Broken: Love

by Knackerman

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Starlight Glimmer, Thriller, Drama, Spike
Length: 25809

Sunburst is on the run with Flurry Heart, as a shadow falls over the Crystal Empire

Sunburst has been dutifully fulfilling his responsibilities as a Crystaler to the newborn Princess Flurry Heart. Although, given her young age, his 'lessons' mostly amount to extended baby sitting sessions. Though uncertain, Sunburst is proud of his position, and takes his role as the newborn Princess's guardian seriously. That is why, when a shadow suddenly falls over the heart of the Crystal Empire, he makes getting her to safety his first priority. As jagged dark crystals erupt and spread outwards from the Crystal Castle, a strange madness seems to spread through the populace.

Can Sunburst keep his goddaughter safe when the entire population of the Crystal Empire turns against him? What is the source of this strange madness that has gripped the populace? Will Twilight and her friends be able to aid him? And just who is the 'Empress'?

Published 2016-05-16 08:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-05-16 08:20:02 UTC

Matters of the Heart

There was no time for him to stop. Not even to so much as catch his breath.

He could hear them, their strange cries only slightly muffled by the swirling snow. It had taken everything Sunburst had to make his way safely out of the Crystal Empire. He didn't know if he had fate, providence, or simple dumb luck to thank for guiding him away from the train station, but even though the howling winds of the snowy wastes that border the Empire bit harshly through his star strewn cloak, he was glad of it. Every instinct screamed at him to move as quickly away from the train yard as soon possible. Especially that finely honed sense that allowed him to detect magic. Whatever was going on at the train yard was warping and distorting the aether for miles. It was best not to look, best not to be distracted.

Especially now that he could here hooves crunching quickly through the snow behind him. They had found his trail!

He clutched the bundle beneath his cloak tighter to his chest with his magic, making sure that his parcel was wrapped safe and snug before he began trudging ahead as fast as he dared. Already his glasses were rimmed with frost, and his eyes were blurred with tears. His mane and scraggly beard were whipped by the unrelenting gale. He wished that he had taken the time to grab warmer clothing for himself, but there had been no time to do so. When the shadow fell over the Crystal Empire, there had been no warning. Suddenly massive spires of crystal that pulsed with dark energy had sprouted from the earth, like the teeth of a hungry predator sinking into defenseless prey. But that hadn't been the worst part. No, that had come shortly afterward. That was what was gaining on Sunburst's flanks even now.

A beam of magical energy scorched through the air, arching wide, but still managing to melt a patch of snowy ground into a slightly charred mud puddle near Sunburst's hooves. A warning shot. More magical missiles flew through the air, and it was all that the Unicorn could do to dodge them. He realized with a sinking feeling that they weren't necessarily trying to stop him. Rather they were trying to herd him, trying to drive him back the way he had come... Back to the Empire.

He could not allow that to happen. He didn't know what awaited for him back in the city, but it couldn't be anything good.

For years Sunburst had studied to become a powerful wizard, a magical practitioner without peer. While he had never become important, his studying had not been for nothing. While many of the greatest works of spell craft had remained beyond his abilities, he had still developed an almost encyclopedic knowledge of magics both ancient and new. While this skill made him a better custodian of ancient tomes, a librarian rather than an actual wizard, that didn't mean he hadn't picked up a useful spell here or there. As the snow continued to swirl around him, one such spell came to him now. It was simple enough, a spell for refracting light through ice crystals to make an artificial rainbow. But when the air itself seemed to freeze into a solid sheet of glass and the beams of magic that collided with it scattered in eight directions at once, he took some satisfaction in the surprised yelps of his pursuers.

His satisfaction quickly faded, however, as something heavy fell from the sky and landed in front of him. "Give it up Crystaler!" shouted a masculine voice over the howling wind. Flash Sentry of the Imperial Guard spread his wings wide, using them to block Sunburst's path and to shield the worst of the wind so his voice would carry all the clearer, "The Empress would have words with you! Before or after you regain consciousness, that doesn't matter to me. That's your choice!" He stomped one hoof into the snow, giving his threat emphasis.

"Why are you doing this!?" cried Sunburst, shouting as his words were whipped away by the blizzard. "Who is this Empress of which you speak!? Have you betrayed Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor!?"

"You think you know so much, don't you?" replied Flash, his voice dripping with disdain. "I've met your type before. Brainy, self-satisfied Unicorn's that look down on the rest of us as if we were simple." spat the soldier. Sunburst had never seen him like this before. Flash Sentry was one of the most easy going members of the Imperial Guard. The hatred in his voice, it just wasn't like him. "You'll learn soon enough that you don't have all the answers. Only she does. Only our bright and shining lady! Only the Empress!" And there it was. The sudden change. From hatred to something approaching awe. It almost sounded as if Flash Sentry was... In love.

But then, they all did. They formed a rough semi-circle around Sunburst now. Some were Imperial Guards like Flash, while others were simple citizens. All babbled to themselves. "Her hair, how it shimmers." one said in almost religious fervor. "Her eyes, how they sparkle," another practically wept. "Her coat, how it glimmers," whispered another, hoarsely, clearly overcome with emotion. Sunburst didn't know what to do. They were all around him now. He could hear them before he saw them, trudging through the snow as if they couldn't feel the murderous cold, each with blank expressions and gibbering to themselves about their 'bright and shining lady'.

"Submit to the Empress of Love!" command Flash Sentry. "Her radiance outshines the Moon and the Sun! Submit and know true happiness!"

Before Sunburst could respond, he felt something squirm at his chest. Oh no! This was the worst possible time! The writhing intensified, and a soft cry rose from the parcel he had wrapped so snugly. A horn peeped out of the blankets, and then a smiling face. Baby Flurry Heart had woken up!

"What's that? What do you have there?" Flash questioned.

The Princess giggled as Sunburst tried to shield her with is cloak. Clearly, she thought they were playing a game of peek-a-boo. How badly Sunburst wished that were the case, for he feared the game they had suddenly found themselves caught up in might have far more dire consequences than a simple foal's past-time. "Nothing you need concern yourself with," spoke Sunburst quickly. "You were saying, about the Empress. How she outshines the Moon and the Sun?" he added quickly.

"And the stars, and all the other heavenly bodies!" added Flash, his expression one of rapture. "You should feel honored that she wishes to see you in person."

The blow flew wide, possibly because Sunburst was expecting it. There had perhaps been only a moment before Flash's enraptured expression had turned to one of jealous rage, but the look was so intense that Sunburst knew that violence would swiftly follow. He countered with a pulse of magic, a burst of light to dazzle the gathered Crystal Ponies. It had the desired effect as all those gathered threw one hoof over their eyes, or stumbled blindly. Now was the time for escape!

It was a pity then, that Sunburst's cloak had tangled around his legs. He fell over awkwardly in the snow, careful to keep from landing on his precious bundle. Flurry Heart seemed to think this was just another part of their game, as she shrieked with joy and giggled wildly, one wing flapping loose from her bindings as Sunburst scrambled to find some footing in the snow. They were already on him before he could regain his hooves. His window of opportunity had slammed shut. He could feel the vice like grip of the Unicorns in the crowd as magical shackles clasped his legs and throat.

It was all over. All that struggling had been for nothing. They wouldn't be able to escape after all.

Concentrating, Sunburst desperately rifled through his mind for some spell, any spell that might help them out of this situation. This was what had stopped him from being a successful wizard. While he had an almost photographic memory of magic words and enchantments, when the pressure was on he always froze up. There were too many things he could potentially do! Some might improve their situation but others might only make it worse. Was the right play to go along with them? Let them lead him back to who ever this 'Empress' was that had so clearly taken over their minds? What was to stop him from suffering a similar fate? More so, what would happen to Princess Flurry Heart? His mind fairly raced, darting through the different possibilities like a rat through a maze with the scent of a cat on the prowl not far away.

And then there was a soft sound, like the coo of a dove.

Sunburst's eyes, which had been rolling in their sockets in panic, looked down at Flurry Heart. She had undone the greater part of her swaddling, and was now exposed to the freezing air. The chill must have tickled her nose, for as Sunburst watched, she gave a tiny sneeze. Raw magic pulsed from the baby Alicorn, and in that moment both she and Sunburst were gone! Nothing but a circle of mud remained where they had lain, and even that was quickly filled in with snow once more.

Lovesickness

The train to Canterlot was packed from floor to ceiling. Every car seemed to be laden with more ponies than they had ever been meant to carry. There were even ponies hanging from the caboose and crouching in the coal car.

It wasn't much of a surprise, as the summons had gone out to all of Ponyville. Everypony was invited to attend a special event in Canterlot, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would be making a grand announcement of import to all of Equestria. The Princesses had granted special dispensation to the citizens of Equestria, so that all who were invited could ride the trains that day for free. As such, it seemed nearly all of Ponyville had tried to jam themselves onto the Express Train to get to Canterlot to see what all of the fuss was about.

"Is there a reason we didn't just fly to Canterlot?" asked Spike grumpily, his tiny dragon body wedged between Bulk Biceps and Big Mac. "Or maybe, ya know, teleport? Ride a hot a air balloon? Something!?"

"The Friendship Express is the fastest and safest way to travel to Canterlot," replied Twilight Sparkle as though she were quoting a brochure. It was likely she in fact was, knowing what a bibliophile Twilight could be. "Besides, all of our friends are here! Isn't this exciting!?" And it was true. It seemed like everypony they knew had been squeezed into the same car. Starlight Glimmer and Applejack sat with Twilight, while across the aisle, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash sat with the three Cutie Mark Crusaders. Even Granny Smith was on board, sleeping awkwardly next to Mayor Mare who, with a long suffering smile, had to keep getting her attendant to gently shift Granny's nodding head so as not to get drool on her ruffled ascot.

"Oh, sure it's real exciting," replied Spike rolling his eyes, "But that still doesn't explain why we're taking the train."

"Cause it's free," said Applejack, matter-of-factly.

"Eeyup." responded Big Mac.

"YEEEAAHHH!" added Bulk Biceps, rather over enthusiastically.

"I've got to agree with Spike on this Twilight," said Starlight with some consternation. "I know the royal decree said all the citizens of Ponyville should travel to Canterlot for today's announcement, and that the trains would be made available for everyponies use. But aren't you royalty yourself? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, arriving in some private carriage pulled by Royal Pegasus Guards? Or appearing in a burst of magic? If what's going on in Canterlot is so important, shouldn't you be a part of it?"

"That's funny coming from you Starlight. I thought you'd appreciate sharing the plight of the 'common' ponies," replied Twilight, teasing her pupil. "I will be a part of it Starlight," replied Twilight with a smile. "Just like every other citizen of Ponyville. There's no place I'd rather be on this auspicious day than beside my friends and loved ones. If that means having to put up with a little over crowding, I think that just adds to the specialness of the day!"

"Today's special all right," grumbled Spike as he shifted in his seat and accidentally put his snout in Bulk's armpit. Twilight's assistant gagged, causing the muscular pony to blush slightly. It would take a rank smell indeed to make a dragon like Spike react with revulsion, and it seemed the sweaty Pegasus had achieved just such a scent. Spike coughed, and gave Bulk Bicep's a look halfway between disgust and respect, before turning his attention back to Twilight "Any idea what the Princesses are supposed to be announcing?"

"I have no idea!" replied Twilight with a grin. "Like I said, I'll be finding out with the rest of you! Though it must be something major for the Princesses to go to so much trouble to make sure everypony for miles around is in attendance. I don't think there have been this many ponies heading to Canterlot since my coronation!"

"Doesn't that bother you though?" asked Starlight, still concerned. "I mean don't you wish Celestia and Luna would include you when it's something that's important to all of Equestria?"

"Pfft, nonsense," replied Twilight. "The Princesses have always kept me in the loop."

A mischievous look crossed Applejack's face. "Like that time Princess Celestia told ya ta make friends, but didn't tell ya it was so you could harness the powers of the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon?" asked Applejack.

"Or that time she let you know she was keeping the embodiment of Chaos as a statue in her garden after he broke out?" chimed in Spike.

"Or that time when she sent ya a letter about yer brother getting hitched a day before the ceremony?" added the unusually verbose Big Mac.

"OR THAT TIME SHE SENT YOU ONE OF STARSWIRL THE BEARDED'S SPELLS TO COMPLETE AND THEN DIDN'T TELL YOU IT WAS PART OF A PLAN TO SEE IF YOU WOULD BECOME AN ALICORN UNTIL AFTER YOU HAD RUINED YOUR FRIENDS LIVES, FIXED YOUR MISTAKE, AND SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTED?" practically screamed Bulk Bicep's, attracting the entire train cars attention.

"How did you know about that?" questioned Spike.

"Okay, okay, so Celestia has a tendency to keep me in the dark about some things," responded Twilight defensively, "But it's usually for a good reason, and it has a tendency to work out in the end. This time she's probably just wanting to surprise everypony, that's all."

