spike, on my mark, we rush. Go for the legs. I’ll go for the body as soon as we have Cady in the clear.”

Spike huffed, reptilian lips edging back to reveal sharp teeth, and nodded. He gathered himself, muscles bunching under scales and the spines along his back stating to extend in preparation for the pounce.

Down the hall, the changeling’s grip on Cadance tightened. “Don’t think I can’t hear you. Try it, I dare you!”

“Twilight...is the greatest Battlemage...in Equestria.” Cadance wheezed. “She won’t miss.”

“I’m willing to take that risk, Princess Flesh Shield. But just to make sure I’m the only one walking away from this…” The changeling chuckled, its face plates coming loose and rearranging its jaw into something out of the nightmares of other nightmares. It split into barbed mandibles, too many of them to be anything other than the biological essence of terror, mixing spider, mantis, and a hint of octopi beak with pony muzzle. When it spoke again, the changeling’s smooth feminine voice was virtually unchanged. “I always wanted to kiss a real Princess!”

“Kiss dis!”

The changeling hissed and gurgled, its many mandible-ed mouth closing down on glass instead of pony throat. The thin vial shattered, its contents splattering the changeling’s face. What didn’t go over it went inside and wherever the clear fluid touched, the chitin started to sizzle and pucker up. The thing howled, once smooth voice now gravely and wet. Cadance twisted in its grip and met the steely gaze of Zecroa, the old witch doctor ready with another vial.

Seeing the changeling flail, letting its hold on Cadance loosen as it tried to desperately wipe its face clean, Zecora grabbed the Princess’ nape with her teeth and hauled them both away from the bug.

“Now Twilight!”

Cadance shut her eyes. A split second later as another flash of magical light lit the night brighter than noonday. Heat washed over her from the spell, hoof to horn, followed by a near deafening ’kaboom.’ Scales pressed into her, holding her down on top of Zecora, her wings flattened awkwardly against the floor and wall simultaneously. She opened her eyes to see Spike looming over them like a shield, fangs bare as the light and heat repeated, the noise crashing into them like a physical weight heavy enough to shake the home to its foundations. She could hear the muted sounds of wood splitting. She could smell burnt meat and a moment later she felt the cool wind from outside sweep down the hallway.

When Spike lifted off her, Cadance looked back where the changeling had crouched and all that remained was a skid mark and a few remaining droplets of whatever ichor passed for blood in those things. The end of the hall was simply gone. The edges of the walls and roof, a structure made from thick pine logs, were ragged and more than a little on fire. Past that darkness swallowed the wreckage and the leftovers of her would-be assassin. Cadance took a deep, rough, breath and tried to will her heart to slow while she looked back under her wings for Zecora. “A-are you alright?”

“Aye.” Zecora lifted her head slowly, her high mane limp and stringy, but her eyes were still as firm as ever. “I’m alive. You?”

“Same, thanks to you.”

“You welcome. Was wrong it turn a flank to me.” Zecora managed a grin, blood on her gums. “Good to know the poison I make to keep away wasps and spiders in the Everfree work on shadows like that too.”

“Cadance!”

Both alicorn and zebra looked up to a face full of purple fur and mane, Twilight plowing into them physically as hard as her spells hit the changeling. Candance gasped, wrapping her hooves reflexively around the battlemage. “Twilight, calm down! I’m alright!” She struggled for air and patted Twilight on the back. “It’s okay...I’m perfectly fine.”

“But you could have been very extra not okay, Cady!” Twilight squeezed, burrowing her face into Cadance’s shoulder. She rubbed her muzzle there, not caring if the princess felt or heard her tears. “Don’t scare me like that, princess...please. I’m your protector. It’s my job to keep you out of harm’s way as much as equinely possible. This is already a completely messed up situation...I don’t need the extra stress of you putting yourself into a dangerous trap like that.”

Twilight sniffed, her nose starting to feel runny and pulled back off of Cadance before she slimed all over the other mare. “Please. Please don’t do that again.”

