Empress Rarity's 251st Birthday

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter 1

Last Tuesday...

Canterlot is beautiful in the early morning sun. The soft rays of light peeking over the distant edges of the mountains to the east. From the balcony of the Solar Tower of Canterlot Castle, Cadance took a deep breath of the warm morning air and watched the beautiful array of golds and oranges streak through the sky. She loved these late summer mornings.

They brought back memories of Celestia. When Cadance was little, Auntie Celestia would sometimes bring her out on this very balcony, and raise the sun. Celestia probably meant it more as a lesson on the complexity of Alicorn magic, and the responsibility they shared in using it appropriately. But little filly Cadance was more mesmerized by the sheer beauty of Celestia’s mantle than by the weight it held.

“Celestia,” she said with a sigh.

Two centuries had passed since the last time she had seen her aunt. Celestia and Luna just disappeared one day, no explanation, no warning, just… gone. It had thrown everything into chaos, to the point that Cadance thought Discord had something to do with it for the longest time.

So much had changed since they left. Cadance was no longer in control of the Crystal Empire, having proclaimed Rarity her successor as the Crystal Empress, and returned to Canterlot. She had to take the Solar Throne with Twilight on the Lunar Throne when it became evident that the Royal Sisters weren’t returning, and unrest was threatening Equestria.

The turmoil in Equestria nearly broke out into civil war. Luckily, the formation of the Senate, with it doing the majority of governing and the two Alicorn princesses sitting more as figureheads than rulers, had diverted most of the impending crisis. Well, the internal crisis within Equestria.

At the moment, relations between the Crystal Empire and Equestria are… troubling. Cadance frowned as she thought about it. Disagreements, rumors, and nasty assumptions had done more than enough to erode the once solid relationship with the nearby nation, to the point that suspicion between Equestrians and citizens of the Crystal Empire is now the norm. And that was before last year’s debacle between Twilight and Rarity.

The two hadn’t spoken since.

Twilight had thrown herself into her duties as an Equestrian Diarch, and as the Senate’s Secretary General with such vigor that Cadance could barely get a word in with her all year. And then, if Twilight wasn’t tangled in some matter of the Senate or the Throne, she was off chasing rumors down of Celestia or Luna with her Seekers. Cadance had no idea what was going on with Rarity, but she couldn’t imagine her to be any better off.

Cadance knew something had to change between the two old friends. And soon. She let out a sigh and absentmindedly brushed a hoof through her hair, only to annoyingly feel it pass through the ethereal nuisance.

“Good morning, Miss Cadance.” The princess looked behind her and offered a smile to Flint Pie, her personal secretary. The grey stallion had a tray of coffee and muffins balanced on one wing, and a clipboard tucked underneath the other. He wore a pair of dull brown saddlebags, and an ugly orange and green tie that would have made Rarity cringe with disgust. He slid the tray off onto the small table on the balcony, and sat down on the other side. “I trust you had a restful evening?”

“Good morning, Mr Pie,” replied Cadance, taking the care to keep her tone indifferently professional, careful not to rush the conversation headlong into how his date went. She grabbed one of the mugs from the tray with her magic took a sip. It was perfect, foamy, and with a body as black as coal. “My evening went well, thank you. What about yours?”

Flint looked out into the distance with that same content, nearly bored look on his face as he pondered the question. “It was enjoyable.”

Flint Pie was a fantastic administrator. His ability to calmly coordinate events with multiple teams, chart out activities, and ensure everything was done in a timely, professional manner was incredible. It was also the complete opposite of Cadance’s casual and fluid preference in handling matters of the state. Unfortunately, his skills as an administrator and his admittedly chiseled features were just about his only good qualities. Emotionally, he was a rock.

Patiently blinking, she smiled as if a thought had just come to mind. “Oh, and your date with Candy Drops?” Cadance asked, hopeful that her matchmaking charms would work this time.

“It went according to schedule.”

Her smile faltered. “W-what did you think of her?”

“She was pleasant, though she smelled too strongly of perfume.”

Cadance waited to see if the stallion would elaborate further. But instead, he had pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time against his clipboard. She let out a sigh and took a savage bite out of one of the muffins, taking her frustration out on the poor pastry. “So, what’s going on today?”

“You have a nine o’clock,” Flint paused as he checked the clipboard, “marriage counseling.”

Cadance groaned.

“Come again?” asked Flint.

She waved away his concern, and busied herself with another sip of coffee.

“Anything else to look forward to today?” asked Cadance, as she wiped the remains of the muffin off of her peytral with a wing.

Flint looked further down the clipboard. “You have luncheon with the Bird Watchers Society around noon, the Equestrian Games committee is meeting at one-fifteen, and a dress fitting at Polomare Emporium at three.”

Cadance frowned as she picked up another muffin and chewed much more thoroughly as she assembled the schedule in her head. “Have an excuse ready to leave the Bird Watchers early. Looking Glass is a dear, but I can only take so many bird facts before I feel like flying off myself.”

“Noted,” said Flint Pie as he scribbled in the margins on his clipboard. “After that, joint Evening Court with Princess Twilight from five-thirty until seven.”

Cadance shook her head. “It’ll just be me. Twilight isn’t in Canterlot.”

“She came in last night.”

Cadance bolted up from the table. “What? I wasn’t informed?”

“It was three in the morning.”

“Well, where is she?!”

“Down in the throne ro—” was as far as Flint got before Cadance lept off the side of the balcony and dropped into the courtyard below. He stared at the space where she had been, took a muffin off the tray, and trotted out of balcony and back through Cadance’s royal bedchamber.

* * *

Supposedly, it was going to be another beautiful morning in Canterlot with an amazing sunrise. It better be amazing, thought Twilight. It certainly was a drain on her magic to help the Solar Court this morning.

Twilight felt sluggish, slow, and in a bit of a daze as she levitated her tea cup and took a small sip out of it. She savored the mint flavor for just a moment before she turned back to the objects floating around her. A copy of a thesis on magical theory she was asked to peer-review before it was published, a Senate bill on water management for Southern Equestria, revisions to her daily schedule, updates from Seekers all over the country, and the day’s copy of the Equestrian National. Right on the front page, in big bold letters, was the announcement of today’s Morning Court.

PRINCESS TWILIGHT RETURNS TO HEAD MORNING COURT —
SENATOR GRUMP PROMISES TO PUSH PROPOSED CRYSTAL TAX PLAN

Twilight groaned, as she tossed the newspaper to the ground. “I hate election years.”

But, as tedious and as awful as some of the Senators could be when voting comes around, they weren’t nearly as bad as a certain traitorous, crystallized, frozen-hearted, mare who shall not be named!

Twilight rubbed her eyes with an anxious whinny, forcing her thoughts to focus. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted. It was time to be a Princess, and represent her country as best she could. Not like some unnamed emotionally influencing, greedy, self-righteous, rock hum—

“Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,” she shouted to herself, reading the first line of the letter out loud to get her mind back in order. “I’m writing to you at the beginning of our second week at the dig site of the Sun Temple in… Zebrabwe... I’m afraid not much progress has been made. We’ve uncovered some of the ziggurat’s base, but we believe that there is more underneath the sands. There’s all this sand and we’ve had dust storms...”

Her volume leveled out and she trailed off as her mind sharpened back into focus, a frown was slowly creasing her face as she kept reading.

...they come without warning, since these are all wildlands, like the Everfree. A sudden gust of wind turns a normal day into a fight to stay on the ground, and I can’t get above the cloud level in time to avoid it. It’s like a wall of dust just slams into you, and our tents provide very little shelter against it. Our guides have brought in shamans in our behalf to plead with the weather spirits to give us peace. I am skeptical of it actually working, but I’m trying to remain respectful of their beliefs and traditions at the same time.

As for the Sun Temple, it is actually rather quite interesting. It’s design is definitely not Zebrican, ancient or otherwise. Maybe minotaurian, since a central figure in the pictographs was a minotaur, but everything else about the temple seems... off (I’ve enclosed some diagrams and measurements of the place). The sun is a focus but it is unclear on if the original creators of the temple worshiped a particular god or the sun. There is evidence of multiple deities and spirits, and the odder thing still is that all of them seemed to have been designed not only by a different time period, but culture and potentially race as well. This suggests that the Sun Temple may have exchanged multiple hooves since its creation.

There is one reference to Celestia, I think; an alicorn figure raising the sun. It was added several centuries after the construction of the temple, and has taken damage. There wasn’t much on the wall about her, not even a name, just identifying her as “sister” in ancient Zebrican. I’ve also included a wax rubbing of the pictogram in this letter.

I am sorry, I wish I had more. But these sand storms have been severe enough to halt work, and ground any pegasus team. I’ll report back once something substantial has been found or if I’ve failed.

Your faithful student, Seeker Loose Leaf.

Twilight fought the urge to crumble the letter into her hooves and throw it as hard as she could. She had told him, expressedly told him, that the Sun Temple in Zebrabwe was a dead end. Cadance had checked there herself after Celestia and Luna vanished, and found nothing. But for some reason, Seekers were attracted to that site like moths to fire. Twilight had even visited the site herself and found nothing of worth.

It seemed like that’s all that there was these days. She’d spent the last several months traveling with the best Seekers, all on missions of their own as she followed up on anything about the missing Princesses. But to date her searching had been in vain.

Twilight carefully organized the diagrams Loose Leaf had provided onto the floor before channeling magic through her horn and into them. The pages glowed briefly with power as a perfect model of the building he had described in his notes formed from her magic.

That’s about as far as she got when the Throne Room doors flew open hard enough to crack the walls behind them. The gust blew all the pages all over the place, and Twilight jumped at the sudden sound, causing her to drop everything.

Including her tea.

Twilight grumbled a few choice words as she pawed at her broken cup and spilled tea. “Thank you, Cadance. I only had one sip of tha—”

“Enough, Twilight Sparkle,” snapped Cadance as she trotted across the room. “You aren’t a little filly anymore. You’re a Princess of Equestria and you have duties. Responsibilities! You can’t just run off like that and leave me with everything!”

“I didn’t just run off,” protested Twilight. “I had a credible source in Baltimare, and if—”

“Did anything come from that?”

Twilight looked back at her scattered papers, picked them all up with a touch of magic, carefully putting them back together. She refused to look back up at the other Alicorn. “No.”

Cadance’s shoulders sagged, and she let out a breathy hiss through her gritted teeth. “Twilight, I know you care for them, I care for them too. But you can’t keep doing this. If they’re out there, they’ll show up when they are ready.”

“You sound just like her,” said Twilight, a fair share of ice in her words.

“And maybe Rarity has a point,” said Cadance, matching Twilight’s pointed glare with her own. “Equestria needs you right now, and that isn’t a maybe or a might. It’s a fact, Twilight.” Cadance closed the gap between them and wrapped a wing around Twilight. “I need you.”

Twilight sat down and Cadance followed suit, pulling her into a tighter hug, which Twilight slowly responded to in kind. Cadance let go and looked at Twilight. “Want to talk about it?”

Twilight shrugged and Cadance’s horn flared once, summoning two steaming cups of tea. Twilight took her own and sipped out of it, letting the calming taste of mint wrangle her senses before speaking again. “It’s… It’s just that I don’t know what to do about any of this.”

“Any of this, meaning?” asked Cadance.

“Rarity,” whispered Twilight.

“We’ve talked about this before, Twilight, a lot. You two need to sit down and talk.”

“I know,” said Twilight, resting her head down on her hooves. “It’s just, I don’t know how. Or when.”

“Well, her birthday is coming up,” said Cadance. “You could talk to her then, give her that ‘declaration’ we talked about. I bet that would definitely smooth things over. I could be there if you want.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” said Twilight. “You received an invite to the party, but I didn’t.”

Cadance shrugged it off. “I bet it just got misplaced, you know how those mail ponies get. You’ll come as my plus one, and we’ll get you sized up for a new dress this afternoon before Evening Court.”

“I have a dress,” muttered Twilight.

“That rat’s nest you wadded up in the bottom of my closet last year and have yet to pick up? Or that horrid yellow thing that should be burned?” asked Cadance.

“It’s a good dress,” Twilight muttered again, pawing absently at the carpet.

“It’s a fashion disaster, Twilight,” said Cadance. “You’re coming with me to Polomare Emporium this afternoon, and that’s the end of it.”

“But I can’t go to the Empire,” protested Twilight. “Why would she even want to see me? After what happened last year? After what’s happened this year?”

Cadance nodded thoughtfully. “I didn’t say it would be easy, but I will be there every step of the way. Rarity is a lot of things, but she’s still your friend.”

Twilight sat there and let the silence pass between them. “I’m sorry for all of this. Maybe if I had ju—”

“Stop,” said Cadance. “What’s done is done and you can’t change the past. Time travel doesn’t work that way. It wasn’t your responsibility, it was mine to choose a successor for the Empire. I choose Rarity, not only because she's the host for the Crystal Heart, but also because it just felt... right.” Cadance held up a hoof to stop Twilight from interrupting. “Sometimes you need to trust in here,” she continued, poking a hoof into Twilight’s chest. “Instead of here,” she said, tapping against Twilight’s head.

“Thanks, Cadance,” said Twilight wrapping the other mare in a hug.

“Any time, Twilight. Say, your coat is soft, Twilight. Really soft. And you smell of... strawberries,” said Cadance. “Which reminds me, do you know what happened to my new conditioner? It was on my vanity last night, but I couldn’t find it this morning.”

Twilight froze. “C-conditioner?” she asked, her eyes looking every which way but at Cadance. “I, uhh, oh, look at the time. I have Morning Court in a bit.”

“That’s fine, I have a nine o’clock, marriage counseling,” said Cadance as she broke the hug and stood up. “Come find me in the east tower before three.”

“Marriage counseling. That should be fun,” said Twilight.

“Ponies seem to think that all they need to do is visit me and ‘poof’ everything is magically fixed, and love is as if it had never been stronger,” said Cadance. “I have to remind them it doesn’t work like that. For example, you are still single.”

Twilight scrunched up her face at her sister-in-law. “Just for that, I’m happy I used all of your conditioner.”

“You used all of it?! Rude.”

“Takes one to know one!”

Cadance didn’t answer, though she flicked her tail in response as she trotted out of the throne room and off to counseling.

“I don’t remember you two being so feisty,” chuckled a voice from behind her throne. “How interesting.”

“Yeah well,” said Twilight as she finished sorting her papers. “Time changes us al—” she dropped them again and spun around to face the voice.

“Hello, Sparkle,” sing-songed Discord, paddling a canoe made of water across her throne room.

“Discord? What are you doing here?” asked Twilight as she trotted over with her head cocked to the side in confusion.

Discord regarded her with half interest, as he brought his canoe to a sloshy stop. “Playing a little game,” he said. “Care to join?”

Before Twilight could say a word, he snapped his paw and the throne room disappeared.

* * *

Lady Merry Sapphire laid in her bed and watched as the first rays of morning sunlight slowly spilled into the bedroom. The day hadn’t even started yet, and a frown was already plastered across her face. She was lost in deep thought, chasing answers for questions that had plagued her for months.

The biggest had been on her mind every day for a year now; the threat of conflict between the Crystal Empire and Equestria. Such building of tension between the two nations appeared to be the falling out of old friends. But was there something more? Something hiding in the shadows, playing the situation, maybe going so far as to be the true cause of it? The only lead she had, and with no real facts to back anything up, was that her long distant nephew, Blueblood the thirty-seventh, might somehow be connected. But why? And to what end?

And as if those questions weren’t enough. She had a mighty need. The need to organize.

Sapphire turned over in bed, and groaned into her pillow. When she invented ‘Merry Sapphire’ as a disguise, to be the seneschal to the Crystal Empress, Luna tinkered with new spell bindings to make ‘Merry’ more real. To give her desires, flaws. Quirks. Though if Luna knew at the time that an overwhelming desire to organize could literally overwhelm a pony, she wouldn't have bothered. But being here on vacation, with no meetings, appointments, or schedules... oh how Merry’s hooves ached for the feeling of her organizer.

Sapphire flipped over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, recounting the exposed beams of the room’s vaulted ceilings as a way to calm her needs. Her eyes wandered around the room, focusing on the environment around her. The walls were made out of wood and plaster, and painted a soft eggshell white. She closed her eyes and forced long, deep breaths to carry her away. The air smelled of sea salt, but there were also other scents. The faint traces of late summer rain from the night before. Lemon, olive, and basil floated up from the rich gardens just below her room.

Merry Sapphire was not in the Empire, but was a guest at the Villa Belle. It was a marvelous two story estate, commissioned by Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle, at the height of her music career. Gently tucked away behind lavish vineyards and boastful gardens, it sat on the edge of the Mariterranean Sea, and was perfect to escape the unwanted paparazzi and hordes of fans. The impressive, beautifully rustic manor was intrusted to Rarity after Sweetie Belle passed.

But it wasn’t the rustic luxury that worried Sapphire. As beautiful and as peaceful as it was, it was her Empress that troubled the mare.

In the months following the Empress’ disastrous excuse for a two hundred and fiftieth birthday, Rarity had removed herself from the public eye. She became distant, even from those closest to her. Rarity spent little if any time with Commander Onyx, the Crystal Council…

“With me,” Sapphire mumbled. She reached over and pulled one of the bed’s other pillows to her chest, and nuzzled it against her cheek.

Had her aloofness been the only issue, Sapphire would have felt better. But she was concerned with other unusual behaviors of her Empress. She had found Rarity wandering the halls of the castle, brooding, and more than once. Rumors began to circulate amongst the Palace staff that the Empress had gone mad; pacing before a great mirror, or sobbing to the point of near hysteria and shouting at herself. Sapphire suspected that sleep was often avoided by Rarity for as long as she could stand it, and when Rarity did dream, Sapphire knew it was anything but restful.

But then a few days ago, out of the blue, Rarity had either come out of her stupor, or had completely cracked her crystal coat and canceled all of her appointments, meetings, everything that had to do with the Crown. The Empire was practically on fire and Rarity had ordered her to pack a few bags for the two of them and be at the stables in an hour, not bothering to elaborate further on just what was happening nor were they were going.

Sapphire sighed and rolled over into the cool shadows crossing her bed. It was then she felt a sudden pulse of anger. Why in the world should she care about the Empress’ odd mood swings? It wasn’t her problem, nor was the Empire! She was a seneschal, a glorified planner. Her problems w—

She had no idea how she got out of the bed, but her hooves were shaking with anger that wasn’t her own. The Alicorn part of her mind resisted the emotional manipulation and cut through the thick fog that clouded her judgement, just enough for Sapphire to regain control over herself.

There was only one pony with the sheer power to command influence like that. And for it to be that strong…

“Rarity…” Sapphire whispered as she sat down by the bed. Her ears flat with worry, she looked across the room and into the tall mirror that hung from the wall. From within, a tired looking blue crystal mare was looking back out at her.

“Do you have any ideas on what to do?” she asked the reflection. The reflection looked back at her and shook its head, causing Sapphire to sigh and climb out of the soft bed and march up to it. She walked over to the mirror, hummed a song-like spell and felt her world change.

Sapphire felt different, her limbs getting longer. Her coat was darker and no longer crystallized. The silver mane was gone, replaced by a etheral one that reflected the stars of the night sky. A pair of great wings spread themselves out from her back, and a long horn was centered on her forehead. A few heartbeats later, and the Regalia of the Night appeared on Princess Luna.

Luna turned around and looked around the room with her own eyes, unbound by the magical bindings and matrices of her disguise spell. It was a simple room, full of good memories of summer nights long gone by. She made her way over to the desk and took out Sapphire’s journal… No, she shook her head. It was her journal.

She let out a frustrated sigh. The spell bindings, as marvelous as they were in keeping her hidden, had their own side effects. One of them was ‘Sapphire’ slowly developing into her own sense of self; a split personality.

A soft noise caught Luna’s attention and she crossed back to the other side of the room and looked back into the mirror where Sapphire stood patiently in it. She was dressed and groomed to take on the day. Her silver mane was brought back, perfectly framing her face, and she wore a silver vest with a cream colored cravat. Luna could just make out the pin on her chest; three diamonds in a gold circle, the symbol of the Office of the Empress’ Sensechal.