"Surprise everypony?" asked Starlight incredulously.

"Yeah, like a big surprise birthday party~!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, joining the conversation from across the aisle. "They've probably got enough cake and ice cream for all of Equestria to celebrate the big surprise announcement!"

"Thank you Pinkie, I'm glad you agree with me." said Twilight, smiling smugly beneath the fringe of her purple mane.

"Oh, I didn't say I agreed with you Twilight. I just hope there's lots of cake and ice cream, because it looks like there are going to be a lot of confused and hungry ponies when we get to Canterlot," replied the pink party pony with a grin. "It doesn't take much to start a riot in a crowd like this, and cake and ice cream can go a long way to buying enough time for the Royal Guard to restore order."

"Uh, I guess..." replied the purple pony, perplexed. "Either way, you guys should just relax and enjoy the ride. I'm sure we'll all find out what's going on soon."

If the train had been crowded, then the city was absolutely packed. Teeming crowds of ponies from all walks of life surged like a living river through the streets of Canterlot. Twilight had been all over Equestria, from Las Pegasus to Manehatten, and she had never seen so many ponies in one place in all of her life. As a matter of fact, there were way more ponies than had been in attendance for her coronation. As she looked around she saw ponies from as far away as Dodge Junction, Fillydelphia, Manehatten, and even the Crystal Empire. All surged towards Canterlot Castle, where a great sea of onlookers had already gathered.

Twilight and her friends would've been stuck far, far at the back, were it not for the timely intervention of a member of the Royal Guard. He told them that special seating had been reserved for the Princess of Friendship, her associates, and their guests from Ponyville near the front of a covered pavilion in the courtyard. It was just beneath the balcony where Twilight had stood and revealed herself to the nation as a Princess for the first time, and it seemed it would now serve as the platform for the Royal Sisters announcement. It still looked pretty far away from where she was sitting, and she was having second thoughts about her insistence earlier that she experience this moment with her friends and the other citizens of Ponyville gathered around her.

For one, the metal chairs that had been provided weren't exactly the hallmark of comfort. For two, somehow Pinkie had managed to secure a plate of cake and ice cream and was noisily masticating the half melted sugary mess practically in Twilight's ear. When she wasn't getting jabbed by Pinkie's elbow on one side, she was being thumped by Spike's tail, as he jumped up and down on his chair trying to get a better view of the balcony. Twilight noticed the sympathetic look that Starlight Glimmer gave her, the unicorn herself having ended up in Spike's earlier position, wedged between Big Mac and Bulk Bicep's.

Twilight smiled awkwardly at her student, and was about to say something along the lines that she might just have been mistaken about how wonderful it would be to be part of the crowd witnessing history, when a voice like thunder made everypony jump in their seats. "CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA! PLEASE RISE FOR THE EQUESTRIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM!" As the echo's of Luna's voice faded, a nation rose to its hooves and began to sing along with the familiar strains played by a brass band through hidden speakers. It took a moment for everypony to recover from their shock and join in, but as the song rolled over the crowd, their voices rose. A surge of pride filled Twilight's heart as the citizens of Equestria, in one voice, sang the song of its people.

As the song faded, there were more than a few eyes that were blurred with 'liquid pride', as her brother would call it. "Citizens of Equestria!" called Luna from high atop the palace balcony in a slightly quieter voice, though still enhanced by magic so all could hear her as though she were standing beside them. "Thank you all for gathering here today as myself and my sister Celestia have bid you."

Here, Celestia stepped forward to join her sister, "Indeed, thank you one and all for being in attendance on this, a most joyous and auspicious day in Equestria's long and storied history. In the years to come, you will all look back upon this day and count yourselves lucky to have been here! To have heard our words and born witness to history in the making!"

"We ask that you be patient, and hold your questions and applause until after our announcement has been made," added Luna with a playful, mock sternness that caused a ripple of laughter to wash over the gathered audience. "But, it is not our intention to keep you all in suspense. That is why, my sister and I would like to make this announcement together!"

Luna and Celestia looked at each other and smiled, before turning back to the gathered citizenry of Equestria and in joyful voices they practically shouted in unison, "We hereby abdicate our rule of Equesatria!"

A stunned silence rolled over the crowd as the Princesses, their smiles never leaving their faces, bowed. The quiet seemed to extend even to the birds and insects, as not even single cricket chirped. Celestia then continued, "We know this must be a shock to you our loyal citizens, but we thought it would be best for you to hear this news from us, your former rulers."

"Indeed dear sister," added Luna, "For we want there to be no confusion. We have decided to willingly give up our claim to the throne to one who is far more suited to rule. Her radiance knows no equal. Her beauty and kindness are unmatched. Here today to tell you more about your new ruler is her emissary. Please, give him a warm round of applause!"

At her words, a unicorn strode onto the balcony, situating himself exactly between the two Princesses. He wore what appeared to be a fur-lined crimson cloak. An armored gorget sheathed his throat down to his chest, greaves protected his legs, and a circlet of the same metal sat upon his head. In every way he looked exactly like a very familiar enemy to Twilight and her friends, especially Spike. In every way except that his coat was white, he had a two toned blue mane, and the fact that he was Twilight's brother. "Shining Armor!?" exclaimed Twilight, confused. As if this were a cue for the rest of the assembled citizenry, the 'emissary' was met with a surge of confused and angry questions from a stunned populace. Even Fluttershy, who normally took this kind of thing in stride, was shaking a hoof and demanding an explanation.

"Citizens of Equestria!" boomed Shining Armor, his voice deeper and more sonorous than usual. "I am not surprised many of you are confused, even angered by this turn of events. I know you have loved Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, as they have ruled over you all for centuries." His voice grew even deeper, and he adopted what he must have thought was a heroic pose. "But times change. This is a dawning of a new era! With this peaceful transition of power from the old rule to the new, the truly rightful ruler of Equestria shall take charge of your lives!" This was met with only more cries of uncertainty. "Fear not citizens! Your new and eternal ruler is kind and benevolent. She forgives you for not giving her the reverence she is due. She asks only for that which you have given freely to your monarchs in the past! She asks only for your loyalty... and your love!"

On his last word, Shining Armor's eyes flashed with dark magic. All around the courtyard, massive spikes of dark crystal erupted from the earth. Terrified screams replaced the angry cries of the crowd, as the ponies found themselves suddenly cut off from any escape. A darkness flooded the skies as a shadow fell over Canterlot. "Do not panic brave citizens. This is only a natural part of the transition of power!" beseeched Celestia.

"Please remain calm! If you must leave your seats, please do so in an orderly fashion!" implored Luna to no effect. As more purple and pink crystal engulfed the Palace, day seemed to fade to a gloom choked dusk. It was all Twilight could do to extend a protective magical barrier around as many citizens of Ponyville as she could as the mass of panicking ponies devolved into a stampede. Run or riot, some ponies appeared to do both. Pegasus ponies took to their wing to try to flee through the sky, only to find themselves trapped by a dome of energy. Shining Armor's protective barrier, a sight that had instilled calm so many times before, now only alarmed everypony further as they realized that it was being used to trap them inside the city.

"Worry not, former Princess Celestia, former Princess Luna. The Empress has chosen to grant her citizens serenity, rather than see them suffer through the necessary tribulations to come." His words seemed to calm the Princesses even as an ugly, gnarled crystal in the shape of a broken heart, formed upon the balcony. It glowed with a smoldering pink light that seemed to rob the air of what little illumination that had not already fled away. The crystals all around seemed to glow darkly in kind, as the metallic tang of magic flooded the air. With no further warning than that, the Broken Heart began firing beams of magic into the crowd. Twilight watched, speechless as beams of dark magic scythed through the crowd.

Everywhere the light touched, calm prevailed. Hysteria was replaced by tranquility, rage by exuberance, dread by rapture. Before long, half the citizenry seemed to have been converted to some new state of acceptance by the roving beam. Their words rose to drown out the screams of their fellows. "Such radiance!" they cried. "Such beauty!" they screamed. "Oh bright and shining lady!" they seemed to call, practically in a swoon. "Hail to thee Empress of Love, hail to the eternal Crystal Empire! Hail Empress Cadance!"

Cadance!?

This was all Cadance's doing!? Twilight couldn't believe it. But... it fit didn't it? Her special talent was having ponies fall in love... And it seemed the beam was causing everypony in the crowd to fall in love with her.

No, that wasn't possible.

Something must have happened. Someone, or something else had to be behind all this. Yet, there was her brother up beside Celestia and Luna, who she could never imagine willingly giving up their thrones, and all three were smiling brightly as dark magic twisted the minds of the citizens of Equestria. Twilight had seen enough. Concentrating, she pushed outwards with her magic, enveloping as many ponies as she could. A spell this massive would mean she couldn't travel far, but even so, it was her duty to save as many ponies as possible. Straining under the weight of her spell, Twilight released it all at once! She and a sizable portion of the crowd teleported away from the courtyard, and the sickly rays of the Broken Heart shaped crystal.

Meanwhile, in the massive throne room of the Crystal Empire, a figure sat alone in the dark. A wavering portal of magic opened before them. Bright pink eyes, wreathed in a green and purple mist widened as an image took shape at the heart of the portal. Shining Armor stood tall and proud, resplendent in his armored finery. The voice that reverberated from the tall backed throne contained strange harmonics, as if there were two people speaking as one. Even so, the voice is unmistakably familiar as it says, "Ah, my emissary. Tell me, how goes the consolidation of my Empire's new territory?"

"All goes according to your will, my Empress." responded the former Prince of the Empire with clipped, military precision.

"And the Princesses, Celestia and Luna?" asked the voice seductively.

"They were the first to see your light my lady," answered the Crystal Emissary with a bow. "Your wisdom in showing them the light of your love before granting your vision to the populace was a stroke of genius!"

Something not unlike a pleased purr emanated from the throne, as the entity who sat there seemed to take great pleasure in this news. "And what of the so called 'Princess of Friendship'. What of your sister Twilight Sparkle?"

Shining Armor's reverent gaze fell for a moment, before he continued, "As you suspected, she has resisted the call to your light. She and a small group of citizens escaped the courtyard shortly after the conversion process began."

Though it seemed the one who sat upon the throne had indeed predicted Twilight's resistance, the dull growl that resonated throughout the crystal halls indicated that this was not what they wanted to hear. "You let her escape, didn't you? Traitor!" In a flash, the Crystal Emissary's armor began to glow cherry red. It swiftly intensified into a blinding white as the sound of sizzling flesh filled the voluminous throne room. "The warmth of my love is ever with you, but you will know the fires of my passion for your betrayal!"

"I did not betray you!" howled Shining Armor, visibly in agony, but struggling to speak none the less. "I never would! Twilight cannot escape! She cannot penetrate my shield so long as she tries to protect her friends! She will not abandon them!" The metal of his armor seemed to warp and dance in a shimmering haze of heat, as beads of bubbling metal begin to roll down his exposed skin. A normal pony would be dead by now, but as the attack was magical in nature, Shining Armor would not die unless the one attacking him so willed it. "Please your radiance! I am your most loyal and loving of subjects! I am your Emissary!" panic edged his voice, "I am your husband!"

As quickly as the unbearable heat had flared up, it began to fade. The dull clink of cooling metal replaced the sizzle of pony flesh, and Shining Armor gasped with visible relief. "And if you wish to remain as such, you will find your sister and her friends and show them the light of my love! They are the only ones who could possibly stand against me now. Do I make myself clear?"

"As clear as crystal," replied the emissary coughing and pulling at the gorget around his throat. Miraculously the flesh beneath was unharmed. The heat and pain he had experienced had not damaged him physically, but the pain still echoed across the raw endings of his nerves. He did not want to feel his lady's wrath again. "Your will shall be done, oh Empress of Love."

"See that it is," smoldering darkness boiled in the eyes of the one who sat upon the throne. "There can be no mistakes. Deploy the Crystal Juggernauts."

A look of panic crossed Shining's face, but after what had happened he dare not give voice to any trepidation. "Y-Yes your grace. Right away!" As the image faded, the throne room was plunged again into silent darkness. Silent, save for an almost imperceptible sound just on the edge of hearing.

A quiet sob.

Heart to Heart

A bloom of purple and white magic heralded the arrival of Twilight and her friends. Though Twilight knew the spell she had cast would not be able to take them far, she was surprised to find that they remained in the city of Canterlot. She looked up at the magical bubble that engulfed the city and instinctively she knew that it had somehow interfered with her magic. Her brothers shield spells had always been geared more towards keeping enemies out rather than trapping them within. Even if its polarity were somehow reversed, as it seemed to be, it should have been weak compared to the magic of an Alicorn Princess. There was a dark force at work here, corrupting and enhancing her brothers magic that crackled in veins of dark lightning over the barriers surface.

