Darkness Remains

’You can't protect your own’. Those were the words that haunted our young prince. No matter what he did or where he went, those words followed him. He was pacing back and forth in his brightly lit bedroom, the only place where he felt even remotely safe anymore. It had been six days since the nightmares started and they had completely stopped him from getting any form of peaceful rest. The growing paranoia didn't help either. The guards had reported that there was no intruder in the castle grounds but he was not assured.

Every sound now startled him, every corner held the his demise a secret and every shadow was now his enemy. “You can't protect your own” He whispered under his breath.

“Failure – all I am – all i'll ever be”. He shook his head violently. “No, you are wrong. I am a prince and the captain of the Crystal Empire's guard force. I am anything but a failure” He tried convincing himself and whomever might be listening. “I bested the changelings during their invasion and I helped in defeating you. You failed, Sombra. You are the failure!”

There was a knock on the door which sent Shining Armor covering underneath his blankets.

“Your royal highness? Are you in there” called a familiar voice. The door opened up revealing an aged pony with an iron coat and a silvery mane and tail known as Silver Lining, the royal advisor and accountant.

“Silver Lining? Thank you for coming so soon” Shining Armor said while slowly climbing out of the bed. “Please say that you have some good news for me”

The pony sighed. “Forgive me, your highness, but I would be lying if I said so. There has been yet another murder. This time of the noble pony named Rough Quartz. I am sure that you remember him”

“Yes, he is one of the members of our royal court”

“Or, well, he was a member”

The news made Shining Armors heart sink to oblivion. Rough Quartz had been one of Shining armors most faithful supporters for his keep to the throne and proved to be an invaluable asset for keeping the nobles and commoners happy and in check. And in most recent times, he had even come to see Quartz as something of a friend.

“I-Is there anything else that you have to report” Shining Armor asked with a trembling voice. All he could possibly hope for now was that there was no more bad news to be heard. He was not sure he would be able to handle much more.

“Only one thing, your highness. A letter, addressed to you” Silver Lining said as he picked up a letter from his satchel. He hoofed it over to the young prince who quickly snatched it from the time worn pony and slowly walked back to his bed.

“Who delivered it” Shining Armor asked.

“One of the guards investigating the crime scene delivered it to me. According to her it was found on the body”

Shining Armor froze dead in his tracks. He looked down on the letter. It seemed simple enough, nothing particularly interesting about it beyond the foreign language and unusual violet wax sealing it. And the wax had a symbol of a serpent, a wolf and a horse running and slithering in a circle.

“Any other signs” he asked.

Silver Lining shook his head. “No. There are no signs of breaking and entering, no wounds, no weapon, nothing. There are no signs of anyone being there to begin with beyond the letter”

Shining armor put it down on his bedside table, not daring to open it and turned to Silver Lining. “Leave me. I need to be alone right now”

Silver Lining took a bow. “As you wish your highness. For your further notice, Princess Cadence is waiting just outside, will you permit her in?”

“Of course” Shining answered matter-of-factly. “Why is that even a question?”

“I'm simply asking out of respect. After all, you said that you wanted to be alone”

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Yes, I suppose that is true. Just let her in”

“At once”

Shortly after he exited the room Cadence was soon to enter. She slowly approached her husband and tentatively placed her hoof on his shoulder. He leaned into her hoof, desperately seeking her warmth and comfort. “How are you feeling, sweetie” She asked.

“Honestly? I'm feeling worse than ever, and it just gets worse and worse. I can't stand it being in a room without a candle in every corner, I'm jumpy and constantly terrified. I am starting to think that you are the only thing keeping me from insanity”

She was not sure whether to feel flattered or be afraid of how fragile his fading sanity truly was at the moment. Probably the latter with a sprinkle of the former.

Several moments of complete silence followed before Shining Armor finally spoke again. “Rough Quartz is dead” He said.

“I know. I'm sorry, Armor” Cadence pondered the possible things she could do next and her only hope was to plead with him one more time. “We could always call for-”

“No” Shining Armor interrupted.

“Armor, we can't do this by ourselves anymore, we need help, YOU need help”

“We can do this on our own. We can't bother the princesses with every little problem we encounter”

“Little problem!? We are talking about the possibility that Sombra himself has returned, and you call that a ’little problem’” She exclaimed in frustration.

