Symphony of the Heart

The Brokenridge Mountains. A mountain chain situated on Equestria’s wintry north, dividing the land of ponies from the territories of the yaks. Even then, in the afternoon, the dense layer of clouds that enveloped the sky allowed no rays of the sun to shine through. Blizzards and ice storms relentlessly pounded the frozen mountain peaks and released their deposits of ice and snow onto the land. Not many creatures could survive such inhospitable conditions.

Nevertheless, Maleficent's countenance was at ease, calm, even. The dark witch tested the air, her pale green fingers flexing, testing, reaching for something seen only by her. She closed her eyes and extended her senses, taking measure of the magical energies all around her.

How long she stood there, she did not know. But she was not in a hurry. She'd learned long ago that patience is a virtue, and a virtue that had served her well many times in the past.

Then she felt it. Darkness. A vile energy tinged with malice and cruelty, buried deep beneath the ice. Her eyes opened, the sorceress grinned and raised her staff, calling on her tremendous reserves of dark magic. The staff slammed into the ground, the earth shook, and the frozen rock beneath her parted violently, opening a ravine that the meager light of the sun could not breach.

She could feel the darkness now, stronger, rising from its prison and then, a dark cloud, almost palpable to the touch emerged from the ravine. From within the cloud—formless, a mass that writhed before her—two eyes opened.

"Sorceress," it rasped. "You have released me." It was a statement. "Who are you," it said after a beat of silence.

Maleficent grinned. "King Sombra, ruler of the Crystal Empire. I am Maleficent."

The shadowy mass blinked, taking in her words. "You... your presence... your magic... you are foreign to this world." Sombra said more to himself. "Why have you freed me?"

“A thousand years ago you were sealed away by the princesses of this land, were you not? I offer you a second chance. An opportunity to reclaim all that was lost to you.”

Sombra grumbled, his eyes unblinking, never straying from Maleficent's. The strange being before him obviously held great power. He could feel her dark magic permeating the air around. Whatever reservations the fallen king may have had, the sorceress had sought him out. She could have destroyed him easily if she wished so, and there'd be little he could to to stop her in his weakened state. And so he found himself curious; intrigued at the sorceress' proposal. “And in return?”

“Your assistance,” was the witch’s sole reply. “But don't worry, great King. My terms are not steep. In fact I think you will find you stand much to gain.”

“I'm listening.”

Maleficent grinned. “Tell me, King Sombra, have you heard of the Heartless?”

***

Resting leisurely on her study, princess Luna enjoyed a cup of coffee, a small plate of biscuits tucked nearby and a very interesting novel which she currently read. Not for the first time since her return did the moon diarch marvel at the progress and changes her beloved Equestria had undergone in her absence.

Ponies behaved different, talked different. Social protocol, law, government, cultural sciences, all aspects that differed from her time. Even the current object of her attention was proof of that. For the better part of an hour, Luna sat enraptured, breathing erratically, cheeks flushed and never once straying her eyes from the book's pages.

She had to admit, perhaps she'd been just a tad hasty in judging these new 'romance' novels that were the rage among mares, dismissing them as filth. Senseless smut. And yet, despite her reservations, her curiosity had gotten the better of her and so, earlier in the day and under an illusion spell, going by the name Nocturne, Luna had wandered into a store filled with what ponies nowadays called 'marital aides'.

Red faced and sputtering in a manner most unbefitting of royalty, the fully flushed 'Nocturne' was overcome by the sheer number of... diversity the store held. Lacy garments most scandalous, board games that a loving couple would partake in, not to mention the whips, cuffs, restraints and the toys... by the heavens, the toys.

A very nice mare named Starbright had approached the flustered, agape princess. An employee of Garden of Pleasures, Starbright was very knowledgeable of the wide varieties of items they held and offered to give Nocturne an impromptu tour of the place. Luna suspected the mare was used to ponies mirroring her reaction, for Starbright was very understanding and little by little, with a warm smile and a friendly demeanor, Starbright had slowly eased her in to what the store offered.

Luna couldn't remember a time she'd been more embarrassed but nevertheless, she'd been appreciative of Starbright's patience and discretion. The moon princess had originally set forth in an effort to investigate these romance novels mares seemed to be so fond of, but in the end, got more than she bargained for.

Despite the staggering array of choices offered to her, Luna had meekly asked to purchase a book... just for starters and after coins exchanged hooves, Luna scampered away in a haste and immediately teleported to her study where she proceeded to investigate this new trend in pony culture. She'd been hooked after the first few minutes and before she knew it, Luna could not put the book down.