Twilight took a moment to take stock of their situation. Spike, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, and Starlight Glimmer were all by her side, as were a few other citizens of Ponyville she was able to take with them. All around, the city of Canterlot had been thrown into chaos. Ponies were trampling over one another in their haste to flee Canterlot Castle. A surge of ponies were assaulting the barrier at the edge of the city, but their hooves pounded and scrabbled on the magical surface to no avail, and unicorn spells bounced off uselessly. Less reputable ponies, seeing that they were trapped, gave up on fleeing and instead were taking the opportunity to break store windows and help themselves to an 'end of the world' discount. Others, mostly the vendors and citizens of Canterlot, simply hid under their over turned stalls of behind the locked doors of their homes.

The citizens did not remain unmolested for long, however, as an army composed of a mixture of the Royal Guard and the Imperial Guard marched through the streets and soared through the air. It appeared they were rounding up as many ponies as possible and pushing them back towards the castle, where the beams of that awful Broken Heart shaped crystal were still lashing out and converting scores of the populace. The only saving grace of Twilight and her crew was that her spell seemed to have deposited them in an out of the way alley. The situation was no less dire, but it seemed they would have a few moments to try to throw together a plan.

"Just what the hack was that!" cried Rainbow Dash, asking the question on everypony's mind.

"Was that your brother up there, dressed like King Sombra?" asked Rarity. "I mean for a Prince he's never exactly had magnificent taste, but dressing like Sombra!?"

"Ah know right?" added Applejack. "Might as well be wearing a name tag that says 'Howdy y'all! Ah'll be yer tyrant today!'"

"Twilight," Fluttershy whispered, visibly shaken. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I don't know girls." Twilight looked back out at the chaos in the streets. Some of the Equestrian citizenry were trying to fight back against the combined forces of the Royal and Imperial Guards, throwing produce and cobblestones. They weren't having much effect. "It's obvious something has been done to my brother and the Princesses. It's also pretty clear that whatever went wrong originated in the Crystal Empire."

"The Crystal Empire?" asked Starlight concerned. "So you think that Cadance really is behind all of this?"

"I don't know for sure," replied Twilight, her face serious. "But I plan on finding out."

"Yeah!" cheered Pinkie Pie, before a thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Only, how? It looks like Shining Armor's shield for keeping stuff out, is keeping us in. The streets are full of soldiers and brainwashed citizens... And as near as I can tell we're all out of cake and ice cream!"

"Well Pinkie, I came here today to make history and to enjoy cake and ice cream," answered Twilight with a confident smile. "And since we're all out of cake and ice cream, I guess we'll just have to make history!"

"Yeah!" "Woo-hoo!" "Yay!" "Wait...what?" "Huh?"

"Seriously?" asked Spike with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Okay, okay," surrendered Twilight, "It sounded better in my head."

"I've heard worse rallying cries," said Rainbow Dash loyally, "So what's the plan?"

"I might not be able to teleport us beyond my brothers shield, but I bet I can poke a hole in it long enough for us to get out. Since you're the fastest Rainbow Dash, scout around and see if you can find us a mode of transportation. It'll need to be fast since we won't know how long the hole will stay open, and we'll want to be able to get as many citizens out as possible." A salute from Rainbow and then the blue flier was on her way. "Fluttershy and Rarity, we're going to need supplies for the trip to the Crystal Empire. If it's anything there like it is here, we'll probably need disguises as well. You two get to work gathering what we need, but be careful! Keep to the shadows and well out of sight of any soldiers."

"Um, if it's okay, I think I'd rather stay here..." began Fluttershy before a halo of blue magic engulfed her fleeing form.

"Now, now Fluttershy, no need to worry, I'll be beside you ever step of the way," said Rarity confidently as the unicorn strode out of the alley. "Besides, it would be nice to get a breath of fresh air out of that smelly alleyway."

Twilight stifled a grin as the two ponies moved out of sight. She turned back to the others, "Pinkie Pie, since you seem to know everypony, you and Applejack round up as many citizens that are unaffected by that Broken Heart beam as you can. We're evacuating Canterlot. If anyone gives you any trouble, tell them that this is a decree by the Princess of Friendship."

"You got it Twi," replied Applejack.

"Okie-dokie-loki!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie as the pair bounded out of sight.

"What about me?" asked Starlight Glimmer.

"What about us?" added Spike.

"I'm going to need time to concentrate on finding a weak spot in Shining Armor's barrier. You two watch my back and keep other ponies away from me while I concentrate." replied Twilight, her horn already glowing as her powers reached out, probing the distant shield.

"Oh..." was Starlight's crestfallen reply. She walked to the mouth of the alleyway and sat on her hunches. It wasn't long before Spike joined her.

"Hey, guard duty isn't so bad," said Spike, clearly seeing that Starlight was upset."During one crisis I got stuck baby sitting all of Fluttershy's animals. Let me tell you, I'll take guard duty over Angel Bunny any day of the week."

A faint smile crossed Starlight's lip, "It's not that. I guess I'm just worried." She looked out at the chaos in the streets. There was a lot to be worried about.

"About the plan?" hazarded Spike.

"Oh, no, of course not. I have no doubt about Twilight's plan it's just..." The unicorn struggled for words, clearly uncomfortable. "I guess I'm just worried about Sunburst. If this started in the Crystal Empire I can't help but think he must be caught in the middle of it all."

"Yeah, I guess so," a thought seemed to cross Spike's mind as well. "I hope Princess Flurry Heart is okay too. I mean, she caused a lot of havoc the last time we saw her, but she's just a baby. If her dads gone over to the dark side, and her mom might have too, I hope Sunburst is still looking after her."

A sob drew Spike's attention. A tear rolled down Starlight's face, but she quickly wiped it away as she hid her face behind her hair. "I just can't stand it. Things like this happen and everyone else stays so calm and Twilight tells them all immediately what to do to try and solve the problem. But she never asks me to do anything." Starlight turned to Spike. "I want to help too, you know? I care about Equestria as much as anypony else. I have ponies I want to protect too."

Spike wrapped a comforting claw around Starlight's back, "Hey, easy. Nobody thinks you don't care. Heck, if anything you probably care a little too much."

"What!?" barked Starlight, clearly affronted.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but you worry more than any unicorn I've ever known, and that's including Twilight," replied Spike. "And she used to get up at three in the morning and wear a groove in the floor with her pacing, just worrying about stuff." That got a grin from Starlight and Spike continued. "Look, things will work out, you'll see. Twilight will get us out of this jam and then we'll go and make sure everything's okay in the Crystal Empire. And if it's not? Well we'll make it okay! Okay?"

Starlight wiped another tear from one eye, but her smile didn't fade. "Okay. Thanks Spike."

"Don't mention it," replied the baby dragon with a smile of his own. A rush of air and a thump let the pair know that they weren't alone. "Whoa! That was fast Rainbow Dash, even for you! Did you find what Twilight sent you for already?"

"You know it," replied the rainbow maned pegasus proudly, "But we've got to move fast. There are soldiers crawling all over the place. Are we ready to go?"

"We're ready~!" replied Rarity musically as she arrived carrying several shopping bags filled with rolls of fabric. It seemed she had gotten everything she'd need for making disguises... And any other outfits it might strike her fancy to create. Fluttershy was just behind her, but couldn't say anything since she was so loaded down under the many other supplies she was carrying.

"Let me help ya with that sugarcube," Applejack said, helpfully taking a large bag of apples off Fluttershy's flank as she and Pinkie arrived with several citizens of Ponyville and Canterlot in tow. The farm pony began passing the supplies down the line to lighten Fluttershy's load while Pinkie occupied herself making sure no one was left behind. There weren't many ponies that had managed to avoid the soldiers. There were even less that had listened to the pair of earth ponies about the evacuation order, but there were enough that their group had more than doubled in size.

"Then I'm ready too," replied Twilight. Magic licked along the length of her horn for a moment, before she closed her eyes and bowed her head. "I think I know exactly what to do to push our way through Shining Armor's barrier," she turned to the rest of the group and smiled. "Lets go! Rainbow Dash, lead the way."

With a shrug, Spike turned to follow the others. Starlight hesitated for a moment, her mind still racing with all her many worries despite Spike's efforts to calm her down and cheer her up. Well, she couldn't help anypony sitting here, could she? Giving herself a physical and mental shake, Starlight trotted after the others, and into the gloomy shrouded streets of a Canterlot under siege.

You Give Love a Bad Name

There were some worries about attracting too much attention by moving with such a large group, but the soldiers seemed to have pushed almost everypony else in the city back towards the castle now. Twilight's group need not bother with stealth, so they focused on moving as fast as possible to keep up with Rainbow Dash as she darted through the air. Twilight vaguely realized they were moving back towards the train station, though they were avoiding the main roads. She would've thought in an invasion, the enemy forces would've made locking down the train yard a top priority. Then again, perhaps if they were relying on Shining Armor's barrier, maybe they thought there was nowhere for the trains to go?

Well then they were just going to have to show them how wrong they were.

Or at least that was the thought that was going through Twilight's head as she rounded a corner and came face to face with an entire platoon of Imperial Guards. The train yard was crawling with soldiers, and it was clear that new trains were arriving even now and disgorging even more of the armored Crystal Ponies. Not just them, but long flatbeds of what looked to be hunks of dark crystal as well, each pulled by massive freight trains. She had no time to pay attention to those, however, as a point of magic blossomed into a flash of energy that made Twilight and her friends shield their eyes. Shining Armor appeared in the wake of a wave of dark energy, taking his place at the head of his army of disquieting, grinning soldiers.

"Ah, there you are my dearest sister," smiled Shining Armor, false sweetness dripping from his words. "I must say, as your brother, I'm mildly disappointed. I half expected you to see through this ruse, but I suppose you aren't quiet as suspicious of your own friends as you might be of your siblings fiance."

"What's going on here?" asked Applejack angrily. "Rainbow Dash, what'd you do?"

"Oh, nothing much Apple Smack! I just saw the light," replied the Pegasus Pony as she reclined on a cloud, the same dreamy smile on her face as every other brainwashed citizen and soldier alike.

"As you all will," added the Shining Armor as dark crystals erupted from the ground at his feet. "Just hold still. This will go much easier for you all if you just.."

"SCATTER!" cried Twilight Sparkle as her group split and ran or flew in every direction.

The Crystal Emissary gave a heavy sigh. "Not what I was going to say Twilight. Now is it what I would have wanted for my little sister." Shining Armor turned back to his troops. "By the Empresses command, release the Juggernauts."

At his word, heavy chains that had held the hunks of dark crystal on flatbed cars fell away, and the stones began to rise into the air. They hurtled through the sky like meteors, pelting the city of Canterlot, huge plumes of dust rising up where they came down with a thunderous crash. Several landed right in the paths of the fleeing ponies, scattering them backwards with the sheer force of the shock waves their landing produced. Behind the screen of dust, the crystal hulks seemed to move and change.

"Whoa nelly..." gulped Applejack, as one such obelisk took its first cobblestone shattering step out of the swirling cloud and into the light of day. It was massive! Standing on two tree trunk like legs with long arms nearly scraping the ground, each arm ending in a set of three long claws, the behemoth looked like a small mountain had suddenly decided to go for a walk. All of its features were rough-hewn, as if inexpertly carved from amethyst, and it lacked a head or any of the sensory organs that would be associated with one. Instead what it had was a hole in the shape of a broken heart punched through its center. It was this void that swung towards the country girl like a great unblinking eye.

The crystalline monstrosity that stood before Applejack was not the only one. More shapeless hulks of crystal stomped into view, some dark amethyst, others a bright rose quartz, and others the deep bloody hue of garnet. The Crystal Juggernauts were beautiful, but difficult to look at, at the same time. There was something off-putting about seeing something inanimate move so smoothly, as though it were not just animate but alive. More than that there were vague shapes beneath the crystal surface, that writhed and squirmed unpleasantly. Before anypony could get a good look at what exactly they were seeing, the Juggernauts raised their clawed arms as one, and began firing beams of magic. The same magic that the Broken Heart crystal had fired earlier.

Beams swept back and forth over the ponies as they tried to flee from this new threat. Now that the rays were coming from every direction, it was impossible for anypony to dodge for long.

Applejack clearly decided running was no longer an option. She ran up to the behemoth that had appeared before her, and bucked its crystal leg as hard as she could. Unsurprisingly, it was like bucking solid stone, it had no effect... Not even so much as a crack appeared in the Juggernaut's surface. The country pony was picked up in the claws of one hand, while the other fired a beam of light in her face point blank. A smile spread quickly across her face. The Juggernaut set her gently back on the ground, before ignoring her to stalk fresh prey. It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

The next to try her luck was Rarity. After all, these overgrown statues were just larger than average gems to her. She could read where they were and when they would attack easily. Pinkie Pie followed her lead, trusting her Pinkie sense to guide her as she giggled her way past one Juggernaut's defenses after the other and dodged between their legs. The pair moved gracefully between the dancing beams, as elegantly as leaves floating on the wind. That is, until several nodes beneath the exterior of one Crystal Juggernaut began to glow.