“We are our own kingdom now, independent, we must be able to take care of our own problems. Sombra is our problem, not theirs”

Cadence was about to retort until she noticed the foreign letter on the nightstand table. She approached the table and picked up the letter in her magic. “Where did this come from” She asked while carefully inspecting the letter as if searching for something deviant. Her gaze locked on to the seal.

“It was found on the corpse of Rough Quartz”

She decided that it was in their best interest to read the message within so she broke the seal and took out the message and read it through. It was a short message but she read it several times over, blinking hard and shaking her head, hoping that what she read was wrong.

“Cadence? What's the matter dear” Shining asked worriedly.

She dropped the letter to the floor and walked towards the door. “I don't care about your idiotic independent bravado, I am massaging my aunts and sister and asking them to help us figure this out this instant” She said before storming out.

Wondering what got her so upset he picked up the letter himself and read it. It simply read: You are next. Beware young prince, The Wolf is coming.

One quick read was all it took from him to run after his wife, deciding that he did not like being alone anymore.

Twilight sat on a train on its way to the crystal empire. With her was her friends and the princesses of night and day, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Luna seemed awfully distracted by something that could not be seen or heard. Twilight had approached her on the subject earlier but Luna had simply dismissed her worries and claimed that it was nothing.

“So remind me how this is even a problem to begin with” Rainbow Dash asked. “Can they not just use The Crystal Heart again like last time and whoop his sorry butt out again?”

“That would not be possible” Said Twilight. “The Crystal Heart can not act on a threat if it does not have a clear identified target to fight. Whatever Sombra is doing, he is being far more subtle this time around”

“No kidding. Remember last time” Pinkie asked before starting to impersonate the fallen king. “Crystalssss”

“Twilight is right. The way he is acting is not like the Sombra we know. Can we be sure that it is him” Applejack asked.

“Sombra is not a fool, my little ponies” Celestia interjected. “Sombra can think and act on ten moves ahead before you have even made one. He has most likely learned from his past mistakes and are adapting a new strategy to deal with us”

“Ok, so I will give you that. But what about your crazy-strong magic? Why don't you just overwhelm him with some insane power. I mean, you are strong enough to move the sun and the moon”

Celestia sighed and looked down at the floor. Was she ashamed? “Do you remember the royal Canterlot wedding”

Who could possibly forget? The deceit of the changeling queen, the collateral damage costing the crown a fortune and the masses of screaming ponies in the streets crying out to whatever powers above for help.

“I gave my all to safeguard my citizens but I stood powerless next to Chrysalis and her love-fed power” Celestia looked and stared grimly at the ponies gathered. “She was my match that day and I could do little to protect my people and Sombra is far worse. If we find him in time, and we all work together then we might be able to take him down before any major damage is caused”

Everypony nodded in agreement though some showed more hesitation than others. Rarity for one pondered much about how useful she could really be if things got hectic. She was a lady, not a brute and was not a very capable combatant. She prided herself not for brawn but for her keen eye, her elegance and her masterful usage of fabrics. She exited the cart and made her way towards the café cart to buy some tea to calm the nerves. She was so distracted by her thoughts that she failed to notice the oncoming pony and like a complete klutz she walked straight into him, looking up at the very last moment, her muzzle connected with reinforced metal and her posterior was introduced hard to the floor. She rubbed her aching muzzle and looked up at the brute who had done this to her.

The pony before her was a strongly built pegasus stallion around the age of his early fifties, his muzzle almost parallel to his skull making him give off a regal appearance, violet coat and a long ash gray mane and tail, unusually large wings, wearing the lunar guards traditional blue-purple armor.

“My lady, please forgive me for my clumsiness. Are you hurt” the guard asked concerned. He extended a hoof to her which she happily took as he pulled her on her hooves.