“So now that you’re out and stretching your legs, do you have any ideas for how we can fix Rarity?” Sapphire asked, her voice echoing within Luna’s mind.

Luna shook her head. “The plan is unchanged, Sapphire. You know that.”

“What good is that when others are made to suffer?” countered Sapphire. “When those we care about suffer?”

“Suffering builds character,” offered Luna. “Every step to something good requires suffering and sacrifice.”

“You sound like Tia,” remarked Sapphire with a pout. “If I wanted her opinion, I would have talked to her about it.”

“Which failed six months ago when we visited Canterlot, remember?”

Sapphire sighed and sat down in the mirror. “Yeah, I do. There just... there has to be something that can be done. Something more that we can do.”

“Which we are doing,” said Luna, lightly stomping her hooves and stretching her legs to get the blood flowing. “Though not as well as I had hoped.”

“I know,” replied Sapphire. “It’s always good to be able to talk to someone, even if it sort of is talking to myself, and that you’re also just as equally lost.”

Luna shrugged. “It’s not the first time I’ve challenged a part of my subconscious to a discussion on matters beyond my control. A millennium alone can really get to a girl.”

Sapphire perked up at that. “Oh, good. I thought we were going crazy.”

“Perhaps, but I—”

A sudden noise from downstairs caught Luna’s attention and she jerked up. She tapped the mirror with a hoof, and she once again became Merry Sapphire, just as she appeared in the mirror. It sounded like glass breaking, but there was something else too. Like voices arguing at once. Quietly, she slipped out into the hall and made her way downstairs.

* * *

“I told you it would happen.” boomed the voice inside her head.

Rarity tried to ignore it as she picked up the shards of the glass bowl with her magic and dropped them into the garbage. A washrag floated over from the kitchen sink and began wiping the splattered egg off the stone floor.

She did all of this while maintaining dagger like focus on the quivering crystal stallion standing in front of her. “Would you care to repeat that, darling?”

“Empress, please understand,” said Beryl Knight, standing his ground as best he could. “T-the Crystal Council is only concerned with the well being of the Empire. We’re simply doing this to prevent any further… complications.”

Rarity laughed a sharp, pointed laugh as the washrag arced its way back into the sink with a soggy thud. “Complications? Beryl, I have half the mind to marshal the Legions, and storm the Palace! This, this… this is a coup. Isn’t it?!”

“It’s not like that, it’s a temporary suspension of powers,” countered Beryl, his voice rising slightly, both to stop Rarity from interrupt him and to mask his desire to scream like a little filly. “Which the Council has every right to engage, as stated in the Emergency Powers Charter of Fifteen—”

“Emergency Powers?” balked Rarity. “What emergency? Things are going wonderfully. Splendidly wonderfully,” she huffed. “Everything is fine... It’s great. Almost nopony has died. In fact, the Empire is... Why, Shimmering Bay is—”

“One of the many reasons many members of the nobility are upset with you,” interrupted Beryl Knight. “It’s been nearly a year since you purchased the lands from the griffins, and what is there to show for it? Hmm? A train station to nowhere? A gift store with no visitors?”

Rarity snorted as the fridge behind her opened up and new eggs floated out, wrapped in her magic, and she set about making her omelet for a second time this morning. “It’s nation building, not a gala dress. It takes time to make a thriving port town. It doesn’t just happen overnight.”

“Regardless, it’s a lot longer than some ponies feel comfortable with. Some very influential ponies,” added Beryl. “A massive amount of money was used to buy Shimmering Bay, and even more has been poured into it with very little in the way of results. Could that money have gone to different endeavors? Endeavors that wouldn’t have put us at odds with Equestria?”

“Would any of those endeavors have freed us from our fiscal chains? Would they have secured a future for my empire?” asked Rarity. “No, as long as we are forced to do our tradings with Equestria as the middle pony, our own growth is restricted.”

“But it would also be stable.”

The whiplash from his response left Rarity scrambling to hold onto this second bowl of eggs.“Stable? Beryl, I get the feeling this is more than just the costs associated with securing the future of a wholly independent nation.”

“Empress… Rarity, I say this as your friend. As the longest service member of the Crystal Council,” he sighed. “The Empire is struggling on all fronts; infrastructure, education, defense, immigration reform, economics… Even weather management. Remember the flash freezes? The ice rot that decimated our wheat fields? We’ve already implemented rationing in the north, but with how poor of a harvest we had last season, and the rather grim forecast for this year... I can say with some certainty that the rest of the Empire isn’t far behind.”

“I’m aware of these problems, and, with the council’s help I might add, measures have been implemented and steps have been taken,” retorted Rarity as she placed the pan back on the stove and poured the egg in. A few pieces of chopped up onion, green pepper, and a bit of grated cheese rained down on top of mix. “Embassaries are being sent to Zebrabwe, Elkdom, Saddle Arabia, and Mustangia for assistance. In addition, the griffins have also promised to loan a company of their Stormbreakers to bolster our defenses.”

“Ah, yes. griffins. Surely their farming knowledge wil—”

Rarity derailed his remark with a wintery glance.

“But,” he continued on as best he could, “it isn’t going to be enough, is it?”

“Darling, I’m doing my best here,” replied Rarity, struggling to maintain her composure. “It’s not like I can wave my horn and make it all better instantly.”

“The Council doesn’t expect that,” said Beryl, with a slight bit of sharpness in his voice. “But they do expect you to work with them. You created the Council, and the ponies who work within it are sworn to you. We respect you. Don’t make us regret that honor.”

“Respect me?” balked Rarity. “Darling, you all respect me about as much as a filly respects her older sister’s stu—”

“You left the Empire without notice. You just took off and left for the Mariterranean,” interrupted Beryl. “The Council sent me because I was the only one crazy enough to believe you weren’t.”

“Weren’t what?”

“Crazy.”

An icy silence filled the space of seconds, and Beryl took the initiative as best as his quivering heart would let him. “Y-you don’t talk to us anymore. You don’t discuss your plans with anypony. And when you do act? You bypass any and all interaction with the Council to do as you see fit, passing all sorts of edicts and decrees, and spending our nation’s treasury on whatever flight of fancy strikes you.”

“Flights of fancy?”

“Rejecting the Equestrian Telegraph Project, creating a bat pony colony in Hillsbread, a—”

“They came to me, Beryl!” snapped Rarity. “They were hungry, they were tired, and they had nowhere else to go. I acted for the greater good of us all. I am not going to bow to some crystal pony superstitious nonsense about bat ponies and bad luck, nor will I tolerate criticism about helping them, unless it’s criticism about how we’re not doing enough for them as it is!”

Beryl closed his mouth and took a deep breath to compose himself. The only sound between the two was the faint crackling of Rarity’s icy coat as she went through the motions of flipping her omelet. “Your Highness, please understand. I respect you; your desires for the Empire, and your generous nature. But please also understand that not everypony shares the same sentiment.”

“I’m sorry, Beryl. I know. It’s just…” Rarity trailed off and shook her head, fighting back the growing pressure from within. “What do you suggest I do?”

“Come back with me. To the Empire,” he urged. “Talk to the Council, explain to them what’s going on. That you’re not crazy. Share your plans, your ideas for the Empire. Work with us.”

Rarity shook her head again. “I’ll think about it.”

“Empress—”

“I said ‘I’ll think about it’,” she said as she turned around and directed her attention to the omelet. “It’s been nearly sixty three years since I last had any vacation time for myself. I want to savor this for a while longer, then the Council may have me as they wish. Thank you, Beryl Knight, for your visit.”

Through the Crystal Heart, she could feel him hesitate. The question of doing the right thing; to continue to pursue matters, or let them drop for the time being. He stood there transfixed in that moment, frozen with choice. She smiled, sadly, when she felt him waver. “Thank you for your time, Empress, enjoy the rest of your vacation.”

Rarity nodded, but said nothing else. She waited as she heard Beryl walk out of the adjacent dining room and to the front doors. Still, she didn’t move until she heard the old butler of Villa Belle mumble his goodbye to Beryl Knight as the doors closed behind him. She let out a sigh, and called out to the other pony nearby. “Sapphire, you can come out now.”

Lady Merry Sapphire slid out from around the corner by the kitchen’s open back door, her ears folded back and a light blush spread across her face. Rarity could feel the embarrassment radiate from her. “My Lady, I—”

“Don’t worry yourself, Sapphire,” said Rarity. “Your eavesdropping is something I’ve come to expect. Now come on and wash up, I’ve made us an omelet. We have three days left, and I am determined to enjoy them, and we’ll start right after breakfast with some sun and swimming!”

Sapphire gulped. “Swimming? Swimming, swimming. What with the water, and not being able to touch the bottom with your hooves and such?”

“Of course, darling, what else would we swim in?” asked Rarity, smirking a bit at the mare’s foal-like fear of deep water.

“I, uhh, ohh! I need to get my book!” said Sapphire as she scampered back towards the stairs.

“I’m afraid there’s no avoiding it today, young lady! You promised me yesterday that we’d get out there,” said Rarity, but Sapphire’s muffled reply was too faint for the Empress to hear. She tittered to herself, and sat down at the table as the omelet divided itself in two and landed on separate plates at the table. “Sometimes it's like taking care of Sweetie Belle all over again.”

“Could be worse,” said the omelet on her plate with a squishy shrug. “You could be taking care of an orthos with a grass allergy.”

Rarity shuddered at the thought. “Ohh what a week with Fluttershy that wa—”

She stopped and looked down at the plate, and at Discord’s severed head smiling back at her. Rarity only had enough time to yelp in alarm before the world went dark.

Author's Note

And here we go.

Now, we can find out what happened.

Chapter Two

Author's Note

Welcome back everyone! I am sorry for how long it has taken to get this chapter going, lots of stuff going on in my life and also in my dear friend and editor, Autumnschild's life as well.

Thank you all so much for your support and your time to read this story of mine. I hope you enjoy it.

EDIT: "prefervid" is a word, it means "intense and impassioned".

Chapter Two

“Welcome to Mywai Island!” Discord triumphantly crowed.

“Discord,” said Rarity with a glare. “Terrific.”

“It is terrific, isn’t it? Why I’d say it’s practically the perfect pony paradise,” he purred.

Rarity’s glare remained as she stared out at what appeared to really be a perfect pony tropical paradise.

The entire thing was like something out of a traveling advertisement from Ponies Weekly. The white sandy beaches, the near crystal clear water, and the majestic palm trees standing as welcoming hosts to the place. It would be a dream come true to visit and relax. Rarity took a deep breath and briefly closed her eyes, just imagining it all. A lounge chair, one of her prefervid romance novels she forbade Sapphire from touching, and a cold drink with one of those little umbrellas. Oh it would have been perfect.

With an annoyed sigh, she kicked out a crystal forehoof and knocked over the flimsy wooden backdrop upon which all this vacationy splendor was painted upon. The backdrop fell onto a player, dragging the needle raggedly against the record it was playing, and the sound of surf, seagulls, and slide guitars slammed to a screechy halt. Rarity stomped a hoof in pouty frustration.

Discord tsked his tongue against his mismatched teeth. “What’s the matter, Rarity? I thought you liked the beach?”

She said nothing, instead staring beyond the smug God of Chaos with a tight lipped frown at the view that stretched out beneath her. She was at the top of a ridge, overlooking a lush valley of knee high grass, occasionally interrupted by small copses of trees as the forest around slowly gave way to the grassland. A wide river lazily cut through the plains, coming from somewhere within the surrounding woods, and emptying out to the ocean in the distance. Towering over it all at the end of the valley, like a proud king in his hall, was a single snow capped mountain.

“You know, I should have suspected it was you,” she said to him, trying to gauge her bearings. “But the omelet thing was so predictable, I assumed that it couldn’t have been you.”

Discord dropped out of the air next to her with a sudden thump. “Predictable?” he demanded. “Me?!”

Rarity fought the urge to smirk. The only things predictable about Discord is that he hated being called predictable and that as soon as some pony is enjoying themselves he’d show up and make life a mess without any explanation. Or exception.

And now? Now she was stuck, Luna knows where. Away from the Crystal Empire, and away from her ponies.

Rarity sighed and closed her eyes. She’d figured out her cardinal directions, but until the sun set and the constellations came out, there was no figuring where in the world she was. She looked down once more into the center of the valley. Huge rocks stuck up out of the ground, getting more frequent towards the center until the rocks became so thick that they formed a crude looking flower.

And that something in it was calling to her.

Rarity shook her head and sat down on the cliff edge. That wasn’t quite right. Not calling, but pulling her towards it. Not forcefully, but… it was tempting. Tantalizing. Like a sale at Vêtements Cheval. She couldn’t tell what it was, just that it had a pull on her magic.

A way home, perhaps? asked the Crystal Heart.

Rarity nodded, her helmet contracting back enough to let the late morning breeze touch her face. “Maybe, darling, but getting there is the trick.”

She caught the tail end of something from Discord, and turned to face him. “Come again?”

“I said, did you hear something? It sounded like there was another pony talking.”

Rarity shot up to her hooves. “Nopony. Just talking to myself.”

How can he hear us?

Discord spun in a circle, looking this way and that. “Hello?” he asked, lifting a tree up by its trunk and examining the underside of its roots, “Is somepony there?”

Quiet fool, lest we are discovered! Barked a voice inside Rarity’s head as smoke seeped into the edges of her vision.

Discord tossed the tree effortlessly behind him, and it went sailing down into the valley below. His eyes were like slits, as he stared daggers into Rarity’s eyes. “Stowaways.”

Discord began walking towards her, and she staggered back until her left backhoof found nothing but air at the very edge of the ridge. In a panic, she looked back and her heart leap to her throat at the hundreds of feet of empty air below her. And that was when she felt a curious and altogether unpleasant sensation.

Discord, who she saw lunge at her from the corner of her vision, had dropped to one knee and plunged his taloned hand into her ear, up to his scaly elbow. She let out a startled, cross-eyed yelp, almost a half laugh, as his rummaging around tickled something in her brain. With all of her willpower, she tried to focus her thoughts to cast a spell, but just as she had one in mind, out his hand went with an audible pop.

And there, struggling in his grasp, was a cursing Sombra.

“Fool! Release me!”

Discord chuckled. “What a surprise! Rarity, you keep some rather interesting company.”

Rarity really wasn’t paying attention as her world suddenly tipped on its side, and she found herself laying on the ground. It felt like her head was spinning, and she was going to throw up. She felt weak, enough that her limbs trembled as she struggled to put any weight on them. She felt two thirds full of… of everything. Passion. Magic. Anger. She’d been balancing on a knife’s edge in her own mind for so long that she forgot what it was like to be constantly balancing on it. She was thankful that he’d only pulled out Sombra. Had Discord yanked out the Crystal Heart as well… Well, some things were just best left unimagined.

But at the same time, her mind felt refreshingly clear. Free. It was hard to explain, but there was no shadow prying at her every thought. No darkness trying to overpower her. It was just… her.

That mysterious pull from the center of the island, however, was no longer a trifling sensation, like the curiosity of a sale. What was an impulse was now a need, a drive. Her heart ached to reach whatever it was that was calling to her. Rarity felt anxiety over it, and hurried to push up her own mental shielding to keep the call out of her mind. Still, her best efforts only offered a little bit of relief.

Discord only gave her a moment of interest before turning his attention back to the flailing stallion. “My goodness, how long has it been?”

Sombra responded with a growl.

“Mhmm, you don’t say?” Discord brought a paw up to his face and rubbed his chin in thought. “I remember it like it was tomorrow. You, going away on your anvil with those adorable little hammers. You made such fine trinkets, Blacksmith. Do you still take custom orders?”

“Mhrr?” asked Rarity as she sat up, woozily.

“Insufferable, cur!” snarled Sombra, smoke trailing from his limbs. “Put me back in the unicorn at once!”

“Oh, no, no, no!” explained Discord, who snapped his fuzzy fingers together to summon up a bucket full of taffy, and with a flick of the wrist, plopped the smoldering stallion neck deep into it. “You might mess all of this up!” He said with a twirl, his arms wide as if to embrace the entire island. “You see, I arranged this... little vacation just for two, not three.”

“A vacation? Just for the Crystal Heart and I?” asked Rarity, but Discord only returned a confused look. She rolled her eyes and tapped her head with a hoof, and regretted how oddly empty it felt. “Crystal Heart.”

“Ahh, well, yes,” said Discord flapping his wrist dismissively. “Magical constructs don't count right now. But you,” he said, turning his attention back to Sombra. “You do count. What were you doing in Rarity?”

“Nothing that conc—”

“Trying to take over the Crystal Empire,” interrupted Rarity, earning a swift glare from Sombra. “What? It’s not that hard for anyone to figure out. He hid on some part of the Crystal Heart, I think, and didn’t try anything until last year, and then… Well, he was stopped.”

Discord nodded. “Ah, that would explain the lock you were behind. I thought I recognized that bit of magic, one of Luna’s “Unbreakable Lock” spells,” he jeered. ”I don’t know why she doesn’t change it up from time to time. I mean it’s just ‘Luna’ spelled backwards, every immortal knows that. But… What were we on about? Ah yes! What to do about the stowaway.”

“Me, unicorn, now,” deadpanned Sombra. “I’m dissolving.”

“And everyone is always on about the dissolving!” exasperated Discord. “Soap monsters, mud giants, that witch that lived out west, and now you. Ugh!”

“It is literally killing me.”

“Oh relax,” said Discord. “My plans are more important. In fact, you could learn a thing or two here.”

“Don’t rush on my account,” purred Rarity, who was enjoying this unexpectedly squirmy side of Sombra. “I’ll just… I’ll just start over… here,” and she trailed off as she tried to walk off on wobbly legs towards the thing calling her from the center of the island.

Discord grabbed her by her purple tail, stopping her in her tracks. “Woah there little pony, slow down those horseshoes, I haven’t finished my exposition yet.”

“Discord, what is going on here!” demanded Rarity with a pout. “What is all of this, and why is there something so alluring about whatever that is that’s calling out to me? Can’t you feel it? Why, I can almost taste it Discord!”

“It’s a game,” replied Discord, staring out across the valley. “It will be very good for you, and most amusing for me.”

“I am not here for your amusement,” snapped Rarity, pushing back against the odd call long enough to focus on what was important. “Take me back home, to my Empire and ponies, at once!”

“Did I not just say that you are here for my amusement?” asked Discord, finally looking over at Rarity. “Everything, for now, is under control. Which puts all the more pressure on you not to screw up.”

“What do you mean everything?”

“I mean literally all the things, and some of the nothings.”

“If I must die here, can I at least do so in silence?” asked Sombra.

“Everything, and nothing,” repeated Discord, ignoring him with a shrug. “It’ll make more sense, later when we have our review. Or it won’t. Who cares?! But for now, our little Empress needs to get going. Don’t want to be late for our fun day.”

Rarity blinked a few times. “So… That exposition?”

“Later.” Discord released his grip on her tail, and gave her a swat on the rump. “Giddyup!”

And she did, pulled by a force from the center of the island, pushed by rage at being slapped on the hiney by a disrespecting god, she stumbled. Right over the edge of the ridge.

Her helmet snapped into place with the rest of her armor the moment the ground rushed by, cutting off her scream. Further screaming was cut off by ‘oofs’ and ‘urhks’ as she bounced her way down from one rock to another and so on before smashing through the tree canopy with some finality, and skidding through a series of bushes before stopping face first in the valley.

“The express lane works,” muttered Rarity as she tried to stop the stars spinning around her head. Frowning at the pain that tugged at her neck, she glared back up at the cliff top. “Horrible creature. Stay up there for all I care.”

He did removed the grumpy one, whispered the Crystal Heart. But I am not a fan of the chaos god.

“I was talking about Sombra,” said Rarity, shaking her head a bit and looking around. “Though Discord is not far behind him.”

She had tumbled into some sort of forest, a small strip of trees that circled around the base of the cliff before opening up into the valley. The forest felt… old. The trees were gangly and broken, the rocks looked very worn and scuffed too. One of them almost looked like a wall.

Rarity shook her head again, she couldn’t focus well. That call, that thing in the middle of the island. It was almost physically pulling her now, like she was leaning towards it. She hadn’t felt a pull this strong since the day she got her cutie mark, but unlike those early days, she had far greater control of her magic.

