The Company We Keepby Ice StarChaptersChapter 1: Eye Will Find YouChapter 2: GravityChapter 3: TimeChapter 4: SandwichChapter 5: TerrorChapter 6: Ice StarChapter 7: Unbelievable DiscoveryChapter 8: Uncontrollable TemperChapter 9: Unbreakable WillChapter 10: Little Pink LieChapter 11: Mt. QuartziteChapter 12: Broken YouthChapter 13: Destruction of the SelfChapter 14: ControlChapter 15: Unexpected OccurrenceChapter 16: Unofficial ContractChapter 17: Catching StarsChapter 18: The Story's All OffChapter 1: Eye Will Find YouEye Will Find You I bit my bottom lip harder and tried to focus all my effort into creating a spell to conjure crystals using pure light, love, and laughter as energy. It was easier said then done, but I wasn't about to give up. I let out a deep breath and stared ahead trying to focus on nothing. The aura beginning to form on my horn began to swell in size until it seemed to gain an unexpected boost in energy and wrench itself from my horn, blasting me into a polished crystal wall. "Ow," I mumbled rubbing my back with a forehoof hoping I didn't bruise anything. The glowing white-blue substance began to fly everywhere crashing into the slick reflective walls of the heart shaped room with a resonant and high pitched plink, plink, plink! It shot up toward the uneathly ceiling and burst into sparks of the same colors. This scared away the drifting lights: silver, peridot, ruby, and emerald who had previously been floating up near the glittering violet blue mist where a solid surface normally was. "Well," I asked the blue Alicorn next to me. "How did I do this time?" Sapp'ra had a disappointed frown on her face. "It seems that is another failure to your name Empress." This was the most forward she'd been with me since I'd met her. The queen, I mean Sapp'ra as she preferred to be called, was an even-tempered mare who never lost her pleasantly cool demeanor and rarely spoke. When she did it was either a lighthearted joke, a simple bit of kind advice, or a vague and cryptic comment that I assumed to be about something from the past. Just as I thought. For three hours I had been in the Inner Heart trying to learn this spell. Standing up, I trotted over to the tall blue crystal mare. She had a flowing mane of the color tri-colored aurora which concealed her eyes and was partially worn up. It did make me a little uncomfortable being unable to see her eyes since that could often aid me in figuring out how a pony was feeling. "What am I doing wrong?" "I am unsure Cadenza, this is a crucial spell that should be easy for you to perform." She sounded worried. Sapp'ra was a mare who seemed to be worried by few things from what I knew of her. The mysterious creator of the Crystal Heart was a regal figure who seemed to embody the glacial beauty and harshness of both the Empire and the Arctic itself. Whatever troubled her was worth taking seriously. In the brief sessions I spent with these ponies learning about the Empire I now ruled and those who ruled it before me I remembered that Sapp'ra's daughter, Ezmeralda could see beyond some of the limitations of time. Maybe Sapp'ra could too. "How bad is this?" I asked. A bench of crystal sprouted from the ground and Sapp'ra sat down, nodding for me to join her. "I want to believe this is worrisome at most Cadenza, though I am unsure of what the future holds. Ezmeralda has not reported anything of disturbance." "But can't you see the future too?" I asked as I took my place on the bench She shook her head. "For Ezmeralda it is more getting a vague peek at future prosperities or plight then seeing the entire future. She is often lucky if she receives only a comprehensible hint of what is to come. We still have not seen anything of the world outside the mountains in all these years. Then there is also the fact that I have not seen anything for many millenia." I sat patiently, waiting for her to go on. although I was unsure of what she meant. She seemed to know this. "I am blind Cadenza." "Go on," I said empathetically. She was a mare who was brief in what she said and never repeated herself so it was important for me to pay attention to what she said. "I used my eyes to make something special, but now they are lost from the light." The temperature seemed to drop. "Do you want me to find them since you're...umm..." Dead? No that won't work. Unable? Well, it is the best I've got. "...Since you're unable?" "Yes," she whispered so quiet I almost hadn't heard her. "Where are they?" Another shake of her head. "Hidden, like the Heart by the one you call friend for he could not use them. They must be found and returned to the light Cadenza, not to me. The Empire was weakened during that Shadow's reign and the loss of the Eyes has taken it's toll for you see these artifacts are more powerful when both work together. The Heart might freeze if one of its partners is not recovered." Freeze? That didn't sound good. I nodded again this time more frantically and then readied to leave, walking over to the door marked 'Empire' when she called out. "Cadenza, there is one thing I must tell you." When I turned around I noticed with alarm frost spreading across the room. "The Empire will not be in danger of decay but there is one you must beware. Do not trust the wraith that haunts the halls of this castle!" A wraith? I never knew the castle was haunted. Just what else was in here that I didn't know about? A waterpark?! I had to know more about this ghost. I turned back to ask her one last question, frost already grasping at my hooves. Uh-oh... She faced me, and I saw a translucent hoof push me and then she dissolved into a streak of sapphire light as I was pushed trough the door. As I escaped the last bit of ice, emerging in the Crystal Heart Plaza, currently empty. I remembered that the opal colored orb wasn't there although I wasn't sure how it fit into all this. Only I noticed the stinging cold that could be felt by gently prodding the heart. It seems I was without guidance. What I would do to have even a certain cynic here to help out in his own particular way. ... That was two days ago, and already I was sliding down another wall in frustration. Twilight just had to pry...it was hard not to pity those two. They would be stuck on the train together as well. I just hope Sombra doesn't do anything else to hurt poor Twi. At least I would be the only member of royalty in the castle. With Shining Armor at a hospital in Canterlot for the broken leg as a result of my last adventure, it would be easier to ensure that nopony else got hurt. All I needed to do was make sure everypony who worked here got a nice vacation. A nice paid vacation, I thought with a smile as I left the room and Twilight's troubles behind me. After all who can resist that? It was time for some very intense hide and seek. The eyes will hide, and I will seek. ... I presumed that dark magic would be involved. This means I had to be prepared. After everypony got news of their paid vacations I got to work. Manespray? Check! Lovely boots I wore to that concert a few years ago? A must! Talcum power for ghosts? Definite check! Granola bars and other assorted snacks? Affirmative! I have to eat at some point right? Silver hoop earrings? Double yes! Emergency eyeliner! I can't forget it! The most obscure magic books I could find? Acquired! I was even able to locate a book on ghosts in the library. I wasn't incredibly sure on how to ghost hunt, but according to my book talcum powder would show any spooky hoofprints that weren't mine. Since I would be wearing very unusual boots I would be able to tell mine from the ghost's. Now, all I have to do is wait for nightfall to see if I can find any hidden passages, since using dark magic in broad daylight-even in the castle-is not very smart. All I have to do is warm up my brain and wait for sunset, I thought as I stared out at the evening sky which was still blue. I picked up a sudoku book I had found lying around the castle earlier a few of its pages were very loose and the spine was dented, suggesting somepony had dropped it but otherwise it was fine. I grabbed a pencil and flipped open to the first page and I hoped I was still as good at these as when I foalsat for Twilight. Chapter 2: GravityGravity I must have dozed off because I awoke suddenly to the noise of an alarm I had set to remind me when to start searching. For a minute all I heard was the racing of my heart. Sudoku sheets were scattered around the chair I had been napping in, illuminated by moonlight. The rest of the sitting room I was in felt unusually dark and cold. I smacked the small battery powered timer until it quieted with a small 'ding' and straightened my jacket. I was armed with a letter opener only since I forgot to go down to the armory, though I doubted I needed a weapon any way. My first night was just beginning. ... Flying quietly was something I was adept at and tonight was no exception, as I glided slowly through the talcum-ed hallways with only a conjured string of pale blue werelights to see. First I wanted to do a sweep of all the floors and check for marks. This would help me find the ghost and track their pattern, maybe I could even try to follow them and see if they knew anything about the eyes. There doesn't seem to be any sign of phantom hoofprints. Isn't that strange? With the amount of powder I obtained you'd think there'd be something. I conjured another small light, and tried flying closer to the ground rustling, the powder slightly. Arcing back upwards I continued sweep after sweep of hallways. No need to accidentally make strange tracks by mistake. The last thing I wanted was to make everything more confusing, I was already a bit out of my element. I just wanted the Empire to be safe now that I've had my share of what adventure is like. By the time I came to the hall with the door leading to the breezeway of the stadium I was starting to feel sleepy. I swooshed down another turn in the corridor before coming to a straight hallway. Maybe I should have had some coffee, I thought with a brief yawn, closing my eyes for a moment. Then it would be easier to stay awake and obtain these items that Sapp'ra sent me to find. "Blaah!" I shook myself awake remembering what I was up for. The ghost is my priority. Wait, where is all the talcum powder?! I looked down at the floor, only to see it was spotless. With a swallow, a flew down with my lights nervously clinging to me as if they were alive. Landing on the gleaming floor I folded my wings and walked a few steps, ceiling confused at how so much of a mess could go missing so easily. None of the windows here were opened so it couldn't have gone outside. I was good at flying quietly and without much disturbance. Nopony had been here since I gave out all those paid vacations. Maybe I'm just crazy? No, I don't think I'm there yet. I even made sure nopony had come back and offered to help fetch any items they left in the castle. So how could this happen? Hovering