A strange sound, like the beating of several hearts, lub-dub...lub-dub, intensified as heart shaped runes embedded inside the hulk were connected by lay-lines of magic energy that cut intricate patterns that led to its broken heart shaped center. There the magic gathered into one massive spell! Without warning a wave of pink magic exploded from the center of one Juggernaut, engulfing the entire street in a massive flow of power. Rarity and Pinkie's eyes had only a moment to widen before they were completely overwhelmed. They sat on their hunches, dazed, smiling as if they were a pair of love struck fillies.

With that, only two remained of the six friends who had not yet been caught. Twilight was doing her best, flying between the beams and repelling the magic blasts with her personal shield. Even so, one mistake and she'd end up just like her friends. She tried to teleport ponies out of harms way, or extend her shield to protect them where she could, but everytime she tried she found another Juggernaut waiting to take advantage of her momentary split in concentration. The fact of the matter was that Twilight was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. There was something wrong about the crystal golems. They were far too powerful and far too quick for mere stone constructs. She tried her best to study them as she continued to dodge their attacks.

One of the faceless Juggernaut's stomped towards Fluttershy. The timid pegasus had chosen to hide under an overturned cart, shivering and shaking. As the crystal monster leaned down to get a better look, its three clawed hand already rotating into position to flood the underside of the cart with magic, a sudden burst of magic from another source caused it to stumble back. "Whoops! Pardon me!" Came a jovial voice. "Didn't mean to get in your way there sport. It's just time for my afternoon tea with Fluttershy." remarked Discord, the spirit of chaos with a wide toothy grin. "Fluttershy, oh Fluttershy dear?" he called, "Hmm, I was sure she was here just a moment ago... Ah there she is!"

The draconequis hauled Fluttershy out from her hiding place, and held her aloft in the air before squeezing her in a huge bear hug. "Discord! What are you doing here?" asked Fluttershy in surprise, staring up at her friend with a mixture of disbelief and relief.

"As I said dear, dear Fluttershy. It's time for tea!" He exclaimed smiling, settinghis friend down on the ground. As he finished this, a beam of magic arched toward his head. A hole opened, allowing the beam to pass harmlessly in one ear and out the other. "And if you don't mind me saying, it seems you have some rather rude guests. Should I show them the door?" Discord turned and a giant door appeared. He pushed it open, smashing the Crystal Juggernaut in what would have been its face if it had one, sending it tottering back. That was when, for the first time, Discord truly beheld the bedlam that was the city of Canterlot. "Oh my goodness! Fluttershy, are you ponies having a riot!? And you didn't invite me!?" He folded his arms in front of his chest and started to pout. "I swear Fluttershy, sometimes you can be such a very thoughtless friend."

"Discord, please, you have to help my friends!" begged Fluttershy, her eyes pleading.

"Oh, very well." grumbled Discord. "But after this, be sure to make up a batch of that lovely chai tea I like so much with lots of milk and sugar!"

Suddenly Discord was wearing the overalls and hard hat of a construction worker. A giant jackhammer was slung over his shoulder. He walked up to the fallen Juggernaut that had been menacing Fluttershy, and proceeded to bust it down into chunks of stone and rubble. He wiped the sweat from his brow and gave a satisfied grin... Before the stones began floating back together and assumed their previous shape. Both claws extended, the Juggernaut fired six beams at once in rapid succession. Discord dodged them all easily, but a look of annoyance crossed his face. He snapped his fingers. There was a puff of smoke, and the Crystal Juggernauts claws turned to joke flowers that squirted water. This only lasted for a moment though, before six new claws extended and the rapid fire magic resumed.

Discord's annoyance turned to anger. So he couldn't crush it and he couldn't transform it. Well then he knew exactly what to do about that. Discord raked his claws through the air, ripping open a huge portal to another dimension, and prepared to send the crystal monster hurtling though...

"No! Discord, wait, don't do it!" called Twilight Sparkle as she flew over to the draconequis.

The draconequus paused, "Now, why ever should I? Can't you see that these things are making me late for a very important date... er, I mean tea party?"

"You can't send them to another dimension or destroy them. Look beyond their crystal shells! Look inside them!" Discord did so, growing massive in size so that he held the Crystal Juggernaut in his hand like a toy. As he held the behemoth up to the hazy light of the sun, he could see why Twilight had intervened. Ponies... at least four or five of them were embedded inside the crystal like insects trapped in amber. That was what had been writhing before, and that was also the source of the Juggernaut's power. Heart shaped sigils pulsed with magic at the chest of each pony, and each were connected through the others to the void at the center of the crystal monster. "We have to find a way to free them!" cried Twilight.

"Well, of course. That's just kind of gross, isn't it?" sneered Discord as he shrank back down a bit and reached his lion paw into the Crystal Juggernaut. It passed through the stone as if it were water, the crystal rippling like liquid. However, as Discord reached deeper and almost touched one of the trapped ponies, the Crystal Juggernaut pressed a clawed hand to the draconequus' chest. Crystal of the same hue as the hulk that touched him, began to slide over Discord's sinuous body. "What's this? What's going on?" He tried to brush the crystal film off, but only succeeded in spreading it faster, as it climbed up his arms and throat. As the crystal thickened and engulfed Discord, he found it harder and harder to move. He tried to blink away in a pulse of magic, but it was to no avail. "No, not this again... I hate being trapped in..." his last words were cut off as a perfect statue of Discord fell to the earth.

As Twilight watched, horror-struck, the crystal that engulfed Discord swelled and grew. In no time at all, it became another Crystal Juggernaut, though this one was much larger than its fellows. Its crystal was a reflective onyx black that shone darkly in the smoke choked light. Unlike the other ponies, Discord was plainly visible coiled around the large broken heart shaped void in the center of the Juggernaut. Once more he was imprisoned in stone. Twilight could see the sigil of a heart flare just over the trapped draconequus' chest as the lub-dub, lub-dub sound that it made chilled her blood. Lay-lines of magic flowed through the Juggernaut as it shook to life. Suffused with magic, the jagged crystal hole turned towards Twilight, and she could almost feel the baleful gaze of the eyeless monstrosity.

"If you refuse to see the light of the Empress, then you will know her wrath." intoned Shining Armor solemnly. Twilight didn't know when he had caught up to her, but he stood beside the black Juggernaut as calm and serene as if he could not hear the screams of the few ponies that remained as they desperately tried to escape. his eyes turned to the last of Twilight's friends. Before Fluttershy could flee, he sent a beam of magic arching from the Broken Heart crystal that floated in front of him, striking her down on the spot. Instantly the fear on her face melted into a goofy grin. Shining Armor saw this, and allowed himself a smile of his own.

"Brother, why are you doing this?" sobbed Twilight.

"Why do we do anything Twilight? For love. I'm doing everything for love." Was her brothers sincere reply. He then turned away, and in a harsher voice commanded "Take her!"

The Imperial Soldiers, her brainwashed former friends, as well as the Crystal Juggernaut's turned towards Twilight as one. The Alicorn Princess spread her wings wide. If she was going to go down, she would go down fighting! The massive black Juggernaut reached out to seize her from the air with its thick obsidian claws, but she was too fast for it. Beams of magic bounced off the shield she erected around herself as she took to the air, moving out of the reach of most of the other ponies, but not the ones who could fly. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash followed hot on her trail, taunting her. "Just give it up Twilight! Trust me, it's much better to see the light then get trapped inside one of those Juggernaut things!" called Rainbow Dash behind her. Unsurprisingly, the blue flier was gaining.

"It's really not so bad Twilight!" called Fluttershy, not far behind her childhood friend. "The Empress's love is all around us! You just have to let it in!" Twilight concentrated, and in a burst of magic she teleported away, appearing in another part of the train yard. She may have given Rainbow Dash the slip for now, but not the Juggernauts. They stomped over the trains as if they were toys, firing beams of the 'Empress's love' at her as they chased her down.

"Listen to your friends Twilight!" called Shining Armor. "You don't want to end up like Discord. Just stop fighting and give the Empress your love!" Twilight grit her teeth and teleported again.

She was closer to the barrier now, close enough that she could do what she came for. She readied the spell for punching a hole in the barrier. That was when her brother appeared standing before her in a sudden flash of magic. His eyes flared with the darkest of sorcery, purple energy streaming between his horn and his sisters. Thick black crystals grew all over Twilight's horn, and the spell she had been preparing was choked out and died. The backlash of magic caused Twilight's knees to buckle, and she fell into the dirt at her brothers hooves. It wasn't long before she was surrounded by soldiers, and two Crystal Juggernauts had her pinned to the ground.

"That's enough running, and enough magic for today I think," said the Crystal Emissary. "Twilight Sparkle, last Princess of Equestria! As you are my sister, I will give you one more chance. Will you accept the light, the love, of the Empress!?"

Twilight looked up through blurry eyes. Her head was pounding. All around her the faces of the Imperial Soldiers leered frighteningly at her. Her eyes wandered to her friends and the other ponies from Ponyville. All had the same mindless grins and their eyes were unfocused, as if they were looking at something far away. Only her brother seemed to be looking at her intently. Good. Then he wouldn't see what was about to happen. "I don't know what happened to you... Or to Cadance. But this, whatever this is, it's not love. You can't force people to accept new ideals anymore than you can force them to accept new leaders. What you're doing is wrong, Shiny!" The kick to her face was a shock, more so because it came from her brother.

"Do not call me that! I am the Crystal Emissary! And don't you dare refer to the Empress by anything less than her title!" roared Shining Armor. "You may be my sister, but there are limits to the Empress's mercy."

Twilight spat a gob of blood onto the ground. "Just like there are limits to mine, brother." As she said this, her eyes flared with dark magic of their own. The crystals embedded in Twilight's horn melted away as purple and green flames shot from her eyes. In a flash, a fireball composed of the same twisted energies surged towards Shining Armor, who barely dodged at the last moment. The spell continued streaking through the air, and ripped a massive hole in the shield barrier behind the self declared Crystal Emissary. The look on his face was one of pained shock.

"Do it," was his sad response in light of his sisters defiance. Crystal began to flood over Twilight's pinned body from the behemoths that held her in place. Her last act of rebellion would be be for naught. It wouldn't be long before she would end up just like Discord and all the Crystal Ponies who had defied their new Empress.

That was when Starlight Glimmer and Spike made a break for it!

They ran from the cover of the Friendship Express that they had been hiding behind, and jumped though the hole in the barrier that Twilight had made. Though it was shrinking fast, it was just the right size for one unicorn and a baby dragon. The Imperial Soldiers and the Juggernaut's thundered after them when they realized they were trying to escape, but the shield had already healed completely by the time they arrived.

It would have done no good to open the shield to let them pass through. A flash of magic, and the pair were gone, teleported far away now that the shield couldn't interfere with Starlight's magic.

"Let them run," said Shining Armor indifferently. "There's no place for them to hide. Soon the world will know the love of the Empress. Besides, what can one unicorn and a baby dragon possibly accomplish?"

"More than you might think," whispered Twilight, a slight smile on her face as her body was completely swallowed by milky white crystal.

Home is Where the Heart Is

It had taken much longer than it normally would have, but they had finally arrived in Ponyville.

He'd never actually been to this town before, but as it sat in the shadow of distant Canterlot, so it wasn't hard to find. Ponyville stretched out before him, a literal ghost town. All the shops were closed, the houses seemed abandoned. If it weren't for a notice pinned to the door of the City Hall he would have had no idea what was going on. It seemed everypony had gone to some important announcement in Canterlot, by order of the Princesses. Sunburst gazed into the distance at the crystalline tree palace of Twilight Sparkle. It was unlikely that the Princess of Friendship would have refused to answer such a the summons from Canterlot.

Well if everypony was in Canterlot, Sunburst mused, he'd just have to go to Canterlot. He had thought it was best to seek Twilight Sparkle's help directly, but if she was not here, there wasn't much of reason for him to be here himself. Even so, his instincts still told him that it would be wise to avoid large population centers until they had a chance to figure out what had gone wrong in the Crystal Empire. He was extremely thankful for those instincts, as his gaze fell on the distant spires of Canterlot, hidden beneath the same gloom that had choked the skies above the Empire. A magical bubble of dark energy had swelled to engulf the entire city. Though he had no way of knowing for sure what was going on, it seemed he had dodged a bullet by traveling to Ponyville.

But it was unlikely his luck was going to hold out for long. If the Empress had already made her move against Canterlot, it wouldn't be long before every major city in Equestria would follow.

Flurry Heart burbled happily, riding on Sunburst back. After her timely, if accidental, teleportation spell had taken them beyond the edges of the Crystal Empire, it had dawned on Sunburst that this was the exact spell he should cast to get away from their pursuers. He wasn't the best at translocation spells of any sort, so there were a few random mistakes. Embarrasingly enough, he'd briefly ended up transporting them back to his own house. Though even that had worked out as he had taken the opportunity to grab some warmer cloths for their travels and some baby supplies for Flurry Heart. Sunburst was more than a little worn out from all the magic he'd expended on the trip, though the baby Princess still seemed as energetic as ever. She was gnawing on the wings of an alicorn doll her father had given her. It seemed she was already teething.