Hm, so no mere brute then, but a gentlecolt? She thought. “Oh no, darling, it was my fault. I should have looked where I was going”

The pegasus chuckled. “I suppose we are both at fault then. May I ask where you were heading”

Rarity sighed. “I have a lot on my mind right now, so I thought I ought to sample the trains tea and calm down for a bit. So if you excuse me, I should be on my way” she said and tried to walk by. The guard unfurled one of his wings and formed a feathery wall in front of her. She gave him an annoyed look before he replied: “May I accompany you? Sadly there is not tea on this train but there is coffee, would you mind if I join you for a cup?”

She eyed him carefully, trying to figure out his goals and motives. What could he possibly want of her? Does he simply wish to be polite and repay her, or is there some other motive hidden behind a kind and smiling mask?

“Perhaps we should get introduced first? My name is Rarity, who are you” She asked.

He looked shocked to learn her name. Before she could ask how he was he recomposed himself and took a bow. “Then it is my honor to accompany you Miss Rarity, if you will permit me”

“You still have not told me your name” She said matter-of-factly, almost growing a bit impatient with this stallion, despite his polite attitude.

“Of course, how forgetful of me. My name is Frigidos, acting lieutenant of Princess Luna's night guard, at your service” He said and straightened himself up.

“Frigidos? Thats a pretty unique name” Said Rarity.

“Heh, it may sound a bit different than a name you would typically think a pony would have but I believe that everypony has a unique name of their own, don't you think?”

“I suppose you are right” She said and made her way to the café. She stopped and turned around to face the stallion again. “So will come with me or do you have your duties awaiting” She asked, innerly hoping that he would accept. She didn't know for sure what it was but it was something that intrigued her about this pony. There was something that seemed familiar about him.

A toothy smirk spread upon his features as he accompanied her.

They sat together, enjoying their cups of coffee while chatting away the hours. Rarity had come to find the stallion quite charming. When she had tried to indulge in a conversation about her profession and it quickly became clear to her that he had no idea about anything she was talking about. But he at least made an effort to understand and he took in everything that she said and asked question about things he didn't quite understand without ever interrupting.

“-and so Hoity Toity had me work on six entire ensembles of clothes and practically have them mass produced in little more than a weeks time”

Frigidos had the sort of expression as if somepony had just told him that the sky was in fact made out of chocolate. “You can not be serious, Rarity. That sounds like a huge endeavor. Exactly how many are we talking about” He asked.

“About a dozen of each dress”

“By all that is holy, it seems like an impossible task. Did you really fulfill that order?”

“Oh, I simply had to. I couldn't disappoint one of the most influential ponies in the business, now could I?”

“I suppose not, but that does still seem like an awful lot of work. You must have stayed up day and night to complete it”

“It was not easy, but it was very worth it. Thanks to Hoity I was able to make more of a name for myself and my sales almost doubled afterwards”

He flashed her a smile before he noticed that the door behind Rarity swung open, revealing a magenta alicorn which only took a quick glance in their direction before walking up to them. “Rarity, you need to come back”

“What for, Darling? I was having such a lovely conversation with sir Frigidos here”

Twilight eyed him suspiciously, analyzing every single detail about him. “I've never seen you before. Who are you” Twilight asked.

Frigidos gave a light chuckle before answering. “You might have, princess. You see, normally our armor have a spell cast over them that makes everypony that wears them look like bat pony hybrids. Not that it serves a real purpose, I just think it is to princess Luna's preference”

“So why aren't you one now” Twilight asked.

“Because eventually enchantments wear off. I was actually on my way to have my armor replaced as it seems that my enchantment have. But then I bumped into your wonderful friend here and I kind of lost track of time and duty”.

The mention of the word duty seemed to spark something within him, he looked at the clock and then back to Twilight, panic radiating from him. “No, nononono, this is not good, if princess Luna finds out about this then I might as well quit immediately”. He looked back at Twilight Sparkle and Rarity with a pleading look. “Please, my ladies, you must not tell the princess about that you ever met me. My future is at risk if you do”

Twilight pondered what to do next. She considered the many pros and cons of telling or not telling, taking a look at the pleading guard and at Rarity who inaudibly begged Twilight to spare him.

She sighed. “Very well, we won't tell anypony, but this better not happen again, mister” she said with a voice that demanded respect and attention, a slightly foreign tone for her.

He hopped down from his chair and took a bow. “Of course, your highness, I shall not repeat my mistake” He said before making his way towards the door.