She realized that she was on her hooves and walking along an old mossy path, but her hooves felt heavy and more than once she nearly stumbled from some uneven stone or rogue root. Time seemed to slip by further and further as the path did not take her right into the valley. But trying to turn away from the path made the pull unbearable, so she stayed on it. And hoped that at the end of this road would be a little bar. Maybe one that serves the drinks right out of a coconut shell.

Eventually, the path came to a fork near a small babbling brook. One trail broke itself off and twisted deeper and deeper into the forest until it was out of sight. The larger path lead towards the valley, giving an almost straight shot to where she imagined the center would be. She frowned the more she looked at it. It was starting to look less and less like there was going to be a bar at the end of this road.

Rarity let out a tired sigh and walked over to the brook, her helmet sliding back just enough to let her wash her hooves and drink from the cool water.

Empress? Rarity felt the Crystal Heart brush up against her mind, as if it was trying to scoot closer to her. Empress, I believe we are being watched.

Rarity brushed at her dirty muzzle with an armored hoof. It was just one frustration after another around here, and no closer to getting home.

“I know, darling,” replied Rarity. She had not come out of the forest alone. Something was following her.

She could feel it, whatever it was. She could feel its eyes boring into the back of her skull, like it was studying her. Due to the connection with the Crystal Heart, and the emotional power it controlled, Rarity could feel the curiosity and excitement from whatever was spying on her.

This thing was waiting for something, perhaps an opening to strike or more of its kind to take her down. It unnerved her, but for now, Rarity made no motion to let it know she knew it was there. The only thing she did do was the occasional pulse of magic, making sure it was the only thing following her.

So far it was. But it was clever too. She had yet to catch a glimpse of the creature following her. It would stay just on the edge of her detection pulses, and well out of sight. She wondered if it was somehow immune to the pull from the valley’s center, or -more worryingly- if it was using it as a trap to lure her to certain doom.

Rarity let out a sigh. She wasn’t experienced in this sort of thinking, and unfortunately knew a certain pony that was.

“We’re going to have to get him back,” said Rarity, taking another sip of water. “You know that right?”

The grumpy one?

Rarity nodded. “We need him, and Discord will eventually get bored of him. Or forget that he even has him. Sombra is too dangerous to be left in the outside world.”

Maybe Discord could keep Sombra here on the island, it carefully replied. Safe, out of the way.

“A perfect place for an innocent pony to stumble upon a trapped dark king, and unknowingly release him into an unprepared world?” She shook her head. “No, darling, I won’t take that risk. It’s better to watch over him. Besides, his core is still in me.”

It could be... removed.

“Either he’s not a part of the living anymore, or we’re getting him back.”

* * *

“Fascinating,” whispered Twilight as she backed into the bushes she had been hiding in. Or as she called them, ‘Sparkle Base Gamma’. She picked up her quill pen and notebook, titled An Unexpected Journey of Twilight Sparkle, and quickly documented the results of her observation. “Subject continues on possible patrol pattern. Unknown if subject is capable of communication or friendship. Observation continues.”

This day had become an interesting one, to say the least. First it had been looking like a long series of boring meetings, throne sitting, and that dreaded talk with Cadance about going to the Crystal Empire to see her. But instead Discord canoes through her throne room, and poof, she’s on some strange island.

At first she was absolutely livid that Discord had just plucked her out of Canterlot, without her tea, and dropped her somewhere else, without her tea. The only explanation he bothered to give was “Wait here, I forgot the ice cube” before exploding into confetti.

And wait she did. At first. But after the first hour or so, and the third attempt at alphabetizing the local flora, she decided she’d had enough, and tried to teleport back to Canterlot. Key word here, tried. No matter how many times she had tried to go back, either through means magical or mundane, she always ended up back on this island in the middle of nowhere.

But then she realized that nowhere wasn’t in Canterlot. It wasn’t in the Crystal Empire. It probably wasn’t even in Equestria. Nowhere was somewhere else. It was an unplanned vacation away from the duties of the Crown and responsibilities that constantly stalked her.

And no one could blame her for the actions of the God of Chaos, right? Boom. Free vacation on an island that she was being magically prevented from leaving. Most likely some sort of containment rune or something in the center of the island. An old one, if the oddly fluctuating pull of nearby ambient magic towards the center of the island is anything to go off of.

Twilight made a mental note to thank Discord some time in the far future, when it would look less like they had colluded on this whole affair. After that it was a simple transfiguration spell to her crown and other royal regalia, for some safari gear, and she was off to explore! She felt like a filly again, happily clapping her hooves together and flapping off in a fit of the giggles to document the island.

She had visited a few interesting, but rather mysterious and unmarked ruins, sketched a few Morpho butterflies, and had been in the middle of documenting a rather odd looking red version of poison joke when it showed up.

Twilight was still having a hard time getting over it. She had found some sort of ancient and dirt-encrusted, crystal golem pony... thing.

The echoing of armored hooves snapped Twilight out of her train of thought. She peeked out of the bushes again, just in time to see it trot down another trail in the valley below. Quickly, she filled a note on its resilience before flying up into the canopy and onto a branch strong enough to perch on. From her vantage point, she could see the golem slowly make its way across the valley.

With excitement, she opened her notebook again and flipped to an earlier section when she had first spotted it in the forest.

Stone golems existed only in the myths and fairy tales of ancient Unicornia, created by Grand Mages for protection and manual labor. If such a thing could have been made, the knowledge and sciences required to do so must have been lost for hundreds of years before the founding of Equestria. Any attempts at remaking them, including her own, had been abject failures... Or worse.

She frowned and wrote a note to herself in the margins to figure out what ever happened to her doll-golem, Nighttime Nanny. Her own infamous attempt at finding a way to patrol the realm of dreams and prevent nightmares. Unfortunately, the entire thing backfired, absorbing all of the nightmares and mutating into an ever-changing engine of fear. Ironically, the doll felt the fear of the nightmares itself, and vanished without a trace.

But here before her was an actual, factual, working golem. Not only that, but this one was a crystal golem, one shaped out to look like an armored unicorn and fully capable of using magic too.

She had to find out where it was going. Maybe back to its creator, or a ruined workshop. Maybe she could find the long lost knowledge of golemancy. Such discovery would generate leaps of advancements in the fields of magic, society, even technology. She caught herself about to drool, at the thought of the research papers she’d have to write and review should such a future come to pass.

“Today’s going to be great!” said Twilight with a little squeal. She took a deep breath, and then several more. Once she had calmed herself, she spread her wings wide open, and glided from her tree branch to another, following after this strange creature.

* * *

Rarity had been horribly mistaken. From her vantage point on the ridge, she had assumed that the valley was scattered with rock outcroppings.

But these weren’t just rocks. These were ruins. This was a city.

Her realization came with pause as she stumbled upon the first thing that she could recognize as a building. Holes for windows. An empty door frame. Tattered scraps of what was once wall-to-wall green shag carpeting. Clearly, these homes belonged to beasts and savages in their hayday.

Rarity looked behind her at the rubble she’d passed before. Sure enough, she could make out the telltale signs of civilization even on what was little more than stepping stones beneath her armored hooves.

The buildings here were still standing, although terribly ravaged by time and the elements. Ahead, they were just stone foundations, cement walls, and that dreadful shag carpeting as far as the eye could see. Small, rusted bits of rebar poked through the crumbling walls at certain places like bones.

“Rebar?” She walked closer to the building to inspect it. Rebar meant that whoever once lived here had knowledge and resources to make steel. “But what happened to them?”

Rarity let the question hang in the air as she looked where the trail forked to the right. The path wandered away from the valley and continued downward into another forest. The buildings became more and more frequent until they eventually became so thick that they choked out the trees, and the smaller bushes and grasses fought for what space was left. Tall towers, twisted forms of metal and stone rose in the distance beneath dark clouds.

It gave her the chills ‘something fierce’ as Applejack might say. She was standing bones deep in a forgotten city of ghosts.

But to her left, towards the west, where the clouds gave way to blue sky, the middle of the island sat undisturbed in the morning light. But the more she looked at it, the more it looked like…

A temple, finished the Crystal Heart.

Rarity nodded in agreement and walked in the midmorning sun, pulled onwards by the unknown magics that demanded her attention. She walked, ignoring the watchful eyes behind her as best she could. As she got closer, it looked far older than any of the other buildings. For one, the giant stone slabs that made up its exterior walls looked as if they had been slowly chiseled to get their form.

At one time, the temple must have been a truly wondrous marvel. She could faintly see symbols and pictures once carved into the old stone, worn nearly completely away by time. Plants and vines grew out of whatever crack they could find. Large trees and bushes had already fought their wars for space and grew on any surface that could support them.

Rarity climbed a few steps that lead to what she guessed was once the temple’s front door and paused under the archway to look around.

The dome of the temple partially collapsed some time ago, everything was like the outside, overgrown with plant life. The inside was a wide courtyard with four intact spires pointing up from each corner and angled towards a raised platform in the middle. Some sort of altar sat before it and a large stone ring on top. The courtyard itself held six stone spheres upon pedestals, eerily reminding her of magic cores. When she passed the archway, the drive in her heart, that ceaseless siren song pulling her ever closer to the center of this blasted place, ceased. And for the first time in what was likely hours, she could think clearly again.

As she walked across the stone floor, she began to notice ruins and arcane circles carved within, and massive metal rings circling the platform. However, she lacked any means to correctly read them.

She cautiously made her way forward and climbed the wide stairs until she got to the top of the platform, and looked at the altar. Altar was perhaps not the right word for the thing she was looking at. It was more like a sketching table, slanted at a gentle angle, and held a lip on the bottom to prevent anything from falling off.

“Another pedestal,” observed Rarity. This one was much grander than the other ones spread around the courtyard. She placed an armored hoof into one of the six impressions carved into the table, all of them arranged in a circle, another arcane circle which no doubt matched the giant one scribed on the courtyard floor with exactness. “Are these for keys?”

"Strange," she whispered, as she continued to trace the lines on the pedestal until she felt the thing that was following her get closer. But now that she wasn’t distracted by that dreadful pull, she noticed something curious about whatever was following her. It was definitely a pony. And it was definitely familiar.

Rarity looked up at the archway she had walked through and called out to the fidgeting shadow hiding behind one of the pillars. “Hello?”

The fidgeting stopped, and a tall pony moved forward. Rarity gasped when she saw the pony’s hair bandy about her long purple horn. Her royal regalia might have been gone, replaced with what a more charitable Rarity would call a rather smart safari ensemble. But that stride, that imitating smile of peace, those blasted purple wings. They could only belong to one pony.

“Hello, my name is Twi—”

“Twilight Sparkle!” seethed Rarity. She felt her armor plates thicken and her height increase as the alicorn strolled forward with much more care and caution.

Twilight nodded, her horn glowing faintly with magic. “Y-yes, that’s my name. How do you know me?”

“What in the name of all that is good are you doing here!?” demanded Rarity as she marched her way over to her former friend. “You put him up to this, didn’t you? This is all your fault, isn’t it!”

“My fau— Wait, what?”

Rarity gritted her teeth and stomped a hoof into rock, cracking the ground. “Don’t you play with me, Sparkle! That beast of yours, Discord, I know he answers only to you and Cadance. I have been pulled from my home, my ponies and cast to this desolate place. Why!?”

Twilight blinked a few times, her Princessly mask completely gone. “I-I don’t know. I was taken and placed here too. Do I know yo—”

“Discord,” snarled Rarity. “Where is the vile cretin?”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know that either.”

“Wonderful. Brilliant!” Rarity stormed away from the confused princess. “Here I am, stuck with you of all ponies!”

The alicorn frowned. “Do I know you?”

“Twilight, it’s me!” The helmet slid back down along her neck, and her purple coiled mane bounced free of its confinement. “What a—”

“Rarity? What are you doing here?” demanded Twilight, her safari costume poofing away in an instant, only to be replaced with her own magical battle armor.

“I asked first, and it’s Empress Rarity to you!”

“Excuse me, Empress,” snapped Twilight. “And as I told you, I have no idea! Why are you dressed like a golem?”

“Dressed like a-a what?” Rarity looked down at herself and then glared back at Twilight. “It’s armor, darling, surely you can figure that out!”

Twilight bristled at the jab. “And you just walk around in armor?”

“When I’m whisked away by a petty god and sent to some long dead island for reasons unknown, I do,” snapped Rarity. ”Apologies, I didn’t know that cavorting around in some Daring Do getup and stalking mares in the forest was the style this season!”

Rarity readied herself for a feisty return but was met with Twilight’s head buried in her notebook instead. “How do you make the crystal move so freely? How do you control it? That’s amazing!”

Rarity blinked a few times, caught off guard by the sudden compliment and change in attitude. “It is amazing, isn’t it?” she carefully asked, raising and lowering her armor on mental command. She made it a two piece. Rarity turned it into a gown. An apron. A smartly bedazzled pantsuit. Twilight clapped her hooves appreciably as her pen wrote at the speed of thought in the notebook floating next to her.

“Can you teach me to do that?”

Rarity stopped. “Err. I don’t think so. I think it’s something to do with my fusing with the Crystal Heart.”

“Ah.”

Rarity smiled back. “I suppose having such vast responsibilities has to come with some benefits, yes?”

Twilight nodded with a goofy chuckle, and Rarity felt her heart weaken. Her chuckle was something Rarity hadn’t heard in a long time and hadn’t realized that she missed it. She shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Now was not the time for a trip down memory lane. She needed to get back to the Empire.

She stood up and turned around. “Twilight, I need to get back to my ponies. But I can’t leave the center of this island until I figure out what was pulling me mindlessly towards it. Can you help me?”

Twilight nodded and looked around for the first time. Rarity watched her as she got that glazed over look that meant she was seeing things no pony was ever meant to see. Something to do with ley lines and veils. It was all very hush-hush magic mumbo-jumbo. But, it more often than not did the trick.

Twilight gasped.

“What?” demanded Rarity. “What is it?”

“The Elements…” said Twilight in a whisper.

Before either of the two could say anything more, a hearty laugh echoed through the chamber.

A coiling shape slithered its way through the steel ring, like a wave of living metal. As it passed the pedestal, a familiar form, lithe and sinister emerged. “Ohh, that was something. Bravo, you two, bravo. I must say, Rarity, I’ve enjoyed your trip here the most. Especially the whole, face-to-ground thing back at the cliff.”

Twilight stood with her wings spread, and her horn lowered. "Discord, what is going on? Where are we?"

“Weren’t you listening at all?” The draconequus simply tisked and leaned back. “Cadance is right, you are rude. We’re going to play a little game, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Surely you can’t be serious!” balked Rarity. “Discord, we went over this before. I have things to do. Ponies to look after, and responsibilities that can not be ignored like this!”

“Pfft!” Discord waved his paw around in disinterest. “Trust me, the only important thing right now is this. Fair or not, now is the time for games.”

Twilight’s horn started to glow with an ominous green light. “Take us back, or we’ll force you to.”

“You could do that, but it won’t help you leave,” said Discord folding some paper. “You felt the enchantments, the arcane seals that hold you to this island won’t let you leave until you break them, and you can only break them if you play the game. So, are you in or in?”

“It seems we have no choice,” grumbled Rarity.

“Excellent!” said Discord, as he threw the origami duck aside and scooped the two up into a crushing hug. “Oh, this will be exciting!”

Discord snapped his paw, turning off the lights and dropped the two onto an oversized beanbag chair. Rarity missed the bag though and smacked into the rocky ground with a dull thunk. The stage in front of them lit up with lights, revealing Discord wearing a tacky tuxedo.

“Welcome to my island,” said Discord, throwing his hands into the air. “Welcome to Mywai!”

The curtains behind him exploded into a storm of confetti, revealing the island's name boldly displayed in hundreds of tiny bulbs and neon lights.

“Mywai?” asked Twilight.

“Long story,” scoffed Discord as he waved a taloned hand around in disinterest. “Anyways, the point being, you two are going to be playing some games! I had wanted to call this something catchy, like ‘The Friendship Games’, but there are some copyright issues or something. We have a specialist working on it.”

“Could we get to the point already?” said Rarity, as she climbed onto the beanbag chair.

Discord groaned. “Look, you two have an issue. One that, normally, I’m all about.” He slithered up and settled himself between them. “But honestly, what sort of friend would I be if I let my two closest, dearest, and so gosh darn incredibly oldest friends fight like this?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. “So instead of talking to us, you made these… Games?”

“Sort of,” said Discord with a wave of a gloved hand. “You won't believe how cheap this island was. It was practically a steal! Okay, I stole it.”

“You can’t steal an island. Can you?”

Discord chuckled. “Weeeeell, not all at once. I’ve had bits of this place for centuries, it’s like my own junk closet, but for other pony’s junk. You won’t believe how many socks I’ve found here.”

Rarity shot up to her hooves, falling out of the beanbag chair with a thud. “For crying out loud, Discord, tell us about the games!”

Discord cleared his throat and read from the teleprompter. “The games are meant for two friends who are falling apart. Who would rather break each other down, than build each other up. I am not the architect of these games, but the facilitator; the game master. The games themselves were devised by four very special ponies. Each game is a trial of sorts, based on their lives and the elements that brought you all together. You might have heard of them; Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, and Laughter.”

Rarity slid out of the beanbag chair mid-climb back into it and laid on the ground in something approximating shock. Twilight on the other hoof, bolted up as if she had been hit by lightning. “You… They knew we would need help. They asked you to help us. You’re helping us!?”

Rarity could feel the amusement and joy radiating from the draconequus as he spoke to Twilight, about it all. But it made her feel sick inside “Of course!” she heard Discord say.

“No.” Rarity shook her head. “No, thank you. I will not be hearing any more of this nonsense. I’ve changed my mind. I have an Empire to get back to. I will not be spending my busy time with a nosy draconequus. Take me home at once!”

“Hmm, can’t,” said Discord, fiddling with dirt under his talons. “Perhaps you didn’t hear me correctly. You’re stuck here. Both of you, until that little gate over there, is activated. That only works by collecting the six gems and rekindling your friendship.”

“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of!” said Rarity as she trotted to the other side of the beanbag chair. “Twilight, stop this nonsense. We have enough magic between us that I’m sure we can undo whatever he has set up. We must go home this instant!”

“Rarity,” said Twilight, sliding off the beanbag chair and standing before the Empress. “We have to do this.”

“You’re taking his side, typical.”

Twilight shook her head “No. I’m taking our side. For us. It’s what the girls wanted.”

“And you believe him? Just like that? Twilight, how many times has Discord told us a half truth? How many times has he told us a boldfaced lie?!” Rarity glared at the alicorn for a few moments before looking back at Discord. “I cannot stake everything just on his whims!”

Twilight nodded her head. “I wouldn’t. Discord has been known to be untrustworthy in the past.”

“Hey!”

“But,” said Twilight, shooting a glare at Discord. “We’re not placing anything in his hooves. We’re placing everything in each other.”

Rarity glared at the alicorn before finally letting out a sigh. “Fine. How long is this nonsense going to take?”

“Not too long. A century at the most,” said Discord. “It’s dangerous, and pretty difficult if I do say so.”

“A century?!”

Discord shrugged. “I dunno, maybe you want to do everything the hard way and crawl on your belly from place to place, I’m not a mind reader.”

Twilight interrupted with a question of her own. “What’s the best case scenario here?”

“Best case? You’re out before dinner.”

“Somewhere between a few hours and a century. Okay, it can’t be all that bad,” said Rarity

“Oh you should see the island at night. It really, comes alive,” said Discord with a wicked grin. “I must warn you, don’t underestimate what we’ve planned here. Each trial is deadly in its own right. Each one RIPE with peril and mayhem! So, of the four different friendship trials which one would you like to start with fir—"

"Kindness," said Twilight flatly.

"Yes, gods yes. Absolutely,” said Rarity, nodding in agreement. “Kindness first."

Discord gave them both a look of annoyance and snapped his fuzzy fingers. In an instant, the three of them were back in the temple. Discord pointed out the archway and up at the tallest mountain on the island. “Fine. Kindness. It’s in a cave up there.”