one of the lights closer I noticed in the reflection of the floor that the ceiling seemed awfully pale, and spotty. "What the-" Everything seemed to go haywire, and my world-and stomach-seemed to flip. I felt a whoosh of air and then nothing for a moment before a hard CRASH! The last thing I remember was throwing up in a bunch of talcum, and feeling very, very disoriented. ... "Don't worry mom I will remember to write!" I called happily waving at the small crystal house and its green fields. The river gurgled in the background as I pulled my cart of belongings down the dirt road heading away from the mountains toward the direction of my future: the Heart of The Empire! Wait, what is happening? This is not me. Who is this pony? Slowly, some of my awareness came back and I looked around. Green hills rolling everywhere, framed by snowy mountains and pleasantly cold weather. Am I dreaming? How hard did I hit my head? I was leaving my family behind for the first time. This isn't a dream. What should I do? I closed my eyes and ran a hoof of my lucky bandana that I had always worn-soft cloth with square crystal sequins sewn into the shape of a geometric heart and a small beaded end resting over my heart. "I will be the best armorsmith I can be," I whispered. This seems a lot like Farreach...That's it! Farreach! I'll just let this play out. Maybe I can learn something...from...whatever strange dream this is. I just hope I'm not stuck in another book for some perplexing reason. A bit of my forelock tickling my muzzle acted as a reminder to what I was doing. "Oh, silly me. How will I ever reach the city if I never start moving?" I kept at a jog while humming an improvised tune. "Of course..." A terrifying breaking sound burst to life in my ears that sounded like someone taking a sledgehammer to a sheet of ice. Sweet Auntie Celestia, what was that?! "...daughter of," the dream-pony continued as the noise came again, followed by a mare's desperate blood-curdling scream. STOP! What is happening?! "...would lay down my life to protect the Crystal Heart." Everything around me faded to blackness and the same noise continued to loop in the background like a broken record with the shattering and the mare screaming over and over until a soft whispery voice seemed to seep in the void like smoke. "Oh but I did! I truly did, however unwilling it was. There was so much blood. Blood everywhere. But you should know that...any 'friend' of his is an enemy of mine!" Please, what is this? I'm so confused. The voice devolved into a cackle that definitely did not come from any pony who was sane. "You are an enemy, little Princess. A wicked little enemy." There was more of laughter this time mixed with a scream that seemed to match the shatter-and-shriek noise very well and then the almost banshee like call of... "I HATE YOU MI AMORE CADENZA!!!" The sound of a thousand shatters blended in with this until a woke, head throbbing next to a pool of vomit and covered in patches of talcum powder, squinting at both the headache and sunlight dancing across my eyes. Chapter 3: TimeTime "Salt is very useful for keeping away spirits. Defining a boundary with it will make it unable for a hostile ghost from harming you. This is not a permanent solution, especially when dealing with powerful paranormal beings." But it is a start, I thought as I put 'Do It Yourself: Exorcisms and Other Charms for the Oblivious' down on the end table in the sitting room that had become my sort-of headquarters. I had even moved my coffee machine in here, which wasn't really needed since I already knew a few coffee making spells. I began to pour table salt around the edges of the room and on the windowsills, tripping over the occasional coffee cup in the process. When I was done I plopped onto the sleeping bag I had set up in the corner, kicked off my black boots and levitated both the book and an espresso over, sipping it as I read passages out loud. "A spirit is classified in relatively simple terms based on origins and powers. Motive also plays a key factor and can influence what they can do. For information on spirits in general please turn to page 55. If you are attempting identify a poltergeist please turn to page 37." Taking a brief gulp of espresso, I decided to turn to page 37 since it named a specific kind of ghost rather then just 'spirits'. What I found was something in between a customer survey and a magazine quiz. Lucky for the pony that wrote this, I'm a magazine quiz ace. "The abilities of this ghost strongly resemble that of a draconequus: Strongly Agree, Agree, Unsure, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree." I think 'agree' would work best, despite my limited knowledge of draconequui. "The spirit can induce trances, or other dreamlike states." Strongly Agree. "The spirit can manifest in a physical form." Unsure. "The ghost can directly influence objects rather then indirectly (i.e. tip over a glass rather then shake the table)." Hmm...'unsure'. "The subject can verbally communicate instead of just sending visions." Yes, I am obviously going to go talk to this thing to find out and share on of my espressos with it. Haha, nope. I'll just put 'agree.' "The ghost is self-aware." Most definitely, another 'strongly agree'. "The subject can directly influence or manipulate living creatures." Possession? 'Unsure'. "The spirit manifests realistically as opposed to powerful or surreal incarnations." Any more questions like this and I'll need to set up cameras. "The ghost will use repetitive traumatic visuals or effects to get its point across." A 'strongly agree' once more. "The spirit appears to be very sane and is able to be reasoned with." Not at all. 'Strongly Disagree'. "The subject is organized and does not seem scatterbrained or forgetful." Why would I want to observe it firsthoof? 'Unsure'. "Motive of the spirit:" Oh, a fill in the blank one...what was the reason this thing was haunting me? All it said that I understood was that it hated me. Not very specific there, Ghostie. But why did it hate me? I decided to skip over this question and score my results, but not before I grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This paranormal stuff was even frustrating than the magi Sapp'ra and I were working on. As I levitated the sandwich I scanned the results: "You definitely have a Poltergeist: a ghost with the ability to manipulate many physical objects, and on higher levels the hauntee's world. Most often falling into three categories: mischievous, mysterious, and vengeful. They often have an object or objects that can influence them and be used to pacify. These spirits are the most capable of interacting with the world they inhabited. If they fall into the latter, more powerful categories the ability to speak should be present. Unlike most spirits salt does not repel them but only increases their power and makes them angry. Instead try the recommended wards on page 42..." I nearly choked on a glob of chunky peanut butter. "SALT DOES WHAT NOW?!" Quickly I dropped the book and dashed over to the door, planning on getting something to clean up all the salt. I flung open the door to the dim hall. "Oh no," I breathed. Everything was replaced with jagged äerint crystals and small patches of darting purple and green fire high above my head. The door slammed behind me and disappeared,fading into the wall of black crystal. I knew that Sombra was nowhere near here so this could only mean one thing. I was stuck in the past with only a sandwich for help. It felt cold and I saw why: my coat was nearly invisible, I don't think you could even get a proper glimpse of me no matter how hard you focus. And this time it was I who was the ghost. ... When Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire I knew that the castle was not the same. I just wasn't sure exactly how different it was. Nothing was even remotely familiar as I hovered through the halls, a transparent spectre clutching an equally see through lunch item. My knees where knocking and I'm sure that if I had still been a physical pony I would have been in a cold sweat as well. "So you this is all my fault!?" I stopped as soon as I heard the scream hurtling through the crooked halls. "No it is not my fault, none of this mess is! It never is! You never said anything about this before so that makes it your fault, you imbecile! You have been the one whose antics have nearly gotten us both killed due to your lack of foresight! Do I really need to bring up the cabbage loaf incident?!" How funny...it seems like I'm not the only one somewhat angry towards bread today. Even stranger was that the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Rounding the corner I came to a hallway where a shattered mirror was strewn everywhere and a pony was pacing like mad, äerint crystals gradually sprouting up in random places on the walls, which were already heavy with the stuff. It was Sombra, a much younger, decently shorter, and skinnier Sombra. He was wearing a scarlet cape with a white trim that was clearly a couple sizes too big. Although he was fairly tall he had to be only about sixteen years old, barely an adult. He looked about the same as well: crimson eyes, shaggy mane, and a twitch in his left eye. Unfortunately, I could not make out every detail of his face in this rather...animated...conversation he was having. especially since his crown, while it appeared less helmet like and was more of a glorified circlet, hid his face. The armor he wore on his hooves made a sharp clanging noise and kicked up papers that were strewn everywhere. I dropped my sandwich which did nothing but flop soundlessly onto the floor. Thankfully Sombra did not seem to notice me. Or the sandwich. Especially the sandwich. "I hid and trapped the only artifact that matters, we do not need these magic eyes that this book mentions." Wait...the papers strewn there mention Sapp'ra's eyes? "'But these will give me more power!' you say. Is that all you ever think about? How can something neither of us can use have any potential benefit?!" Sombra yelled again. Who is he talking to? It's not me but nopony else was here. I sidled a little closer to the papers and remembered Sombra mentioning something about personalities created by dark magic. Maybe that is who that is, though that must be very annoying having a voice in your head all the time. Young Sombra rolled his eyes. "Onyx you are about as powerful as a the rock you are named after and have about as much as intelligence as one. Although at least the rock has some class to it, and can hold more meaning full conversations then you could ever hope to attempt." There was a pause and then Sombra burst into a brief bout of eerily humorless laughter. "Keep telling yourself that," he muttered. So Onyx is the name of the voice? That honestly sounds more like a Crystal Pony's name. But why would he be talking to a Crystal Pony that was...in his head? Perhaps he's drunk? It