She'd followed the heroes of the novel—the gallant knight Valiant Shield and the roguish scoundrel Lilac Weave—from their first encounter. Lilac thought Valiant Shield an easy mark, and after trying(and failing) to pickpocket the knight, Valiant Shield pursued her through the city until finally confronting her in an isolated alley. Using her wits and wiles, Lilac escaped, but not before leaving an impression on Valiant Shield, as he did to her. They then encountered each other throughout the course of the novel, their meetings growing less hostile and more... intimate and now, finally, very near the climax, Lilac Weave and Valiant Shield were finally about to...

"Princess Luna! Princess, are you there?"

Luna's head snapped up at the forceful pounding of hooves on her door. Frustration mixed with disappointment coursed through her as she'd been interrupted right before she came to the good part. Annoyed, the princess rose to her hooves and moved to open the door, and possibly give whoever it was a rightful scolding for interrupting.

"Captain. What is the meaning of this?" Luna asked, irritation evident on her words.

The batpony before her saluted. "Apologies, princess. I did not mean to interrupt you, but there is an urgent matter that requires you attention. Princess Celestia has asked to speak to you immediately and requests your presence in the Infirmary wing of the castle."

A beat of silence passed as Luna registered his words. "Then let us make haste, captain." Before the captain could react, Luna's horn lit and the princess teleported them both to the infirmary of Canterlot castle.

"Luna! Thank goodness."

The moon diarch spotted Celestia immediately. Her sister remained unharmed, thankfully, and though she'd learned long ago to restrain her emotions, Luna knew Celestia well enough to know that she was in a state of worry. The captain took a moment to register his surroundings, but composed himself and followed.

"Sister, is everything alright?" Luna asked in a clipped tone.

Celestia hesitated for a moment. "No, Luna. Captain, now that my sister is here, please repeat to her what you told me."

"Of course, your Majesty. At approximately eighteen hundred hours yesterday reports from the Canterlot Institute of Magic came in. The Arch Mage detected an anomaly on Equestria's northern territories. By standard procedure, a small team of ponies was sent to investigate—eight total. Their goal was to investigate and evaluate this anomaly and determine whether it posed a threat to the citizens of Equestria. Their search took them to the small town of Trenthoof—a settlement that borders the ice plains to the north of Equestria."

"Well? What happened?" Luna asked.

The captain hesitated and for a second, his features very nearly twisted in a grimace before he could compose himself. "Your Majesty... Trenthoof was destroyed."

"What?" Luna very nearly hissed. "What dost this mean? Sister." She looked to Celestia, hoping she would contradict the captain's words.

"It's true, Luna. I teleported there immediately after hearing the Captain's report. The town was destroyed."

"What are you saying, sister? Is Equestria under attack? Is it the griffons? The diamond dogs? The minotaurs?"

"Luna," Celestia said firmly. "Slow down."

Luna took three deep breaths. "Apologies, Celestia. Now tell me. What happened?"

"I don't know. I inspected the site myself. None of it corresponds to any threat we know of, but that is not what worries me."

"What do you mean, sister?"

"Trenthoof suffered significant damage, and everywhere I looked were signs of a great struggle. Whatever it was that attacked Trenthoof held the advantage of great numbers, but there was no trace of the attackers and... no survivors were left."

"What?" Luna whispered harshly. "No survivors? But sister, how can you be sure? Don't you think you're arriving to hasty conclusions?"

"I hope I am, Luna," Celestia sighed and lowered her head. "I've sent an additional squadron of guards and scholars to investigate and catalogue everything that happened. Perhaps they will find something I missed."

Luna nodded. "Then mayhaps I should go as well. But something puzzles me..."

"What is it?"

"You claim you found no survivors, but how could the captain, and you in extension, know that Trenthoof was destroyed in such a short amount of time?"

Celestia directed her gaze to the single, occupied bed in the infirmary. "That is Lieutenant Storm Chaser, a pegasus of the Solar Guard. He arrived here not three hours ago, heavily injured and demanded to see me immediately. The Lieutenant was one of the ponies sent to investigate the anomaly, and as far as we can tell, he is the only one to have made it out before Trenthoof was destroyed."

"And what did he say? Who is responsible for this atrocity?"

Celestia expelled a breath, traces of frustration making themselves evident in her face. "I don't know, sister. As I told you, the lieutenant sustained heavy injuries before making his way here. He speaks of creatures... darkness given form and able to move like shadows on the ground. I can't say whether this is true or not, but whatever it is he saw, I have no idea what it is."

Luna stomped a hoof, snorting in frustration. "This is unacceptable! Sister, we must scour our kingdom for these vile monsters and strike them down before they can do any more harm. I shall personally accompany this new search party and investigate the identity of our attackers."

Celestia met her sister's hard gaze. "What will you do should you find them?"

"I shall give them but one chance to surrender to us," the moon princess said coldly.

"Very well. I wish you luck, Luna. And please, be safe."