“All the way up there?” balked Rarity. “Aren’t you going to give us supplies? Provisions?”

Discord shook his head. “Of course not. Everything you need is out there. Literally, I scattered everything out there for fun. Like a giant, deadly scavenger hunt.”

“What? Why!?”

“Because it’s more entertaining for me,” said Discord. “Now, off you go, you two, and remember that you’re here to make up. So, let’s see those smiles, girls!”

Chapter Three

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter Four

The steady click-clack of steel shoes on marble floors echoed down the empty hallway. Staff had been dismissed for the evening, and the Guard shifts were due for a change as dusk turned to night. One world was giving way to an another.

If there was any beauty in that transition, be it in the practiced rhythm of the guard or the brilliant hues of the evening sky, Captain Shining Star was ignorant of it, lost in thought as she lugged a rather heavy grenade launcher down the corridor.

Her mind was spinning, and unfortunately, had nowhere to go. The same facts. The same figures. Reasonings continued to bend and twist on themselves. And she didn’t know what happened to Princess Twilight Sparkle. But in all honesty, it was the confusion that kept panic at bay.

Why panic though? Twilight taking an unannounced leave of absence was nothing new to the Castle, nor its staff. But to have Rarity, a mare that scarcely left her floor of the Crystal Palace… to say nothing of leaving the Capital City of the Crystal Empire... gone at the same time?

Have the two of them figured us out? The sudden thought caused Shining Star to hesitate, and her steps fell out of sync with her Lieutenants.

She made it perfectly clear to Rarity that searching for the Royal Sisters was an unwise decision. A brief pang of regret caused a twitch, as the memory of her last meeting with the Crystal Empress somehow pushed against a critical section of the arcane bindings that held her disguise in place.

Shining Star grimaced and took a deep breath. She could feel a headache coming on. Carefully, she shored up support on her bindings. She’d have to investigate that later. For now, there are other problems to deal with.

Luna had described the situation as if Rarity had been taken against her will. What if it’s the Edict again…

“Ma’am, you’re wandering again,” spoke up Aurora, as the pink unicorn brushed against the Captain, and steered her towards the right hall.

Shining Star felt her cheeks burn and gruffly cleared her throat. “Thank you, Lieutenant. I was distracted about all... this.”

“This? The Princess leaving again?”

She nodded. “Something feels… off. Run that initial report by me again?”

A sheet of paper with ‘CLASSIFIED’ stamped over the text floated up from Aurora’s saddlebags, held in orange magic. “A magic scan was performed, indicating a high-level teleportation spell, but it was too old and either decayed or obfuscated…” The lieutenant looked up from her paper, and added the implication that wasn’t written down, "As the princess is wont to do... to determine the location.”

“Too expected,” dismissed Shining Star as the group turned a corner, her grenade launcher dragging on the ground for a moment as it bobbled back and forth behind her in her magic field. “Anything of interest?”

“Well,” said Aurora, as she looked at the report. “There was a large puddle of water in the Throne Room around noon when the cleaning staff went in. Several of Princess Twilight’s morning papers were scattered across the floor as well.”

“Tell me about the papers.”

“Just the usual morning, political stuff; a newspaper, and a letter from Twilight’s former student, Seeker Loose Leaf, reporting from the Sun Temple in Zebrabwe. I believe Captain Heartstrings was arranging dispatches to investiga—”

“That pompous, self-centered, littl—,” Shining Star checked herself and blinked at the anger in her voice. That wasn’t her... She stopped near a window and her lieutenants followed suit.

Taking a deep breath, then slowly let it out, the Sun Goddess Celestia checked the bindings on her ‘Shining Star’ disguise once more. A few of them were bent, but a few of the others were pulsating. Odd, my bindings are overreacting. She let her magic flow into the bindings, like a sailor making sure of her knots on a ship at speed. More sure of herself, she dismayed at the ‘bent’ ones that would need proper magical maintenance. Which would mean bringing the bindings down. I wonder if Lulu is having difficulty with her own bindings.

“Captain?”

Shining Star looked back, her smile back in place. “Sorry, it would seem that I’m not myself today. I should be grateful that the good Captain is so kind to help.”

Cornelius shook his head. “It’s no secret that you two don’t get along. Him pushing for your job probably doesn’t help either.”

“Yes, well, I’ll deal with that later,” said Shining Star as she motioned the two to continue walking. “We need to be the ones dealing with this, not him or the regular Guard.”

“Uhh, Ma’am?” said Cornelius as he trotted a little fast to catch up with her. His voice lowered to a whisper as he leaned in. “So… are you suggesting that something happened to the Princess? Like… something bad?

Shining Star gave him a soft grin, and mentally kicking herself for worrying the stallion. “Oh, I’m just an old worrywart. She’s probably fine. She’s an alicorn for Sun’s sake! A Goddess of Magic! You can’t just throw a tarp over her, hit her over the back of the head and be done with it. She probably stepped out for some fresh air. Maybe she has a marefriend or coltfriend she’s just… shy about!”

Aurora let out a small but sharp gasp, any telltale sign of emotion on her face was gone when Shining Star’s eyes darted in her direction.

Cornelius shared a look and a shrug with Shining Star, before asking the awkward question. “Ma’am, are we talking about the same Princess? Princess Twilight? That Princess? With a special somepony?”

She frowned in return. “Twilight is not that bad at dating, just a little… Okay, yes she’s that bad at dating.”

Cornelius shivered. “Do you remember the last one? The old goat who said he had been betrothed to Princess Twilight when he was born, as a political marriage between nations?

Shining Star pointed at the lethal ordinance floating inches above her head “Why do you think I’m lugging this guy around?”

Her cheeks slightly reddened, Aurora batted at it as it bumped against her mane. “Twilight’s not into goats.” she giggled.

Another dart of the eyes from Shining Star. Another stone faced response from Aurora.

“I-is there something going on between the two of you that I don’t quite understand?” ” asked Cornelius.

“Maybe…” replied Shining Star with her hawk-like eyes leveled on the un-moving and unreadable expression on Aurora’s face. The Captain rolled her eyes and the three of them started down the hallway once more. “We’ve gotten off track. Princess. Missing. Who saw her last?”

“Aside from the cooks who Princess Twilight visited in the kitchens, and the guards in front of the Throne Room…” Aurora trailed off as she read the report further. “That would be Princess Cadance. Per the report, she was, umm, upset with Princess Twilight for some reason, and left looking rather happy. But we haven’t talked to her about anything yet.”

Shining Star merely hummed in response. She could guess that Cadance’s discussion with Twilight probably echoed her own; about running off without notifying someone, maybe going so far as to pursue the Royal Sisters and leaving Cadance with the responsibilities of the Crown. But why leave again? It just didn't make any sense, and Rarity being gone at the same time?

“Sergeant Cornelius, does any of this seem… odd to you?” asked Shining Star.

“Plenty, ma’am,” he responded still eyeing the stone-faced Aurora, then trotting ahead to walk next to his Captain. “But nothing completely unexpected. As we’ve previously noted, Princess Twilight has been known to do this. Why?”

“I just can’t shake that something feels… off. More so than usual.”

Cornelius frowned. “Permission to speak freely, Ma’am?”

“Granted”

“I think you know more about Princess Twilight’s disappearance than you’re telling us.”

Shining Star bit her lip and nodded. Luna, forgive me. She had promised Luna not to breathe a word about it, but there was no use now. If she was going to get anywhere with this, then her Guards needed to run with all the information they had. She lead her Lieutenants over to a nearby alcove and looked around for any potential eavesdroppers before sitting down on a pillow. The occasional Night Guard or Royal Guard would pass for shift change, or a staff member running late for going home. But none of the ponies paid much heed to the Arcane Guards, maybe a nod in passing greeting, but nothing more.

The Captain lowered her voice to a quiet whisper. “I received word from… a very reliable, and very confidential source in the Crystal Empire that the Empress is missing too. Disappeared this morning.”

Aurora blinked a few times. “What? Ma’am, this can’t be a coincidence.”

“Agreed,” said Shining Star. “The Empress and the Crystal Heart are tied to her ponies, so she can’t stay away from them for long. And as previously noted, Twilight isn’t the sort of pony to go missing without notifying somepony. I believe they have both been taken for some purpose.”

“Do you have any suspects?” asked Cornelius, a small red notebook appeared next to him.

“Could it be the Empress?” suggested Aurora, attempting to hide, but ultimately failing at concealing the disdain in her voice. “They have been on... poor terms lately.”

“I doubt it,” replied the Captain. “Rarity needs a certain amount of… flamboyance to her actions. I have some suspicions, but nothing solid.”

Cornelius nodded and leaned back. “We should involve the other Guard Divisions as well.”

“No, this needs to stay within the Arcane Guard,” said Shining Star.

Cornelius frowned. “Are you sure, ma’am? The other Guard Divisions would provide support and additional resources.”

“Yes, and extra eyes and ears,” replied Shining Star. “For the past year, I’ve been conducting an investigation into an organization I believe was behind the theft of the poison pill bill presented to the Empress. I’ve cleared the Arcane Guard of potential spies, but not the other units yet.”

“So the other units might have spies that could be responsible for the disappearance of Twilight,” stated Aurora. “I hope we’ll inform Princess Cadance of this as well?”

Shining Star nodded. “I’ll inform Princess Cadance. We need the public to believe that Twilight left on her own, again. We need to avoid panic and be discreet until we have a better idea of who is behind this.”

“Where do we start?” asked Aurora.

“Information,” suggested Cornelius. “Right now, all we have are suspicions and theories, no solid proof. Ma’am, with permission, I’d like to take command of Arcane Reconnaissance, Tactics, and Investigational Services unit and investigate a few places of interest.”

Shining Star nodded. “We’ll have to attack this on multiple fronts. Cornelius is right, we need more information here. But we also need to turn our eyes t—”

“There you are!” came a rich, melodic voice.

Shining Star flinched, but turned around with a smile on her face. “Captain Heartstrings, it’s good to see you again. How was your trip to Vanhoover?”

The unicorn stallion offered her a warm smile, but it held the certain smugness of finding somepony doing something wrong. Unlike the Guards he commanded, he did not wear any armor, instead opting to wear a simple black turtleneck, and a jacket that displayed the insignia of his office as Captain of the Royal Guard. Next to him was a tan pegasus with a toned mane of black and grey. She was in the trademark gold armor, her saddlebags overflowing with binders and papers, even a few folders were tucked under her wings.

“The garrison leader needed a little brush up on the new border protocols with the Crystal Empire, but all in all, very well,” replied Captain Heartstrings as he held a hoof out for Shining Star to take, which she did with a very well practiced smile.

“Ahh, and may I introduce to you my new assistant, Ms Sandy Gale,” he said, gesturing at the pegasus. “Ms Gale, Captain Shining Star, and her Lieutenants, Cornelius Hob, and Aurora Light, of the Arcane Guards.”

“P-pleased to meet you, ma’am’s and sir,” she said with a salute. “I’ve heard much about you.”

“Ms Gale has just told me of a thrilling tale you’ve had over in Manehattan last week. Seemed very exciting.”

“Quite,” said Shining Star. “It’s not everyday that a city mayor is arrested for smuggling stolen magical items across international lines.”

Heartstrings chuckled. “Well, yes. I do wish I was informed first though, perhaps my Guards could hav—”

“The Arcane Guard has jurisdiction over the illegal transportation and sale of any items with magical properties, artificial or natural, by any Equestrian Government Agents” interrupted Shining Star. “We handled it well enough.”

“Like you did with Princess Twilight?” tsked Heartstrings. “You know for having such a precious pet, it’s curious how often you lose track of her. Shameful matter that is. Maybe she needs a collar with a bell?”

Cornelius snorted, causing Aurora’s hoof to impact the back of his head again, and Shining Star to shoot them both a glare that could turn them into stone. “Yes, well,” she said, turning her attention back to her rival captain. “Trying to keep a goddess contained and following rules can be a difficult job.”

“Perhaps if you are feeling… inadequate in your duties to keep Princess Twilight Sparkle safe, then we need to bring that up at the next Captain’s meeting, or with Princess Cadance,” suggested Heartstrings. “I’m sure an easier assignment could be arranged.”

“There is little need, Captain, but thank you for your concern,” said Shining Star as she came to a halt. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to address my Lieutenants over this recent… lapse in travel protocol.”

A frown crossed Heartstrings face, but he nodded. “Very well, though I urge you to be quick about it. Princess Cadance is in… one of those “break-everything” moods, and insisted upon your presence immediately.”

“I’m on my way, thank you, Captain Heartstrings,” said Shining Star with a smile. She waited until the Captain and his aid had disappeared before turning around to address her guards. “Okay, you two. We have things to do, and very little time to do it. Cornelius?”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“We’re going to put your detective skills to use,” said Shining Star. “Take command of the ARTIS team, and after you are done, start on suspects. Make a list, start with anyone that would benefit from the Princess and the Empress missing.”

Cornelius nodded and disappeared in a flash.

Shining Star led Aurora off at a trot. “Aurora, I have a different task in mind for you.”

“Yes, ma’am?”

“While I’m meeting with Princess Cadence, I need you to go to the Vault under the Castle and check the seals on the artifacts down there,” said Shining Star.

“B-by myself?”

Shining Star looked over at the grown mare with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, is that a problem?”

“Oh, no, no, no spiders at all, Captain!” Aurora gave a nervous chuckle. “Problems. No problems at all, spiders. Captain. Captain Spiders.”

Shining Star fought the urge to roll her eyes. Sweet Light, I forgot she had issues with the dark. “It’s okay, Aurora. I can have Cornelius do that instead. He’ll be going that direction with the ARTIS team anyways.”

“I… yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.”

Shining Star smiled. “We all have our weaknesses, Lieutenant. Even I.”

“Yes, but a Guard that is afraid of the dark?”

“You can work on that later. For now, go catch up with Cornelius and give him his new orders, and have him report back to you. Once ARTIS is in full gear, grab some Arcane Guards and meet me at the train station. We’re taking the redeye to Ponyville.”

“Ponyville?” asked Aurora, her muzzle scrunched up in confusion. “Why? Shouldn’t we focus on Canterlot? On the Princess?”

“We must worry about Equestria now,” said Shining Star. The doors to the Throne Room appeared as they turned the next corner, but she held a hoof up to stop Aurora. The Grand Foyer before the double doors were covered in guards dressed in an array of armors. Most prominently was the golden armor of the Royal Guard. But in between, them were pockets of her all-unicorn Arcane Guard, dressed in their own trademark silver armor and violet robes.

She turned to Aurora and placed a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “Trust me, Lieutenant. I am concerned about the Princess, but she can take care of herself. This nation can not. If we are facing war. Then we must get a hold of the one stallion that can diffuse it, and bring him to Canterlot.”

“Who?”

“A member of Rarity’s Inner Circle that can testify to the Empire’s innocence,” replied Shining Star. “Snowflake Onyx. Commander of the Imperial Crystal Guard.”

The lieutenant nodded, but kept walking with Shining Star and matching her pace. The Captain of the Arcane Guard stopped. Aurora stopped as well.

“Something you want to get off your chest?”

“Captain, may I ask a question?”

“Speak freely, Lieutenant.”

Aurora nodded her head, silent for a moment as she considered everything going on around her. “With Twilight gone… and R-” she lowered her voice, and looked around, before continuing with a flitter to her voice “and Rarity gone… Do you think this could… Do you think they’re a thing? Because… Twilight and I are kinda a thi—”

Shining Star slammed her eyes shut, stomped her hooves, and shouted “SWEET BUTTERY BISCUITS, IF I OPEN MY EYES AND THERE IS STILL A MARE STANDING NEXT TO ME NOT DOING THE THING I ORDERED HER TO DO I WILL RELIEVE HER OF HER BADGE AND HER HORN AND WHATEVER ELSE I CAN GRAB WITH TWO HOOVES.’

“You know, I think you and I are both having the exact same kind of bad day.”

Shining Stars opened her eyes. Aurora was long gone, but just ahead of her, leaning against the open throne room door jam was one tired looking Princess Cadence.

* * *

Onyx took a deep breath of crisp morning air. It had the good hearty smell of green grass, fresh dirt, and clean air. There was something freeing about it all, but what that something was he just couldn’t quite place it though. He took a sip of coffee from his thermos and -for a split second- closed his eyes to let the moment take him away.

It was a beautiful morning.

The birds were chirping in the air, there was no breeze to speak of, and the warmth of the sun on his black crystal coat warmed him like… hot oatmeal poured on his back… He frowned and tore out the page in his memoir journal.

“Atten-shun!”

The chorus of hooves clacking together caused Commander Onyx to crack a smile. He loved that sound, the precision, the discipline, the unity it echoed felt so... enriching. It had given him a purpose in his life when he had none. It was something more than just a brotherhood, it was a family.

He set his thermos down and stood up. Today was going to be a long, and hard day, but he felt confident in their tasks, and in his troops. The weather was supposed to be good today; a little bit of cloud cover in the afternoon to mask the harshness of the late summer sun, and a cool evening later on with a late night rainstorm. Perfect for what they’d be doing.

For before him lay the vast orchards and fields of Sweet Apple Acres.

It was the legacy of Applejack, who planted the seeds of honesty, determination, and hard work that inspired generations of Apples to continue her work on the farm. In the centuries that had passed, Sweet Apple Acres had grown from a single homestead of a family of four, into a small, budding, busy township of nearly a hundred and fifty ponies. To sustain such growth, it had to absorbed nearby farms, fields, and plots of land, throughout the years.

Not only had this expanded the acreage for apples, but had introduced new products into the family line; like carrots from the old Carrot Farm, and honey from old Burt’s Place. Whoever Burt was, he was long dead. But hey, that’s life. It’s like a… a…

He tore another page out of his journal.

However, the family hadn’t stopped there. Apple Family Holdings was now a major player in the international farming community, and Sweet Apple Acres was just their flagship product, if you will. Other claims stretched all over Equestria, and even a few orchards in the Crystal Empire. They had become a powerhouse, a deciding player in Equestria’s agricultural economy, and in the political ring.

But you’d never suspected such things from where he was sitting. Everything was so peaceful it was nearly jarring to the guard commander. From his vantage point on the hill, he could see ponies already well into their work day on the farm. Many were tending to the various orchards and fields, tending to their crops’ needs. Others worked around the barns and warehouses, loading some of the harvest crop into wagons to be distributed, or unloading needed supplies for the farm. All of them were unaware of the force that was building in the hills above them.

Honestly, Onyx never thought it would have come to this. To have something like this happen on today of all days was like a…. Bad dream or a… “No, that’s not right.”

A third page was torn from his journal.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts,” Onyx called out to his troops, as he turned around to face them. “Today, we do this one by the books. Your squad leaders have been given the assignments for the day. Remember we work together as one, as a tea—”

“Mr. Onyx! Mr. Onyx!”

The Commander blinked a few times and looked down at his hooves where a little filly sat, bouncing slightly. “Umm, yes, Blossom?”

“I, umm… I need to go use the potty,” she whispered loudly.

“Ohh, umm,” Onyx glanced around the small clearing, before pointing over to a building near a tree. “I think there is an outhouse over there, you may go use it.”

“Thank you!” called back the little filly as she scampered away.

Onyx nodded and looked back to his ‘troops’, the Ponyville Branch of the Cutiemark Crusaders. All of them were dressed in a similar manner; color-coded vests and saddle bags. But some wore hats and boots, while others carried shovels, rakes, and other tools. The branch even had its senior members out, those that had already gained their cutiemark, but stayed with the Crusaders to help or learn other life skills.

“Any other questions, or can I co—”

“When’s snack time?” cried out a colt.

“Three in the afternoon,” responded Onyx. “Lunchtime is at noon and will be provided. You all have emergency snack rations in your saddlebags in case you get hungry between now and th—”

“What if we already ate ours!”

“Well,” began Onyx. “I—”

“Chaser won’t stop touching me!”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Fog is eating my snacks!”

“Petals is doing that weird thing with her face again!”

“Do you need a new diary for your meme-war? You keep tearing out pages.”

“Similes are hard!” He barked in his own defense.

“What’s a silly-me?”