“Twily.” Cadance patted Twilight, holding them chest to chest as she caught Twilight’s eyes. The mulberry orbs looking back at her were watery and strained, bags already forming under them. I wonder how I look? Cadance swallowed. Does the stress show on my face too? She forced herself to smile a little. “I won’t do it again, but I couldn’t let—”

Twilight shoved her hoof against Cadance’s lips and leaned in to touch the tips of their horns together. “It doesn’t matter why you did it, Cady, I know you aren’t stupid. But do not do it again. My heart can’t take it.” She waited for Cadance to nod, then she wiped the back of her hoof across her face and kissed her princess deeply. It wasn’t a playful kiss, or one where two tongues danced, or even a kiss where one set of lips fought for dominance over the other. It was a simple, straight forward kiss. A kiss where one heart communicates as directly and unambiguously as possible to another heart that they care, and please don’t die. Because that makes hearts very upset.

Cadance murmured into the kiss, her eyes closing for a long moment between heartbeats. When her mouth was no longer engaged, Cadance took in a deep breath and looked up at her back-lit protector. “I won’t. I promise, Twilight.” She licked at her lips for a second and whispered softly between their muzzles. “The building is on fire, Twily.”

“I’m on it.” Spike snorted and pushed himself up, helping Zecora to her hooves in the same move. “We can’t stick around though. Grab your stuff and keep the make out session short, ladies.”

The top of the caribou’s massive gate was inky black and damp. The unnatural heat on the wind from the storm melting the permafrost that had covered every inch of the sharpened logs. The village was lost in the darkness below them on one side, while the other side might as well have ceased to exist, the night and cloud cover was so complete. The storm was still going, the wind roaring like some colossal beast through the canyon pass between the peaks. Beyond the gate was the Forbidden Lands of the caribou. A place of legends and evil. A place of monsters.

Cadance swallowed, tugging her cloak closer over her barrel. Her aunts were out there somewhere. The Royal Sisters’ airship had passed this way hours ago and now she was about to follow them into the unknown. But at least she wasn’t going alone. Cadance glanced over at the small landing where the perch was widest. She could barely make them out, but Twilight and Spike were making final adjustments to his flight saddle. After the fight, they’d snuffed the little fires lapping at the building and made sure that the changeling that attacked was truly no longer a threat to anyone. Then they had climbed the stairs up here and looked for a way down the other side. There wasn’t one, so that left one option with two ponies that couldn’t fly on their own.

Twilight had Spike’s flight saddle magically miniaturized since they’d flown into the Everfree. Cadance sighed. That was less than two days ago, but it feels like years have passed! She was tired, but wired from the assassination attempt. Nothing made sense to her and she felt lost for the first time in literal years. Her skills at diplomacy and espionage were of little use out here in the waste and she felt like an anchor more than the sail that propelled them forward. I need to get back on my game, and fast. Out here we are not safe and I refuse to become a liability. Celestia guide me.

There was a shout and flash of magic as Twilight completed her preparations. Spike growled louder than the storm as arcane lighting arced over him and he transformed into his huge, winged form. He arched his back and slid into the straps and harness with practiced ease. Cadance smirked while Spike shook the saddle to balance out the weight. Her aunts could protect themselves. She just needed to follow their example and listen to Celestia’s advice about keeping close to her bodyguard. Twilight would keep her safe, no matter what, but it was her duty to make sure she kept Twilight away from situations that required too much of the mare.

“Okay!” Spike snorted green flame, illuminating the platform. “All aboard! From way up here, I should be able to keep us in the pass until we can clear the mountains. Pretty easy with all these up drafts.”

“We don’t know what’s out there, let alone what’s generating this storm,” Twilight ruminated, her face hard and neutral as she gazed into the darkness beyond the gate, “so stay low in case we need to bail.”

“Are you ready?” Cadance put a hoof gently on Zecora’s shoulder. The older mare had been quiet since they’d left the village below. So many stairs had been hell on her.

Zecora looked up at Cadance, breathing shallow but slow. “Yes.” She nodded a second later, turning to make one more climb into the night sky. The Princess positioned behind her, wings on her flanks to lift. “If I were a younger mare, I be insulted. But...you have my t’anks, Princess.”