didn't seem like it but I probably shouldn't rule out any possibilities at this point. I got close enough just as Sombra gathered up all the loose papers in a stack and began to walk off in another direction rifling through the levitating pile. Picking up my sandwich, which thankfully still seemed edible-not that I was planning on it. I drifted after him as he muttered about how stupid this Onyx was even though it was to hard too make out all the words. The sounds of his voice seemed to grow softer and the äerint seemed to fade until I woke up to the call of a flugelhorn outside, beams of sunlight straying across the crystal floor. Somehow I had ended up back in the hall where I started, as if I had never left. The door to my sitting room hideout was wide open. Then, I noticed that my sandwich was gone, a trail of its remains leading off in another direction. However weird that may be, the first thing I was going to do is clean up all that salt. ...And talcum powder. Chapter 4: SandwichSandwich Well, cleaning up the castle took all day, I mused as I plopped into my reading chair. I wanted to see if I could learn anything new about ghosts before I followed that sandwich trail tonight. Queen Sapphira told me to stay away from it but I think that I could get it to help me, indirectly or directly. Plus, I'm not having this thing prancing around my home. Now let's see I had cast a couple of the wards in place of the salt so maybe today I should try something a little more daring... "Poltergeists and some other varieties of paranormal beings can steal power from items like cameras and flashlights..." I paused for a moment and grabbed a salad and iced coffee from the food I stashed in a nearby cooler for a late dinner. "...this can enable them to physically manifest which can be dangerous and is not recommended for those hunting ghosts. Instead, covered lanterns and basic werelights are advised for ghost hunting." A rather bold idea popped into my head, renewing my enthusiasm. Nothing in here can be more dangerous then getting impaled with a giant rock. I grabbed an empty duffel bag and ran to find as many batteries as possible before the sun would set and it would be time to follow the trail of breadcrumbs left for me. ... The duffel weighed down on my shoulder and ruffled my feathers a bit as I walked through the absolutely silent halls, taking deep breath after deep breath trying to avoid fear. Just follow the path. My new goal is to talk to the poltergeist and see if I can find any of the eyes. While I wasn't finding any hidden passages, I knew I was in a wing of the castle I had rarely explored: the armories. As the hall darkened I summoned a little werelight so I could see where I went as I dodged jam splats that littered hallways. They lead to a room at the end of the hall with a gaping door revealing only darkness. Oh, great I've read enough horror novels to know what- "Mi Amore..." A familiar voice sang. Of course it just had to be the poltergeist! My spine prickled with alarm as the voice continued its haunting melody. "Mi Amore Cadenza...such a pretty name..." I began to step as quickly and silently down the halls. This thing wanted to trap me in this room, but if I know anything about ghosts from that book it's that they often guard things. There might be something in there...a puzzle piece that'll be worth the risk, and if this ghost thinks it can kill me I've got a trick or two. I was at the door now, like a frightened cat I darted in and slammed it, casting a makeshift charm to protect myself. I would need to save bigger magic for later. "Mi Amore Cadenza is the perfect name..." There was a thundering bang on the door that shook the whole room and caused me to jump back followed by the insane yet detached cackle I had begun to know. "...FOR A HEADSTONE!!! Get it? I am going to kill you, sweetie. Oh, but do not worry your pretty little head about. I will be extra merciful, I swear on my crown. Not like him. You will not look as holey as cheese when I am through with you...very red cheese, that is." My heart was racing in my throat. I could always teleport out but this ghost knew about the eyes, I swear she did. If I could get information from her this would save me from endlessly wandering these halls searching for something that could be right under my muzzle! Backing away from the door I felt myself stumble. What was-? I turned around and looked at the faintly glimmering floor. Jelly. I had almost forgotten the trail. It was important to survey my surroundings, since I had no idea where I even was. I cast an even brighter werelight that lit up every corner of the chamber. I was in a disused armory, shelves of helmets and racks of lances that were bound together by cobwebs were covering every wall. There was another round of battering at the door and the glass-and-screaming sound from the dream. The dream! What was it the pony in the dream said? Didn't they want to be an armorsmith? This had to be a clue! Whirling back around I found my trail of sandwich parts led only to the center of the room but in one corner was an item that was not a helmet or a lance. It was the main piece of a suit of armor. Extinguishing my werelight I hurtled over to the puzzle piece in one light flying leap, suddenly seeing nothing but black for a moment. Behind me I heard the final crash of a splintering door. I withdrew deeper into the annex concealed by this spinning door, sealing it near completely, with the exception of a small crack that stealthily enabled the door to be flung open if needed and shed some light on whatever was behind me. Ghosts could sense most magics everypony knew that, so the less magic I used the less visible I was. Behind me was a small antechamber made of dull gray uncut crystal. A closet really. It was bare except for a small rag like object on the floor. When I crept closer I noticed it was not a rag but a sort of faded and torn lavender scarf, with and embroidered edge and little white and square cut gems sewn to look like...a heart. In the fall induced dream the pony had a bandanna just like this... 'They often have an object or objects that can influence them and be used to pacify.' With my hoof I scooped up the bandanna with my boot-clad hoof as best as I could and clutched it wishing I could tie it on with magic so at least my hooves would be free. "Ooh my it seems somepony left me a little surprise," cooed that disturbing, soft voice. I stiffened and did my best to remain still, one part of my plan had already failed in terms of strategic timing: in my jump for the sliding door I had lost my duffel bag. "I do not really like surprises, considering the last one I got was the one that killed me." It was hard to focus my gaze out of such a small space and what I saw...I wanted to throw up, I wanted to scream, I wanted to run, I wanted to gouge out own eyes, and I wanted to cry all at once. She would have been a normal mare at one point. My brain was racked and disgusted at this sight as if describing her might make such a creature less frightening. The ghosts of foalhhood tales were typically pale and glass-like, mysterious and pitiful, and their only real desire was either to move on or pull a few pranks on the living. This ghost followed no such conventions. The Poltergeist was translucent and wasn't especially tall or short. Her appearance was macabre:teeth in a wicked and gut-wrenching smile with teeth that almost felt sharp with the awkward crookedness of her mad grimace. Her mane was hideously disheveled in a loose, pulled back look and matted with blood, falling down in thick ratty tangles. Some of the tarnished metal hairpieces rested there seemed to auccent the gruesome excuse for eyes: unforgiving black voids with flaming pinpricks of heartless blue fire for pupils. Much like her mane her tail was also a blood-matted mess bound in one knot before resuming the appearance of a tangled plait. A ripped and tattered cloak of sheer ghastly grayish fragments seemed to encircle her like wispy spirits frozen in time and did little to hide her mangled form. Her body was riddled with blood edged holes and wicked gashes were spread everywhere, so you couldn't even make out what she might have been like. I was puzzled at how she even stayed together with some areas giving away to swatches of a luminescent skeleton. the swirling and lackluster collar for her cloak that was slashed to bits seemed like a taunting burden to her weak form. Her forehooves still had the remains of once gleaming slippers clinging to them, and looked as depressing as a lone toy forsaken in the rain. I felt like 'disfigured' might almost be a compliment, given her unmendable state. With a look of almost childlike fear she nudged the duffel and jumped back shrieking as the hundreds of batteries poured out, most likely unsure of what they were. The clatter was enormous, which startled her so much she lept into the corner and began to make strangled noises that resembled sobs for a few seconds before breaking into spontaneous shrieking cackles and rocking back and forth. I remained as silent as possible trying to go unnoticed and focus on anything slightly distracting like how her coat did show remainders of the crystalline appearance of the Empire's inhabitants. In fact her the crystal shine seems more physical than she is... The poltergeist stopped her maniacal breakdown and went on to shudder as if she were cold. Slowly all the batteries began to roll toward her in unison, while she stared with a dull confusion before they all began to crush with a painful and dragged out s-c-r-e-e-e-c-h and hovered for a moment until they dropped to the floor, only a withered husk of what they had been. Poltergeist began to glow with a fiery red energy that sucked all the warmth in the room. She shivered for a moment as if she had a brain freeze. A moment later my knees wobbled and quivered as my mind grew cloudy and thick. A sky blue streak flew out the small crack, a joyous sparkling contrast to the menacing effect of the poltergeist. It almost looked like my magic. Oh no... The door to my hiding place was ripped away and thrown into the rusty armor. "Oh Cadenza do you know how much easier this could have been if you just killed Sombra in that cold waste up north? We could have been the best of friends had you betrayed that monster." Poltergiest smiled that lopsided Nightmare Night pumpkin grin with about as much kindness as a shark has for a fish. I fell to the ground feeling ever so sleepy... What was I here for again? "You see little Princess, I cannot harm you while you clutch that old bandanna of mine. I led you to it in one of my better moods." Her image seemed to flicker slightly, like a stained glass window when a bird passes by. I wonder what is under it... Stars drifted past my eyes as my cheek lay pressed against the cold floor. My hooves gripped the scarf tighter. Red sparkles hung around me. Was that bad? "You cannot activate