"Well little one, what should we do now?" wondered Sunburst aloud, though mostly to himself. "Twilight and her friends are likely already up to their necks in trouble of their own, and likely aren't here." Which also meant she probably wasn't here either. Sunburst knew he could rely on Twilight and the other Princesses when there was a problem of this magnitude, but in truth he'd really wanted to see his friend Starlight Glimmer. That, perhaps more than any instincts, was the real reason he'd chosen to travel to Ponyville rather than Canterlot. He thought if anypony would be willing to take him in at a time like this, it'd be Starlight. He shook his head, trying to clear the thought away. Now really wasn't the time for such things. He gave a heavy sigh. "I suppose we've come all this way, we should at least check at Twilight's Castle. Who knows? Maybe she has a book about how to free a lovesick populace from mind control."

For her part, Flurry Heart only giggled, and bopped Sunburst on the back of the head with her doll. He took this as a sign of encouragement, and made his way towards Twilight's Castle.

"What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do!?" panicked Spike, just as he'd been panicking ever since they'd made their escape from Canterlot. "Did you see those crystal things? They were full of ponies! Who does that!? Who weaponizes ponies!?"

"Well, Celestia technically," responded Starlight distractedly as she continued to rifle through the books in the Twilight's library. It was a bad attempt at a joke and the look Spike gave her let her know it wasn't appreciated. "Sorry, Spike. I know this isn't the time for humor, but with all that has happened, it's hard not to be a little cynical."

"I guess," said Spike, though it didn't really sound like he meant it. "I still just can't believe that they got Discord and Twilight! I mean, she's Twilight!"

"I know," agreed Starlight as she put one book back on the shelf and took down another. "Still, she did figure out that Shining Armor... I mean the 'Crystal Emissary' was really after her all along. The rest of us were just getting caught in the cross fire. If Twilight had tried to escape they would've hounded her until she was captured or she had 'seen the light' of their so called 'Empress'," that last word dripped with venom. Starlight hated when ponies started acting superior to others. The fact that this Empress didn't even deign to do her own dirty work said a lot about the high regard she surely held herself in. "Twilight used herself as a distraction to buy time for us to escape. We need to stick to the plan and find a book that might give us some answers on what is going on and how to fix it."

"Well we've got tons of books here that were salvaged from the Shady Oaks Library, as well as books donated from the Canterlot Archives." Spike traced his claws along the shelves. "There are even books here that were transferred from the library in the Castle of the Pony Sisters in the Everfree Forest. Twilight couldn't stand the thought of them being exposed to the elements out there, so we helped her move them here. That was the most harrowing library trip I've had in a good long while, and I've had some doozies."

Starlight let out a groan of frustration as she pulled books faster and faster from the shelves with her magic, but none of them seemed to suit her needs. "Ugh! I wish there had been a way for me to have been the distraction so Twilight could be here going through all of these dusty tomes! I was always better at magic practice than magic research. That was always more... More Sunburst's thing." Her ears drooped and the glow of her horn faded as she said that.

"Hey, cheer up! I'm sure we'll find something soon." Spike snapped his claws as an idea occurred to him. "Hey, I've got it! Why don't you use that time traveling spell you used before? We could go back and warn everypony not to go to Canterlot for that announcement!"

"It took me months to prepare that spell the first time, and most of that was based off of work crafted by Starswirl the Bearded I'd stolen." Starlight rubbed her forehead with one hoof just thinking about it. "To make a spell like that again from scratch could take years. Besides, I already know it wouldn't work."

"Why not?" asked Spike.

"Because, if it had, we wouldn't have gone to Canterlot in the first place." Spike just stared at her, uncomprehending. She tried to explain, "I figured out a long time ago that whatever happens stays happened. The only reason I was able to mess with the timeline before was because I always had, and it was always going to resolve with me not actually changing anything in the past. My grand scheme for revenge was doomed to fail from the start, because it had already failed in the past, otherwise I would have never had to come up with the time travel plan in the first place."

"Okay, yup, I think I just went cross eyed," replied Spike woozily. He shook his head, "Alright, forget time travel. You're still an extremely powerful unicorn. Twilight said so herself, and she's the Princess of Magic!"

"I thought she was the Princess of Friendship?" asked Starlight.

"Friendship is Magic," explained Spike.

That got a burst of laughter from Starlight, "That is so corny!"

"I thought so too, but it turns out it's true!" replied Spike earnestly. "I can't count the number of times I've been in trouble and then, just like magic, my friends would be there to help me when I needed it the most!"

Starlight laughed again, "By that logic, all we need to do is sit here and the answer to all our problems will walk right through that door," she said, pointing to the open library door.

Just as she did, Sunburst stepped into the door frame, Princess Flurry Heart napping on his back. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone was home. I sort of let myself in."

"Sunburst! What are you doing here!?" Starlight gasped. Before she could stop herself, she blurted "I'm so happy to see you!"

"It's kind of a long story," answered Sunburst, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment at Starlight's outburst. "Would it be alright if I told you while I did a little research? I was hoping to find a book that might shed some light on some trouble that's come up in the Crystal Empire."

With a smirk on his face, Spike nudged Starlight with one elbow, "See, what did I tell ya?"

They worked together much better than they did apart, Spike noticed. While Sunburst was a whiz at figuring out how Twilight had ordered the castle library, with Spike's help of course, it was Starlight who really helped in whittling down what books might be helpful to their research and which ones could be discarded. After awhile, Spike took the sleeping Princess and settled her down in the cot that he kept in the library for when he felt like taking a nap during Twilight's long hours of study.

"So you were in the middle of teaching Flurry Heart shield spells when it happened? Isn't that a little advanced for her age?" asked Starlight as they continued to work their way steadily through the library's many books.

"Well, yes, if she were a normal Unicorn," answered Sunburst. "But as an Alicorn, she is far more perceptive and receptive to the workings of magic than most children her age. I have to be very careful with what spells I use in front of her, as she has a tendency to pick up on how to use said spells herself intuitively."

"That's amazing!" remarked Starlight, clearly impressed. "But why shield spells then? Couldn't those potentially cause a problem if she used them at the wrong time?"

"Not with the suppression spells her parents and I wove around her. She's really only capable of doing anything extreme when she's in danger, as a fail safe. The spell work isn't perfect, there are still some occasional hiccups." admitted Sunburst adjusting his glasses with one hoof. "But both her parents have shown that they are quiet adept at shield spells. Her father in particular has a talent for them."

"I've noticed." replied Starlight bitterly. Sunburst had listened with his mouth opened wide as Starlight and Spike had explained the ambush they had walked into in Canterlot, so he didn't need to ask her to clarify that response.

He did, however clear his throat nervously before he continued, "Yes. Well... I thought it would be a good starting point for Flurry Heart's studies. I was in the middle of casting what I must admit was a somewhat sub-par example of the spell, which barely enclosed myself and the Princess, when a shadow fell over the entire Crystal Empire. A wave of, what I can only assume was dark magic, seemed to emanate from the Crystal Palace sweeping over the rest of the Empire. I didn't realize the full extent of what had happened until I stepped outside to see what was going on. That's when I noticed my neighbors outside, some on their knees and others weeping, all praising the 'Empress of Love' from out of nowhere."

"So what happened after that?" queried Starlight.

"Well, it didn't take long for everypony to notice that I was the only one that didn't seem to be in the grip of whatever euphoria they were experiencing. The rapture on their faces quickly melted into rage and, well, I must admit I was rather terrified." Sunburst clearly wasn't proud to admit this, but he looked over to where baby Princess was sleeping peacefully. "I couldn't leave Flurry Heart in the middle of a group of ponies who were behaving so irrationally, so I scooped her up and I ran as far and as fast as I could. The rest you already know."

"So we know the problem started in the Crystal Empire. Is it possible that Sombra has come back somehow?" asked Spike, joining the conversation. "I mean the dark crystals, the dark magic," he added, counting on his claws. "The situation has got his M.O. written all over it!"

"That seems unlikely," replied Sunburst shaking his head. "From what I've read about King Sombra, though he did us magic to rule the Crystal Ponies, he did so through fear and despair." He pulled down a very particular book from the shelf on the subject, one he'd intentionally neglected thus far. An illustration of a dark unicorn, King Sombra, that leered red-eyed over chained up ponies was embossed on the page Sunburst opened to. "While he wanted to rule, he never seemed interested in securing his peoples love. Everything he wanted he took by force."

"This Empress seems fairly forceful to me. She certainly doesn't seem to be willing to take no for an answer." remarked Starlight as she turned her attention to the book Sunburst was holding. "Can I see that for a moment?" She read a few passages. "It says here that the Crystal Empire was originally ruled in peace by Princess Amora."

"Yes, she was one of the rulers that predated the founding of Equestria," clarified Sunburst. "I remember reading once that she asked for Princess Celestia's help in recovering the Crystal Heart when it was stolen by a dragon shortly after the Royal Sisters began their rule. It wasn't long after that when Sombra would over throw her and take over."

"Yes, that's in here too," continued Starlight. "It's unclear on his origins, but it says that a dark power seized Sombra's heart and drove him to overthrow Amora, sealing her in stone and shattering her form."

"Yeesh, that's pretty gruesome," added Spike making a sour face. "I wouldn't put it past him though."

"What if that's the answer then?" mused Starlight.

"What do you mean?" asked Sunburst, adjusting his glasses.

"If we rule out King Sombra as the cause of these problems, and it turns out that Princess Cadence really is behind it all... What if history is repeating itself?" Starlight set the book down, her face growing serious. "Only this time, it was the Princess's heart that was 'seized' by darkness?"

Light flared in the darkness of the cavernous throne room, as the shadowy figure upon the Crystal Empire's throne glared into the images swimming in the viewing portal. "Well? What do you have to report?"

Shining Armor's image swam into focus. He looked tired but, aside from that, uninjured. "Princess Twilight has been added to the Crystal Collective. She will no longer be a threat to your reign."

"Excellent! Oh very excellent! You have done well my Crystal Emissary," was the shadowy figures reply, a grin like a thousand needles spread between her lips. "And the others?"

The Emissary winced. Apparently he hoped to get away with not mentioning it. "The bearers of the Elements of Harmony have all been accounted for. They have seen your light, and their love and loyalty are yours." He hesitated before continuing, "However... Spike the dragon and a lone Unicorn, Starlight Glimmer, managed to slip away while we were dealing with my sister."

Literal flames shot from the Empress's eyes as she heard this, green and black and crackling. Then, as swiftly as they had flared, they subsided into a dull red glow. "That is... Unfortunate. But it is of no matter. With the Princesses out of our way, we can move on with the next phase of our plans," The Empress almost seemed to purr, "Emissary, bring my subjects home."

"Right away your radiance!" saluted Shining Armor, a look of relief briefly crossing his face. It seemed he had dodged a bullet. "I anticipated your command, and we are loading the citizenry onto trains bound for the Empire even n-"

The spell that held the image cut out mid-sentence. Apparently the Empress didn't care.

Rising from her throne, she threw back the cloak of darkness that had clung to her this entire time. Purple flames rose in braziers and sconces on the walls, and played along lay lines of power that led to the throne. The dark energy licked across Cadence's form. Or was it Cadence? Her coat was a much darker shade of pink than before. Her wings seemed larger, sharper, as if each feather was a razor edged quill. The same could be said of her horn, her teeth... Even her eyes had a sharpness to them, more feline than equine. Dark purple flames seemed to waft from her eyes constantly, as well as from the crown that sat upon her head. Perhaps the most telling change was her mane, that swirl about her head in chaotic ribbons like an aurora at the height of a magnetic storm. Or, then again, maybe it was her cutie mark, that appeared to have a crack gouged down the middle of it?

Either way, the Empress might have Cadence's form, but she did not have her former presence. The air itself seemed to tremble as she stepped down from her throne and over to a balcony overlooking a pit that had been dug into the heart of the Crystal Empire. Far below, tiny shapes swarmed like ants in a mound that had been overturned by a thoughtless child. Her citizen's had been ever so eager to volunteer to mine crystals for their Empress. A predatory grin flickered across her face.

It wouldn't be long now.

Love Finds You

"I still don't think we should rule out Sombra... Or Queen Chrysalis!" gasped Spike as the thought occurred to him. "What if the two of them were working together? That would explain why this 'Empress of Love' was so interested in making the citizen's of Equestria love her! That's got to be it!"

"Spike, I know you don't want to believe that Princess Cadence has been corrupted, but that's the simplest explanation." replied Starlight, closing the book and returning it to the shelf. "Besides, didn't something similar happen with Luna a thousand years ago?"