“Think nothing of it.” Cadance followed Zecora up onto Spike’s back and settled into the wide saddle next to the zebra. “I know I’ve said it a dozen times already, but thank you. You really turned the tide of that fight. That was brave and stupid.”

“T’ose be de basic ingredients of courage, Princess.” Zecora shot Cadance a look, flicking her ears at Twilight as the battlemage climbed up to join them. “Somet’ing you two ‘ave in spades. I t’ink we gonna need a lot of it w’ere we going. Next time, maybe we not cut it so close?”

“Hopefully.” Cadance sighed, watching Twilight out of the corner of her eyes, her voice soft and low. “I’d really rather not be responsible for any deaths in the next day or so.”

“Dawn’s a few hours from now.” Twilight turned from her seat at the front of the saddle, her horn sparking to life with a simple spell to illuminate the area. She grabbed the harness straps that let her guide and direct Spike without speaking, wrapping them tightly around her hooves. “There is plenty of time left for another attack, and no matter how many times any of us have been to the assassination rodeo at this point, I want to avoid it for as long as can. I don’t want to have to kill any more monsters.”

Twilight furrowed her brow, narrowing her spell’s area to intensify her light from a pale glow to a laser like beam that could cut through the black from Spike’s back down to the log stairs they’d just traversed. The wind whipped around them harder, howling from the mountain pass, twisting Twilight’s hair up and throwing wild shadows everywhere. She looked back over the gate, away from Cadance and Zecora, and raised her voice over the storm’s. “Hold on, this is going to a hell of a drop.”

Spike snorted, adding a blast of green flame to Twilight’s light as he lifted them all up to the very edge of the Forbidden Lands. It faded in an instant. Then they were over the crest and the world tilted at a crazy angle, the direction of the wind shifting drastically as they fell back down the other side of the gate. Twilight rocked back with the motion, her long mane fanning out like the wings of some dark bird. Cadance screamed. Zecora’s eyes went wide and she clamped her teeth on the side of the saddle. The ground raced up to meet them, all gray rock and snowmelt wet soil. Then Spike’s wings flared out and caught the air, turning the plummet into a graceful, blisteringly fast, swoop. The saddle righted itself along with the arc of the swoop, collapsing into a gentle slope while Twilight’s torch light showed them the way between the mountains.

They flew in silence from there, twisting and turning around the peaks, following the path nature had carved from the earth. Outside the flash of stone here and there, they may as well have been flying through some void. It went on and on without stop, black darkness, black-grey stone, more black darkness with darker black clouds above.

Cadance didn’t know when she fell asleep, but the next thing she knew, she was being shaken awake by Zecora. The old zebra nodded up at the sky, where the light of predawn was starting to define the edges of angry stormheads heavy with rain or snow. Cadance blinked a few times and lifted her head to look out around them. “Are...are those houses?”

Below them, in every direction, were the ruins of houses. Thousands of them. They looked ancient, simultaneously aged and somehow recent all the same. The rubble of roads stuck out between the houses and around those, at the edges of her vision, were barren fields. “Where are we?”

No pony answered her.

Cadance groaned and lifted herself back up all the way to move closer to Twilight. “Twily? What’s going on? Where did...all this...come…” The last word died on her tongue. In front of them, miles yet ahead, was a castle to rival even Canterlot’s in both size and grandeur. It stood at the center of the ruins, whole, its spires pointing at the heavens like some monolithic sundial. If that were not enough, even in the dim lighting, she could see the palace sparkle like a freshly unearthed crystal.

And at the foot of this impossible palace, there lay the smoking hulk of a Canterlot airship.

Author's Note

Buy me a coffee!

In the face

“Happy new year! "

"Yes yes..." Fleur-di-Lis smiled, nodding to the foals that passed her at a run on the snow-lined sidewalk outside her Canterlot home. "Be careful! You'll slip and fall!"

She sighed and ran her hoof over her distended belly. "Where are their parents when foals need them most?"

"Probably lagging behind at a safer pace than their children. Just like us." Sapphire Shores rolled her eyes and stepped over an icy patch of flagstone. "Trixie! Stop running or no fireworks!"