Onyx watched as his former, well-organized company of assorted Crusaders collapsed into madness. Fillies and colts screamed and pushed each other, there was one or two that started to cry. The older ponies tried to stop it, really, they did a commendable job. He took a sip of his coffee and wrote about what he had for breakfast.

The thunk of a shovel landing next to him was enough to knock him out of his brainstorming writing. The Crusader’s arguing had escalated quickly, one of the older colts was busy trying to keep a couple of colts away from each other, and some filly now had just launched herself onto his back and started yelling at another filly.

And now lines were being drawn in the dirt. Literal lines.

It quickly became clear that things were not going to calm down on their own, he placed a hoof in his mouth and gave out a loud, shrill whistle, and everything came to a standstill.

“Back in groups,” he said quietly. Onyx waited as the fillies and colts shuffled around to get back into their positions before continuing, none wanting to make eye contact. He sighed and worked his way down their rows, straightening vests and saddlebags, making sure no one was injured.

“Look, we all talked about this after that food trolley race incident yesterday. What are we going to do today?”

“Behave,” came the collective reply.

Onyx nodded. “And why is that?”

“Because good fillies and colts are respectful, honest, and kind.”

Onyx nodded again. “Excellent, and what else did we learn from yesterday?”

“Starting a rebellion, riots, or any other form of revolution is not going to earn you a cutiemark.”

“Except for Pier!” shouted one filly. Attention turned to a blond pegasus colt, who gave a nervous smile, his flank bore a newly received cutiemark of a tricolore cockade.

“Except for Pier,” agreed Onyx, mumbling slightly. “Still trying to figure that one out. Gotta keep an eye on that one.”

“Now, as I was saying,” he continued. “Everypony belongs to a team, and each team has a leader. The leaders are the older ponies and have golden pins on their vests. They’re here to help you, but also keep you safe. They have the assignments for everypony, where you’ll be today, and what is going to happen. Lunch will ring at noon, and we’ll all meet at the main barn, and talk about what we’re doing and learning, understood?”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Onyx!”

“Good!” he said with a grin. “Before we get started, are there any questions?”

“Mr. Onyx!”

Onyx looked down at his hooves again, finding another filly uncomfortably close to him. He couldn’t help but wonder if all fillies were some sort of ninja. “Yes, uhh… Bubbles, is it?”

The filly nodded. “Can we do that one fun game with the flags again?”

“Capture the flag?” clarified Onyx, earning a very eager nod and a chorus of whispers of excitement from the Crusaders. “If everypony behaves like they promised, then yes. We’ll do a game after dinner tonight. And, if everypony is super good, then I’ll include a story about our super great-grandma, Apple Bloom and her friends and the Spirit of Chaos.”

There was a warcry of ‘hurray!’ and the mass of giggling Crusaders descended down into the farm below. The farm ponies looked up, smiled and waved to them.

It was all happy smiles and laughter as far as Onyx could see. He regarded the scene for a little while longer, before slipping on his own saddlebags and moving to a wagon, loaded with buckets, shears, and other tools he might need for his own work.

Onyx didn’t want to admit it, but Lady Sapphire had been right about needing a vacation, time away from work and from... other distractions. Nearly a week ago he had come here from the Crystal Empire to find his roots with the only family he had left. The Apples in Ponyville.

“Going out to the south forty again?”

Onyx turned around, a grin spreading across his face as Pearmain Apple came trotting over. “Yeah, it’s quiet, you know? Nice, secluded, gives a stallion some time to think. To be distracted from everything.”

The two stallions could not look more opposite from each other, unless one turned out to be a griffin. Onyx was black coated with a touch of grey in his mane, a crystal pony of average height and size with a military cut mane. Pearmain on the other hoof, was from a long line of Apples, being traced back clear to Big Macintosh himself, and had his ancestor’s impressive size and bulk. He even had a similar shade of the famous Apple’s red coat. His mane had a slight pink hue to it and was usually in some sort of curly mess, but a large brim straw hat kept it mostly under control.

Pearmain chuckled, and knocked a hoof against Onyx’s saddlebags. The distinct ‘tink’ of glass on glass answered back. “And a bit of something else too, it seems.”

Onyx shot a glare and opened his mouth to protest, but Pearmain continued on before he could get a word out. “Ain’t what I’m here about, don’t worry. I just wanted to say thanks for helping out with the Crusaders. I didn’t mean to shove them all on you, nor you doing all of this work.”

“It’s not a problem. I'm not here for a free pass. I just…" Onyx paused, bitter memories of the Crystal Empire flashed in his mind. “I needed to get away for a bit.”

Pearmain nodded. “Yeah, everypony needs space every now and again, dwell on life and such. The south forty is a perfect place for that. Family legend says that Applejack use to go back there for the same reason too.”

“Yeah, that’s what one of the Seed twins told me,” replied Onyx, a mischievous grin took place on his face. “Think her ghost is around there?”

Pearmain matched his grin. “I’ve heard rumors of that. They say a lonely ghost, an orange coat mare that walks the orchard, looking for her lost hat.”

“Thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Shoot yes, Snowy. I’ll go get some lanterns for tonight!” Pearmain couldn’t help but laugh as he saw Onyx’s frown at the mention of his nickname. “Ohh come off it, you geezer. It ain’t my fault your parents named you ‘Snowflake’.”

“I was born with white in my coat,” he mumbled. “And grew out of it.”

“Well, sorta,” said Pearmain, looking closer at Onyx’s crystal coat. “I swear the sun hits you just right and you can see all sorts of wavy white in there.”

“Okay, okay,” said Onyx, putting his memoir journal back in his sack. “Look, I need to get going here if I want to put some decent work in today.”

“Yeah, but hay, I was hoping you could come help me with something first,” replied Pearmain. “You can say no if you want, you’re a guest.”

Onyx hesitated, but shrugged and followed after Pearmain.

“Look, Snowy -I ain’t never going to stop calling you that, so stop fussing-, you’ve been a great help around here, seriously,” said Pearmain. “The orchards, fields, and that dam repair. Shoot, look at the way you’ve helped out with the Crusaders this year. Any chance I could persuade you to make a more permanent move down here?”

Onyx let out a snort. “No, sorry Pear. My Heart is in the Empire.”

Pearmaine nodded. “Well, you’ve done good. What about next year?”

“We’ll have to see,” replied Onyx with a shrug. “This was a… special need. If it hadn’t been for another pony, Lady Sapphire, I don’t think I could have gotten this off. I’m surprised the Crusaders even listen to me.”

“Because ya fascinate them,” explained Pearmain. “Shoot, my boys can’t stop talking about how cool it is to have a military pony in the family. And the girls, well, they can’t get over this sparkly crystal coat of yours!”

Onyx chuckled. “Well, you got a fine family here, Pear. You’ve done very well. Patriarch of the Apples and all.”

“Nah, I just got lucky,” said the Apple patriarch. “What about your boys? I’m surprised they didn’t come up.”

“Well, since the... since the divorce last year, I haven’t seen much of them,” Onyx said with a frown. “The courts rightfully gave Violet Rose custody of the boys since I was so busy and living at work. Sold the house, and they moved to Bedrock. I get them every other weekend, and we rotate major holidays. Things are more stable since the Empress let me have one of the Palace suites. Granite is taking it well, he’s too young to really understand it all, but Coal Dust is… struggling with it still.”

Pearmain nodded. “Sounds rough there, buddy. But you’re a good stallion, Snowy. He’ll come around. When he realizes you worked so hard to provide for them, and that’s what kept you so much.”

“Yeah,” said Onyx, his ears drooping a bit. His Empress had been a rock in his life during an unsteady time. But when she began to waver, to disappear further and further from the public, from Lady Sapphire, and even himself… He started doubting everything he had done at that point. Even tried to write to Violet Rose a few times. But it all became too much, and finally, decided to take a vacation away from it all. He shook his head to clear his mind. He didn’t need this right now, couldn’t go into this right now. “But, uhh, anyways. Thanks for letting me crash in the old lake house, unannounced like that.”

“Shoot, ya don’t have to mention it,” said Pearmain as the friendly giant gently punched Onyx in the shoulder, causing the other to stumble a few feet away. “You’re family, regardless of coat color or nationality.”

“Still, it’s appreciated,” he said. “With everything going on right now between the Empire and Equestria, I was worried I’d even be able to cross the border.”

Pearmain snorted. “Lot’s of angry feelings going on these days. Too many ponies not thinking with their hearts or their minds. To much ‘other’ around here, you know? Not a whole lot of harmony going around anymore. Which, uhh, I wanted to ask you. Has anypony been giving you any trouble around here?”

“No, no, no. Everypony has been great. Kind, and polite,” replied Onyx. “Sometimes I get a look or two, especially from those that come over from Ponyville, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Pearmain sighed. “Don’t mind them. Folks around here, they just ain’t use to seeing you sparkly crystal ponies. Well, cept for old Pyrite, but well, he don’t talk much.”

Onyx’s ears snapped to attention as he looked over at his cousin. “Pyrite? As in, Lord Iron Pyrite of the Seven Hills?”

“Names right. Didn't know he had a title,” said Pearmain as he adjusted his hat to block out the sun. “Know him?”

Onyx shook his head. “Only by reputation, I’m afraid. I was still new in the guard when he… left the Empire.”

“Huh,” replied Pearmain. “Yeah, he’s a surveyor. Comes down to the Water Cooler every so often. Get a few licks of salt in him, and he tells a bit about how he use to be some sort of bigwig up in the Empire. Don’t talk much about it, though. Don’t really talk about anything either, I suppose. Quiet guy. He’s one of them, uhh, what do you call them. Cracked Lungs?”

“Broken Hearts,” corrected Onyx with a frown. “They’re... exiled crystal ponies. Named from the feeling of being cut off from the Crystal Heart, and forbidden to return to the Empire. From what I’ve heard, they usually gather in Northern Equestria, like Vanhoover though. So for Pyrite to be this far south...”

“It’s mighty unusual then,” said Pearmain, as he stopped to pluck a piece of straw and chew on it. “Old Pyrite seems as harmless as a fly. What the hay did he ever do?”

Oynx’s frown deepened. “I don’t know. I was just a new Guard by then, fresh out of the academy. I do remember he was a bit of a joke among the Palace staff, some sort of conspiracy nut.”

Pearmain shook his head. “Damn shame then. He’s a good pony. I’ll have to invite him to the next family reunion, get him to feel welcome then.”

“That’d be a good thing,” said Onyx. “Does he live close?”

“Not exactly,” said Pearmain as they entered into the small township that made up the heart of Sweet Apple Acres. “He lives somewhere west of Ponyville, in the old ‘Doodle’ homestead, I think. Delivered some apples out to him last season.”

Onyx acknowledged the information with a nod as they passed a large bronze statue of Applejack, rearing up on her hind legs with a fierce smile and a wide-brimmed hat. Wondering for a moment what the proud cowpony would say if she was here.

Onyx nodded. “So what do you need help with? Plowing? Bucking the apple trees? Raising a barn?”

“Nah, I got something much more up your alley,” replied Pearmain with a grin as they approached the Apple homestead. The old home had sheltered generations of Apples, supposedly even going beyond Big Mac and Fluttershy. But Onyx’s attention was on the wagon stocked with crates and barrels sitting outside. “Honey Bits is going into Ponyville today and see to the store. I need a good strapping young stallion such as yourself to help her out down there.”

“Okay,” said Onyx as Pearmain guided him to the harness and began to hitch him up. “Shouldn’t take too long, then I can get back to the south forty and get some words down on paper.”

“That’s the spirit” smiled Pearmain. “Go on, look atcha. You showed up here a nervous wreck, and now you look down right relaxed. That’s farm life for ya, take it from me.”

Onyx smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but his cousin cut him off as he locked his crystal cousin in the wagon’s harness.“Go out and enjoy the town. See some of the sights. Like the Museum of Harmony, or the Golden Oaks Library, old Sugar Cube Corner! New Sugar Cube Corner! Heck, even the Carousel Boutique if it fancies you. But get out there, and relax.”

“Ah, that Apple charm.” called a voice from a house by the roadside. “Telling you to relax while strapping you into an over-laden cart. Happened to me, you know? Not the cart thing mind you. You hear a soft voice in a Manehatten Bar, that gentle draw, and BAM. Next thing you know, you find yourself married, pregnant, and living on a farm.”

Onyx smiled and gave a curt nod. “Ma’am.”

“Mr Onyx,” replied Honey Bits, as she gently eased herself down the porch steps. Honey Bits was heavily pregnant, and had to use her burnt yellow wings to stabilize herself as she descended. “I heard that you were escorting me into town, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“What a gentlepony,” said Honey Bits, a little smile forming before looking at her husband with disapproval. “Pearmain, shame on you for slacking your husbandly duties onto your cousin, especially when your wife is so burdened.”

“And yet, here you stand, so full of purpose and poise. The apple of my eye. ”

“I’m on to your ways, my darling charmer,” she said, playfully smacking Pearmain in the face with her black tail.

Darling. Onyx felt his right eye twitch a little.

“Shame we aren’t going to the Blue-Ribbon Charity Auction this year,” continued Honey Bits. “The Silverwoods are lovely this time of year, and it is always a pleasure to see Jewel.”

“It’s a good little gathering,” Pearmain nodded.

“Well, next year, I suppose,” said Honey Bits. “I suppose then the Commander and I will head into town then. Are you still coming in for lunch this afternoon?”

“Ah’m hoping so,” replied Pearmain with a grin. “I’ve got to get back up to the river though. Those beavers are back at it, and we’re at risk at flooding the lower fields again.”

“Again? I thought you talked them out of their little dam last year.”

“So did I. Maybe my charm is wearing off.”

“Perish the thought, Pear,” she said as she gave him a quick nuzzle.

“Yes, dear,” said Pearmain as he began to trot away.

Onyx only huffed in response, but felt another pony bump up against him.

“Come on, Commander,” said Honey Bits. “Let’s go show you around Ponyville.”

* * *

Captain Shining Star trotted down the ramp of the train car with a smile on her face, and ignored the stares and gawkings of any of the local ponies. The train station was mostly empty, save for a few ponies either on their way to work somewhere along the rail, or heading out of town. The train ride to Ponyville had thankfully been empty, and the Arcane Guard were able to secure a few cars to themselves.

She walked over to the far edge of the platform and looked out into the small community in the valley below. The small cottages with their gardens, clusters of shops and stores, with the general marketplace already in full swing by the look of the gathering crowd. Ponyville had grown very nicely over the couple hundred years. Town Hall stood tall over all of it, it’s clock had stopped working nearly two hundred and thirty years ago due to some freaky lightning storm. Celestia suspected some sort of shenanigan in time travel, but Luna refused to say, always going wide-eyed at the topic.

Shining Star could just barely make out the massive top of the Golden Oaks Library. She let out a sigh. It seemed like only yesterday she had sent Twilight there to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Festival, but it also seemed like a lifetime ago.

“Maybe when this is all over,” she thought to herself. “Maybe I’ll spend a few lifetimes as a librarian? A simple life might be a better change of pace.”

The Captain turned around and watched as a small detachment of the Arcane Guard filed out of the car.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts, gather around, please,” she said as she walked forward and sat down on the platform. Her ponies looked at each other, hesitating only for a moment until they came and gathered around their Captain. “We’re going to review our mission parameters and assignments. I want everypony to be on the same page for this."

A few questioning glances, but not a single pony objected. “As we explained on the train, this is a highly classified mission. For the sake of confidentiality, we will refer to our primary objectives as PT and O.”

“PT’s disappearance is more complicated than previously assumed. For now, we are maintaining the cover that PT independently left Canterlot on her own. In reality, we’re here to solve a much bigger problem.”

She opened a pouch within her armor and pulled out a map of Ponyville. “In Ponyville is a stallion, O. O is a ‘visitor’ from a ‘neighboring country’,” she said with magically enhanced air-quotes. “We believe the ‘neighboring country’ and its Empress, are not connected to PT's disappearance. However, other ponies may not see it that way and may push the fragile tension we already have into a full-blown war."

We are to secure O, ‘invite’ him to Canterlot for cake and questions. Any questions?”

A mare raised her hoof. “Is O Princess Twilight?”

Shining Star looked dumbfounded at the mare “Why would ‘O’ be Princess Twilight?”

The mare shrugged “I dunno, I thought she could, like, transmogrophy herself into other races and genders and stuff.”

A stallion farther down the line butted in “Wait, then who’s PT?”

Shining Star spoke slowly through gritted teeth “It. Is. A. Secret.”

Cornelius leaned over to the stallion and whispered in his ear. And the stallion’s eyes lit up. “Oh! I’m picking up what you’re putting down. You got it ‘Captain’.” He said to Shining Star with some air quotes of his own and a wink.

“Are there any other questions, or can we get through today without me getting court-martialed for ‘accidental’ magic discharge resulting in injury? Anypony? Good, Lieutenant Aurora will have your assignments.”

“We’re going to split into two five-pony teams, and scout likely areas,” said Aurora, moving to stand shoulder to shoulder with Shining Star as the attention shifted to her.

“Advance notice was given to local officials about our presence. Team One will go to Sweet Apple Acres, where we know he is staying, and begin investigating. Team Two will recon the Ponyville Market. Remaining ponies will be with myself and the Captain.

Once the Commander is located, notify via purple flare.”

“Remember, he is a foreign official and any perceived hostile actions could cause an international incident,” said Shining Star. “Be careful, and courteous and we’ll all be back in Canterlot before the day is out.”

This time there were a few murmurs, which caused Shining Star to frown as she noticed a few cameras around the necks of her guards. “Fine, we’ll all go to the Museum of Harmony and the library gift shop before we leave. Job first, tours later!”

“Sir yes Sir!” Exclaimed the Guards as they filed out into the station proper and the surrounding village.

“Aurora, what about the return train?” asked Shining Star as she lead her own team out of the train station. “Do we have the Arcane Guard cars this time?”

“Yes, ma’am. It should arrive in the afternoon,” stated Aurora. “The Mayor and Police Chief probably want a quick update as well. Not every day the Arcane Guard and it’s Captain come to town.”

“Of course they do,” she replied as she set her eyes on Old Sugarcube Corner. “But we have more pressing matters at this time.”

Author's Note

Thank you, everyone, for being patient with me for nearly a year trying to get a new chapter of this story up. Thanks for all of your support and kindness as well.

Chapter Five

The loose shale slipped and cracked beneath Rarity’s armored hooves as she continued her trek up the mountainside. The path, if you could call it that, was broken and irregular. It was so steep that in some places, she had to use her magic to ensure her safety. Every few 100 yards or so, she’d pause for but a moment, ears swiveling, searching for the slightest sound.

But whenever she stopped, it was eerily silent. No Diamond Dogs, no woodland creatures, no birds... not even the wind made a sound. The only disturbance was her heavy breathing of the stale chalky air that enveloped the mountain.

This, in small part, was a relief. She had run for what felt like hours, and all the while, her flank was nipped at by those awful Diamond Dogs. Silence, stale air, and a perilous climb up an unknown mountain in an unknown land was practically a day trip to the spa in comparison.

But the silence had its own set of teeth that raked against her psyche. Rarity was the centuries-old ruler of an empire. There was always some sound. Some pomp, or circumstance, or other… An artist in need of a patron. An affair of state needing pronouncement. Hay, a new storefront on Mane in need of a ribbon cut. There was always noise. There was always ponies.

With a single thought and a quiet click, her helmet split. More lines formed as the crystalline plates slowly folded back along her head until it disappeared into her mane. She gave a little sigh and took a deep breath before looking around with an unfiltered view of the silent world around her.

The most immediate observation was the thick fog blanketing the rising landscape. It clung and twisted around her, making it difficult to see more than a few paces in front of her. In fact, if it wasn’t for the steady incline of the path, she’d be certain she was walking in circles.

She nervously pawed at the ground, only able to clearly make out a few massive boulders. Others were blurry shadows within the fog, ensnared by the upturned remains of long-dead claw-like tree roots that seemed to reach out in her direction. She shivered despite herself and willed a few breaths to calm her already frayed nerves before continuing her ascent.

”Coffee would be good about now. one cream, double giddyup,” she thought to herself, as she walked beneath the grasping roots. “Or just the giddyup. Forget the coffee.”