"That was different," objected Spike, crossing his arms. "Luna was just upset about ponies ignoring night time in favor of the day. She was jealous of the love she felt they showed Celestia instead of her."

"And then a dark powers took hold of her heart and fed on that jealousy, transforming her into Nightmare Moon," finished Sunburst, though with some reluctance. "And then she tried to bring about eternal night, and was only defeated by the Elements of Harmony."

"I guess when you put it like that it might be possible Cadence could be involved," admitted Spike. "But why? She is the Princess of her own Empire. She has a loving husband and a newborn baby..." Spike said, puzzled, looking over to where Flurry Heart was still fast asleep. "I mean with Luna it was obvious she was envious of her sister. Who does Cadence have to be jealous of?"

"Oh... Oh dear, oh dear... " Was all Sunburst could say for a moment as he stroked his scraggly beard with one hoof.

"What is it? Did you think of something?" asked Starlight, curious.

"Yes. I mean no! I mean..." Sunburst gave a heavy sigh. "I don't think I was supposed to tell anypony about this, but... Given the circumstances we're in... I might not know how any kind of 'darkness' crept into Cadence's heart, but I do think I know who she might be jealous of. You see, it all started about a month ago, not long after the Crystalling. Maybe a week?"

I was at the Palace, fulfilling my duties as Crystaller. I admit, I was rather nervous about it. Being a Crystaller is an important responsibility after all. Even more so when you are performing the role for royalty. I was fumbling my way through a few spells designed to enhance Princess Flurry Heart's understanding of what I had to teach, when there was a knock on the door. I answered, and it was none other than Prince Shining Armor and one of the palace guards, Flash Sentry, if I recall correctly.

"Busy already Sunburst?" asked the Prince with a fatherly smile. "Hows my little princess doing?"

"Oh, er, she's doing wonderfully your highness, wonderfully!" I replied somewhat nervously. In truth his daughter was mouthing her own wing at the time, and one of her feathers must have tickled her nose. She sneezed and the entire room turned from white to purple.

I was mortified, but the Prince only laughed and said, "That's my girl!" he turned back to me, and with a more serious look on his face he said, "Why don't I take over here for a little while. There's something I'd like to ask you to do for me."

"As your daughters Chrystaller, it would be my honor," I replied with as gracious a bow as I could manage.

"Good," he replied, before drawing me in with one hoof, conspiratorially. "I'm not sure if this is strictly something that falls under your responsibilities, but I was hoping you could have a word with my wife..."

"The Princess!?" I exclaimed, surprised, before Shining Armor shushed me.

"Yes, the Princess. Let's just say things have been... less than harmonious lately. She won't tell me what's wrong, and there's no one else in the palace she seems to be willing to talk to. Normally I'd ask Twilight or one of the other Princesses to talk with her, but it seems like every time you get more than one Princess in a room together some crisis or another pops up. Nopony is able to get a word in edge-wise between all the screaming and running around." He wore a pained expression. It was clear that it bothered him that his wife wasn't willing to open up about whatever the matter was. "I figured, hey, you're practically family now right? Maybe she would be willing to open up to you? In private perhaps?"

To be honest, I was terrified by the very idea. An audience with the Princess of the Crystal Empire would be nerve wracking enough without it being conducted in private. What would the servants say? But if the Prince had such faith in me, I didn't want to imply anything improper or untoward might happen. I couldn't think of any other excuse, so what choice did I really have? "Of course. I'll do what I can your grace."

"Excellent!" he replied, and he really seemed to mean it. He looked as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "My buddy Flash here will take you to Cadence's chambers. He'll be just outside the door, so when you're done speaking with her, he can show you the way back so you don't get lost. I know you're probably not familiar with the layout of the palace yet, so that would probably be for the best."

The guard nodded to me and then lead the way.

I could feel my apprehension welling up inside like a geyser fit to burst. My nerves aren't the greatest, even at the best of times, and I don't mind admitting that it felt like my stomach had been replaced with a butterfly sanctuary as Flash took his position by the door to Cadence's private chambers and motioned for me to go inside. I hesitated, but it wasn't like I could turn back now. "Princess!" I called out tentatively, my voice cracking somewhat, so I tried again. "Oh, Princess Cadence? I'm ever so sorry to bother you but..."

I didn't have a chance to finish that sentence. I heard her sobbing before I saw her, laying on her bed with tissues spread all around in crumpled piles on top of her sheets. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were puffy with tears. She looked up at me and I could see the sadness melt into anger. "Go away!" she bellowed. I turned to flee, but before I could so much as take a step, she called out again, "No, don't go! Not really. Please stay... I'm so... So lonely." She broke down into sobs again. I tell you, I couldn't credit her reaction. It seemed she was nearly as at a loss as to how to feel as I was, and definitely far more upset than I could be with my simple case of frazzled nerves.

What can I say? I pitied her. I couldn't imagine what could have happened to upset her so deeply, so I went to her side and I asked, "Princess Cadence, why whatever is the matter?"

"Nothing!" she responded quickly, almost yelping the word. "Everything..." she added, sobbing into a fresh tissue. "Oh, I don't know. I must look a state. I can't let my husband see me like this, or anypony else for that matter. What would they think what would they say!"

"But you are the Princess of the Crystal Empire. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! Whatever is the matter I'm sure they would understand." I tried to reassure her, "Your husband and your people love you."

"Do they? Do they really?" she asked, anger flashing on her face like lighting from a thunder cloud, before the anger faded like summer lightning into a shower of tears. "No, no I'm sure you're right. I'm sure they do. It's just... Things have been so hard since the baby came." She paused, and looked me in the eye. "If I... If I tell you something will you promise not to tell another soul? No one else in the Crystal Empire can now about this. Do you swear?"

I regret that I said, "Of course your majesty."

Even so, she still hesitated a moment before saying anything else. She seemed to come to a decision and thus said, "Ever since Flurry Heart was born, I've just felt like things have been spinning out of control. I feel like I should be handling things better than I am but... Sometimes I just start crying out of nowhere. I know I've been short tempered with my husband, and even with a few of the palace guards. I'm not acting like myself and that frightens me." She paused to blow her nose before continuing, "When I'm not feeling sad or angry it's like I can't feel anything at all. That would be fine I guess, but then I just feel so disconnected from everything, from every one else. Like i'm caught in a void where I can feel nothing, no emotion, and nothing matters. It's like I'm a stranger to myself, some new Cadence that's just shown up one day and the old Cadence is gone and never coming back."

She began crying again and I really didn't know what to do about it. I settled for awkwardly petting her shoulder with one hoof.

This seemed to be the right thing to do, as the Princess seemed to visibly get a hold of herself and went on to say, "I can't eat, I can't sleep, and I can just barely concentrate on what anypony else is saying. I know it's not Flurry Heart's fault, but I look at her sometimes when she's sleeping and I just... I find myself asking myself Who's baby is this? You know? Who's child is this that I'm raising?" Cadence shuddered as if she found simply putting her feelings into words abominable. "I can't let Shining Armor know I feel this way... or his sister, or anypony else. They'd think I was losing my mind. I mean what kind of mother am I if i'm jealous of the way my husband dotes over his daughter? If I'm angry about how every question from my citizens are asking after my babies health? Everything has been about the baby and nothing has been about me since she was born! I know that's horribly selfish of me to feel, let alone say, but I just can't stop it." The Princess sighed heavily, clearly exhausted from the emotions roiling inside her and the strain of admitting to them, even if it was just to me. "I just want it all to stop."

"Princess," I began, struggling to put my own thoughts into words. "I'm not expert on these matters, but it sounds to me like what you're feeling is perfectly normal for a new mother. I mean this is your first child, yes?" I asked, and she nodded in affirmation. "It will take some adjusting and getting used to, but you have to know that your husband and your subjects still love you. If they shower your daughter with attention it is only because they wish to share in the happiness of the new birth. I'm sure in time these feelings you have will fade, and even if things are never the way they were before, it may just be because they are better."

"But what if you're wrong?" she asked. "What if these feelings never fade? What if they only get worse? There are times when I'm feeling nothing that I have these horrible, awful thoughts. Like someone else's thoughts saying such horrible things about everypony... Even my daughter. What if I do something I'll regret ,and never be able to take it back?"

"Those are just intrusive thoughts Princess," I tried to reassure her. "Everypony has them from time to time. What's important is that you can identify them and know them for what they are. so long as you don't act on them everything will be fine, right?"

"I guess so," she said uncertain, but in a way she looked better than she had before. She had stopped crying, and I thought I could see the ghost of a smile creeping across her lips. "You can stop patting my shoulder now I think." I removed my hoof and must have made an awkward face in my haste because Cadence began to laugh. It was good to hear her laugh. "Thank you for listening to me," she said. "I'm not sure I feel better, but I don't feel as bad. Let me guess... My husband put you up to this, didn't he?"

"I couldn't say your grace," I replied averting my eyes, because I really wasn't sure Shining Armor would want me to tell her point blank that he had indeed sent me to speak with her.

Cadence smiled all the same, "You may go then. And if you should happen to see my husband, tell him that i'm ready to talk."

"And then what happened?" asked Spike enraptured.

"Well, then I went back to giving Flurry Heart her lessons," Sunburst replied matter-of-factly. "Though by that point her father had riled her up so much playing with her that the rest of the afternoon was quiet the waste."

Starlight Glimmer held one hoof to her forehead, "Leave it to a stallion to miss all the obvious signs," she grumbled. "Cadence was experiencing postpartum depression, and you told her everything would improve with time. This might be a worse situation than when Nightmare Moon tried to take over Equestria."

"How so?" Sunburst asked, his spectacles sliding down the length of his muzzle.

"The answers been right in front of us the whole time. Cadence is forcing her love on everypony because she doesn't feel loved herself. She wants everypony to love her, but what she's doing, forcing ponies to love her? That is never going to be enough. It's all just so much hollow flattery," replied Starlight with a certainty as if she new exactly what she was talking about. "Inside she's still going to be hollow. She's going to know that it's all fake. Just one big lie. But she won't stop. She'll keep going until the whole world is marching to the beat of her drum... and it will never be enough."

Flurry Heart began to cry softly in her sleep. She was waking up, and she was hungry and in desperate need of a diaper change. Sunburst was familiar with her cries, so went quickly to work, but it was clear he was mulling over what Starlight had said. "We need to go back to the Crystal Empire. We need to set things right."

"It won't be easy. By now she'll be entrenched," replied Starlight, once again speaking with certainty on the matter. "There will be thousands of brainwashed soldiers between us and her. Going in without a plan will just get our own minds subverted, or worse."

"Who said I didn't have a plan?" asked Sunburst with a smile as he finished changing Flurry Heart.

"Oh really?" asked Starlight incredulously. "And what might that be?"

"If Cadence is feeling unloved and disconnected, we just need to reconnect her to her people." replied Sunburst, sliding a bottle into the baby Princess's mouth as she finally calmed.

"The Crystal Heart!" exclaimed Spike, snapping his fingers. "You know that's not a bad idea! If there is some dark force that's controlling Cadence, the light from the Crystal Heart should be able to drive it out!"

"I guess I could try casting the necessary spell to make that work," said Starlight thoughtfully. But then she shook her head and continued doubtfully, "But that would be way too risky. Never mind actually finding the Crystal Heart, getting into the Empire itself will be next to impossible now. Even if the Crystal Army didn't already control the train lines, it would be risky approaching the Empire openly. The moment they even hear us coming, they'll crush us."

"Hmm. The moment they hear us...?" mused Spike to himself. "So we need something stealthy huh? I think I might have an idea."

"This is your idea of stealthy!?" exclaimed Starlight as they stood outside the castle, looking up at the hot air balloon tethered to a post buried deep into the ground. "They would be able to see us coming for miles!"

"Hey, you have to admit though, it's quieter than a train and less flashy than a teleportation spell," replied Spike. "And since the Crystal Empire doesn't have many Pegasus guards, You can bet it would be easier to float over the border into the Empire than it would be to try and just walk."

"He has a point actually,. One does not simply walk into the Crystal Empire," remarked Sunburst, looking up at the purple and pink swirled balloon. "With a little time and effort, we can layer a few spells over this balloon and make it undetectable to anyone that might see it from below. We'd be able to conserve our energy for spell work when we arrived." He turned to Starlight with a smile. "And it would certainly be faster than walking."

"Very well. I suppose we have no choice," It was the smile that did it, Starlight knew. But she didn't want Sunburst to know it, so she turned back to stare at the balloon with a grim look of determination on her face. "Crystal Empire here we come."

Heart on a String

It took some time to gather supplies for the trip. It took even longer for Starlight and Sunburst, working together, to camouflage the hot air balloon. By the time they were finished, the full moon was already riding high in the night sky. It seemed the cycle of day and night, controlled by the Royal Sisters, would not be interrupted by the current crisis. For that Starlight was most thankful. It would be easier to remain undetected if they traveled by night and the full moon would give them plenty of light to see by.