The blue unicorn, ahead of the two mares at the stoop to their brownstone, skidded to a shaky stop and blew a strand of silvery-white mane out of her eyes. "The fast and sure-footed Trixie is ok, mom, sheesh! Fireworks on New Years is mandatory. "

"She has a point, dear." Fleur chuckled and playfully bumped into Sapphire. "Besides, weren't we going to enjoy the evening together by the fireplace? I seem to recall that you promised me and the baby some of your toasted marshmallows on hot chocolate. "

"Yeah, the secret family recipe, passed down through the generations. My father taught it to me and my siblings and now I get to do the same with you and our daughters." Sapphire smiled wistfully and held out her hoof when they reached the bottom step. "Tradition marches ever onward, doesn't it? "

Fleur took the hoof in her own and gripped the railing with the other. "It might be a son this time. You never can tell." She grunted with the effort her extra weight was asking of her legs on the short climb to their door. Trixie was already inside and her booming hoof falls echoed through the house while her parents made their way in out of the cold.

The house was blessed warm to their chilled coats, heavy drapes and Sapphire’s enormous hat notwithstanding. Sapphire shook the errant flakes of snow from her shoulders and turned to continue helping her wife. Their butler, Rover, arrived moments later and was quick to hang their discarded outerwear in the entry where it could dry before the mares made their way to the family room and the heat of the roaring fireplace.

Fleur groaned happily and eased herself onto the wide couch in front of the fire. “Oh sweet Goddess, that feels good! I’m not sure which is worse, the bitter cold of this winter, or the aches in my knees. I swear that Trixie wasn’t this much work.”

Sapphire chuckled and slipped onto the seat next to her wife and ran a hoof over her swollen belly. “Maybe it’s twins this time.”

“If it is, then you can kiss that spring tour of your’s goodbye. I’m not feeding two mouths, watching your little hellion and designing a spring and summer line of clothing all at once.”

Sapphire smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you take it easy? Don’t you deserve the down time, twins or not? Skip the designing and re-issue last year’s fashion, Princesses above know they’re still popular.”

“I will not!” Fleur scoffed and held a hoof to her chest. “Besides, one of us has to bring in the bits, what with a new foal on the way and Trixie starting at Celestia’s academy in the summer.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not giving up my tour either. Money aside, ponies and music lovers across Equestria are going to be waiting to see me. Tickets are already on sale.” Sapphire flipped her hair back out of her eyes and leaned over to kiss her wife on the nose. “Anyway, you have me all to yourself until the spring thaw.”

“Ewww!” Both mares looked up in surprise as their eldest daughter gagged exaggeratedly in the doorway. “Trixie demands you both get a room! There are foals in this house!”

“We have a room, my love.” Fleur giggled. “It’s just up the stairs, remember?”

“Technically,” her wife interjected, “every room in this house is ours…”

“Oh hush.”

Trixie stuck out her tongue in childish disgust at her parents and dropped herself onto a cushion by the fire. “It is the new year, and Trixie demands the traditional telling of stories and hot chocolate!”

“I agree with the hot chocolate demands.” Fleur eyed Sapphire pointedly. “Secret family recipe, remember?”

The earth pony rolled her eyes and climbed back to her hooves. “Ok, ok, sheesh! I can handle the drinks. Can you handle the stories?”

Fleur-di-Lis nodded and patted the couch for their daughter to join her. “I can do that. I think I’ll tell you about…” she tapped her chin in thought for a moment, “about Princess Cadance’s first new year as a Princess. Would you like that, Trixie?”

“Trixie likes stories with explosions.” The young unicorn frowned for a moment, but she relented after a moment and climbed up to snuggle with her mother. “However, the accepting and patient Trixie also enjoys stories about Princesses.”

“How about I try to slip in a few explosions in there too?”

“Trixie would appreciate this.”

Fleur giggled again and took a slow breath to focus her mind and thought back to a tale that had been told to her just after she had come to live in Canterlot with her old modeling mentor, Silk Spinner. It must have been about…

Fourteen years ago

Silk Spinner, at the height of her career and fame, announced her retirement from the international modeling scene at the end of the fall season. She retired, rather publicly, to Equestria, and to Canterlot’s narrow snow-choked streets specifically. Under the spotlight from the community, it became clear that she had started a relationship of sorts with Princess Celestia herself.

