They Remember

Twilight turned around. Just a glimpse of the glistening glass shape was enough. She fired a blast of energy from her horn, heating up the passage for a brief moment. The ground became slippery, and all the rough edges on the walls were smoothened.

The crystal pony stood almost as tall as Princess Luna. Shreds of clothing dangled from his body. He had taken off his goggles. What little remained of his shimmering yellow coat turned black before her eyes, and the glow of his eyes replaced the light of his lantern.

“You are surrounded,” he said in a deep, raspy voice.

“Surrounded?” Twilight repeated, pulling the mask off her face. Her horn was still humming, though she did not show her full power. “There’s just one of you.”

But even as she spoke another pair of evil eyes appeared behind the corrupted crystal pony.

Those ponies outside. The whole dig team!

“These new bodies are sufficient,” he said. “Now, bring us to the Crystal Empire.”

“I don’t think I will,” Twilight said. “You can only possess crystal ponies. Last I checked, there are less than a hundred crystal ponies in this camp. You are outnumbered.”

“Each one of us can match one thousand ponies in combat,” he said. “Our strength does not fade with time. You cannot fathom our full power. Take us to the Crystal Empire.”

“If you’re that powerful, why do you need me to do anything?”

The ponies closed in. For a second there was an opening in their ranks. Twilight prepared to charge, but could not move her legs. Crystals of black ice had grown out of the ground, encasing her limbs. They were still growing, and slow though they were they showed no sign of stopping.

“Take us to the Crystal Empire!” He said again. “Take us to the Crystal Empire!”

“No,” Twilight said, though she could hear the fear in her own voice as the braces tightened around her legs. “No, I will do nothing for you.”

Aiming her horn down, she blasted the ice around her hooves with all her power. For a second the air was filled with steam, which quickly fell in a cloud of diamond dust. The crystals around her legs continued to grow, completely undamaged.

“Well, Princess?” He sneered, revealing a mouthful of jagged black teeth. “Will you die here, and like this? It’s a pity, isn’t it?”

She could not feel her legs. The crystals crept across her chest, picking up speed when it reached the base of her neck. It pressed tighter and tighter. Twilight felt like her head would pop.

“Take a breath,” he said, taking the lamp off Twilight’s horn and crushing it against the ground. His hoof was momentarily engulfed in a fireball, but no discomfort could be seen on his face.

The crystals pushed her ears against her head, and grew across her chin. She raised her head, as if she expected to stretch her neck indefinitely. She pursed her lips as it continued along her muzzle. At her forehead it found bare skin. Its coldness stunned her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

“Princess Twilight! Stop struggling!”

Twilight gasped, and coughed when the chill air filled her lungs. She could move a little, but something was weighing her down.

“Princess, it’s alright!” Said her guide. “It’s all in your head! Please stop struggling! You’ll trigger a cave-in!”

Twilight forced herself to go limp. A second later the weight lifted; three ponies stood up. She sat up tentatively, lifting one hoof in front of her face and then the other. Already the throbbing pain was gone.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement, and immediately fired off a bolt of magic in its direction. The pony crashed against the wall and fell limp to the floor.

“Stop it!” The guide yelled, throwing aside courtesy and putting Twilight in a headlock. “Listen to me! Whatever you saw, it wasn’t real!”

Twilight took a deep breath and choked again.

Where did my mask go?

It was pulled down against her chin; the crystal pony put it back on for her, and adjusted her hood before letting go.

“W… what happened?” Twilight stammered. “You turned into an umbrum! You all did!”

“It was some kind of protective spell,” he said. “We must have set it off somehow. You started attacking us, princess.”

“Alright,” Twilight said slowly, eyeing the other pony with suspicion. Two others had crept past her, and were checking on the unconscious pony. “And our lamps?”

“Yours broke when you threw it at me,” he said. “Mine is that one over there.”

Several lamps had been brought over, some hanging on poles. More ponies had gathered around to gawk at the scene. Had they not been sworn to secrecy, Twilight was sure that her face would be on the cover of every Canterlot tabloid for weeks.

“It’s best if you don’t go any deeper into the nest,” said the guide. “It is quite narrow in places, and whatever enchantments are protecting this place, they are especially effective on you.”

“And you?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I saw nothing unusual,” he said. “Princess, even if a pony such as myself was overcome by the umbra’s influence, we would still be considerably less dangerous than you. Even if it proves fatal, Equestria will not experience an unreasonable loss.”

“Are you telling me to leave?” Twilight said, standing up tentatively. Her limbs still remembered the cold pain.

“I’m simply offering my thoughts,” he said dispassionately. “We are capable of excavating the rest of the nest, if that is what you want.”

“Yes…” Twilight said slowly. “And…”

She studied the crystal pony’s eyes. Her heart skipped a beat whenever a facet of his features was darkened by shadow.

“What do you think we should do?” She asked. “Can the Crystal Empire contain these bodies? Should we keep them here?”