Starlight was still nervous about this plan of action, but in a way she was thrilled at the idea of a moonlit balloon ride with her friend Sunburst.

In truth once everypony was aboard and they began the long journey north, aided by magical winds conjured by Sunburst, the trip was incredibly uneventful. Time passed slowly as the scenery drifted by, far below. Flurry Heart and Spike both swiftly succumbed to boredom. Rocked by the magical breezes, and soothed by the steady creak of the balloons rigging, the younger half of their little group had swiftly fallen asleep.

Only Starlight and Sunburst were still awake now.

Sunburst was busy monitoring their altitude, heading, and the barometric pressure on a series of gauges set in the frame of the flame producing machinery of the balloon.

Starlight was busy monitoring him. He looked so handsome in the moonlight. The occasional burst of flame, meant to increase their altitude or adjust their heading, made his mane glow like a wild fire. His profile against the fire light was strong and more than a little handsome.

Starlight tore her gaze away to take in their surroundings. A sea of clouds spread out below their tiny balloon. Stars shone bright, like a thousand diamonds strewn across the sky. Though she wasn't normally one to be given to such thoughts, Starlight Glimmer couldn't help but find the setting intensely romantic.

With a soft sigh, she leaned into Sunburst, resting her head against his shoulder. Sunburst flinched, shocked perhaps by the sudden contact, but he didn't pull away. Instead he fidgeted with his glasses as he often did when he didn't know what to do with himself.

He's so warm, she thought.

Starlight knew that it would be cold up in the stratosphere, and had bundled up accordingly, but compared to her Sunburst was like a little inferno. She snuggled closer, drinking in the heat of his body and the scent of his soft, star-swirled cloak.

"You know Sunburst..."

"Yes Starlight?"

"I really was happy to see you earlier. With all that happened, I was very worried about you."

"I was happy to see you too Starlight. I mean... I was glad you were okay as well."

There was a quiet sigh of contentment. Silence settled over the balloon for a moment, only the sound of the whoosh of flames as Sunburst adjusted their altitude broke the stillness.

"Hey Starlight.... What should we do abo-"

"Shhh... Don't ruin the moment. Let me have this... Just for now."

Starlight smiled up at Sunburst's befuddled look, and grinned wider as the stallion blushed. She settled in again, finding that her heart felt strangely full, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Love Struck

Starlight awoke to the roar of cannons!

Her eyes flew open as she rose from a dreamless sleep. "Oh man, am I glad you're awake Starlight! I don't think I could deal with this on my own," Spike sighed with palpable relief. The dragon seemed to have taken over the controls for the hot air balloon at some point during the night. In fact, Starlight realized, it was no longer night at all, as the first rays of dawn were already peeking over the horizon.

"What's going on?" she asked, her mind still foggy from sleep. As she looked out over the edge of the hot air balloon's basket, she got an answer that stole her breath away.

Far below Starlight could see the Crystal Empire, though it had changed drastically from the last time she had seen it. The gleaming crystalline buildings of the city shown brightly with the reflected light of the early rays of morning, but they were surrounded by massive jagged towers of dark crystal. It was almost as if some hungry beast was trying to swallow the Empire whole in a single terrifying bite from below. In the center of the Empire, near the palace, a massive sinkhole had opened. From within, another monolithic mass of dark crystal seemed to actually be growing as Starlight watched. She could feel the dark energy emanating from the city like the cold waves of the ocean lapping over her body on an otherwise warm summer day.

Though this sight alone was enough to freeze her blood, it was not the source of the sounds that had awakened her.

No, that would be the cacophony of combat as Cloudsdale, the capital city of the Pegasi, and a legion of Pegasus ponies engaged in battle with the city below. They were not alone, as thousands of airships swarmed the air high above the Crystal Empire in pitched battle. The cannon fire that had awoken Starlight must have come from one of the many airships. As she watched, even now a volley was fired from one of the larger galleons. The lead balls hurtled through the air, and smashed into the towers of shimmering crystal. Beams of magic, that Starlight recognized as 'the Light of the Empress' from before, raked the sky from below. There were several Crystal Juggernaut's crawling over and standing atop the jagged perimeter of the city, firing up into the sky. From this distance, the Pegasi were too quick for them, and dodged the beams easily.

The airships, manned by Unicorns and Earth Ponies, did not fair quiet so well. The smaller, faster ships could bank so that the beams mostly bounced harmlessly against the underside of their hulls. The larger galleons, however, were not so maneuverable. Mutiny had already broken out on many an airships decks. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the Empress would have her own loyal air force! Even now, order was breaking down among the fleet as ships were taken over by their mutinous crews and their cannons were turned on their former allies.

It didn't help that many cannonballs that actually posed any threat to the Empire's defenses were being snatched out of the air by twin Juggernauts larger than any others. One was of black crystal while the other one was a milky white. The first one was clearly the living prison of stone that Discord was trapped within, while the second... The second held Twilight sparkle herself. The pair seemed to be capable of leaping to such great heights, and at such remarkable speeds, that they might as well have been flying. Any cannonballs that came near these Juggernaut's were caught in waiting claws and immediately launched back at the airships that had fired them. Those that weren't were buffeted back and sent flying at the floating city of Cloudsdale.

Fortunately, the Pegasi were no slouches. They whipped up tornado's to snatch the incoming projectiles out of the air, and pumped out thick black storm clouds that sent arcs of lightning lancing over the Empire. There was not much even the massive pair of Juggernaut's could do to temper the onslaught of the artificial tempest. Winds howled through the Empire, and rain lashed at the jagged crystal towers. A flash of lightning was followed by rolling thunder as a particularly thick bolt scythed through the dark crystal of one said barrier and sent it crumbling down with a crash that rivaled the ensuing clap of thunder.

It was as if a full scale hurricane had been unleashed on the Crystal Empire, and the tiny hot air balloon that Starlight and crew were traveling in was in the very eye of the storm!

"I don't think we were the only ones that had the idea of approaching from the air," said Spike, ever the master of dramatic understatement. "What are we going to do!? It's a war zone out there!"

"Where's Sunburst?" Starlight demanded to know, fear dripping down her spine like ice water.

"He got me to take over the controls when Flurry Heart woke up. After he got her settled down, poor guy drifted off to sleep too," replied Spike. "He must have been tired since the sound of Pony War Three wasn't enough to wake him up! Seriously, I know you like the guy, but we've got other problems at the moment!"

"Okay, okay, just give me a moment to think!" protested Starlight as her mind raced. Her eyes kept being drawn back to the pillar of crystal that was growing in the center of the Empire. It pulled at her attention, like the cavity of a rotten tooth that just begged for a questing tongue to explore it despite the foreknowledge of the pain this would cause. Whatever was taking shape, it didn't look like the other crystal towers that had been raised around the rim of the city. It had a spiral motif, not unlike the shape of a unicorn's horn. It also seemed to glow from within like a Hearths Warming tree. Starlight could see lay-lines of magic pulsing beneath its surface as it shifted and changed, swelling ever larger. The tang of dark magic, salty and coppery like blood, flooded her nostrils to the point she could taste it. "We need to get down, now! We need to get as low as possible!"

"But that will take us directly into the line of fire!" objected Spike, clearly frightened by the idea. "I don't know if you've noticed, but this is just a tiny hot air balloon. Never mind the magic beams from the Empire, one of those cannonballs or lightning bolts hit us and we're toast! And I don't mean warm buttery brown toast either! I mean black crackly toast!"

"Just do it!" Starlight barked, her well honed sense for magic telling her that they had no time to debate. "I'll shield us from anything that gets too close! The worst place we can be right now is up here!"

Realizing that arguing would just waste more time if Starlight was right, Spike tugged on the rope that would let hot air out of the top of the balloon. It wasn't long before cannonballs were whizzing by, along with lightning and magic zapping back and forth that seemed to set the very air on ablaze. Starlight was as good as her word, altering the trajectory of missiles, both magical and mundane, on the fly with her telekinesis. Those that she couldn't react quickly enough to smashed harmlessly into hastily generated shield spells. Even so, the balloon rocked madly with each impact, as the shock waves of the various projectiles impact was more than enough to upset the small basket of their balloon. Spike was suddenly aware that there was nothing but woven wicker and hope between him and a drop of several thousand feet. It was tricky enough keeping control of the balloon during their decent, as the warmer air made it difficult for the craft to stay aloft. Truth to tell, they wouldn't have been able to maintain their altitude much longer even if they had wanted to, despite Spike's complaints.

They were going down, and they were going down fast!

There was a heart pounding moment as they came close to the city, and the bottom of their basket just scraped over one of the giant crystal towers. If any pony noticed, they were too busy fighting to be bothered. The hot air balloon had made it beyond the wall and now drifted slowly, almost serenely, just above the city. In the sudden ensuing calm both Starlight and Spike sighed with relief.

They had made it!

And not a moment too soon!

Starlight and Spike both felt it before they saw it. A massive build up of magical energy permeated the air, beyond the mere chaos of storm and sorcery produced by Cloudsdale and the Crystal Empire's defenses. It made Starlight's hair stand on end, her horn ache, and every one of Spike's scales tingle as if he were covered in ants. Thick, slow, ropy coils of dark magic unfurled from the Crystal Spire at the center of the city. Magic raced through the sparkling stone as a point of pink and blue light gathered at the razor sharp tip of the spire that quickly became blinding white. In short order a massive beam of light, more like a cone, fired from the crystal and completely engulfed Cloudsdale, the airships, and every Pegasus in the sky. The Pegasi fell spinning, like leaves on the wind. It would have been beautiful if it were not so horrifying. After a brief moment, the falling fliers righted their decent, but the damage had already been done.

The storm subsided. The roar of the cannons faded. All that was left was the sound of cheering, and the exultant worship of the newly faithful for their Empress of Love. The enemies of the Empire had been routed in a single burst of the 'Light of the Empress'. Cloudsdale and all of its allied forces were now hers to control. But that didn't stop the flow of magic into the Crystal Spire. Though it audible clinked as it cooled after its discharge, the super weapon continued to grow and swell in size.

But for a weapon that could already convert an entire city and its armies in a single blast, what possible target could it have in the future that would require it to be more powerful still?

As the roar of battle faded, and the hot air balloon drifted lower over the now silent city, Sunburst woke with a snort. Flurry Heart was still snoozing on his chest when he poked his head up from the pile of supplies he had bedded down upon. He yawned hugely before he said, "Oh, is it morning already?" Spike and Starlight shared a look that said 'can you believe this guy?' without needing to say a word. The groggy stallion continued, "What? Did I miss something?"

The balloon drifted on, still invisible to the eyes of sentries stationed below.

A crowd had gathered beneath the palace. A ragged cheer went up as, high above on a balcony overlooking the pit and the growing spire that occupied it, a figure stepped out of the castle above. Wings spread wide, dark power licking from her eyes and from her horn, Empress Cadence reveled in the love that gushed up from the ponies below. "Citizens of the Crystal Empire, old and new! Former citizens of Equestria! Lend me your ear!" The cheers and screams of fervent love died down almost instantly as a rapt silence spread like the ripples of a stone dropped in still water. They were hanging on her every word, Starlight realized, and she hadn't even really begun to speak yet. "I am sure many of you are asking yourselves why you are here. It is by my will of course! So you have come gladly and willingly into the heart of what will soon be the capital of this entire world! But I am sure you are still wondering... What is it that my Empress requires of me? What service can I do for her, to repay her for her glorious gift of unmatched love?"

The crowd cheered their accent. As Spike looked out over the crowd he saw ponies from all walks of life, all nations., Strangely the actual citizens of the Crystal Empire itself seemed to be in short supply. And he noticed, with a pang in his chest, that his statue had been taken down and replaced with hastily carved image of 'Empress' Cadence.

"It is simple! All I ask of you, is your love! All I require of you, are your hearts!" Cadence laughed demonically, as if this was the greatest joke anyone had ever told. "You see, it is my goal to spread my love to all of Equestria! To all of the world! And you, my most faithful and obedient subjects, shall help me accomplish just that!" With a flourish, Cadence gestured to the Crystal Spire. "Behold, the instrument with which we shall spread my light to the four corners of the globe! And your resting place, oh my most beloved of simpering, slobbering citizens." she finished with an evil hiss. The crowd swooned and shrieked all the same, oblivious to Cadence's insults.

Even as she said this, Sunburst could see that far below Imperial Soldiers were pushing and prodding members of the crowd into the pit. As they fell, tendrils of magic reached out and plucked them from the air, drawing them into the glowing surface of the Crystal Spire. As a new pony was added to the towering edifice, that the Sunburst realized was both weapon and prison, it grew both in size and in power. Beneath the translucent surface, the hearts of thousands of ponies already beat in a steady, matching rhythm. It seems that this was what had become of the majority of the citizens of the Crystal Empire. They had been made sacrifices to their Empress's monstrous ambition!