Silk Spinner wasn’t the only new addition to the castle, however. Much earlier in the year, a new alicorn had been discovered and brought to the castle to be raised as a Princess. She was a pretty mare, born as a pegasus in distant Cloudsdale, with a warm pink coat, feathers and a curly mess of a mane. She had a blue heart for a cutie mark and brought love and happiness wherever she went.

Her name was Cadance and she was just about your age at the time.

“Trixie brings more happiness to those around her. She is also prettier.”

Perhaps, now let me tell the story.

“Trixie still demands explosions!”

Duly noted. Moving on. Now, Cadance had never spent the holidays away from her birth family before, and she was very sad. The snow was lovely, the food was tasty and the presents were very nice, but they were no substitute for family. She spent a lot of her time in her room at the castle crying.

Thankfully, Princess Cadance had one friend, Twilight Sparkle.

“The great and powerful Trixie’s hero! Twilight Sparkle will make the explosions!”

Well, remember, this was when they were both fillies. Battle Mage Twilight didn’t have that reputation yet. She was still training in Princess Celestia’s Academy.

“Like Trixie is?”

Yep. Anyway, on New Years Eve, Princess Cadance was sadder than normal and had spent all day locked in her room, crying. The guards couldn’t get her to come out. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia couldn’t get her to come out either and they were very sad. So, in the afternoon, Twilight Sparkle came to Princess Cadance's room and she decided to try something different.

She went outside into the snow and walked to Princess Cadance’s window. Twilight Sparkle then took some snow and shaped it into a ball with her magic. Then she threw at Princess Cadance’s window!

“With her magic?”

Probably. But Princess Cadance didn’t respond. So, Twilight Sparkle threw another. And another and another. Until finally, Princess Cadance opened her window and wiped the tears out of her eyes. She told Twilight to stop bothering her. And can you guess what Twilight Sparkle did?

“Did she blow up the wall?”

Er...no. She threw another snowball right into Princess Cadance’s face!

“Wouldn’t that get you arrested?”

Maybe. Don’t ever try it. But, Twilight Sparkle is Princess Cadance’s friend and Princess Celestia’s student, so she can probably get away with it.

“Twilight Sparkle is the coolest pony Trixie knows!”

Anyway, the snowball to the face made Princess Cadance very upset! She wasn’t going to let Twilight Sparkle get away with that!

“But you just said!”

Hush, who’s telling this story, me or you? Thank you. So, Princess Cadance jumped out of her bedroom window and glided down to the snow using her pretty pink wings. Twilight Sparkle used her magic again and made more snowballs and levitated them in the air around her. She laughed at Princess Cadance and said she couldn’t stop her from throwing more of the snowballs.

That made Princess Cadance even more upset! She wanted to teach Twilight Sparkle a lesson, but she couldn’t get close with all those snowballs. So, Princess Cadance had an idea. She would make her own snowballs and beat Twilight Sparkle in glorious battle. Her horn started to glow and she concentrated really hard, but snow is a lot tougher to make move than clouds are.

“Trixie can easily control snow. She learned it already.”

Good to hear. Keep up your studies and you might become a Battle Mage, just like Twilight Sparkle.

“Trixie will be an even better Battle Mage than Twilight Sparkle!”

That’s my girl! Now be quiet and let mommy finish. Well, Princess Cadance tried really really hard, but she was still new to unicorn magic and she couldn’t make any snowballs. So, Twilight Sparkle threw another one and hit Princess Cadance right in the mane! That was too much! So then, Princess Cadance charged! She ran straight at Twilight Sparkle and into a hail of snowballs, but she didn’t stop.

When she reached Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadance leaped and tackled the unicorn! They both went down in a cloud of snow and rolled around on the ground, fighting for dominance. Until finally, the snow settled and Princess Cadance was on top of Twilight Sparkle and pushed her back into the cold snow covered ground. She was breathing hard and huffed and puffed while Twilight Sparkle lay there in a shocked daze.