the Heart without magic and I am here every night. Your kingdom will still think you are playing hide and seek, you know." Yes, I think Fredrick is a lovely name for the sandwich. "My, my it seems such a lovely young mare is missing out on her beauty sleep. Maybe you should rest a little while I look after the castle." A burp-like yawn escaped my mouth. Sleep sounds nice. "How about a visit to the friend of yours too? I am sure he would be delighted to see you." My lashes fluttered slightly and the light began to hurt my eyes the longer I stared, a dull throb echoing in the back of my mind. "Though it seems my vision has gone a bit bad, being over a thousand years and all. Looks like I will have some searching to do." I remember darkness and the sound of a stone fitting into a nook before my mind went blank and sleep took hold of me, pouncing like a cat to a mouse. Chapter 5: TerrorTerror She had stood on a golden balcony only moments before, looking over a kingdom of crystal. Despite the reccsion it was still filled with love and life, gleaming beneath both the sun and the moon. She thought nothing could ever happen on this scale. Nopony in this isolated paradise did. But it did happen, a black fog rushing through part of the mountains. It held a power not seen before, some few thought it was their reckoning. The kingdom went from a calm peace to sheer choas. Terrified screams filled the sky but it kept coming. Passing them by and cloaking the world in darkness. It was so fast... None of the magic was working. Not even the prized crystallokinesis. Nopony was powerful enough.The Heart wouldn't work if the terror of the razing was too much. Buildings crumbled around her. The mare ran to the edge sprouting a crude staircase of gleaming rainbow flecked gems down to the plaza. She had to get the Heart. The Heart could save them all, she thought. When she arrived there she ran and grabbed it from its floating state, holding it tight and whispering to it as if it were a foal. There were thundering calls she did not know, in the choas it seemed there were no ponies at all. Only endless screams. Then there were hoofsteps. She didn't hear them then but she hears them now. They were silent. Deadly silent, and then came the voice. "I'll hide the Heart,you should run." She turned around. It was a gaurd. His helmet was askew but otherwise he seemed okay. "Platinum Laurel is that you?" Was that a nod? It looked like a nod. She gave him the Heart. Then was the smile, it wasn't Platinum Laural at all. The pony changed into a tall, skinny colt dressed in rags with a shaggy mane and curved horn. He had demon eyes with purple smoke and sharp white fangs. He had a somewhat battered looking knife in his magic. A blast of strange magic. The Heart turned gray and cold. She turned to scream but her voice was too soft. It blended it with the others. "Who are you?" she squeaked hoarsly, her last cohernt words before everything turned to pain and red. There would be so much red. He smiled evily, the right side of his mouth pulled higher than the left. "I'm the King." That was when the real screams began, and everything turned red,even when she closed her eyes. ... My head still ached as I stood up, feeling dizzy and blinking at the dimness. Where was I? Last night. Poltergiest. My magic. A dream that left me in a cold sweat. Gasping I ran to where the door should have been and kicked it as hard as possible with my back legs. Nothing happened. Sealed shut, just my luck. I slumped against one of the corners of the triangular anntechamber. This annex would be my tomb, I thought drawing a thin breath. Soon the air would run out. Then it hit me. I was strong enough to kick the door, my vision wasn't blurry, and I still had my cutie mark. That meant something. But what? "How could I be so stupid?" I hissed, too angry to cry. "What idiot gets themselves outwitted by a thousand year old stab victim?!" I tried to bit back a scream. Now who will help Queen Sapphira? "She doesn't even have eyes! I was tricked by a blind ghost! She set me up with a bandana as bait!" Slamming a hoof against the wall uselessly I continued my bitter rant. If only somepony where in the castle, somepony who could hear my screaming. "I set myself up for this. So much for trying to play this scenerio like a card game." Slumping frther against the wall I felt my hateful emotions get something stirring inside, burning like a fire. An intellegent, deterimined, and angry fire that wouldn't listen to anypony at this point. Gosh, I bet this is what Sombra feels like. Sombra...that was it! Who lived here once? Sombra. Who likes to hide things? Sombra! Who would build something this austere! Definetley Sombra! Who would leave a way out for those clever enough to find it? Even though he probably hould just kill them later... SOMBRA! I jumped up and ran to the corner that seemed like the pointer to an arrow. I knew why I still had my cutie mark, my stregth. It would be hard for a ghost like her to take every bit of magic in me. Oh sure, she may have taken my personal magic but she didn't take every last shred like Tirek did. My 'matches' may be gone but there are other ways to spark a fire. I tucked the bandana into a pocket. Who knew, I may need it later. I stared at the corner and tried to focus all my Sombra-esque rage on the wall. I felt terrible trying to ball all that anger up made it feel like someone was twisting a very small knife inside my heart. It wasn't any better that I felt a headache stemming from my horn, the magicly clearly not fitting with it. Despite all this, it was no exuse! I had to get out of here! Come on...! At last, a stream of purple and green aura roared to life on my horn and my vision was clouded, as I bit my lip. I realeased the column of energy and wacthed as the stone burned away like paper in acid revealing a dark hallway that was nothing but shadows. ... The hall did not have incredibly stale air like I thought it would, but it was so cold that I was thankful for even the small black jacket I wore. Although there were no lights of any kind especially since I didn't have the familiar magic to conjure any kind I knew of, I didn't need to question what direction to head in. One way, and that just so happened to be this way. Where I was in the castle I couldn't be sure, there were many places to hide secret halls if somepony was clever enough. After a while I came to a dark wooden door that was clearly manufactured by Sombra Inc. Please don't be a nightmare door, I thought with a shudder. Channeling another painful burst of dark magic I turned the knob not sure of what I would find. I closed my eyes for a moment to reagain my breath after using such needlessy powerful bursts of magic to accomplish simple tasks, although there was no alternative. It wasn't a nightmare door at all, instead it flipped open to reveal a sort of cipher: multiple rings, all of the same alphabet-thankfully the one I was used to-fiddled with as if somepony had tried to get in. Perhaps recently. Somepony who unlike me clearly didn't know Sombra. I just wasn't sure how well I knew him... ... Nothing seemed to work. I spun the wheel by hoof spelling out everything Sombra-like I could think of. I had tried any word that could be asscotied with him and for each fail I carved a tally in the wall with the steel tip of my boot. So far I had fouty-one tries. Taking a few steps back, I paused to look at the cipher. Manual movement and one word answers were clearly not working. If I were Sombra what would the correct phrase be? I glanced over at the tallies for a moment pondering. Well, that's just it I wouldn't want just anypony to get in, and it would be a test as well... Ah-ha! That was it! Gritting my teeth, I shot a blast of dark magic at it and watched as the wheels and watched as the became animated, moving and spinning until they spelled out a message: NAME YOURSELF What should I tell it? Knowing Sombra it's probally trapped, a riddle, indowed with some sort of self-awareness, or... The wheels spun again revealing a new message: ANY DAY NOW ...snark. Spinning the wheels I entered 'C-A-D-A-N-C-E'. After I finished the wheels spun themselves again: CORRUPTED ALREADY PINK ONE I put in the words 'I need your help, Sombra' as best I could considering the lack of puncuation ring. The wheel responded: OF COURSE YOU DO BUT HE IS NOT THERE But...what? Ugh, why is Sombra always so difficult. Rolling my eyes I instictinivly put in 'DUH'. Hopefully that might get me some more helpful snark. My message disappeared and was replaced with another message: PASS THE TEST I frowned. What test? The cipher wheels flipped over with a sound similar to falling dominos, revealing a blank under side. The center of the cipher wheel which Iwas covering a gear popped open revealing a hole barely big enough for a pencil. Some of the letter tiles flipped over to give one final statement: ONE WAY YOU CAN ENTER BECOME SHADOW Become shadow? Oh gosh, I wasn't sure if I could do that, I was no Sombra. But I also was no quitter. I stood firm and focused on trying to dissolve into the shadow cloud, screwing my eyes shut as I concentrated, smoke streaming from them. Then came the pain, a terrible burning sensation like I was being consumed by fire and ripped apart at the same time. I began to feel little but my eyes as if all else was just loosely part of me. Opening my eyes revealed that I was a large gray-blue cluster of foglike-smoke much smaller then Sombra, with the trademark purple smoke. Despite my dulled-or lack of-nerves it still hurt to stay like this and took all my concentration. Steering myself foward, I disappeared through the entrance presented to me. ... Dark magic was hard. Unlike most magic it did not feel right and was painful to cast if it did not come naturally to the user. For non alicorns it was not possible to cast it without being taught. It was too hard for me to control and as soon as I entered the other side, door sealing behind me. I felt myself reform which was just as draining and painful as deforming, since figuring out how to put yourself back together at the right speed was not exactly a piece of cake. I didn't even have I chance to look around, I was too wiped out and so it was that I sank into a dreamless sleep. Chapter 6: Ice StarSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 7: Unbelievable DiscoverySomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 8: Uncontrollable TemperSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 9: Unbreakable WillSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 10: Little Pink LieSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 11: Mt. QuartziteSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 12: Broken YouthSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 13: Destruction of the SelfSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 14: ControlSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 15: Unexpected OccurrenceSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 16: Unofficial ContractSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 17: Catching StarsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 18: The Story's All OffSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 1: Eye Will Find YouEye Will Find You I bit my bottom lip harder and tried to focus all my effort into creating a spell to conjure crystals using pure light, love, and laughter as energy. It was easier said then done, but I wasn't about to give up. I let out a deep breath and stared ahead trying to focus on nothing. The aura beginning to form on my horn began to swell in size until it seemed to gain an unexpected boost in energy and wrench itself from my horn, blasting me into a polished crystal wall. "Ow," I mumbled rubbing my back with a forehoof hoping I didn't bruise anything. The glowing white-blue substance began to fly everywhere crashing into the slick reflective walls of the heart shaped room with a resonant and high pitched plink, plink, plink! It shot up toward the uneathly ceiling and burst into sparks of the same colors. This scared away the drifting lights: silver, peridot, ruby, and emerald who had previously been floating up near the glittering violet blue mist where a solid surface normally was. "Well," I asked the blue Alicorn next to me. "How did I do this time?" Sapp'ra had a disappointed frown on her face. "It seems that is another failure to your name Empress." This was the most forward she'd been with me since I'd met her. The queen, I mean Sapp'ra as she preferred to be called, was an even-tempered mare who never lost her pleasantly cool demeanor and rarely spoke. When she did it was either a lighthearted joke, a simple bit of kind advice, or a vague and cryptic comment that I assumed to be about something from the past. Just as I thought. For three hours I had been in the Inner Heart trying to learn this spell. Standing up, I trotted over to the tall blue crystal mare. She had a flowing mane of the color tri-colored aurora which concealed her eyes and was partially worn up. It did make me a little uncomfortable being unable to see her eyes since that could often aid me in figuring out how a pony was feeling. "What am I doing wrong?" "I am unsure Cadenza, this is a crucial spell that should be easy for you to perform." She sounded worried. Sapp'ra was a mare who seemed to be worried by few things from what I knew of her. The mysterious creator of the Crystal Heart was a regal figure who seemed to embody the glacial beauty and harshness of both the Empire and the Arctic itself. Whatever troubled her was worth taking seriously. In the brief sessions I spent with these ponies learning about the Empire I now ruled and those who ruled it before me I remembered that Sapp'ra's daughter, Ezmeralda could see beyond some of the limitations of time. Maybe Sapp'ra could too. "How bad is this?" I asked. A bench of crystal sprouted from the ground and Sapp'ra sat down, nodding for me to join her. "I want to believe this is worrisome at most Cadenza, though I am unsure of what the future holds. Ezmeralda has not reported anything of disturbance." "But can't you see the future too?" I asked as I took my place on the bench She shook her head. "For Ezmeralda it is more getting a vague peek at future prosperities or plight then seeing the entire future. She is often lucky if she receives only a comprehensible hint of what is to come. We still have not seen anything of the world outside the mountains in all these years. Then there is also the fact that I have not seen anything for many millenia." I sat patiently, waiting for her to go on. although I was unsure of what she meant. She seemed to know this. "I am blind Cadenza." "Go on," I said empathetically. She was a mare who was brief in what she said and never repeated herself so it was important for me to pay attention to what she said. "I used my eyes to make something special, but now they are lost from the light." The temperature seemed to drop. "Do you want me to find them since you're...umm..." Dead? No that won't work. Unable? Well, it is the best I've got. "...Since you're unable?" "Yes," she whispered so quiet I almost hadn't heard her. "Where are they?" Another shake of her head. "Hidden, like the Heart by the one you call friend for he could not use them. They must be found and returned to the light Cadenza, not to me. The Empire was weakened during that Shadow's reign and the loss of the Eyes has taken it's toll for you see these artifacts are more powerful when both work together. The Heart might freeze if one of its partners is not recovered." Freeze? That didn't sound good. I nodded again this time more frantically and then readied to leave, walking over to the door marked 'Empire' when she called out. "Cadenza, there is one thing I must tell you." When I turned around I noticed with alarm frost spreading across the room. "The Empire will not be in danger of decay but there is one you must beware. Do not trust the wraith that haunts the halls of this castle!" A wraith? I never knew the castle was haunted. Just what else was in here that I didn't know about? A waterpark?! I had to know more about this ghost. I turned back to ask her one last question, frost already grasping at my hooves. Uh-oh... She faced me, and I saw a translucent hoof push me and then she dissolved into a streak of sapphire light as I was pushed trough the door. As I escaped the last bit of ice, emerging in the Crystal Heart Plaza, currently empty. I remembered that the opal colored orb wasn't there although I wasn't sure how it fit into all this. Only I noticed the stinging cold that could be felt by gently prodding the heart. It seems I was without guidance. What I would do to have even a certain cynic here to help out in his own particular way. ... That was two days ago, and already I was sliding down another wall in frustration. Twilight just had to pry...it was hard not to pity those two. They would be stuck on the train together as well. I just hope Sombra doesn't do anything else to hurt poor Twi. At least I would be the only member of royalty in the castle. With Shining Armor at a hospital in Canterlot for the broken leg as a result of my last adventure, it would be easier to ensure that nopony else got hurt. All I needed to do was make sure everypony who worked here got a nice vacation. A nice paid vacation, I thought with a smile as I left the room and Twilight's troubles behind me. After all who can resist that? It was time for some very intense hide and seek. The eyes will hide, and I will seek. ... I presumed that dark magic would be involved. This means I had to be prepared. After everypony got news of their paid vacations I got to work. Manespray? Check! Lovely boots I wore to that concert a few years ago? A must! Talcum power for ghosts? Definite check! Granola bars and other assorted snacks? Affirmative! I have to eat at some point right? Silver hoop earrings? Double yes! Emergency eyeliner! I can't forget it! The most obscure magic books I could find? Acquired! I was even able to locate a book on ghosts in the library. I wasn't incredibly sure on how to ghost hunt, but according to my book talcum powder would show any spooky hoofprints that weren't mine. Since I would be wearing very unusual boots I would be able to tell mine from the ghost's. Now, all I have to do is wait for nightfall to see if I can find any hidden passages, since using dark magic in broad daylight-even in the castle-is not very smart. All I have to do is warm up my brain and wait for sunset, I thought as I stared out at the evening sky which was still blue. I picked up a sudoku book I had found lying around the castle earlier a few of its pages were very loose and the spine was dented, suggesting somepony had dropped it but otherwise it was fine. I grabbed a pencil and flipped open to the first page and I hoped I was still as good at these as when I foalsat for Twilight.
Chapter 2: GravityGravity I must have dozed off because I awoke suddenly to the noise of an alarm I had set to remind me when to start searching. For a minute all I heard was the racing of my heart. Sudoku sheets were scattered around the chair I had been napping in, illuminated by moonlight. The rest of the sitting room I was in felt unusually dark and cold. I smacked the small battery powered timer until it quieted with a small 'ding' and straightened my jacket. I was armed with a letter opener only since I forgot to go down to the armory, though I doubted I needed a weapon any way. My first night was just beginning. ... Flying quietly was something I was adept at and tonight was no exception, as I glided slowly through the talcum-ed hallways with only a conjured string of pale blue werelights to see. First I wanted to do a sweep of all the floors and check for marks. This would help me find the ghost and track their pattern, maybe I could even try to follow them and see if they knew anything about the eyes. There doesn't seem to be any sign of phantom hoofprints. Isn't that strange? With the amount of powder I obtained you'd think there'd be something. I conjured another small light, and tried flying closer to the ground rustling, the powder slightly. Arcing back upwards I continued sweep after sweep of hallways. No need to accidentally make strange tracks by mistake. The last thing I wanted was to make everything more confusing, I was already a bit out of my element. I just wanted the Empire to be safe now that I've had my share of what adventure is like. By the time I came to the hall with the door leading to the breezeway of the stadium I was starting to feel sleepy. I swooshed down another turn in the corridor before coming to a straight hallway. Maybe I should have had some coffee, I thought with a brief yawn, closing my eyes for a moment. Then it would be easier to stay awake and obtain these items that Sapp'ra sent me to find. "Blaah!" I shook myself awake remembering what I was up for. The ghost is my priority. Wait, where is all the talcum powder?! I looked down at the floor, only to see it was spotless. With a swallow, a flew down with my lights nervously clinging to me as if they were alive. Landing on the gleaming floor I folded my wings and walked a few steps, ceiling confused at how so much of a mess could go missing so easily. None of the windows here were opened so it couldn't have gone outside. I was good at flying quietly and without much disturbance. Nopony had been here since I gave out all those paid vacations. Maybe I'm just crazy? No, I don't think I'm there yet. I even made sure nopony had come back and offered to help fetch any items they left in the castle. So how could this happen? Hovering one of the lights closer I noticed in the reflection of the floor that the ceiling seemed awfully pale, and spotty. "What the-" Everything seemed to go haywire, and my world-and stomach-seemed to