A whine escaped her lips as she continued on up the winding, rocky path. And silently, she cursed her friend Twilight Sparkle with every utterance she could think of.

If the last two hundred years have taught her anything, it’s that if there’s trouble in her life, there had to be at least one alicorn to blame! In addition to being torn from her Empire—the mere thought of which caused her both deep heartache and great personal distress as the living host for the Crystal Heart—she felt confident in her stance of fully blaming Twilight for being cast upon this island, being embroiled in this silly game, and also for this terrible weather.

Grudgingly so, she could also credit Twilight for her narrow escape from those Diamond Dogs.

But there was still no coffee. Or alcohol. So that’s a dozen to one or so in favor of blaming Twilight, she thought with a nod. The math checks out.

Ever since stumbling into a disgusting Diamond Dog den after Twilight’s disastrous crash, and the silly mare dislocated one of her wings at the worst possible time they had been on the run all night.

She smiled to herself, as she walked, thinking of the hooffull of times that the two of them had outsmarted the dogs, and managed to huddle up for a few minutes of rest at a time, despite what felt like a tide of wild dogs had washed over the island, hunting and braying for them. Teleportation barely kept them ahead at times. Even in the rain, the dogs were somehow able to stalk the pair, chasing and ambushing them on a couple of occasions.

Rarity frowned at that last thought. Several scuffs and deep scratches in her armor held testament to the close encounters and harrowing escapes they had last night. The Diamond Dog clans that lived just beyond the Crystal Empire’s borders were smart, even crafty at times in their raids against the empire. She had to give them that at least. But even then, they held the faintest air of civility.

These island dogs were just brutal… savage.

Adorned as they were in scraps of clothing and bits of unkempt and long rusted armor. Shields made from whatever scrap they could find, wooden spears, and clubs, accompanied fangs and claws. There was acrazed sort of look to their eyes, an animalistic focus; a feral look. The two goddesses, while they were still in a pair, had attempted to fight back at times, but both magic and hoof didn't dissuade the growing packs of dogs for long. Words did nothing, and violence didn’t dissuade them. It would do no good killing the poor beasties.

Empress?

“Y-yes, darling?” Rarity stifled a yawn, her thoughts brought back to the present.

Magic reserves are starting to run low, replied the Crystal Heart, concern laced within its voice as it mentally scooted up next to her thinking mind.

Rarity sighed but nodded in acknowledgment. She could feel herself getting weaker, her steps heavier, more sluggish. About two or three ambushes ago, Twilight and herself had cast a spell to divert magic into their body to essentially stave off the effects of exhaustion and hunger. It couldn’t beat eight hours of sleep but it was keeping her on her toes. “How much do we have left?”

We’ll be out in a few hours.

Rarity nodded again but found herself frowning too. She was no magical prodigy, unlike the great Twilight Sparkle, who shortly after her ascension to alicorn, was able to maintain such a spell for the night without tiring. But as Empress, Rarity surely thought that she would have been able to match Twilight at that skill level. Indeed, she had even managed to face off against Celestia and hold her own, albeit for a short time. So… why was she so weak? Why was her energy so low?

“Darling?” she flinched, disturbed how even the mere whisper sounded like a shout in the silencing fog. She felt the Crystal Heart stir and approached the forefront of her mind.

My Empress?

“What’s going on?” she said, stumbling a little bit. “I should have enough magic for this.”

She could feel the Crystal Heart’s confusion. I’m sorry my Empress, I don’t know what the exact cause of this could be. Even with the Betrayer’s core being innate, it shouldn’t cause this sort of issue... I think...

Rarity carefully receded sections of her armor and saved some valuable magic. She’d be useless if she ran out of magic, and if she collapsed here in the fog and the Diamond Dogs found her… She suppressed a shudder. No way was she pulling a rusty old cart and harness again.

For a brief moment, she wished Sombra was still rattling around in her pretty little head. She could have at least used the magic from Sombra’s core to keep her going, but without him, the blasted thing was just a mental paperweight. She made another mental note to look for him after this supposed challenge of Kindness in Discord’s silly, stupid game.

But, as the Crystal Heart, and nearly tripping over a rock reminded her, those things could wait.

She glared at the fog. It had her on edge, unnaturally thick, and impossible to see far out of. She didn't dare lower too many armor plates for two reasons. One, while she hadn’t seen or heard anything from the Diamond Dogs since Twilight dropped the clouds on the valley, she dared not risk another ambush. She had foolishly thought that before and found herself up to her haunches in barking, yapping, dogs. The other, she didn’t want to turn into a block of ice.

Ever since a certain, magical disaster also caused by an infuriatingly attractive Goddess of the Night, Rarity had begun to ‘naturally’ generate a sheet of ice over her crystalline coat. Aside from the obvious issue of limited physical contact with others, the coat made her mostly immune to the general environmental temperature. In her currently frazzled and depleting state, she couldn’t tell if her surroundings were warm or cold. Her horn began to glow as she diverted some precious magic to the sensory spell, and a small blue drop hit the ground. Like before, her world was illuminated by the prismatic light of magic, but this time, a few wisps of purple, subtitle at first, then a bright fire echoed back.

Twilight Sparkle is up ahead.The Crystal Heart announced with a sigh of relief.Waiting, I think. We may want to consider a binding spell with her when we get the chance.

“We’ll be fine without it,” she said. “Twilight isn’t that far, and she’s a grown mare, darling. Able to take care of herself.”

I was thinking more for us…

Rarity said nothing as she checked her saddlebag strap, but a small whine escaped her lips as she saw the water and mud clinging to the bottom of her one-of-a-kind priceless bags. Frustration finally won out over common sense, and she stamped a hoof into the ground, again and again until it ached, and the small rocks beneath were little more than finely crushed gravel.

Empress?

“Let’s get a move on then, shall we darling?” replied Rarity, in a sing-song voice ignoring the concern from the Crystal Heart as she started off with a trot.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle let out another yawn as she used her magic to unscrew the lid to her canteen, and took a deep drink of the cool water. While she was no stranger to all-nighters, usually they involved the safer, far more pleasant activities of academic pursuit or simply reading a really good book. The growing knot in her back left leg reminded her that such things were usually less physically demanding as well.

She opened her notebook up and flipped to the last page, titled Twilight’s List of things to do when off of Discord’s Crazy Island and added:

Regular workout schedule with Cadance

“I hope you’re doing okay.” Twilight sighed and opened back up to her previous spot in the notebook and continued her sketching of the strange object in front of her.

It was an old, broken spear, stuck into the ground and secured with concentric rings of small stones. Towards the top, the separated bottom third of the spear was clearly r, fastened to it making a T-shape. Small ornaments hung from the crossbars; some bones, others were crude metal emblems, along with remnants of a red banner that once hung from it. Only brittle strips of cloth remained. Finally, an avian skull of some kind rested at the top near the rusty spearhead. But of what species she couldn't be sure, due to the damage that time and weather had done to it. Disturbing it to investigate further would surely destroy it.

But the source of her current frustration, other than that self-important mare behind her in the fog, was the piece of weather-worn wood that had a series of scratches and symbols scratched into it.

She couldn’t figure out what it was. Well, what it meant.

The object was clearly some sort of marker, Diamond dog, most likely. “Territory marker?” she openly voiced. Plausible, although the diamond dogs she knew in Equestria marked territory… a little differently, unless they were in constant contact with other races. Like the Blackrock Clan in Equestria, or the Gray Claws Tribe near Griffinstone. A frown crossed her face as she racked her head for more information, but... “Is that all?” She opened to the last page of her notebook and scribbled another note.

Investigate/build relations with Diamond Dogs in Equestria.

Twilight nodded with satisfaction and turned her attention once again to the sketching, this time carefully examining the carved symbols on the wood plank, and adding them next to the drawing.

“If only I had brushed up on some ancient kanine, then maybe this would make sense.”

Finished with her sketch, she looked around the sunny, peaceful vale with a smile on her face. It had been a wonderful surprise as soon as she broke out of the fog layer from the valley below. Birds merrily chirp as they flew by. Weary squirrels watched her from the safety of their lofty branch. But behind her…

Twilight walked back to the trailhead and looked back down into the valley she had just escaped from. She sighed as she saw the tips of some of the taller trees and the ominous, ghostly shadows of the branches underneath the fog. Her ears twitched, hearing what may have been the faint sound of a howl from down below.

Her plan had, almost regrettably, worked perfectly. By using her good wing as a sort of, magical lightning rod, and her alicorn powers as a focusing emitter, she had been able to snatch the storm from the sky and drop it into the valley, effectively losing the dog packs where running, fighting back, and teleportation had failed. And by effect, she had lost Rarity. Which she wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing. No doubt the vexatious empress would give her a—

“Stop it,” she muttered to herself and took another drink of water.

It wasn’t as cool this time around, somewhat stale, and her stomach gave a loud grumble as it was filled with unfulfilling water. Twilight took a deep breath and slowly let it out as a thought wandered into her mind. What would Celestia do about Rarity?

“Well, Discord had been turned into a statue, Sombra was imprisoned in ice, and Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon… Maybe not the best example.”

Twilight could almost imagine her teacher’s laughter. “Twilight, those are some rather extreme cases, all of them involved threats to my little ponies. I wouldn’t do that just because I’m not getting along with somepony.”

“I know, it’s… this is just so frustrating. I’m at a loss, and I don’t know what to do,” Twilight said with a sigh. “We had been good friends for so long, then suddenly it turned so…”

“Bitter?” suggested the apparition of the Sun Princess. “What are you going to do then?”

“I… I don’t know. I’ve offered peace so many times, and all of these solutions, an—”

“You’re not entirely blameless in this, my young princess,” came the stern, but warm voice. “Taking responsibility is the highest marks of great leaders. Can you confidently say that you’ve listened to Rarity? Have you really done all that you can?”

Twilight was silent for a moment as she took a sip of water. It wasn’t as refreshing as it was before. It was warm with a slightly salty taste and a hint of metal from the inside of her canteen. “Then how do I fix this?”

The shimmering form of Celestia looked at her with a smile, a chiding one that Celestia used when Twilight had missed something important, or became too engrossed on an unimportant detail, or stayed up throughout the night to read and missed most of her daily lessons. My dear Twilight, what would we ever learn if all of life’s answers were simple? Besides, I’m an apparition of your subconscious thoughts due to the side effects of using magic to manage your exhaustion and hunger. If you didn't already know, how would I?

Twilight sucked in a deep breath and swatted at the apparition until it faded away. She shook her head and trotted back down the trail, it’s hard packed dirt with nature slowly reclaiming it, stretched off towards a grove of willow trees, and then winding up the mountainside until it disappeared from sight.

Still, by her estimates, it would take at least another day to reach the summit where the Challenge of Kindness, waited for the pair.

If Rarity would ever get her little crystal plated as—!

The sudden crashing impact of crystal and rock jerked her out of her thoughts, and she spun around, her horn glowing with arcane might.

“Do it, I dare you,” glared Rarity from the ground. Twilight winced as she could almost feel the daggers going into her chest. “I’ve had it up to m—”

“Rarity!” Twilight’s magic immediately shut off as she rushed over to her. “Are you okay, what ha—”

“I’m fine, no thanks to you!” snapped Rarity as she angrily shoved Twilight’s hoof away from her. “You dropped an entire storm, Twilight, an entire hurricane, into that valley!”

“It wasn’t a hurricane, it was a category two tropical storm” berated Twilight, her good wing flaring out while the bandaged one simple pressed against the wrappings, causing her to wince. “Besides, I didn’t see you coming up with any ideas!”

“You didn’t ask!”

“I didn’t know we were taking turns on something like running for our lives!” shouted Twilight, as she trotted away from the struggling unicorn. She fought to gain control of herself and her words but she just couldn’t hold back. “Next time, I’ll ask them to stop so we can take turns!”

“A simple warning would have sufficed,” huffed Rarity as she pushed herself back onto her hooves and made a pitiful attempt to brush the dust off of her. “Maybe even a consideration that not all of us are alicorns with weather manipulation!”

“Well not all of us can be crystal unicorns who whine all the time!” snapped Twilight, spinning around and stomping towards the Empress. “Some of us have to get off of our high-horse and do things!”

“I am not whining!” snarled Rarity. “I am complaining! Do you want to hear whining?”

“No, I want to hear some solutions,” cried Twilight. “All you ever do is complain, and leave everything up to me to do!”

“Oh I know!” said Rarity, in a saccharine mocking tone. “Let’s ask Princess Celestia!”

Twilight’s heart skipped a beat as her eyes narrowed and her wing further tensed. “What.”

“I bet you asked yourself, not even five minutes ago ’What would Celestia do’!”

“I… how did you...”

“I’m crystal plated, not deaf, darling.”

“Well, I just, I—” Twilight sputtered before letting out a frustrated whine. “It’s a self-evaluation mechanism that puts you in a different point of view for better clarity and objectivity of a situation. You should try it sometime!”

“Oh, my Stars! Whatever would Luna do!” mocked Rarity, dramatically clapping her hooves to her face. “Yes, lots of help, Twilight. I can see now why Equestrian politics would employ such a strategy!”

“Well, maybe if I had some alcohol around, it would help!”

The words had slipped out of Twilight’s mouth before she realized what she had said. Time seemed to slow down, Rarity even seemed surprised by the outburst, but not for long if the twitching eye was any indication. Just as Twilight opened her mouth to say something, the Empress’ eyes shrunk to pinpricks as jagged shards of ice cracked beneath her hooves. “Excuse me?”

“Rarity, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean… I...”

“Didn’t mean what, Twilight?” seethed Rarity. “No, do go on, darling.”

“No, I-I just, it, ummm…”

“What,” growled the Empress through clenched teeth. “You think I drink too much, mhm? Are we also the Princess of Interventions now too!?!”

“Rarity, I spoke out of anger,” snapped Twilight. “But since we’re on the topic, yes! You drink too much!”

“How dare you!”

“How dare I! Me!?!” Twilight marched up to the Empress, ignoring the bitter cold and placing herself inches from the Empress’ face. “How dare you, miss prissy pants! Look at you! You’re a mess, a disgrace. Everything is somepony else’s fault and never your own. This, the Empire, your drinking, and I bet in some sort of twisted way, your own immortality is my fault too!”

“I, yo—”

“NO!!!” boomed Twilight, her one good wing wide open and horn surging with magic. “I can’t believe we were once friends! You and I of all ponies were more miles apart than Blueblood and Applejack, and of course, we’d be stuck together, on some freaking island, out in the middle of nowhere trapped against our wills!”

Twilight spun away and marched away from the unicorn, her hooves pounding imprints into the dirt. “I don’t know what Cadance was thinking when she made you Empress, maybe she was drunk too!”

“You think I asked for this!” snapped Rarity as she struggled to stand. “You think I wanted any of this?”

“Rarity, I don’t care what you think or want!” rounded Twilight as she put her saddlebags back on. “I’m trying to do what is best for my ponies. You seem to be the only one stuck in the past and so blinded by regret and self-pity, you can barely see past your Throne! ‘Woe is me’ you say. Well, guess what? It’s happened, Rarity. Get over it, and make the best of it.”

“Just like Celestia and Luna,” she fired back.

Something snapped in Twilight. Before she knew it, she was towering over the defiant Empress, arcane power surging from the two of them and clashing. The magical discharge from their combined might scorched the earth and burned the grass.

“They’re alicorns, Rarity. They’re not in the past,” Twilight said with such an eerie calmness that it nearly distracted herself. “They're here, in the present now. And for all I know they'll outlive the rest of us. I will find them. I'll do anything to find them.”

“Why? What good would that do?” grimaced Rarity as she pushed back against the power surge. “What have they done, Twilight? They’ve been gone for two hundred years, most of our lives now, and you’re clinging to a false little dream!”

“They deserve better, more, for everything that they have done!” Twilight pushed, forcing the Empress to step back. “I will not let them fade into memory!”

The unstable build up of energy between the two surged, pushing the two back as unchained power funneled between them. Rarity said something, Twilight didn’t care to listen. She’d had enough, but any further arguments ended in an ear-shattering thunderclap as the magic between them exploded, and tossed the immortals away like leaves in the wind.

Twilight felt the ground under her once before flipping up with her good wing and skidding to a stop on her hooves. She blinked a few times as the suddenness also blew her anger away, and she was left feeling tired and strangely hollow. “Rarity?”

The alicorn looked around. “Rarity!”

“H-h-here!” Twilight spotted a white hoof waving on the other side of the clearing. She half galloped, half glided to the Empress.

“Rarity, I’m sorry. I—”

The Empress held up a hoof and struggled to sit up, a fit of coughing nearly caused her to collapse again, but was saved by Twilight’s good wing, and supported into a sitting position. “I… I can’t take much more of this, darling,” Rarity muttered. “I’m… I’m too weak. I...”

Twilight tried to stammer out another apology, but Rarity raised a trembling hoof and another coughing fit took over. The Empress let it pass before running a hoof through her mane, and letting out a shaky breath. When she opened her eyes, well, Twilight found herself taking a step forward.

Rarity briefly looked over at Twilight and chuckled. “I must look like a mess.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be polite to say anything,” said Twilight, a slight grin on her face as Rarity laughed again. “Are you okay?”

“I’m exhausted, darling. Tired from… from so many things.” Rarity looked up at her, a faint smile on her lips as she saw Twilight’s ears fold back. “You can see it, can’t you? Is it the years or the stress?”

Trust her, Twilight.

Twilight hesitated, her mouth opened but no words came out. She shook her head and sat down next to the unicorn, her good wing wrapping around her friend. “Maybe a bit of both, Rarity.”

Closing her eyes, she gathered some of her own power together and cast a quick rejuvenation spell. By itself, the spell wouldn’t be enough to barely charge up a regular unicorn, let alone two immortals, but it would be enough to gain back a bit more strength. The alicorn opened her eyes, and gently released Rarity, making sure she wouldn’t collapse. Rarity let out a sigh, still looking exhausted but not as bad as before, before coughing and giving Twilight a short nod. “Well, yes... Thank you, darling.”

Twilight nodded, feeling a bit more worn herself, and looked back over to the unknown dog marker. Rarity, noticing it for the first time, walked over and asked the question that has been haunting Twilight since she got there. “Well, uhh… this certainly is… interesting. What is that?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure, a marker of sorts. Dog-made. I can’t read it.”

“Goodness me! Twilight Sparkle can’t read something? It's definitely a Tuesday, isn’t it?” said Rarity with a light-hearted chuckle. Although the tone was teasing, Twilight couldn't help but flinch a bit at the comment. She wanted to snap and found her mouth half-way open, clearly with the intent to do so, before shamefully closing her mouth. The action did not go unnoticed by Rarity, who hesitated herself and seemed to turn to say something, but stopped herself and cleared her throat. “Umm, yes I… I suppose the marker doesn’t matter too much. We’re to go this way, yes?”

Twilight let out a sigh. What else really was there to say right now? That yesterday was Tuesday and it’s actually Wednesday? Point out the obvious tension, their unresolved fight, or their clearly strained relationship? Now she was getting tired too. “Yes, I think so.” She took a few steps forward, putting herself next to Rarity and pulled out the map from her saddlebags.

“We’re about here now,” she said, pointing at a portion of the map as Rarity leaned over to look “A bit off course, but not as bad as I feared with those dogs.”

“The brutes,” remarked Rarity with a huff.

Twilight bit her lip and simply nodded. “Luckily we’re at the foot of the mountain and need to go up that,” she said as she gestured to the trail behind the marker. “If we start now and maintain a good pace, we could be to the mountain’s summit maybe at dusk, depending on any further obstacles. Thoughts?”

“I’m not sure how much further I’ll be able to go, darling,” said Rarity, as she studied the map. “My magic is nearly depleted from last night with those dogs.”

Twilight nodded and traced their location with a hoof to a small blue line. “I think if we keep going a bit more, maybe half a mile, there’s a safer place to rest. It’s not much based on the map, but it looks like a small stream. Possibly some trees too.”