It was just then that a fresh snow started to fall. The two fillies were as still as statues as the new snow started to erase all the signs of their fight. Then, Twilight Sparkle started to laugh. She laughed and laughed and that made Princess Cadance very confused. But, as Twilight Sparkle continued to laugh, Princess Cadance came to realize that they weren’t really fighting.

“They weren’t?”

Nope. Princess Cadance realized that Twilight Sparkle had tricked her into coming out and playing, just as she had in Cloudsdale, before Princess Cadance became an alicorn. Twilight Sparkle was showing her that she didn’t have to be sad, because she had a friend and you can’t be sad for long when you have good friends. So, Princess Cadance started to laugh too. She laughed so hard she fell down in the snow next to Twilight Sparkle and since Twilight was such a good friend, Princess Cadance showed Twilight Sparkle how pegasi make snow angels.

Fleur-di-Lis smiled at Trixie and then looked out at the fresh snow that had started to fall. “Isn’t that a heartwarming story? It’s just perfect for this time of year when so many of us have to be away from family and loved ones. We count our blessings each year that we get to spend together as a family over the holidays.”

Trixie nodded and then frowned. “Wait...you promised Trixie there would be explosions! And how do you know that Twilight Sparkle had a snowball fight with a Princess?”

Her mother chuckled. “Oh dear, I did, didn’t I? Sorry about that. Well, you see, I know it happened because I saw it.”

Trixie raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

Fleur winked and leaned in close to her daughter to whisper. “I was there at the castle that day. I saw the whole thing happen while I sat with my old modeling coach, Silk Spinner and Princess Celestia herself. We were having dinner together to celebrate my first modeling contract here in Canterlot. Ms. Spinner was Princess Celestia’s special somepony at the time and she missed the whole thing because she was focused on making kissy faces at the Princess.”

“Ew! Trixie wanted explosions, not kissy stuff, in her story!” The unicorn gagged. “Where is godmother Spinner this year, anyway?”

“Didn’t you read the card she sent with your presents?” Fleur’s horn flashed and she looked up over the fireplace to lift a glitter covered card and opened it. “She says she is in Zebrica this winter. It’s warm there and the weather agrees with her old bones.”

She turned the card around to show Trixie the flowy hoof writing. “See? I hope you are going to write her back to thank her for the cloak and hat she sent.”

Trixie huffed and blew a strand of her mane out of her eyes. “The grateful and caring Trixie is working on it. Why doesn’t she stay in Canterlot with the Princess? The castle is warm.”

Fleur shrugged and looked into the flames of the roaring fire and placed the card back on the mantle with her magic. In truth, she didn’t really know why, but she suspected that there must have been some sort of falling out between Silk and the Princess. “I wish I knew, sweetie. Granma Spinner has always been one to do things her way for her own reasons. But I like to think she secretly sneaks back into Canterlot and peeks in on us when we sleep, to make sure we’re safe.”

“That might explain some of the odd noises I’ve heard in the house when it gets dark.” Sapphire interjected, walking in from the kitchen with a tray balanced across her withers that carried three wide mugs. Steam wafted gently from the mugs and the smell of sweet coco filled the air. “Or maybe that’s just a certain filly sneaking around for a midnight snack?”

She grinned at Trixie’s huffing and took a seat carefully next to her wife. “Here, the Shore’s famous family recipe hot chocolate! Just as I promised. Did I miss story time?”

“Mostly.” Fleur sighed, her magic levitating the mugs off Sapphire’s back and passed them around before taking her first sip. “Mmm...you never fail to impress, my dear. I was just reminding our little one to write a thank you letter to her godmother.”

“When Trixie writes, she will tell granma Spinner she can stay with us next year.” Trixie leaned against Fleur and followed her gaze into the dancing flames of the fireplace, hot coco gripped firmly in her hooves. “It’s warm here.”

Borealis

It was dark and cold again when Twilight woke up. Cadance was still asleep in her hooves, the Princess’ legs and wings wrapped warmly around Twilight’s middle. Twilight smiled, squeezing her charge gently, and kissed the base of Cadance’s horn. Vaguely, she remembered falling asleep after Zecora’s potions started wearing off and the fatigue caught up to them both. Not before the longest make-out session of my life though. Twilight smirked, recalling the feel of Cadance’s lips, the taste of the alicorn’s tongue. They both wanted more, it just wasn’t the right place or time for it.