flip. I felt a whoosh of air and then nothing for a moment before a hard CRASH! The last thing I remember was throwing up in a bunch of talcum, and feeling very, very disoriented. ... "Don't worry mom I will remember to write!" I called happily waving at the small crystal house and its green fields. The river gurgled in the background as I pulled my cart of belongings down the dirt road heading away from the mountains toward the direction of my future: the Heart of The Empire! Wait, what is happening? This is not me. Who is this pony? Slowly, some of my awareness came back and I looked around. Green hills rolling everywhere, framed by snowy mountains and pleasantly cold weather. Am I dreaming? How hard did I hit my head? I was leaving my family behind for the first time. This isn't a dream. What should I do? I closed my eyes and ran a hoof of my lucky bandana that I had always worn-soft cloth with square crystal sequins sewn into the shape of a geometric heart and a small beaded end resting over my heart. "I will be the best armorsmith I can be," I whispered. This seems a lot like Farreach...That's it! Farreach! I'll just let this play out. Maybe I can learn something...from...whatever strange dream this is. I just hope I'm not stuck in another book for some perplexing reason. A bit of my forelock tickling my muzzle acted as a reminder to what I was doing. "Oh, silly me. How will I ever reach the city if I never start moving?" I kept at a jog while humming an improvised tune. "Of course..." A terrifying breaking sound burst to life in my ears that sounded like someone taking a sledgehammer to a sheet of ice. Sweet Auntie Celestia, what was that?! "...daughter of," the dream-pony continued as the noise came again, followed by a mare's desperate blood-curdling scream. STOP! What is happening?! "...would lay down my life to protect the Crystal Heart." Everything around me faded to blackness and the same noise continued to loop in the background like a broken record with the shattering and the mare screaming over and over until a soft whispery voice seemed to seep in the void like smoke. "Oh but I did! I truly did, however unwilling it was. There was so much blood. Blood everywhere. But you should know that...any 'friend' of his is an enemy of mine!" Please, what is this? I'm so confused. The voice devolved into a cackle that definitely did not come from any pony who was sane. "You are an enemy, little Princess. A wicked little enemy." There was more of laughter this time mixed with a scream that seemed to match the shatter-and-shriek noise very well and then the almost banshee like call of... "I HATE YOU MI AMORE CADENZA!!!" The sound of a thousand shatters blended in with this until a woke, head throbbing next to a pool of vomit and covered in patches of talcum powder, squinting at both the headache and sunlight dancing across my eyes.
Chapter 3: TimeTime "Salt is very useful for keeping away spirits. Defining a boundary with it will make it unable for a hostile ghost from harming you. This is not a permanent solution, especially when dealing with powerful paranormal beings." But it is a start, I thought as I put 'Do It Yourself: Exorcisms and Other Charms for the Oblivious' down on the end table in the sitting room that had become my sort-of headquarters. I had even moved my coffee machine in here, which wasn't really needed since I already knew a few coffee making spells. I began to pour table salt around the edges of the room and on the windowsills, tripping over the occasional coffee cup in the process. When I was done I plopped onto the sleeping bag I had set up in the corner, kicked off my black boots and levitated both the book and an espresso over, sipping it as I read passages out loud. "A spirit is classified in relatively simple terms based on origins and powers. Motive also plays a key factor and can influence what they can do. For information on spirits in general please turn to page 55. If you are attempting identify a poltergeist please turn to page 37." Taking a brief gulp of espresso, I decided to turn to page 37 since it named a specific kind of ghost rather then just 'spirits'. What I found was something in between a customer survey and a magazine quiz. Lucky for the pony that wrote this, I'm a magazine quiz ace. "The abilities of this ghost strongly resemble that of a draconequus: Strongly Agree, Agree, Unsure, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree." I think 'agree' would work best, despite my limited knowledge of draconequui. "The spirit can induce trances, or other dreamlike states." Strongly Agree. "The spirit can manifest in a physical form." Unsure. "The ghost can directly influence objects rather then indirectly (i.e. tip over a glass rather then shake the table)." Hmm...'unsure'. "The subject can verbally communicate instead of just sending visions." Yes, I am obviously going to go talk to this thing to find out and share on of my espressos with it. Haha, nope. I'll just put 'agree.' "The ghost is self-aware." Most definitely, another 'strongly agree'. "The subject can directly influence or manipulate living creatures." Possession? 'Unsure'. "The spirit manifests realistically as opposed to powerful or surreal incarnations." Any more questions like this and I'll need to set up cameras. "The ghost will use repetitive traumatic visuals or effects to get its point across." A 'strongly agree' once more. "The spirit appears to be very sane and is able to be reasoned with." Not at all. 'Strongly Disagree'. "The subject is organized and does not seem scatterbrained or forgetful." Why would I want to observe it firsthoof? 'Unsure'. "Motive of the spirit:" Oh, a fill in the blank one...what was the reason this thing was haunting me? All it said that I understood was that it hated me. Not very specific there, Ghostie. But why did it hate me? I decided to skip over this question and score my results, but not before I grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This paranormal stuff was even frustrating than the magi Sapp'ra and I were working on. As I levitated the sandwich I scanned the results: "You definitely have a Poltergeist: a ghost with the ability to manipulate many physical objects, and on higher levels the hauntee's world. Most often falling into three categories: mischievous, mysterious, and vengeful. They often have an object or objects that can influence them and be used to pacify. These spirits are the most capable of interacting with the world they inhabited. If they fall into the latter, more powerful categories the ability to speak should be present. Unlike most spirits salt does not repel them but only increases their power and makes them angry. Instead try the recommended wards on page 42..." I nearly choked on a glob of chunky peanut butter. "SALT DOES WHAT NOW?!" Quickly I dropped the book and dashed over to the door, planning on getting something to clean up all the salt. I flung open the door to the dim hall. "Oh no," I breathed. Everything was replaced with jagged äerint crystals and small patches of darting purple and green fire high above my head. The door slammed behind me and disappeared,fading into the wall of black crystal. I knew that Sombra was nowhere near here so this could only mean one thing. I was stuck in the past with only a sandwich for help. It felt cold and I saw why: my coat was nearly invisible, I don't think you could even get a proper glimpse of me no matter how hard you focus. And this time it was I who was the ghost. ... When Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire I knew that the castle was not the same. I just wasn't sure exactly how different it was. Nothing was even remotely familiar as I hovered through the halls, a transparent spectre clutching an equally see through lunch item. My knees where knocking and I'm sure that if I had still been a physical pony I would have been in a cold sweat as well. "So you this is all my fault!?" I stopped as soon as I heard the scream hurtling through the crooked halls. "No it is not my fault, none of this mess is! It never is! You never said anything about this before so that makes it your fault, you imbecile! You have been the one whose antics have nearly gotten us both killed due to your lack of foresight! Do I really need to bring up the cabbage loaf incident?!" How funny...it seems like I'm not the only one somewhat angry towards bread today. Even stranger was that the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Rounding the corner I came to a hallway where a shattered mirror was strewn everywhere and a pony was pacing like mad, äerint crystals gradually sprouting up in random places on the walls, which were already heavy with the stuff. It was Sombra, a much younger, decently shorter, and skinnier Sombra. He was wearing a scarlet cape with a white trim that was clearly a couple sizes too big. Although he was fairly tall he had to be only about sixteen years old, barely an adult. He looked about the same as well: crimson eyes, shaggy mane, and a twitch in his left eye. Unfortunately, I could not make out every detail of his face in this rather...animated...conversation he was having. especially since his crown, while it appeared less helmet like and was more of a glorified circlet, hid his face. The armor he wore on his hooves made a sharp clanging noise and kicked up papers that were strewn everywhere. I dropped my sandwich which did nothing but flop soundlessly onto the floor. Thankfully Sombra did not seem to notice me. Or the sandwich. Especially the sandwich. "I hid and trapped the only artifact that matters, we do not need these magic eyes that this book mentions." Wait...the papers strewn there mention Sapp'ra's eyes? "'But these will give me more power!' you say. Is that all you ever think about? How can something neither of us can use have any potential benefit?!" Sombra yelled again. Who is he talking to? It's not me but nopony else was here. I sidled a little closer to the papers and remembered Sombra mentioning something about personalities created by dark magic. Maybe that is who that is, though that must be very annoying having a voice in your head all the time. Young Sombra rolled his eyes. "Onyx you are about as powerful as a the rock you are named after and have about as much as intelligence as one. Although at least the rock has some class to it, and can hold more meaning full conversations then you could ever hope to attempt." There was a pause and then Sombra burst into a brief bout of eerily humorless laughter. "Keep telling yourself that," he muttered. So Onyx is the name of the voice? That honestly sounds more like a Crystal Pony's name. But why would he be talking to a Crystal Pony that was...in his head? Perhaps he's drunk? It didn't seem like it but I probably shouldn't rule out any possibilities at this point. I got close enough just as Sombra gathered up all the loose papers in a stack and began to walk off in another direction rifling through the levitating pile. Picking up my sandwich, which thankfully still seemed edible-not that I was planning on it. I drifted after him as he muttered about how stupid this Onyx was even though it was to hard too make out all the words. The sounds of his voice seemed to grow softer and the äerint seemed to fade until I woke up to the call of a flugelhorn outside, beams of sunlight straying across the crystal floor. Somehow I had ended up back in the hall where I started, as if I had never left. The door to my sitting room hideout was wide open. Then, I noticed that my sandwich was gone, a trail of its remains leading off in another direction. However weird that may be, the first thing I was going to do is clean up all that salt. ...And talcum powder.