“Wait” Said Rarity. “Will I get to see you again” she asked.

He turned his head and smiled kindly. “Probably not on this ride, but should you ever come to Canterlot then be sure to find me sometime so we can have some more fun”. He took a bow and left with the parting words: “My ladies”.

Twilight turned back to Rarity. “Come now, there are a few things left that the princesses want to take up with us before we arrive”.

Cadence sat together with her husband in the throne room, filling some taxes and listening to the nobles complaining about how the guards are not offering sufficient protection. “We are all in danger, your highness! Even with your guard force protecting us there are still murders being committed beneath our very roofs! How long are we supposed to tolerate that? And to add insult to injury, you have now deemed it fit to remove the guards from our homes all together and even those watching the streets. Who is supposed to now protect us from thieves and murderers?” shouted an angry noble.

“I assure you, sir, that we are doing our best to handle the situation. We have no more reason to believe that the murderer would come after you and the city can survive without its guards for just a day” Cadence replied impatiently. This was the tenth noble who had complained about this today.

“How do you expect things to just remains quiet and calm while there is a psychopath out there? And how would you know whether we are in danger or not”

Cadence was about to reply before a guard came bursting in. “Your highness's, urging new from the mines”

Shining Armor shone up like the sun in the sky at the mention of the mines. “What is it, sir guard” Shining Armor demanded.

Slightly taken aback by his princes' harsh tone he tried to recollect himself before speaking. “T-there is someone in the mines that wishes to speak with you, your highness. He claims that he has information about the recent murders that might come to use”

Not even hesitating for a moment, Cadence and Shining Armor was up on their hooves in an instant and dismissed the disgruntled noble and followed the guards path. They followed said guard to the bottom level of the castle where they eventually came across an ivory white staircase that led down towards the mineshaft. After they had come and claimed the empire for their own, Cadence and Shining Armor had all known supporters of king Sombra's rule locked down in the abandoned mines until a future judgement had been made. The mines were completely devoid of light and the only source came from a couple of torches. It was humid and the stench of rot and feces was heavy in the air. Uneven ground caused the royalties to almost slip once in a while and found themselves wondering if anypony had ever died from a misstep in these mines. They passed many imprisoned ponies who snarled like beasts at them and shouted curses.

The entered a shed that was once made for the foremen who oversaw the progress in the mines. A few maps on the walls revealed how truly deep and vast these mines really was. They spanned all across the city and even further.

To the right they saw a faint green stallion with a green mane and bright red stripes. He stood out as being both very pale and malnourished, strapped down to the floor with chains. He looked up and his features brightened at the mere sight of them. Cadence pitied the stallion and made a mental note to increase the supplies they bring down to these ponies.

“Your highnesses. Its an honor to finally meet you” said the prisoner. His voice was high pitched and weak. He made his best efforts to take a bow but found his movements greatly restricted by his heavy iron binds.

Before Cadence had the chance to reply, Shining Armor got in the ponies face. “Skip the courtesies, traitor, what is it you want” Shining armor hissed.

“Armor” Cadence exclaimed. “I am very sorry, these times have been trying for both of us”

The stallion flashed them a weak smile. “I understand, no need to apologize. My name is Melon Harvest, a former spy in Sombra's service”

“So what is this information that you offer us”

He leaned in every direction, his ears and eyes flicking in every direction, as if he was searching for something or someone. He leaned forward and spoke: “I know where Sombra is”

For a moment, Cadence was overjoyed. Finally they could find the infestation and be rid of it, soon it could all be over. But there was one thing nagging at the back of her head. Something wasn't adding up. “Aren't you one of his loyalists? Why would you sell out your king” she asked.

He shook his head. “You must understand, Princess, most of us had no choice. He was our only option, it was either him or the mines. I have family to care for and I am sad to say that they are strong supporters. All I want is for the kingdom to return to how it used to be”

“Is that really all you want? You have no other motives beyond bringing him down” Shining Armor asked.

Melon Harvest stared down at the floor, seemingly ashamed of himself. “There is actually one other thing I would like to ask you for in exchange of this information”

“And what is that” Cadence asked, slightly more hostile than she intended.