The urge to nibble the pink pony from ear to shoulder was nearly overwhelming when she’d helped Cadance slip out of her peytral chestplate and hoof-caps. She very nearly gave in. Unfortunately—depending on how she thought about it—their energy ran out before their restraint. At least that was one super awkward conversation with Spike and Zecora she’d stumbled out of having.

That made her look up and out to where their companions had been resting. She wasn’t sure just how much time had passed since closing her eyes, but the fire was out and she could feel the chill even though Cadance’s downy feathers. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness, but Twilight could just make out the blob of Spike against the greater darkness behind him. Zecora was completely lost in the shadows.

Twilight slowly and regretfully extracted herself from the Princess’ embrace, stiffly rising to her hooves and stepping over to where they had stacked the extra kindling. She rolled her shoulders, working kinks out of the joints before she grabbed a small stack of branches in her aura. Thankfully, before they had succumbed to the weariness in their bodies, Cadance had taken a moment to show her how to cast the spell that dried the wood out.

She washed the magic over the wood and dropped it into the pit. She charged her horn, squinting in the wane light of her horn to aim her magic, when she heard a loud rustling and snapping noise from outside their small enclosure. She canceled the spell, her ears pricking up. Twilight tracked the sound, using just her ears and leaned to her right to tap on the end of Spike’s tail.

“Spike!” Twilight hissed, pressing into his scales with the edge of her hoof. “Spike, wake up!”

Spike groaned quietly, one eye cracking open and focusing on Twilight. “W-what is it?”

“Shhhh…” Twilight’s ears twitched, flicking band and forth, rotating as the crunching and rustling noises grew louder and multiple sources popped up around them. “I don’t know if it’s those crystal pony...things...we saw earlier or not, but several somethings are moving around out there.” She swallowed hard when another, closer, branch cracked loudly. “And they are getting closer.”

Spike picked himself up, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Next to him, Zecora stirred and she lifted her head, forcing a repeat of the whispered conversation. They even managed to wake Cadance a second later, her eyes snapping open in time to avoid a third go-round.

“Twily.” Cadance rolled onto her stomach and grabbed Twilight’s staff from where it lay and tossed it to the Battle Mage. “One of us needs to take a look out there. Whatever it is will find us in here soon enough. I’ve been to this rodeo enough times to know we don’t want to get caught flat-hoofed.”

“Better to meet them than get overwhelmed right off the bat.” Twilight worked her jaw until it popped, her horn lighting up again as she moved some of the branches and needles that made their enclosure’s roof. Snow, several inches of it now, rained in through the small opening and sizzled on the still warm ashes of their original fire.

“Spike, give me a boost.” Twilight looked at Cadance and Zecora while Spike kneeled and held out his claws. “If I see something I don’t like, the first—and I mean very first—thing you do is get out of this shelter. Use the pines and rocks for cover but don’t go far. We can’t protect you if you gallop wildly into the snow.”

Cadance nodded, fishing her peytral out from under Twilight’s cloak. She lit her horn, pointing it at each of them in quick succession, the glow from her spell surrounding their throats and ears. “There, that will handle communication. Even if we do get separated, that spell will carry our voices to each other. It will pick up anything as loud as a whisper, so no need to shout and reveal ourselves. So long as we don’t get more than a few hundred yards apart, or whatever is out there isn’t packing anti-magic, that is.”

“Good call, Princess.” Spike grinned and gripped Twilight’s hoof. “Ready to do this?”

The unicorn nodded curtly, pushing off Spike’s shoulders with her forehooves when he lifted her to the low ceiling. Twilight craned her neck upward, cautiously sticking her head out into the open. The sky above her was still covered in heavy clouds, though the snow was no longer falling and the winds were still. What time is it? It feels like we’ve been here for hours but the sun is still up? It looks like it’s barely moved.

Twilight squinted at the sky for a second, then looked down, her ears moving around to zero in on the sounds. There were at least five distinct sources she could detect, all of them moving slowly through what seemed to be the outer edges of the copse of trees they were sheltered in. One in particular, off to her left, seemed closest.

