The Equestrian Express rumbles to life as the last of the VIP passengers board. I watch from far above as seven ponies, a dragon, and a human stuff themselves into a rather compact car. The boarding had taken much longer than it should have, a certain white unicorn delaying the trip with her incessant need for luggage.

The train sets off, barreling northward to the Crystal Empire. It consists of five cars; the engine, a passenger car holding the civilians and Wrath, a much larger passenger car holding thirty of my finest royal guards, and two cars worth of luggage and supplies. The journey north takes six days, however my sister and I have enchanted the engine with a powerful time-flux spell, which should cut the journey down by half.

Three days Cadence. You must hold out for three days.

I watch as the train reaches the horizon, a worried frown worms its way onto my face. I look away and beat my wings, heading for Canterlot castle. My sun is near the horizon now, soon it must change places with my sister's moon.

I reach the Castle in a span of minutes, its spiraling twin towers greet me as I fly to the top and land on my balcony, overlooking all of Canterlot. The sky is twilight. Luna's stars peak over the eastern sky. Clouds mask my sun and cast brilliant oranges and golds across the sky. Millennia may pass, but I shall never tire of this sight. My horn thrums with magic and I perform the ancient spell, my sun dips behind the horizon and blue meets the gold in the sky. See you in the morning.

I stare for a moment longer, then turn and make my way into the castle. Now for a much less pleasant task. I trot out of my quarters and nearly collide with my maid-pony.

"Princess!" She shouts as she falls into a hasty bow.

I smile warmly at her. "You may rise Dusk Feather." She raises herself and ruffles her feathers.

"Did I miss it?" She asks mournfully. I repress the urge to laugh at the look on her face. Dusk Feather, I think you are the only pony who enjoys sunsets as much as I.

I move to the side and gesture widely with my wing. "No, it's just starting" Her face alights with joy and the young mare rushes by me to the same balcony I had landed on. I watch her giddy form stare upward at the darkening sky with a grin. Never change my little pony, never change. I then turn and shut the door. The white, marble walls of the castle stare at me between paintings as I descend the spiraling staircase.

Eventually I pass by the common mess-hall, and the guards-ponies within. The eyes of the stallions and mares within alight at the sight of me. Even the most grizzled, angry stallion in the room can't help but give me a smile and a salute. I return their cheer with a smile and a nod, then continue towards my destination.

The bathhouse and barracks pass me by as I reach the entrance to the inner-castle; a small, stone door on the lowest level of the castle, protected by an 'ignore-me' charm. Hidden in plain sight. The door has proudly stood there since the castle was crafted, my destination lays within.

My horn flashes and the door opens, I duck inside, trading my usual smile for a tired frown. These dark halls are never happy to see me.

The train car is actually comfortable this time.

I lay sprawled on a large bench, my legs and wings outstretched. The impossibly soft surface I lay on is called 'velvet' according to Rarity.

Spike sits near me, upright with his arms crossed. "Why won't they tell us whats going on?"

I look up and see his frown. "I don't know." Why does it matter? Does it make a difference if we know? "I am much more concerned about this 'velvet' material. I don't think there is a more pleasing texture in the world." I rub my face into the cushion and sigh in delight. My old body could not feel a texture this delicate. I think back to my old body and glance backwards to where I know the storage car, and by extension my old arm, is.

I try to think back to what things felt like in my old body, but find it difficult. I remember what my claw felt like as it cut through flesh, but I can't recall how the grass felt beneath my feet. Did I forget, or did I just never store sensory information that insignificant at all? I raise my head and a hoof, and look to it closely. I see the hard surface of the hoof, as well as the fine, black fur on my foreleg. I can feel so much from just one limb, I can't remember feeling as much from my whole body, as I now feel in just one leg.

Spike shifts beside me. "Hey I got a question."

"What is it?" I ask, prying my eyes away from my hoof.

"Not that you aren't fun or anything. But why did they bring you along?" His curious stare bores into me. Do I tell him? I have to tell him something, how much do I tell him?

"I have to go wherever Wrath goes."

"Okay, but that seems odd, I mean its not like he is your dad, your a pony and he is a human."

"Is Twilight your mom?" I return his curious stare. He closes his eyes and nods his head.

"Fair point, fair point."

The door to the room opens, and the elements and Wrath come through. I can see guard-ponies in the room beyond just before the door is shut. The ponies all look uncertain, even Wrath seems solemn. Spike and I share a look and both shrug. Twilight sits beside Spike. Applejack and Rainbow Dash each pick a portion of the velvet seats and lie down. Fluttershy comes over and sits beside me and Rarity goes sits next to her.

Pinkie claims Wrath's lap and the human slowly pets her. At seeing this I feel a pang of emotion I don't quite understand. I watch Wrath's hand attentively as it strokes Pinkie's mane and fur.

...?

After a moment, I recognize the emotion as jealousy.

"How was the meeting?" Spike asks, finally breaking the silence.

"It could have gone better." Twilight sighs. Spike nods and gestures with a claw.