“That sounds good to me, darling,” said Rarity, a look of remorse flashed across her face for a moment. “Look, Twilight, about what I said earlier…”

Twilight replied with a small smile, silently thanking Celestia. Maybe not all hope was lost. “We’re tired, things that shouldn’t have been said were said.”

“But they needed to be said, Twilight, we’ll need to talk later, and I suspect this is just the first of many arguments we’ll have here, and at the end...”

“It’ll be worth it,” Twilight said with a smile as the two began to walk along the path. “Besides, it’s not like things could get any worse.”

Author's Note

Thank you all, again for being patient with me. I hope you've enjoyed this update. Please leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thank you for reading.

Oh, yeah. Chapter 6 should come out next week.

Chapter Six

Prince Blueblood, Lord and Regent of the Silverwoods, couldn’t help but feel a warm, smug sense of satisfaction with the scene before him.

It was nothing less than The Blue-Ribbons Foundation’s legendary Charity Fair, the biggest and greatest celebration in western Equestria, and one of the most lucrative charity drives. Banners and streamers hung all over; indicating a variety of noble houses, organizations, and of course, the sovereign nation of Equestria. Booths full of games, trinkets, and other items for sale where scattered about. A large ferris wheel had been brought in this year, along with several other rides, and a stage for the afternoon auction and later, the evening concert. Blueblood let out a small chuckle as he watch a group of fillies scamper past his table, in some sort of fit of giggles.

It was definitely a merry time, and why shouldn’t be?

Canterlot, of course had their galas and garden parties, but one only had to attend those a few times to realize how downright boring they actually were. The same marble, the same food, the same guests so fixated on the ceiling that it was a wonder nopony got into a major accident. It got rather boring. No, the better, and on the rise trend was to host parties and celebrations outside of the gilded cage of Canterlot. And this was just the one to be at.

The Blue-Ribbons Foundation had become such a success as a charity organization, that it even had the support of the Equestrian Thrones. Not only was it in the business of helping those on less fortunate circumstances, but in their words, it was a way to spread ‘friendship and love across Equestria’. Blueblood rolled his eyes at the mere thought of it, nearly unable to contain his laughter when he first heard the speech.

True, the Foundation, and the Fair does serve to assist those in… less fortunate circumstances, at times. But its true purpose? Well...

The Prince grinned again as he found his rear hoof tapping along with the music being played, a rather simple affair with a piano and a drum set, and he couldn’t understand a word the trio of stallions were singing, but it was catchy nonetheless. He even danced a little bit in his seat.

Blueblood glanced out at the assorted crowd of guests and their families, who were the key to the Fair’s success. He knew them all, many on a first name basis. He could see Prism Bolt, current Captain of the Wonderbolts along with his whole team, signing autographs and making small talk with some fans; mostly starstruck colts and fillies. Speaking of pegasi, it didn’t take him long to find the fiery mane of the blue military uniform of the Equestrian Sky Marshal, Firefly. She was busy conversing with colleagues from other branches of the Equestrian Military, no doubt discussing recent events with the Crystal Empire.

There was also Senator Underhill, a member of the Equestrian Foreign Affairs Committee, and who was also another… pegasus. Blueblood frowned. How many blasted pegasi did he know? He had to know some other kind of pony for sure, even those mud-flinging earth ponies, a crystal bumpkin or two, a noble unicorn! He let out a sigh of relief as he spotted some other, non-pegasi ponies.

There were some Apples, a few Oranges, and the heir to the Tiara/Rich fortune and CEO to Barnyard Enterprises, check on the mud flingers. Then there was the renowned inventor, Graham Belle, and his wife. Not to mention the fabulous Pier Polomare, a rising star in the fashion industry. His noble kind, also checked.

There were others, of course. Many were nobles or politicians, the famous and the rich, or the well respected and trusted of the public eye. But most importantly, their donations flowed, filling the coffers of the Foundation. Few here genuinely gave out of the depths of their hearts. For many, this was just for the sake of appearance; a way to buy prestige, and the reputation for doing a good deed amongst their fellow ponies. But didn't matter to Blueblood.

They were all idiots either way. No matter what their intentions for this weekend was, their desires and bits only did one thing. To fuel his ambitions.

Blueblood leaned back in his chair, rear hoof still tapping away, and closed his eyes, allowing the warmth of the late summer sun to give its full comfort. Everything was on schedule. Last year’s minor hiccup at being ‘forcibly retired’ as the Equestrian Ambassador to the Crystal Empire, had turned out to be a greater blessing than he thought. A slight news spin, a few well-leaked photos of his farewell parties, and a speech for peace pulled right out of the depths of Celestia’s handbook, and he had risen anew. The media and public eye now saw him as the tragic hero, the singular voice pleading for reason in a dark time where Equestria was on the brink of war.

It was perfect.

His agents of the Edict have done a spectacular job in tearing down the relationship between Equestria and the Crystal Empire. A bribe there, a misdirection here, a few leaks of information way over there and everything was falling apart. Honestly, all he had to do was knock over a few dominos and let the suspicious nature of ponies take over. Soon, everything would be complete, and only a few last puzzle pieces remained. The Alicorn Amulet for exam—

“Blue?”

Blueblood cracked open an eye, irritated for his train of thought being interrupted, but quickly smiled at the mare who caught his attention. She was wearing a simple white sundress, beautifully complimenting her tan coat, and blonde mane. But it was those eyes of hers, those soft green eyes that sang to what was left of the pieces of his soul, putting him at ease.

“Jewel,” he replied. “You look radiant.”

The unicorn gave him a smile and offered him a glass of lemonade, kept within the blue aura of her magic.

“Thank you, my dear,” replied Blueblood as he took the drink from his wife, and scooted over so she could sit next to him.

“I would consider this to be a sign of another successful year for the Foundation,” she said with a smirk as she sat down. “A shame neither of the Princesses could attend.”

Blueblood fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Their loss. You’ve done a marvelous job with it all this year.”

She gently nuzzled his neck. “I know you are exhausted,” said Jewel. “But the guests are all looking forward to your speech. Perhaps it would be best to entertain them, then we could… ‘retire’ early while our son is playing.”

“Hmm, I do like the sound of that,” replied Blueblood as returned the nuzzle, and raised her a kiss on the cheek. He let out a sigh as he took in the brief scent of his wife’s perfume before sitting back and looking back over the crowd of ponies. “Speaking of Knight Shine, where is our son?”

“Off playing with his friends, as a young colt should be doing,” she replied, playfully smacking his hoof when she noticed his frown. “Blue, we’ve talked about this. He can’t just study and be a stallion now. He needs to play, relax, enjoy being a colt. He doesn’t even have a cutiemark yet.”

“I know, it’s just...” Blueblood shrugged. “I just worry about him. About all of this. There’s so much to be ready for.”

“And you hated your father for the way he pushed you, remember?”

Blueblood said nothing as he looked down at the lemonade and gave it a little swirl. May Tirek piss on his grave. “He had a point.”

“And I want you to have more with Knight Shine than just that,” said Jewel. “I want him to have good memories of you, not just ones with a strict father and titles. After all, legacy—”

“—is all that remains,” finished Blueblood with a sigh. “I’ll find some time to spend with the boy, I promise. Next time I travel to Canterlot, he can accompany me. We’ll go to some plays, get some models, or something.”

Jewel nodded. “Good, I’ll let him know you promised,” she said with a wry smile.

“Perhaps you should give the speech too,” said Blueblood, pausing to take a sip of the lemonade. “You do run more of the Foundation than anypony else these days.”

“Ha. Not on your life,” said Jewell. “I hate public speaking.”

“Find me a pony that doesn’t.”

“Well...” Jewel playfully tapped her chin with a hoof as she looked out at the crowd. “We do have about a dozen politicians here this year.”

Blueblood sighed, looking at his watch. “Is it an election year already?”

“Come on Blue. A quick speech then we can do…” she trailed off as she kissed his cheek and caressed his chest with a hoof. “More entertaining things.”

“As the lady wishes,” said Blueblood as he sat up, and was rewarded with a soft giggle from Jewel. He slid out of his chair and dodged a playful tail smack from his wife before trotting over to the stairs that lead to the main patio of the Blue Manor.

Blueblood made a final adjustment to his outfit; blue jacket with large, stiff lapels and the collar slightly propped up. He rather liked the stately, lordy, yet approachable look it gave him. Add a slight grin and a few ‘honest’ words, he could charm anypony.

He accepted the microphone from one of the servant-ponies and tapped it a few times. The music stopped and the general rumblings of conversations slowly came to a halt.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts, my esteemed guests, if I may have your attention please,” called Blueblood, the microphone held in his magic. “I thank you, one and all, and I welcome you to the One Hundred and Seventy-Second Annual Charity Drive of The Blue-Ribbons Foundation!”

A polite round of stomping echoed off the back of the Manor, and around the clearing. Blueblood bowed and offered his own smiles, waiting for the stomping to die down. “Indeed, through the efforts of the Blue-Ribbons Foundation, founded over that century and a half ago by my ancestor, Blue Marshal and his friend Colonel Ribbons, millions have been blessed with life-saving medical interventions and support. As we speak, thousands of Equestria’s most unfortunate ponies and other citizens are given food they need for their tables, roofs over their heads, and paid operations to save lives, even cancer treatments.”

He glanced over and made eye contact with his wife. She was smiling until she saw the glint in his eyes, and quickly shook her head, mouthing ‘no’ at him several times. “Ladies and Gentlecolts, there is one more pony I should bring to attention before we truly begin this Fair. My wife, Jewel Shine. Thanks to her hard work, the Blue-Ribbons Foundation has done more this year than any other year, and may this year be even better!”

The stomping followed, louder this time, and Bluebloodsmiled, with an extended a hoof towards Jewel, beckoning her to join him. The blushing mare shook her head quickly before pomp won out over circumstance and she quickly joined her husband at the microphone.

“Thank you, thank you!” she said as the stomping petered out. “Really, Blue and I should be cheering for you! Without any of your-your generous contributions, an-and countless hours of service, why this charity -our- would never have been so good! Ponies across Equestria would have gone without needed aid and support. So tonight let us honor you, and give thanks to your kind hearts. May we always look to your light in these troubled times, and the good examples that you set.”

More stomping. Weaker this time, as the crowd tried to puzzle out her words.

Blueblood took up the mic and with a clear voice he called out “Let the Fair begin!”

The stomping came back in earnest, as ponies hooted and hollered and ran this way and that to see all there was to see.

Blueblood opened his mouth to say some reassuring words to his wife when he felt a sudden presence at his side.

“Please forgive the intrusion, my Lord. Lady. Sir, may I have a moment of your time?”

Blueblood let out a sigh and turned around to face the weathered unicorn. Waiting Hooves stood in a crisp, black uniform with a silky blue tie and a white slash, and didn’t seem bothered at all by the weather. Nor for interrupting his Master.

“Mhmm. My Lord, my apologies for this inconvenience,” said the chamberlain with a bow, and sounding quite bored. “But we have a visitor approaching the mansion.”

* * *

Silver Dash wasn’t sure what she expected when she broke free of the cloud cover and saw the Blue Manor for the first time. Maybe more skulls and bones look to it? Fire and brimstone? The wailing of captives and slaves?

The mansion was just the textbook definition of a fancy dirtwalker home. It had three wings off the main house, at least six levels above ground, not counting the few towers it had, and all in the middle of an otherwise peaceful vale. Oh, and there was that giant Ferris wheel in the back, definitely was not expecting that. Even from her height, she could see the faint blue glint of the stonework that gave the manor its namesake. Supposedly, the building had unrefined mithril ore in the stone walls, which gave it a blue hue. As she got closer and gained a little elevation, she could see tents, booths, and a crowded gathering of ponies behind the manor. She was about to go closer, land in the middle of it all and wander around until she found the Prince, but grimaced once she realized what all of the commotion was.

Of course, his stupid fair would just have to be this weekend. She gave out a huff of irritation as she adjusted her goggles, and took a deep breath before banking left and dropping into the vale. The wind rushed past her, and for a small moment, she felt free.

But then the ground started to change. In a flash, it was dark, rain was pelting against her and she could barely see. She felt her heart tighten as she started gaining too much speed, and all she could hear was the blood pounding in her ears. Her wings flapped without coordination, an—

Immediately her wings popped open, twisted in opposite directions, and cork-screwed right out of her dive with several feet to spare from the ground. She held her wings open, gliding while letting her natural drag slow her down. Once her hooves touched the roadway, she slowed herself down to a trot and ended up only a few feet away from the steps leading up the great doors.

“Seven months!” snarled Silver Dash as she ripped her goggles off, and angrily threw them at the ground. “Seven months, no flashbacks, nightmares, nothing and... and…”

Silver Dash took a few deep breaths as she sat down on one of the steps and pulled out a water bottle from her saddlebags. She had drained nearly half of it within a few gulps and calmed her breathing as her coach had taught her. She ran a hoof through her mane, feeling the sweat and grime from her all day flight. Her fur was still sweaty, mostly from the long flight over, and her hoof and wings trembled when they were extended.

She let out a sigh, placed her water bottle back and picked up her goggles. She hesitated for a moment as she ran a hoof over the silver lettering of her name along the headband. A small lightning bolt matching her cutie mark was right behind her name. With another shake of her head, she willed herself to focus. She had a job that needed to be done.

Silver Dash pulled her goggles up and let the rest against her forehead. After a check and a small adjustment to her saddlebags, she trotted up to the top of the stairs and rapped a hoof against the doors. After a few moments, and several huffs of irritation, she was about to knock again when the great doors unlatched, and creaked open.

“May I help you?” came the bored, sophisticated draw of a butler.

Silver Dash eyed the old tan unicorn, his blue sash indicated he some sort of higher up in the house. “Uhh, hello. I’m here to see Ambas—, umm, Prince Blueblood.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No. It’s sort of a spur of the moment thing. Uhh, very important.”

“My Lord is currently engaged with the guests of the Blue-Ribbons Charity Fair,” replied the stallion. “Unless you have an invitation to it, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline your request until an appointment can be made.”

“Yeah, well, this is a very important exception to that,” replied Dash. “It’s urgent that I speak with him.”

“And, young miss, that is entirely impossible. I’m afraid if you don’t leave, then I shall have to call secu—”

“Listen!” snapped Silver Dash, flying up now so she was nearly nose to nose with the stallion. “I have flown nearly non-stop from the Crystal Empire, across half of Equestrian to see that stuck up, jerk. I’m tired, thirsty, hungry, and in need of a bathroom. Now you’re going to take me to the Lord, or I’ll knock you into next week, and then I’ll find him and buck the teeth right out of his head”

The stallion eyed Silver Dash for a while before finally letting out a weary sigh. “How tiresome. Very well, young miss. Though I will leave you in the guest lounge to… ‘freshen up’ while I go and get my Lord Blueblood.”

The pegasus nodded and dropped back onto her hooves as she followed him in. “Whoah.”

Silver Dash liked to think that she was use to the whole “mightier than thou” appearance. Hay, half of her workspace involved the Imperial Palace of the Crystal Empire. Aunt Firefly’s place in Manehatten was a pretty nice set up too, and then there was her parent’s house in Cloudsdale. Plus, pegasi had this whole Poniumpus style that made things overly grand.

But the Blue Manor was entirely different.

Upon entering the mansion, Silver Dash felt small, insignificant. The foyer stretched clear to the top of the manor, where massive skylights drowned the room with light. A grand staircase stretched to the second floor, then spit off to ascend even higher to a third and fourth floor. The walls were layered in rich marble with intricate gold details in sweeping, flourishing designs, and in between each of them was some sort of expensive painting, or fancy vase, or priceless heirloom.

It all made her wings itch. She wanted nothing better to hover in place as not to touch anything. But as her mother had lectured her about that enough times; hovering in someone’s home was rude. The house didn’t speak of just grandeur, or glory as one might expect from entering into such a house. But there was a forceful command, demanding immediate obedience and a sure promise to anypony that entered that you were beneath the Master of this House.

“Wow… I’ve... never been here before,” she said absentmindedly.

“Hardly surprising, Ms?”

“Umm, Dash. Lieutenant Silver Dash of the Equestrian Defense Force, and liaison to the Imperial Crystal Guard.”

“Few of the common ponies enter into the Manor,” droned the butler. “No offense, Ms. Dash.”

“None taken,” she said, still looking around as the pair walked to the Guest Lounge. It screamed Blueblood. All his vanities, pride, echoed in every small detail.

Every picture had the same eyes. She shivered, it all screamed Blueblood.

“This way, if you please,” remarked the butler as he opened a set of double doors. The Guest Lounge was bigger than her apartment in the Crystal Empire. “My Lord has another guest from Equestria awaiting to see him as well, a Ms. Sandy Gale, part of the Equestrian Royal Guard. I don't suppose the two of you know each other?”

Silver Dash’s eyes narrowed as she clicked her tongue. “In passing.” the butler acknowledged that with a fraction of a shrug. Is she in the Lounge as well?”

“No. Ms. Gale is preoccupied with other matters for my Lord, within the Manor,” he stated with a sigh. “She, and a few others have freedom from my Lord to move about the Manor as they please.”

Silver Dash nodded, but before she could ask what they were doing, the butler proceeded to drone on. “I’ll have another one of the servants bring you a glass of water,” continued the stallion. “There is a powder room for guests on the other side, which you may use to your liking. I do advise you to use it.”

Before Siver Dash could process the insult, the butler had left her alone in one of the gaudiest rooms she could think of. Similar to the foyer, it was all rich marble and intricate gold details. However, most of the walls were layered in the same soft grey, blue speckled rock that the manor was created out of. Family heirlooms, pictures, and major awards lined the walls and bookcases that were in the room. A variety of furniture, crafted from some sort of soft material to mimic clouds, were mixed around the room, and from appearance, seemed to be designed to fit different creatures too, not just ponies. Deciding it was worth the risk, she bellowed out a ‘hello’ just to see if it would echo.

To her surprise it did.

* * *

Blueblood looked back at the Master Suite and gave an irritated huff before trotting down the adjacent hallway to his study. It wasn’t much of a walk, it had been planned that way. Unlike a certain crystal palace, things actually made sense here.

Blueblood opened the door to his study and trotted in, quickly settling down in his chair behind the massive wooden desk. The study was made up the near entirety of a tower in the northwestern section of the manor. It was richly decorated in rich dark wood and a plush red carpet. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with tomes of ancient history and power. Priceless antiques and mentos lined the shelves as well. A cast iron staircase ascended higher into the tower where an old observatory was.

Yes, every inch spoke of wealth. Like everything else he owned. Blueblood rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. It was tiring, at times. The simple things gave him more joy these days than any sort of gold plated, jewel encrusted thing. Wealthy was all good and fine, he had spent a few lifetimes in less than satisfactory conditions to help him appreciate and value of such things. But knew in the long run that such things didn’t matter. He had seen ponies, griffins, dragons, and others, all wealthier than him, die in a nameless grave and all but forgotten.

Legacy, that’s what mattered. He gazed out the window, able to see most of the Fair already in full swing. But movement below caught his eye. A few colts playing some sort of game of tag, but it looked like a three-sided a fair, and each colt had some sort of flag tied around their waist. In the middle of all of it was his son, Knight Shine. He watched as the colt dived under a couple of the other boys, before popping up and tackling a third. He smiled at his son’s fierceness and felt a pang of regret in his old heart. Other things were more important than wealth. Legacy, continuation, eternal life.

Blueblood used his magic to bring him a wine glass and bottle. A quick pop of the cap and he had a full glass hovering right next to him. He sat back down in the chair with a sigh, and sipped on wine, enjoying the rich, slightly metallic taste. Blueblood would curse the thing but didn’t dare tempt fate. He was barely holding together as it was, regardless of the potions, rituals, and runes he had attempted. Time was no longer an ally.

He opened his eyes and browsed his desk, noting with some annoyance that it was still a mess; a chess game was still out, uncompleted next to him, and papers were scattered all over. A simple wave of his horn and everything would be put back into place.

He felt the magic swell into his horn, just in time for the heavy wooden door to slam open, and Silver Dash to march into the room. She was a near spitting image of her ancestor, Rainbow Dash. The same violet eyes, the same rough and gruff voice. The only difference was that her coat was grey, washed out. Like her career. Like any hopes she'd ever had of ever being favorably compared to her namesake.