“I want my family free from here. Leave me if you want but please bring them to the surface and give them a home. That is all I ask for this information”

“Deal” The royals said unanimously.

Melon Harvest looked stumped. “Really? … That easy?” he asked bewildered beyond his senses. He had expected to try and negotiate with them for the longest time, he had spent hours trying to figure out good answer to every possible question and argument.

“That easy” Said Shining Armor. “So long as this information is valid and useful”

“Oh, I swear, your highness. This is legitimate, he came down here himself and told us all about it”

“HE WAS HERE” Cadence shouted. “Why were we not alarmed, why did no guard report his presence” she asked him.

“If Sombra does not want to be found, he won't be found. But I can tell you where he will soon be, but you don't have much time”

“Are you sure it was him and not some servant of his or something” Shining Armor asked, panic constantly growing within him, consuming him like a rabid monster.

“We never saw his face, but there is no mistaking that smoke, those infernal eyes or that voice”

“Very well then, what did he say”

“He said that he has a contact in the castle. In other words, you have a traitor in your midst. Somepony called Silver Lining or something like that”

“Silver Lining” Cadence asked in shock.

“Yes, and if you want to catch Sombra you must hurry” He said while looking at the clock on the wall. “Their meeting is beginning in just a few minutes. If you go now you might still catch him”

“Where can we find him”

“Sombra said that they would be meeting up in the royal library”

“Guards, to me” Shining armor commanded and rushed out of the mines.

Cadence bowed to Melon Harvest. “Thank you for your aid” She said. “We will remember you and your service”. After saying this she stormed off after her husband, leaving Melon Harvest alone in the shed with one lone guard that escorted him back to the prison.

Above Cadence found Shining Armor and the guards standing by the doors, ears pressed up against them. Shining Armor saw her and waved her over, directing her to look through the keyhole. She peered through the little opening and saw Silver Lining standing there, talking with somepony that she could not see beyond a few wisps of smoke.

“This has gone on long enough” exclaimed Silver Lining. “You promised that you would have the prince dead, so why is he still up and walking, seven days after we agreed to it. What is taking so long”

The voice that came next could only be described as Sombra's voice, though his wording seemed to have improved vastly. It sounded as if he was quoting something.

“On the first day he vanquished the lesser evils of the world. In the days to come he battled the endless legions of darkness and on the seventh day he fought and conquered The Rat and imprisoned him in the fiery pit below, such as he had promised”. The voice was not cold nor dark or malevolent. It sounded like the voice of a happy child about to receive a treat. Did he take such pleasure in these vile acts? “His time will come. Soon I will strike, and then you can have a true king sit on that throne”

“You'd better, otherwise all bets are off”

“No need to worry yourself, keep up your end of the bargain and I will keep up my own”

There was a few moments of eerie silence before Sombra spoke again. “But it seems that there may be some complications to our little arrangement”

“What?! Why”

“Because there is half an army of guards just outside our door, probably listening in to everything we are saying”

At the mention of their presence the guards burst into the room, forming a wall trying to restrict the intruder from escaping. But it was to no avail. Sombra had already evaporated into smoke-like shadows and made an escape. The guards was about to pursue him but Shining Armor stopped them. “Ignore him, arrest Silver Lining”

The guards surrounded the terrified pony which backed up further and further towards the shelves. “M-My liege, please let me explain”

“We have heard enough out of you, Silver Lining” said Cadence. “For your crimes against the crown and the empire, I name you traitor of The Crystal Empire. Take him away, we will interrogate him later”

The guards grabbed the old pony and guided his way to the prison.

“Seems like we are one step closer to solving this problem” Said Shining Armor.

Cadence eyed Shining carefully. “You seem awfully optimistic”

He shrugged. “I have come to the conclusion that I am utterly useless as a quivering coward. I'm not gonna sit around and wait for some wannabe king to murder me”

Cadence nuzzled up to her husband, acting the role of supporting pillar for him.

“Come now darling” He said. “The princesses will soon be here”

Cadence nodded and they were both escorted by a couple of guards to the train station.

Can't we ever just meet during normal circumstances? Just once?! Cadence thought to herself.