"What was it about?"

She sighs and looks to her friends for support. Nothing good if their mood is anything to go by. Twilight thinks for a moment, and after a few nods from her friends she relents.

"King Sombra."

"Who?" Spike asks. I click my tongue, sharing in his confusion. Twilight looks at me with a bemused expression.

"An old foe of Princess Celestia that has come back from banishment."

Spike snorts. "Then its not a problem! You guys took care of Nightmare Moon easy enough, what makes this Sombra guy any different?" Nightmare Moon? That weird ghost pony? Twilight shakes her head.

"Different kind of banishment, Nightmare Moon was banished to a place. Sombra was banished from his body."

"How on earth do you do that?" Wrath asks.

"You use the Crystal Heart that we were discussing, it uses the power from the crystal pones to banish dark magic, when it was used on him, Sombra's spirit was so dark that his body and spirit were separated entirely. But now his spirit has come back and is trying to reclaim the Crystal Empire that he once ruled."

Wrath hums at that, and the pink pony in his lap turns over, presenting her belly to him. As he resumes petting her I feel another pang of that strange emotion. Why am I jealous?

"Why doesn't he just go back to his body?" Spike asks.

"His body was just a normal pony's body without his magic, dear. And this all happened over a thousand years ago. The body of a pony just doesn't last that long." Rarity says.

Fluttershy agrees with a nod. "His body returned to nature." So it rotted into nothing? That must be frustrating.

Everyone settles down and begin to chat idly to each other. The discussions are boring and mundane, and I quickly find myself nodding off.

I trot down the hidden stone corridor, magic torches lighting my path as I go. Withered stone walls present moss, and the scent of mildew fills the musty air. The smell is unpleasant, yet slightly calming. The corridor breaks into a small alcove with three paths stemming off from it. The alcove itself is a circular room with a long wooden table in the center. An ornate and misshapen chessboard sits atop it and a blue alicorn sits near it. The eternal game. A gift from Discord. I think, eyeing the chessboard. He said no pony could ever win a game of chess with it, on either side. Though truth be told I had never used the gift, preferring instead to use its bizarre appearance as a decoration.

I look to each of the three passageways at the end of the room, trying to remember which hall lead to where. I have not seen these depths in a thousand years. Now lets see, left leads to StarSwirl's pond. The source of the scent of mildew. Right leads to a dead end and several golems. The center passageway leads to the labyrinth proper.

I ponder a moment how long it takes to traverse the labyrinth before I realize I missed a crucial detail. Seated on the other side of the wooden table is my sister, who has been waiting for me with a smirk on her face.. How is she here?! Why is she here?!

"We were beginning to wonder when you would get here." I give her a humorless chuckle and take the seat across from her, the strange chessboard between us.

"What are you doing here sister?" I ask. Luna found the entrance, I'm glad she's not ventured further in.

"We could ask the same." Luna frowns deeply. "We wonder why such a place exists.." She gestures to the surrounding hallways. She can not possibly know about what lies at the end of, or within, the labyrinth.

"Luna you really must learn modern equestrian." Her eyebrows furrow and her ear twitches.

"Do not change the subject sister dearest, why did you come here?" I hide behind a mask of calm and flick my horn to life, thoughtlessly moving a white pawn forward, the pawn is a miniature of a pony.

"I am here for the protection of our ponies, Luna. You know I would do anything to ensure their safety." Luna's frown morphs into a scowl and her horn alights, the white king, a miniature of myself, is lifted off the board and incinerated in a flash of blue magic.

"Is that why you sent your student to deal with the monster that nearly defeated the both of us, and you sent her without the actual elements of harmony?" As Luna speaks her frown returns and she shakes her head, closing her eyes. "Are you trying to get your student killed?" How dare she!

"Of course not!" I bark, outrage breaking through my mask. "But what other options do we have? I have sent her with the most experienced and talented guards in Equestria, Princess Cadence and Captain Armor are already there, and the human is going as well." I take a breath. I am doing the right thing.

"She is going as best equipped as she could go. And you know that the elements don't work on him anyway." Luna simply fixes me with a hard stare.

"She is not going as best equipped as she could go, if she were, we would both be on that train. Nay, in truth we would be soaring there before the train ever left the station." I shake my head.

"Sister, we can't go." Luna truly angers at this.

"Why?! Why can we not face one of our oldest foes?!" I return her hard stare a thousand fold.

"Because what if, even with our aid, he wins?" Luna pauses, holding her anger. "Let me tell you what would happen little sister, if he won. Twilight, the elements of harmony, the beacon of hope for all Equestria, and us would be gone. What happens then? What would our ponies do?" My magic ignites and I incinerate all the black chessboard pieces, somewhat stunning Luna.

"If we stay, together we can activate the relic within this city, and face him with the ponies of Canterlot and Ponyville behind our backs. A full city and large village that together number around twenty thousand stand many hundreds times more of a chance against him, than the three hundred or so ponies left in the Crystal empire."