Blueblood sighed and his magic flared up and set the items on his desk back in order again.

“You’re looking rather glum,” said Blueblood as he eyed the frowning mare, and gestured for her to take a seat. “More so than usual, Silver Dash.”

“Sandy Gale arrived too. She’ll be coming up soon,” replied Dash, a certain coldness in her voice. “I don’t know why you work with them.”

“The changelings?” he innocently posed. “Dash, we’re in a war here, a battle for the future of all ponies and in such times, you cannot afford to be picky about your allies. Besides, changelings are agents of change, and without their Queen to forcefully guide them, they are free to choose and pick their own future. They are fighting for that chance, that freedom. I dare say that there is no other righteous cause that I know of.”

Silver Dash clicked her tongue and gave a dismissive sigh. Her armor plates shifted as she sat down, pulled her saddlebags around, and pulled out a group of files. “You wanted these?”

“Not for another few days,” said Blueblood. He took the folders and set them down on his desk. “You’re early. Problems?”

“Complications,” she clarified as she took the tumbler and sipped on the brandy. “Getting in and out of the Crystal Empire is starting to get difficult. Even for me. They’re starting to tighten the border up, talk about building a wall is becoming more common.”

“As was expected,” he said. “Any pony suspicious of your actions?”

Silver Dash shook her head. “No. Onyx doesn’t suspect anything, and I haven’t seen the Empress for a few months. Though when hooves start flying between Equestria and the Empire, I’ll be in the Griffin Republic.”

Blueblood nodded. “Yes, your family has some history with them. Speaking of family, your father and brother are right ou—”

“I’ll pass,” she said, her voice raised slightly before taking a deep breath. “Look, it's complicated with them, and I’d rather, you know, never.”

Blueblood nodded again. “Off to see mum?”

Silver Dash glared at him but nodded her head. “Officially, yeah. The cancer… it’s been in remission, but Cloudsdale University Hospital wants her back up. Something of an... abnormality on the last screening. They want to do some tests and make sure things...”

Blueblood already knew that, but had acknowledged the information with a practiced expression of sorrow. “Well, the Foundation will continue to give support as long as requirements are met. What else are you here for?”

“Besides getting interrogated?”

Blueblood leaned back, his hooves held up. “Yes, sorry. It’s just so fascinating to me that last year, I was practically threatening you to keep helping and look how deep we are now. Bringing me all sorts of secret folders and what not, even things I didn’t ask for, and then establishing a spy ring right under Rarity’s fat muzzle. So you can’t blame me for being a bit… curious.”

“Suspicious.”

“Same thing,” replied Blueblood with a dismissing wave of his hoof. “Why the willingness now?”

“As I told you, I want a better world,” replied Silver Dash, eyes locked with Blueblood’s. “Things need to change, and those in power are too selfish and petty to do that. The Edict might give normal ponies a fighting chance to make the world theirs.”

Ahh. Blueblood held the gaze for a while before finally nodding, and turning his attention to the folders. Each bearing the seal of the Crystal Empire. One of them was more ornate than the other, holding Empress Rarity’s seal. “Many ponies have joined the cause in that same shared belief. Very well, I believe you Silver Dash. Well, since you're early, let's do the briefing. First, start with the one with the Imperial seal.”

“It’s for Commander Onyx. The Empre—”

“I’m back!” came the song-singing voice of Sandy Gale as the door opened. She trotted in with a happy little dance, and tossing the towel from her head onto an antique coat rack, causing Blueblood more pain than entertainment. The mare… changeling, he corrected himself, clearly did not know how to dance.

“Horn,” said Blueblood, looking back at the folders and placed them to his side.

“We’re in private,” replied Sandy Gale, a green flash later and her wings were gone, and a unicorn horn sat on her head. “It’s not like…”

Blueblood looked up, failing to control his smirk as Silver Dash and Sandy Gale stared daggers at each other. “It’s not like, what, Sandy?”

“Like any pony would care,” she said.

“They don’t,” snarled Silver Dash in return.

“Ladies,” said Blueblood, and got looks from both of them in return. He rolled his eyes. “Changlingness and Pegasuses, whatever. I take it both of you have something of interest to report, seeming you’re both here days ahead of your respective schedules.”

Sandy Gale trotted forward and daintily sat down in the open chair beside Silver Dash, clearly trying just to get a rise out of the pegasus. Blueblood rolled his eyes at this as a quill and paper appeared next to him, ready to take notes. “Infiltration of the Royal Guard has exceeded the time table and expectations, but we’ve elected to avoid the Heartbreakers and the Arcane Guard. Currently, the risk of detection is far too high. I’ve been placed as Captain Heartstrings personal assistant, which will hopefully make up for that loss, and for Senator Underhill’s fall from grace for his actions at the Empress’ Birthday Party last year.”

“You came all this way for a status update?” deadpanned Dash.

“Princess Twilight is missing,” finished Sandy Gale, “or something like that. It has the Palace in a bit of a frenzy.”

Blueblood frowned and leaned back in his chair. “That’s hardly ever a good thing. The entire point of infiltrating Canterlot is to observe the Princesses and distract them. Temporarily neutralize them when we’re ready. Twilight’s inconsistent absences just slows us down.”

“Princess Twilight, too?” muttered in Silver Dash with a frown. “Not Princess Twilight leaving, but… the Empress is also missing.”

Blueblood leaned forward in his seat. “What?”

Silver Dash nodded. “The Empress was out on vacation near the Mariterranean Sea. Something happened, we still don't know what, and she was just… gone. Lady Sapphire and Beryl Knight are calling for the Assembly to gather. Officially, I’m on my way to get Commander Onyx from Ponyville.”

It rarely ever happened, but Blueblood was at a genuine loss for words, loss of action. He slouched back into his chair and turned to his thoughts. Twilight leaving the Canterlot without notice was nothing big, but the Empress rarely left her Imperial Palace. To have them gone at the same time…

Oh, how the fates smiled upon him.

“We need to move quickly,” he said, absentmindedly. He blinked a few times as his mind finally caught back up. “We need to put our operations into play. This is a chance we could never have again! Now we just need Mayor Mane, an—”

“He’s not available anymore,” said Sandy Gale. “Probably for a few months, or years. I mean, it really depends on the speed of Equestria’s Judicial system, whic—”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s been arrested.”

Blueblood stared at the other mare, his mouth in a tight line, and leaned back in his chair. He needed to focus, need to relax. One… Two… Thre—

The chess set exploded from his desk as his hoof swept it off. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN, ARRESTED?”

Silver Dash looked at him quizzically. “Arrested. The act of depriving an individual of their liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation or prevention of crime an—”

“I know what it means!” hissed Blueblood. “What I don't understand is why he is in jail! What happened!?!”

“Bank Fraud,” replied Sandy Gale. “It was reported in the Manehattan Times this morning, but unofficially, it was for some smuggling ring of stolen magical items across international lines, or something, I dunno. It’s been kept quiet.”

Blueblood let out a very colorful string of curses. “Contact Manehattan Chief of Police, Dunken… something, whatever. He owes me a favor for his outstanding election record.”

“That’s not going to work,” said Sandy Gale. “He wasn’t arrested by the local PD. It was the Arcane Guard.”

Silence reigned in the study as Blueblood leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh. Of course, it was almost poetic, in a certain, strangle inducing frustration. All the money, time, resources spent! All the lifetimes of planning and careful execution. Decades of fear of being discovered, and here he was, on the pinnacle of victory for a better world and a challenger finally appears. “Captain Shining Star.”

Sandy Gale nodded. “I brought the report, but there was a lot omitted out of Shining Star’s official report that doesn’t match up. Princess Twilight seemed to have signed off on it regardless. We’re working on finding any unofficial documentation that may have been left out.”

“I’ll look at it later,” replied Blueblood. “It doesn’t matter right now. We need to accelerate things, with both Twilight and Rarity being gone, Canterlot is distracted and the Empire no doubt in turmoil, we won’t have another chance like this.”

“But without Mayor Mane...” stated Sandy Gale.

“To do what?” asked Silver Dash.

Damn you, Sandy Gale, shut up. Blueblood cursed as he gave a confident smile. “Why, to accelerate the Edict’s plans in Manehatten, my dear Silver Dash. You had mentioned something about Commander Onyx?”

The pegasus nodded. “Y-yeah. He’s on vacation in Ponyville. Lady Sapphire, the Empress’ seneschal sent me to get him as I was on my way out of the Empire. She was returning to The Palace from the Mariterranean Sea.”

“Good, good, good,” said Blueblood as he pushed some papers around his desk. A drawer suddenly opened and several quills and ink bottles, enveloped in his golden magic, opened up and began scribbling letters and messages. He had agents that needed to start their work. “Silver Dash, I think it’s time the good Commander and I had a little chat.”

Author's Note

And Chapter 6, as promised.

I hope to be able to be more consistent with updates for ER251, but keep an eye out for some blog posts coming out soon about future projects and plans for ER251.

As always, please feel free and welcome to any feedback, and thank you for reading thus far.

Prologue

The side of the mountain erupted in a storm of fire and ash, obliterating the tranquility of the small island. Shards of wood and rock rained down as fire and dirt blew forth, burning everything in it’s path. Steam exploded from under the ground, creating sinkholes and blowing more craters into the mountain as the water below was instantly vaporized. Slowly, the mountain started to sag towards the east as the explosions tore it apart from the inside out.

Princess Twilight Sparkle was barely ahead of the chaos.

Locked in a dead gallop, Twilight could feel the heat of the firestorm behind her as the forest exploded. She glanced at her right wing and mentally let out another string of curses at the luck of dislocating it. Teleporting wasn’t an option either. Her horn fizzled painfully at the thought of the magic required to ju—

“Watch out!”

Twilight barely had enough time to look over her shoulder before sliding to the left. A tree, broken and sharpened into a deadly projectile, whizzed past her and slammed into a jutting rock ahead of her. Twilight leaped over a fallen log, and barreled through a couple of thorny bushes when the thundering of another set of hooves caught her attention as she looked over on the ridge near her.

A white unicorn with a freely flowing purple mane, clad in a protective crystal armor, galloped along the top. Empress Rarity leaped off the ridge, and landed next to Twilight as the two continued to run.

“This is all your fault!” yelled Twilight as she jumped over a charred stump.

“Darling, this is hardly the time to— ” Rarity stumbled ahead of an exploding larch, as a massive boulder smashed it into a cloud of splinters and continued to bounce after them “—be casting blame. And if it was, you’d be to blame! It was you who told me to poke the dragon with a stick.”

“I was being sarcastic!” roared Twilight as her aching horn flickered with magic. The boulder bounced off of a quickly summoned, cracked, and frayed magical shield, and disappeared into a grove of trees on their right.

“And I was suppose to know!?”

“Seriously, what sane mare would wake a sleeping dragon!?”

“I said I was sorry!” shouted Rarity. “He is clearly overreacting!”

A thunderous roar shook the air around them. Twilight risked another glance behind her and watched as the snow capped peak blew up, raining boulders as large as houses down into the trees and ash cascaded into the air. The explosion framed the grim silhouette of a massive winged dragon as it came soaring out of the mountain peak.

Urging her sore legs to move faster, she yelled to Rarity as she passed her. “If you poked me in the eye with a stick, I’d be angry too!”

“Where did Discord find that beast?” demanded Rarity. “It’s like— move!”

Twilight didn’t have time to do anything. She felt the armored form of the Crystal Empress slam into her flank. Followed by a shockwave, and the crash of crystal armor into the unstable ground beneath them.

The motion, while probably saving her life, had caused Twilight to lose her hoofing, and tumbled right down into the dirt. Pain erupted from everywhere, and she was sure her right wing was dislocated again as she went sliding down the mountain.

But there was no time to think about it, Twilight flapped her left wing and gave a hard push. The action forced enough of an air under her to send the alicorn bounding up onto on her hooves.

She was about to cry out for Rarity when she saw her, not twenty feet away. Rarity’s armor was blackened along one side, and she could see several new and rather serious cracks along the right shoulder. It was clear by the expression on Rarity’s face that it hurt, and running was just as unbearable for her as it was for Twilight.

But they didn’t have a choice.

Twilight looked ahead and swore. Before them was a massive gorge, too large for them to jump. An idea slowly formed into her head as she galloped faster. “Rarity!”

The Empress looked ahead and nodded, seemingly able to understand just what Twilight had planned. The crystal armor crept up the mare’s neck until it formed a helmet around her head, and her horn glowed with a bright blue aura. Another roar got both of the mares' attention as they ran, closer this time. Twilight barely had time to weave to the left as a chunk of sharpened rock, slammed into the ground in front of her.

The dragon was clearly upset.

Twilight watched as Rarity galloped ahead of her and disappeared over the edge of the gorge. Time slowed as a final boost of adrenaline spiked through Twilight’s veins. She leaped into the air and twisted around, facing the dragon, and her horn glowing with power that only the Goddess of Magic could command. The dragon now close enough that Twilight could see the hate in the one good eye it had left.

Twilight unleashed the magic built up in her horn in a blinding magenta explosion, localized to the gorge’s opening. The resulting boom drowned out the roar of the dragon, and the shock wave flung the princess head first down into the darkness of the crevice as dirt, rocks, and other debris rained down in after her.

She struggled with the feeling of plummeting. It had been a long time since she fell. Wings will do that to you. Her dislocated wing flapped uselessly, trying to gain some purchase with the wind when she felt the crystal brush against her hooves. Slowly, the feeling became more constant until it felt like she was on a solid piece. Twilight channeled just enough magic into her horn to light the area around her, and found herself on some sort of crystal slide

Just behind her, she felt the crystal slide suddenly snap as something very large crashed into it. The action tossed Twilight back into the air and back down onto the slide, knocking the wind from her. This time the slide was fragmenting under her hooves. A pale blue light raced along inside the crystal, giving it just enough strength to let Twilight slide by before fragmenting into the darkness below. Soon, the slide dipped into a large crack in the cliff wall.

Once through, the slide evened out, slowing Twilight down until she tumbled to a stop in some long, hidden, underground cave. She laid there, panting for a while before standing up on shaky hooves, and rubbed her head near the base of her horn. The headache and the pressure from that concussive spell was fading, but not as fast as she would have liked.

“Rarity?” called out Twilight, as she staggered forward. Exhaustion and pain began to seep into every inch of her body as the adrenaline spike wore off. She squinted about, not seeing much more than rock walls and the faint dripping of water. “Rarity? Where are you?”

“H-here.”

Twilight looked to her left and increased the light coming from her horn with a grimace of pain. Rarity lay unmoving, save for her ragged breathing. Her armor, chipped and scarred from days of use, was still surrounding her body as she lay near a puddle of water.

“Did... we get it?” groaned Rarity, as the crystal helmet folded back down into her armor. She feebly shifted her head to look over at Twilight. “I don’t think I have another round with that dragon left in me.”

Twilight stumbled over to Rarity, sat down next to her, and used a hoof to pull out a very pink butterfly made of some sort of now charred stone from her threadbare saddlebags.

"Tourmaline?" asked Twilight.

Rarity gave it a quick glance. "Morganite, by the looks of it. I'm surprised it came out of the wall so easily."

Twilight nodded, "Yeah. The dragon's thrashing around dislodged it."

“And here you thought it was a bad thing to rile it up,” scoffed Rarity as she plucked the gem from Twilight’s grasp with her own magic and brought it closer to her, giving it an appraising look.

“Getting the Kindness Stone, no,” said Twilight in an overly sweet voice, before staring daggers into the unicorn next to her. “Getting chased down a collapsing, exploding mountain by a half-blind dragon, all of which could have been avoided. Yes. That was bad.”

“I said I was sorry,” mumbled Rarity, still admiring the gem. “It’s beautiful.”

Twilight fell the rest of the way down and laid her head on her hooves and closed her eyes. She was too tired at the moment to give into the bitter need to push the issue more. They’d been running for so long, trying to survive on this island that rest seemed like a foreign pleasure to her. Listening to the steady dripping of water, feeling the cool stone beneath her sweaty and pained body, this is what she wanted.

And a painkiller would be fantastic too. So would a peach smoothie, or a pillow. Maybe some candies. A good book. And a fresh garden salad with those tiny tomatoes, and garlicky croutons.

The sound of rummaging through a saddlebag and a sudden pressure on her right shoulder broke Twilight out of her wishful thinking and she gave out a huff of annoyance, and looked over to find Rarity wrapping a bandage around her wing.

“You’re hurt,” she stated, tying the bandage.

“Dislocated, again, I think,” replied Twilight as she shifted to allow the unicorn better access to the wing. She hissed in pain as Rarity prodded and poked at it. “What in the wo—”

“Hush, and give me a second darling,” said Rarity, running a frozen hoof along the edge of the wing, and down into the joint in Twilight’s back. The pain seemed to taper off at the cooling touch of the Empress. “My, don't you think that rock formation over there is interesting?” Rarity asked suddenly.

Twilight looked at the slate wall ahead of her. “Who are you, Maud P—” A popping sound, and a sudden flare of pain caused Twilight to go slack jawed, and slump her head down to the floor. “Oww.”

“You’re fine,” said Rarity, as she laid back down. “It wasn’t nearly as bad as the first time. Stars above, you wouldn’t let me come anywhere near it. Still, it's better to take care of it now.”

Twilight nodded her thanks. And they shared a few moments of silence, each marked with the drip of water somewhere in their forgotten hollow.

“Are you okay, Rarity?”

Rarity let out a tsk that echoed. The sound of armor plates scraping and clinking together as Rarity lifted her head up to appraise herself filled the stale air. “Darling, it’s just a few scrapes and chips. Nothing a little buff and polish won’t fix.”

“Nothing? You took an indirect hit from a fireball, and almost cost us the game,” deadpanned Twilight. She heard Rarity’s armor squeak as she shrugged the comment off. Twilight softened and nudged the unicorn to get her attention. “Still, thank you, Rarity.”

There was a pause for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“For pushing me out of the way back there in the forest. If that fireball hit me, I…”

Rarity opened her mouth to reply as Twilight trailed off, but something in the distance stopped her. Her eyes narrowing as she fought to stand back up. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

“What is…” Twilight looked behind her. She could hear it now. The distant scrapings, the echoing shrieks and howls from further in the darkness. “What?”

“Diamond Dogs,” snarled Rarity as if it was some sort of filthy curse. “We aren’t done yet.”

“Do you think they know we’re down here?” breathed Twilight. “Can you teleport?”

Rarity shook her head. “Short distances if we get into trouble, maybe. But I feel like I’m at my limit just keeping this armor summoned.”

Twilight cursed under her breath. There was no way she was in any sort of shape to manage teleportation for the distance they needed. And that left only one other option. She picked the Empress up and unceremoniously slung her across her back.

“Hey, wha—”

“You’re hurt, and we need to move fast,” said Twilight. “Especially if these are like the wild dogs from earlier.”

“But I—”

A single glare from Twilight was all she needed to silent any further protests from Rarity. “Which way to the top?”

Rarity looked away from Twilight and studied the rock formations around her for a moment, before pointing a hoof out to a small passage to their left. “That way, I think.”

Twilight took off as fast as she could push her aching muscles, which ended up being a sort of half trot, half gallop. She dipped between stalagmites, and slipped into the passage, that was less a passage and more a glorified crack in the wall. She grinned as she remembered what day it was, and what she was going to tell Rarity before their argument and trek to the mountain caves this morning.

"You were right, you know," she said, hopping over a rock as the sounds of the dogs in the deep grew louder.

"I was? About what?"

"You have the worst birthdays."

Author's Note

Hello everyone, and welcome to ER251!

Thank you so much for your time reading this, and also to all that have given me their support and kindness over the last few months and also during the writing of ER250. You all mean so much to me, and I am so grateful to be able to be here and to do this project. Some good news is that Chapter 1 will be posted tomorrow. And I am diligently working on Chapter 2.

I tried really hard to get the grammar right, but I am sure I glazed over things, or mentally filled in the gaps with what was right. If you notice an error, please tell me and I will fix it as soon as possible.

As always, feedback is encouraged. Drop me a comment on what you liked or what you feel like I could do better.