Chapter 4: SandwichSandwich Well, cleaning up the castle took all day, I mused as I plopped into my reading chair. I wanted to see if I could learn anything new about ghosts before I followed that sandwich trail tonight. Queen Sapphira told me to stay away from it but I think that I could get it to help me, indirectly or directly. Plus, I'm not having this thing prancing around my home. Now let's see I had cast a couple of the wards in place of the salt so maybe today I should try something a little more daring... "Poltergeists and some other varieties of paranormal beings can steal power from items like cameras and flashlights..." I paused for a moment and grabbed a salad and iced coffee from the food I stashed in a nearby cooler for a late dinner. "...this can enable them to physically manifest which can be dangerous and is not recommended for those hunting ghosts. Instead, covered lanterns and basic werelights are advised for ghost hunting." A rather bold idea popped into my head, renewing my enthusiasm. Nothing in here can be more dangerous then getting impaled with a giant rock. I grabbed an empty duffel bag and ran to find as many batteries as possible before the sun would set and it would be time to follow the trail of breadcrumbs left for me. ... The duffel weighed down on my shoulder and ruffled my feathers a bit as I walked through the absolutely silent halls, taking deep breath after deep breath trying to avoid fear. Just follow the path. My new goal is to talk to the poltergeist and see if I can find any of the eyes. While I wasn't finding any hidden passages, I knew I was in a wing of the castle I had rarely explored: the armories. As the hall darkened I summoned a little werelight so I could see where I went as I dodged jam splats that littered hallways. They lead to a room at the end of the hall with a gaping door revealing only darkness. Oh, great I've read enough horror novels to know what- "Mi Amore..." A familiar voice sang. Of course it just had to be the poltergeist! My spine prickled with alarm as the voice continued its haunting melody. "Mi Amore Cadenza...such a pretty name..." I began to step as quickly and silently down the halls. This thing wanted to trap me in this room, but if I know anything about ghosts from that book it's that they often guard things. There might be something in there...a puzzle piece that'll be worth the risk, and if this ghost thinks it can kill me I've got a trick or two. I was at the door now, like a frightened cat I darted in and slammed it, casting a makeshift charm to protect myself. I would need to save bigger magic for later. "Mi Amore Cadenza is the perfect name..." There was a thundering bang on the door that shook the whole room and caused me to jump back followed by the insane yet detached cackle I had begun to know. "...FOR A HEADSTONE!!! Get it? I am going to kill you, sweetie. Oh, but do not worry your pretty little head about. I will be extra merciful, I swear on my crown. Not like him. You will not look as holey as cheese when I am through with you...very red cheese, that is." My heart was racing in my throat. I could always teleport out but this ghost knew about the eyes, I swear she did. If I could get information from her this would save me from endlessly wandering these halls searching for something that could be right under my muzzle! Backing away from the door I felt myself stumble. What was-? I turned around and looked at the faintly glimmering floor. Jelly. I had almost forgotten the trail. It was important to survey my surroundings, since I had no idea where I even was. I cast an even brighter werelight that lit up every corner of the chamber. I was in a disused armory, shelves of helmets and racks of lances that were bound together by cobwebs were covering every wall. There was another round of battering at the door and the glass-and-screaming sound from the dream. The dream! What was it the pony in the dream said? Didn't they want to be an armorsmith? This had to be a clue! Whirling back around I found my trail of sandwich parts led only to the center of the room but in one corner was an item that was not a helmet or a lance. It was the main piece of a suit of armor. Extinguishing my werelight I hurtled over to the puzzle piece in one light flying leap, suddenly seeing nothing but black for a moment. Behind me I heard the final crash of a splintering door. I withdrew deeper into the annex concealed by this spinning door, sealing it near completely, with the exception of a small crack that stealthily enabled the door to be flung open if needed and shed some light on whatever was behind me. Ghosts could sense most magics everypony knew that, so the less magic I used the less visible I was. Behind me was a small antechamber made of dull gray uncut crystal. A closet really. It was bare except for a small rag like object on the floor. When I crept closer I noticed it was not a rag but a sort of faded and torn lavender scarf, with and embroidered edge and little white and square cut gems sewn to look like...a heart. In the fall induced dream the pony had a bandanna just like this... 'They often have an object or objects that can influence them and be used to pacify.' With my hoof I scooped up the bandanna with my boot-clad hoof as best as I could and clutched it wishing I could tie it on with magic so at least my hooves would be free. "Ooh my it seems somepony left me a little surprise," cooed that disturbing, soft voice. I stiffened and did my best to remain still, one part of my plan had already failed in terms of strategic timing: in my jump for the sliding door I had lost my duffel bag. "I do not really like surprises, considering the last one I got was the one that killed me." It was hard to focus my gaze out of such a small space and what I saw...I wanted to throw up, I wanted to scream, I wanted to run, I wanted to gouge out own eyes, and I wanted to cry all at once. She would have been a normal mare at one point. My brain was racked and disgusted at this sight as if describing her might make such a creature less frightening. The ghosts of foalhhood tales were typically pale and glass-like, mysterious and pitiful, and their only real desire was either to move on or pull a few pranks on the living. This ghost followed no such conventions. The Poltergeist was translucent and wasn't especially tall or short. Her appearance was macabre:teeth in a wicked and gut-wrenching smile with teeth that almost felt sharp with the awkward crookedness of her mad grimace. Her mane was hideously disheveled in a loose, pulled back look and matted with blood, falling down in thick ratty tangles. Some of the tarnished metal hairpieces rested there seemed to auccent the gruesome excuse for eyes: unforgiving black voids with flaming pinpricks of heartless blue fire for pupils. Much like her mane her tail was also a blood-matted mess bound in one knot before resuming the appearance of a tangled plait. A ripped and tattered cloak of sheer ghastly grayish fragments seemed to encircle her like wispy spirits frozen in time and did little to hide her mangled form. Her body was riddled with blood edged holes and wicked gashes were spread everywhere, so you couldn't even make out what she might have been like. I was puzzled at how she even stayed together with some areas giving away to swatches of a luminescent skeleton. the swirling and lackluster collar for her cloak that was slashed to bits seemed like a taunting burden to her weak form. Her forehooves still had the remains of once gleaming slippers clinging to them, and looked as depressing as a lone toy forsaken in the rain. I felt like 'disfigured' might almost be a compliment, given her unmendable state. With a look of almost childlike fear she nudged the duffel and jumped back shrieking as the hundreds of batteries poured out, most likely unsure of what they were. The clatter was enormous, which startled her so much she lept into the corner and began to make strangled noises that resembled sobs for a few seconds before breaking into spontaneous shrieking cackles and rocking back and forth. I remained as silent as possible trying to go unnoticed and focus on anything slightly distracting like how her coat did show remainders of the crystalline appearance of the Empire's inhabitants. In fact her the crystal shine seems more physical than she is... The poltergeist stopped her maniacal breakdown and went on to shudder as if she were cold. Slowly all the batteries began to roll toward her in unison, while she stared with a dull confusion before they all began to crush with a painful and dragged out s-c-r-e-e-e-c-h and hovered for a moment until they dropped to the floor, only a withered husk of what they had been. Poltergeist began to glow with a fiery red energy that sucked all the warmth in the room. She shivered for a moment as if she had a brain freeze. A moment later my knees wobbled and quivered as my mind grew cloudy and thick. A sky blue streak flew out the small crack, a joyous sparkling contrast to the menacing effect of the poltergeist. It almost looked like my magic. Oh no... The door to my hiding place was ripped away and thrown into the rusty armor. "Oh Cadenza do you know how much easier this could have been if you just killed Sombra in that cold waste up north? We could have been the best of friends had you betrayed that monster." Poltergiest smiled that lopsided Nightmare Night pumpkin grin with about as much kindness as a shark has for a fish. I fell to the ground feeling ever so sleepy... What was I here for again? "You see little Princess, I cannot harm you while you clutch that old bandanna of mine. I led you to it in one of my better moods." Her image seemed to flicker slightly, like a stained glass window when a bird passes by. I wonder what is under it... Stars drifted past my eyes as my cheek lay pressed against the cold floor. My hooves gripped the scarf tighter. Red sparkles hung around me. Was that bad? "You cannot activate the Heart without magic and I am here every night. Your kingdom will still think you are playing hide and seek, you know." Yes, I think Fredrick is a lovely name for the sandwich. "My, my it seems such a lovely young mare is missing out on her beauty sleep. Maybe you should rest a little while I look after the castle." A burp-like yawn escaped my mouth. Sleep sounds nice. "How about a visit to the friend of yours too? I am sure he would be delighted to see you." My lashes fluttered slightly and the light began to hurt my eyes the longer I stared, a dull throb echoing in the back of my mind. "Though it seems my vision has gone a bit bad, being over a thousand years and all. Looks like I will have some searching to do." I remember darkness and the sound of a stone fitting into a nook before my mind went blank and sleep took hold of me, pouncing like a cat to a mouse.