Luna's anger dissipates and her ears fold.

"Then why send anypony to face him there? Why not evacuate the empire?" If only.

"Evacuation is impossible, he was already laying siege to the city when we caught word of his re-appearance. I can only hope the city lasts until Twilight arrives."

"Why are you placing so much faith in Twilight? She could never combat him in any way."

"If she finds the beacon of hope and manages to activate it. She can repel him from the city."

Luna scoffs.

"Then he would not be dead! He would simply return again more powerful than he was before!"

"His body is dead Luna, his spirit is exposed, his concentrated evil would most likely be purified in the light of the beacon. But sister if you have a better suggestion-" I perk my ears up. "I am all ears."

She contorts her face in thought. It definitely helps that Wrath is going. The old warrior is a wild card that may prove pivotal in defeating the dark king. My wings slump behind me slightly. Why did he have to come back now of all times? Luna turns her snout up then shakes her head.

"We think you are correct sister, though. We wonder if it was wise to send the Maiden with them?"

"The Maiden?"

"Shendu." Shendu! Oh by the sun I hope he can't touch Shendu's soul. If he had a Maiden under his control.... No, the spell is irreversible, or... it should be. I shake my head and put on a fake smile.

"Shendu will be fine sister." I reassure Luna. She shakes her head and then gets up from the table and stretches her wings.

"Very well sister, we are in agreement for now. Now show me this 'relic' you have been keeping secret from me." I nod and rise as well.

"Yes, it is about time you knew about the relic left from mother and father."

I start toward the leftmost path with Luna hot on my tail. Her confusion at my last statement practically rolling off of her in waves. Now to navigate the labyrinth, an easy task for two alicorns.

We begin down the center path, as we go we pass an out of place portrait of a mountain goat upon the wall. I stop and eye it for a moment, trying to remember if it holds any significance.

"Ahah!" I remember this one! I move the portrait aside and cast a small flame into the tiny hole that lay behind it. A thud sounds around the corridor and dust falls from the ceiling.

"What was that?" Luna asks from behind me.

I grin, real joy on my face. "That was the sound of a trap deactivating!" Her shoulders slump. This is so much fun!

"Will there be more traps?"

"Oh yes!"

I yawn tiredly as I wake.

These cushions really are soft. I snuggle deeper into the cushion as the train jostles slightly. I crack my eyes open and look around me. Everyone is sleeping and accounted for except... Shendu.

I roll off the cushion and onto the floor, and look around for the small pegasus. I find no trace of her, however the door to the guards car is slightly cracked. I quietly make my way over to it and slip through, shutting it behind me.

I look around at the thirty guards staring at me from their various positions around the room, some still laying down, some standing, some sitting and polishing their armor, but all awake.

"Uhhhh, hi?" I ask uncertainly. A couple guards wave their hooves in greeting.

"Has anypony seen a small black pegasus filly?" I ask the room.

"Over here Twilight!" A small voice calls. I make my way further into the room. The guards lose interest in me, returning to whatever they had been doing. I look around for the voice but can't seem to find it. I continue to the end of the room where a desk has been set up and an older mare sits, a green feather on her helm. The vice-captain of the guard. On her desk sits Shendu, with her nose buried in a map of the Crystal Empire.

The vice-captain looks at me critically. "Hello Twilight Sparkle." I nod.

"Hello Contessa, how are you this morning?"

"I am well Twilight." Her voice is monotone, and her expression entirely unreadable. "We are approximately 50 hours from our destination. We will arrive just before sunset if my calculations are correct."

"Good to know." I look down to the map with Shendu over it, next to it I see Contessa's notepad. The battle plan from the day before is written on it but, a large portion of the plan is scratched out.

Contessa sees me looking. "Our little friend here pointed something out that we did not consider yesterday." At my raised brow, she continues. "Sombra is a shadow, more or less, and Shendu looked over the reports that Princess Cadenza has sent us about when, where, and how powerful Sombra's attacks have been. She noticed a pattern that we did not. He attacks against the sun."

I shake my head. "That's impossible, his attacks that occur in the early morning would be on the opposite side of the city if that were true."

"You would be right Twilight, but there's more. The Crag Mountain range is on the southeast side. Shendu thinks he has been using the shadow of the mountains to somehow enhance his power and attack with the sun." I nod slowly, Certainly something to consider, but why would the mountain's shadow help him?

"That is very eye opening, but how would he use a natural shadow to enhance his dark magical power?"

Shendu looks up from the map she had been looking at. "Well you said that his body got separated from his spirit right? Everyone said his body would decompose over a thousand years but... according to what I have read the Crag Mountains are the coldest known place in the world, his body may still be partially intact if that is where it was, it is too cold to decompose. Maybe his power is strongest there because that is where his corpse is."

Oh dear Celestia she has a point.

Contessa glances at me then to Shendu. "You will be attending our meetings from now on little one."

Author's Note

Hey guys!

Here be the next chapter. Any thoughts/questions/concerns can be answered below.

Thanks for reading!