“Better to keep them away from the Crystal Empire,” he said. “At best it will be worrisome for us, and at worst…” he shuddered. “Keeping them here is risky. This operation has become too large. Even if we seal this pit again, somepony will get curious eventually. And hiding the nest defeats the entire purpose of this dig. No, the umbra we find here must go somewhere.”

“Where?” She asked. “I want your opinion on this matter. If you could choose, where would you put them?”

“Somewhere out of the way, I suppose,” he said. “Somewhere no one would think to look. One of the smaller towns near Canterlot would be ideal, or up in the Foal Mountains, in one of the glaciers. They should be accessible to your researchers, but not in a big population centre. I don’t know what they’re capable of; nopony does.”

“Right…” Twilight said. “Thank you. What time is it?”

“I wouldn’t know, Princess,” he replied. “I suppose it must be close to eleven.”

“Go up and fetch a few more ponies,” she ordered. “Start cutting the nest into blocks. Make sure you don’t expose any part of the umbra. They stay completely in the ice. The rest of you, if your shift is not finished yet, get some chisels and start widening this crack.”

The crystal pony bowed and marched up the ramp. Dozens of ponies passed Twilight as she made her way to the lift. She felt unsteady, and a little sick. The memory of the attack was fading quickly; already the whole thing seemed ridiculous from beginning to end.

They’ve been frozen for longer than Equestria has been around. Of course they’re dead.

When she got to ground level, Twilight took the most direct route to the chain of public tents. She would have taken shortcuts, but the snow on either side of the narrow trail were taller than her and vertical in most places. Wind constantly swept loose snow and flakes of ice through the narrow passages; they had to be shoveled twice a day.

The airlock of the cook tent felt even colder than the arctic wind. Twilight took the broom and brushed the outside of her snowsuit. Her boots had a crust of ice. Under the warm yellow light of three lamps everything looked mundane and harmless.

Twilight opened the inner door and immediately pulled off her mask and goggles. The scent of sweet spices and fresh bread made her mouth water.

The cook tent had three large tables and six benches arranged in a way that only ponies without hind limbs could use comfortably. The insulated walls were decorated with large prints of beach scenes and wide open fields. Back in October somepony had superglued a giant pinup of Soarin to the ceiling, and Twilight still had not decided whether she should try to remove it or explain it to Celestia when the equipment returned to Canterlot.

The ceiling vents were always open so ponies would not suffocate from all the fires burning in the tent. Besides ten lanterns hanging on the steel overhead beams, something was always cooking on the six gas stoves. Once in the while a cold draft made it all the way to the floor, but it was warm enough to go without a snowsuit.

“Good morning, Twilight,” Cinnamon Swirl said, bowing her head politely. She wore her fleece layers under a jumpsuit made of white canvas. When she first arrived at the camp in November, the brown earth pony mare used to bow fully.

“Do you have any soup?” Twilight asked as Cinnamon Swirl filled a metal mug with coffee.

“Always,” she replied. “Tomato or mushroom?”

Twilight grimaced as she always did. Despite all the support from Canterlot, quantity was much more feasible than quality. All the magic in the world couldn’t keep bread soft and mould-free for three months. On Horseshall Island, soup came out of a can and tasted exactly like one.

“Tomato then,” Cinnamon Swirl said, stifling a giggle. “Cheer up, Princess. I heard about what happened. We’re all going home soon, right?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, struggling out of her snowsuit and pulling the fleece layer off her damp coat. “Fresh food, a hot bath, and some sunlight. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?”

“No.” Cinnamon Swirl agreed, and then lowered her voice. “Is it true, Twilight? Did they find umbra here? In Equestria?”

“Where else would they be?” Twilight said with a shrug before taking a sip of her coffee. “We’re not exactly in the centre of Equestria. The Crystal Empire’s two days’ walk from here. This is where Princess Celestia expected to find them.”

“But Horseshall Island,” she said. “Twilight, I’ve read a lot of books about this place. You know how I feel about Horseshall Island. About the animals here, and the plants and the climate. A lot of ponies have come here ever since Equestria started expanding north. Ships used to overwinter in the strait northwest of here. You remember the pictures I showed you, right? It just seems so familiar, even though this is the first time I’ve come here personally. And all this time, these things have been buried right under our hooves. It’s scary.”

“I’ve never thought about it that way,” Twilight said, keeping her own voice down. “Don’t worry, once the umbra are gone, Horseshall Island will go back to normal. I have a restoration spell ready; I’ve been designing it for months. Once we fill in the pit, everything on top will come back by next winter. It’ll be even better than before. Removing all that dark magic must be good for this place.”

“I don’t know…” Cinnamon Swirl said when she set down the bowl of soup in front of Twilight. “If dark magic was a problem here, wouldn’t the whole place change when you take it away?”

“I suppose…” Twilight said. “There’s only one way to find out.”

“Right.”

Cinnamon Swirl seemed just a little glum as she went back to preparing lunch.