She grit her teeth, running the calculations in her head for a destructive blast of fire magic. Remember your training, Twilight. Wait until you have a target...never attack blindly. Hopefully the resulting smoke will give the others cover to make some distance. Keeping Cady safe is the most important thing. She repeated the mantra of waiting for a target over and over, neck muscles tensing. Whatever was moving through the trees was taking its time about it, moving slightly, then stopping for a moment.

What are they doing? Twilight forced her breathing to remain steady. It wouldn’t do to snap like a twig when the time came. She had to stay calm to react quickly and correctly. What if it’s not those crystal ponies? I don’t want to hurt anyone innocent.

Time seemed to stretch, the seconds ticking by at a snail’s pace.

Twilight’s ears were just starting to go numb in the cold when one of the nearer trees rustled, shaking some of the snow from it’s needles. She held her breath and a second later, broad felted antlers pushed the lower branches aside to reveal a very tall and wooly caribou, its mouth full of lichen. It froze when it noticed the hastily made shelter of felled fir trees and the unicorn head sticking out from the top of it.

“Twily!” Cadance’s whisper hissed in Twilight’s ear, thanks to the communication spell. “What’s going on? The noises outside stopped.”

“Uh...it’s a...caribou.” Twilight swallowed, her voice quiet as the caribou moved a bit closer, its eyes flicking back and forth from examining her to looking over the shelter. “I don’t know if it’s friendly.”

“Well, it’s probably not an enemy. If you see one, there must be dozens or more nearby, they move in migratory herds.” Cadance whispered from below. “If there are caribou here, we are very far north! They almost never leave the tundra unless it’s for trading. What tribe does it belong to?”

“How am I supposed to tell that?” Twilight flattened her ears as the caribou got closer and came fully out of the trees. From her vantage point, it looked to stand taller than Spike, and though it was hard to tell with the shaggy coat, she assumed it was a male.

“Look on the antlers. They crave symbols there to denote their tribal allegiances.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, squinting in the poor lighting. Sure enough, when the caribou turned its head, there was a faint pattern traced into the broad side of its antler. “Um...it looks kind of like a tree...or a plant of some sort.”

Cadance was silent for a long second before saying anything else. “That’s the Borealis tribe...I think. But what are they doing here? They never came to the trade meetings. They stayed the farthest away from Equestria and didn’t leave their ancestral forests.”

“Could we hurry this up?” Spike groaned quietly. “This is murder on my back and shoulders!”

“Oh! Sorry, Spike!” Cadance tapped Twilight on the leg. “If they aren’t attacking us, they could help us get back home. Or at least not freeze to death.”

Twilight grunted, lifting herself up a bit higher and put more of her weight on the roof of the shelter. The motion made the caribou freeze again, eyes like liquid chocolate staring up at her. Twilight worked one hoof through the hole in the roof and waved cautiously. “Uh...do you speak Equuish?” The caribou blinked at her, raising an eyebrow. She tried again. “Er...sprechen Germane? Draconic?”

“Try this: ‘Halló, getur þú skilur mig?’” Cadance’s voice whispered in Twilight’s ear. Twilight opened her mouth and stuttered through the first few syllables until she gave up. “Sorry, but my mouth can’t do that. You’re gonna have to get out here, Cady.”

The caribou snickered and leaned against one of the standing trees while the pony in the pile of wood wiggled and wobbled about for a moment. Louder and louder pained groaning came from inside the rough hut until eventually, snow and sticks fell from the top and the single pony head was joined by a second, significantly more pink colored pony head. This one smiled down at him and when it opened its mouth, words that he could actually understand spilled out.

<>

The caribou snorted. <>

<> Cadance grunted, struggling to work herself up higher and out of the hole. <> She heaved and pulled her torso loose of the hole, shoving Twilight to the side, the unicorn muttering complaints under her breath. <>

<> The caribou took a knee and bowed his head low. <>

<> Cadance struggled to free herself completely and flared her wings for balance to descend to the ground next to Forage Fortune. <>

<>