Chapter 5: TerrorTerror She had stood on a golden balcony only moments before, looking over a kingdom of crystal. Despite the reccsion it was still filled with love and life, gleaming beneath both the sun and the moon. She thought nothing could ever happen on this scale. Nopony in this isolated paradise did. But it did happen, a black fog rushing through part of the mountains. It held a power not seen before, some few thought it was their reckoning. The kingdom went from a calm peace to sheer choas. Terrified screams filled the sky but it kept coming. Passing them by and cloaking the world in darkness. It was so fast... None of the magic was working. Not even the prized crystallokinesis. Nopony was powerful enough.The Heart wouldn't work if the terror of the razing was too much. Buildings crumbled around her. The mare ran to the edge sprouting a crude staircase of gleaming rainbow flecked gems down to the plaza. She had to get the Heart. The Heart could save them all, she thought. When she arrived there she ran and grabbed it from its floating state, holding it tight and whispering to it as if it were a foal. There were thundering calls she did not know, in the choas it seemed there were no ponies at all. Only endless screams. Then there were hoofsteps. She didn't hear them then but she hears them now. They were silent. Deadly silent, and then came the voice. "I'll hide the Heart,you should run." She turned around. It was a gaurd. His helmet was askew but otherwise he seemed okay. "Platinum Laurel is that you?" Was that a nod? It looked like a nod. She gave him the Heart. Then was the smile, it wasn't Platinum Laural at all. The pony changed into a tall, skinny colt dressed in rags with a shaggy mane and curved horn. He had demon eyes with purple smoke and sharp white fangs. He had a somewhat battered looking knife in his magic. A blast of strange magic. The Heart turned gray and cold. She turned to scream but her voice was too soft. It blended it with the others. "Who are you?" she squeaked hoarsly, her last cohernt words before everything turned to pain and red. There would be so much red. He smiled evily, the right side of his mouth pulled higher than the left. "I'm the King." That was when the real screams began, and everything turned red,even when she closed her eyes. ... My head still ached as I stood up, feeling dizzy and blinking at the dimness. Where was I? Last night. Poltergiest. My magic. A dream that left me in a cold sweat. Gasping I ran to where the door should have been and kicked it as hard as possible with my back legs. Nothing happened. Sealed shut, just my luck. I slumped against one of the corners of the triangular anntechamber. This annex would be my tomb, I thought drawing a thin breath. Soon the air would run out. Then it hit me. I was strong enough to kick the door, my vision wasn't blurry, and I still had my cutie mark. That meant something. But what? "How could I be so stupid?" I hissed, too angry to cry. "What idiot gets themselves outwitted by a thousand year old stab victim?!" I tried to bit back a scream. Now who will help Queen Sapphira? "She doesn't even have eyes! I was tricked by a blind ghost! She set me up with a bandana as bait!" Slamming a hoof against the wall uselessly I continued my bitter rant. If only somepony where in the castle, somepony who could hear my screaming. "I set myself up for this. So much for trying to play this scenerio like a card game." Slumping frther against the wall I felt my hateful emotions get something stirring inside, burning like a fire. An intellegent, deterimined, and angry fire that wouldn't listen to anypony at this point. Gosh, I bet this is what Sombra feels like. Sombra...that was it! Who lived here once? Sombra. Who likes to hide things? Sombra! Who would build something this austere! Definetley Sombra! Who would leave a way out for those clever enough to find it? Even though he probably hould just kill them later... SOMBRA! I jumped up and ran to the corner that seemed like the pointer to an arrow. I knew why I still had my cutie mark, my stregth. It would be hard for a ghost like her to take every bit of magic in me. Oh sure, she may have taken my personal magic but she didn't take every last shred like Tirek did. My 'matches' may be gone but there are other ways to spark a fire. I tucked the bandana into a pocket. Who knew, I may need it later. I stared at the corner and tried to focus all my Sombra-esque rage on the wall. I felt terrible trying to ball all that anger up made it feel like someone was twisting a very small knife inside my heart. It wasn't any better that I felt a headache stemming from my horn, the magicly clearly not fitting with it. Despite all this, it was no exuse! I had to get out of here! Come on...! At last, a stream of purple and green aura roared to life on my horn and my vision was clouded, as I bit my lip. I realeased the column of energy and wacthed as the stone burned away like paper in acid revealing a dark hallway that was nothing but shadows. ... The hall did not have incredibly stale air like I thought it would, but it was so cold that I was thankful for even the small black jacket I wore. Although there were no lights of any kind especially since I didn't have the familiar magic to conjure any kind I knew of, I didn't need to question what direction to head in. One way, and that just so happened to be this way. Where I was in the castle I couldn't be sure, there were many places to hide secret halls if somepony was clever enough. After a while I came to a dark wooden door that was clearly manufactured by Sombra Inc. Please don't be a nightmare door, I thought with a shudder. Channeling another painful burst of dark magic I turned the knob not sure of what I would find. I closed my eyes for a moment to reagain my breath after using such needlessy powerful bursts of magic to accomplish simple tasks, although there was no alternative. It wasn't a nightmare door at all, instead it flipped open to reveal a sort of cipher: multiple rings, all of the same alphabet-thankfully the one I was used to-fiddled with as if somepony had tried to get in. Perhaps recently. Somepony who unlike me clearly didn't know Sombra. I just wasn't sure how well I knew him... ... Nothing seemed to work. I spun the wheel by hoof spelling out everything Sombra-like I could think of. I had tried any word that could be asscotied with him and for each fail I carved a tally in the wall with the steel tip of my boot. So far I had fouty-one tries. Taking a few steps back, I paused to look at the cipher. Manual movement and one word answers were clearly not working. If I were Sombra what would the correct phrase be? I glanced over at the tallies for a moment pondering. Well, that's just it I wouldn't want just anypony to get in, and it would be a test as well... Ah-ha! That was it! Gritting my teeth, I shot a blast of dark magic at it and watched as the wheels and watched as the became animated, moving and spinning until they spelled out a message: NAME YOURSELF What should I tell it? Knowing Sombra it's probally trapped, a riddle, indowed with some sort of self-awareness, or... The wheels spun again revealing a new message: ANY DAY NOW ...snark. Spinning the wheels I entered 'C-A-D-A-N-C-E'. After I finished the wheels spun themselves again: CORRUPTED ALREADY PINK ONE I put in the words 'I need your help, Sombra' as best I could considering the lack of puncuation ring. The wheel responded: OF COURSE YOU DO BUT HE IS NOT THERE But...what? Ugh, why is Sombra always so difficult. Rolling my eyes I instictinivly put in 'DUH'. Hopefully that might get me some more helpful snark. My message disappeared and was replaced with another message: PASS THE TEST I frowned. What test? The cipher wheels flipped over with a sound similar to falling dominos, revealing a blank under side. The center of the cipher wheel which Iwas covering a gear popped open revealing a hole barely big enough for a pencil. Some of the letter tiles flipped over to give one final statement: ONE WAY YOU CAN ENTER BECOME SHADOW Become shadow? Oh gosh, I wasn't sure if I could do that, I was no Sombra. But I also was no quitter. I stood firm and focused on trying to dissolve into the shadow cloud, screwing my eyes shut as I concentrated, smoke streaming from them. Then came the pain, a terrible burning sensation like I was being consumed by fire and ripped apart at the same time. I began to feel little but my eyes as if all else was just loosely part of me. Opening my eyes revealed that I was a large gray-blue cluster of foglike-smoke much smaller then Sombra, with the trademark purple smoke. Despite my dulled-or lack of-nerves it still hurt to stay like this and took all my concentration. Steering myself foward, I disappeared through the entrance presented to me. ... Dark magic was hard. Unlike most magic it did not feel right and was painful to cast if it did not come naturally to the user. For non alicorns it was not possible to cast it without being taught. It was too hard for me to control and as soon as I entered the other side, door sealing behind me. I felt myself reform which was just as draining and painful as deforming, since figuring out how to put yourself back together at the right speed was not exactly a piece of cake. I didn't even have I chance to look around, I was too wiped out and so it was that I sank into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 7: Unbelievable DiscoverySomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 8: Uncontrollable TemperSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 9: Unbreakable WillSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 10: Little Pink LieSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 11: Mt. QuartziteSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 12: Broken YouthSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 13: Destruction of the SelfSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 15: Unexpected OccurrenceSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 16: Unofficial ContractSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 17: Catching StarsSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 18: The Story's All OffSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