"With each one of your hearts, my power will grow, until it at last engulfs the world!" roared Cadence. "Even now, with the fall of Cloudsdale we have more than enough ponies, more than enough love to spread my message over Equestria ten times over! All that is required now..." She paused for dramatic effect. "Is for you to prove yourselves to your Empress. Prove your love! Cast yourselves into the pit, and become one with my desire! Become one with my love! Let my light shine through you!" Her words drove the crowd into fits of frothing passion!

The ponies jealously fought among themselves for the right to plummet to their doom first. They pushed each other back away from the pits edge even as they jumped, smiles bright upon their faces, into the abyss below. The Crystal Spire swelled, engorged with the sudden influx of fresh ponies. The Imperial Soldiers didn't need to bother with poking or prodding now, and actively fought among themselves to be the first to jump willing after the surging crowds. Cadence watched it all from her perch on the balcony, cackling with delight as her new subjects struggled to 'prove' themselves to her. As if she cared about a single one of them.

"I think that's enough Cadence," said Sunburst, revealing himself. He now stood in the thick shadows at the yawning mouth of the throne room, the twisted purple flames washing his form in their sickly light.

"Ah, the prodigal returns!" crooned Cadence without a trace of surprise. "And just in time to join the masses in living death! When Flash Sentry told me he'd failed to capture you, I thought you might turn up sooner or later. Pity he couldn't be here to make amends for his failure, but somepony had to be the first placed into the Spire." Cadence took a step away from the balcony and advanced towards the throne. " I confess I'm disappointed in your progress Sunburst, I had imagined you'd be here sooner. I take it you were delayed in effort to secure my wretched spawn some place out of the way?"

Confusion washed over Sunburst's face. "Your spawn?"

"My daughter you twit! Or have you forgotten your responsibilities in your blind panic to flee my embrace!?" roared Cadence, her fangs lengthening and dripping with the venom of both her words, and secretions from a gland special developed for just that purpose. "What? did you think I sent the Imperial Guard to capture you because you meant something to me? Don't make me laugh. I just needed to eliminate every Princess in Equestria, including my squalling maggot of a daughter! No matter where you've hid her, it doesn't matter. My light will wash over everything... And then all will be in my power!" she spread her wings triumphantly.

"Uh, actually Princess Flurry Heart is right here," said Spike as he stepped out of the shadows, holding the baby Princess up. She gurgled and laughed, spreading her own wings in mimicry of her mother.

"What?" asked Empress Cadence, disbelief making her eye slits dilate wide. "You actually brought her with you?"

"Now Starlight!" shouted Sunburst as he cast a spell to magically shackle Cadence in place.

Starlight Glimmer appeared with the Crystal Heart spinning in front of her, already charged with the true light and love of the ponies of the Crystal Empire. A thick aura of magic rose from Starlight's horn as she concentrated, sweat beading on her brow. The spell she was attempting to cast was meant to be performed by an Alicorn Princess, or a cadre of high level Unicorns. She struggled and strained under the load of the spell work, but at last, a beam of pure blue light slammed into the Crystal Heart. The artifact magnified the spell and added its light to the already prodigious forces coursing through Starlight's horn. A wall of light in the shape of a rainbow limed heart slammed into Cadence.

The Empress shrieked as if she were awash in flames! The sickly dark haze that occupied the throne room was dispelled in an instant. Pristine, magnificent light washed over and through everything as Sunburst, Starlight, Spike, and Princess Flurry Heart each took on their crystal forms. The light spread all throughout the Empire, passing through the crowd outside and stilling the roar of the riot below. The light could be seen for miles around! So bright! So glorious!

Such a pity it seemed to have no effect.

The dark crystal towers and the Crystal Spire drank in the light. The crowd, only briefly distracted by the light show, resumed their fevered onrush to sacrifice themselves at their Empress's command. And Cadence, Empress Cadence, now stood revealed as her new self.

Cadence's entire body had become crystal, just as Sunburst and the others had, but hers was a grotesque ill carved mockery. Gone was any trace of beauty. Gone were her beauteous wings, replaced by skeletal, insect like appendages. Her mane was a nest of vipers, writhing over a bare skull that was awash with a nimbus of black flames. Her mouth was a mass of needle sharp crystal fangs. She grinned like a lunatic at her would-be attackers. A broken heart shaped hole bored into her chest pulsed with a repulsive dark energy that coiled and spat in the empty cavity like an oily black tar pit.

Without saying a word, the monster threw back its head and cackled, sending a pulse of twisted un-light shivering through the air. The wave struck Sunburst and Starlight at the same time, wracking their bodies with pain as cracks raced through their crystal bodies. Spike was not immune, but he did his best to shield Flurry Heart with his body, to spare her the brunt of her mothers indiscriminate attack. Unicorns and dragon alike fell screaming and writhing in pain as dark energy coiled around the hearts in their chests...

And squeezed.

Heart Attack

The monster that Cadence had become continued to cackle with every sign of delight as Sunburst and Starlight cried out in pain. "You pathetic foals! What? Did you think I wouldn't take precautions against that stupid artifact? I'm not some smoke brained imbecile like 'King' Sombra," the monster laughed. "He may have nurtured me in the hearts of his citizens, but he was ever my creature. My puppet! Not the other way around." A foul darkness pulsed deep inside the creatures crystalline form and seemed to spread throughout the throne room. "I am the Crystal Empire!" it roared as its voice deepened and the palace shook, dark energy slithering over every surface in a nimbus of purple lighting. "And the Crystal Empire... is me!"

"Who... who are you!?" bellowed Sunburst through his pain, each word costing him dearly. "You are not Princess Cadence!"

"Who...Am I!?" chortled the sable monstrosity. "I am the moment when your heart snaps in two. I am the thought 'he deserves better'. I am the force that drives you away from the ones you love even when all you want is to hold them close!" As the beast spoke it seemed to grow, its form spreading with the gloom as its shadow flooded the massive throne room. "I am anguish and heartache given form!" The palace shook again, the rays of the sun seemed to dim as the sky turned as black as night. "I am Despair incarnate! And you will know me well!" As it grew, it lost even the slightest shape of a pony, becoming something new that towered over it's agonized victims. Four curling horns joining the one that already jutted from its forehead, its limbs and shoulders bulged with thick knotted muscle, and long crystal spines sprouted from its back running down between its skeletal wings.

In short order, the beast that called itself 'Despair' looked much like the giant Crystal Juggernaut's outside, save for it's demonic head and the three eyes of seething darkness that burned beneath its horned brow. The broken heart shaped hole in its chest only grew larger, more black filth spilling from the gushing void to sizzle on the cracked stone floor. The creatures face was almost goat like now, and a long tongue scraped past jagged crystal teeth to lap up the foul stains on the floor in a series of disgusting slurps. It was as if the things 'heart' overflowed at the sight of the unicorn's agony. As if it was their suffering it was dining on, and it was finding the taste sweet indeed.

"How this world will tremble and sob when I reveal that their 'Empress' is nothing more than a sham! That her love is a lie! That their adoration for her is wholly unrequited!" Despair's booming laughter shook the palace afresh. "Oh I will let them know the 'Empress's light'! I will let them feel joy and rapture unknown." It grinned darkly as it loomed over Starlight and Sunburst. "Right before I rip the rug out from under them and leave them broken and condemned to an eternity of heartache and remorse! I will preserve and crystallize that moment, trapping all beneath a layer of stone as murky as their suffering hearts!"

"Why?" struggled Starlight as the pain gripping her heart at last began to fade. "Why do you want to do this? Why do you hate us so?"

"Hate you?" barked Despair with a harsh guffaw. "You misunderstand! I cherish you insipid little ponies! Equestria has more hope and love than any realm I have encountered. It makes it so easy to invert and distort your foolish little hearts, to sow that upon which I feed into your souls. Jealousy, anxiety, mistrust, covetousness, cruelty, and enmity are all ripe for the harvesting!" It picked up the pair of equines with one three clawed hand, dangling them high in the air as it rose on scaly hind legs. Its long sinuous tail slammed into the floor, sending up a shower of shattered crystal as its wings scraped the distant ceiling. "I confess, just thinking about it has left me ravenous. I thought I might stave off my hunger by revealing my true form to that idiotic Shining Armor in a moment of intimacy. The look on his face would have been more than satisfying all on its own! But tasting your sorrow, your hopelessness as your silly little plan fell to pieces before your eyes... Snatching away that moment of hope and replacing it with purest despair! Ahh, that is all the appetizer I need for the feast that this world shall soon make for me!"

As the demonic entity spoke, a fresh wave of dark energy coursed down its arm, and set Sunburst and Starlight writhing again. They curled in on themselves, the darkness inside their crystal bodies was threatening to overwhelm them completely. Already their bodies were cracking, warping. It wouldn't be long before they broke entirely.

A soft cry rose from the floor. Spike was out like a light, the pain he had endured was more than enough to overwhelm his tiny frame. But Flurry Heart had been shielded by the brave dragon. Now she crawled out from beneath her unconscious guardian, her eyes wide as she looked up at Despair. Her tiny lip trembled in fear, not understanding what was happening. The beast looked down at the last, and least, of the Princesses of Equestria. The monsters dark smile grew so broad and savage it threatened to take off the top of its head.

"Oh, it was a good gambit... Distracting me with the child. I never thought you'd be foolish enough to bring her to me." Despair tossed the unicorns aside. Their suffering could wait. There was an even more helpless target for the entity to exploit. "But now I can snuff out the last of this worlds hope with one stomp of my cloven hooves! Or perhaps I will take my time and enjoy the raw anguish of this child? Uncomprehending terror is a potent draft, to be sure, but it would not be the first time I have quaffed such. Nor, I suspect, the last!" The creature roared with discordant laughter as long barbed crystal spikes rose all over its body and venom dripped from its lip-less maw. Whatever the thing had planned for Flurry Heart, it would not be kind.

"You sick twisted beast!" cried Sunburst, his voice breaking. "She's just a baby!"

"Leave her alone you parasite!" roared Starlight in a mixture of anger and anguish.

"Come here little one," the monster crooned mockingly, reaching for the child."Embrace Despair!"

"M...Mama?" said Flurry Heart haltingly, her first word leaving her trembling lips with difficulty. Tears ran down her soft face, but her eyes were wide enough for Despair to see itself reflected in their wobbling surface.

"W...what?" said the demonic creature, taken aback. "Did it... did she just say 'mama'?"

Despair recoiled as if it had been scalded. Its knife like claws coiled into its serpentine mane, as it roared in pain. Something welled up from the broken heart shaped hole in its chest, welling up through the mire thick effluence. Something bright and shining broke the oily surface. Like a bird trapped in bubbling tar, Cadence, the real Princess Cadence, struggled to break free. Baby Flurry Heart began to wail, her terrified cries like whip lashes across Despair's broad back. Cracks of white light arched from its heart, spreading like spider webs across its entire dark crystalline body. "My baby..." called Cadence weakly, as though she were waking from a deep sleep. Tears streamed from her eyes, and as they did, black filth dribbled from Despair's three hollow eyes "I'm here..." Cadence called out urgently, "I'm here!"

Princess Flurry Heart only cried louder, her voice seeming to make the cracks in Despair's body widen. Its skeletal wings scraped the throne rooms roof and its long tail thrashed against the walls. "No!" it spat in denial. "No! I am too close! I will not be thwarted by something as ridiculous as this! You are mine Cadence! You and all your misbegotten kind belong to me!" It roared its defiance, plunging its claws into its own heart in an attempt to push Cadence back under the foul sludge. Thick tendrils of putrescence rose from within and tried to pull the Alicorn back under. Her eyes, wild, swept across the room.

"The Crystal Heart!" she called. "You must use the Crystal Heart! It's the only way."

"We tried that already," protested Starlight Glimmer, only now strong enough to get back to her hooves. "It's useless against Despair!"

"No... don't aim at him!" Cadence pleaded as her head was dunked under. She rose again, gasping. "Me! Aim for me!"

"Of course..." said Sunburst as realization dawned. "She's at the heart of this! Before we only managed to expose the creatures shell, but it's Cadence's heart that the spell has to reach!"

In a flash Sunburst wrapped Flurry Heart in the embrace of his magic, pulling her away from the thrashing Despair, and cradling her close to his own heart. The baby princess quieted, and snuggled close to his chest, though fresh tears continued to spill from her eyes. Starlight used her magic to secure the fallen Crystal Heart. It had lost much of its shine, but as she brought it close to Flurry Heart, it began to glow with a soft golden light. "I see," Starlight said in awed wonder. "We have to do it together."

Starlight and Sunburst nodded, confidence welling up inside them, along with a golden light that chased away the darkness. The light washed over Flurry Heart, and the Crystal Heart as well. Even the deepest shadows melted before that soft, nurturing glow as it spread throughout the palace... Throughout the entirety of the Crystal Empire. Everywhere the light touched the edifices of dark crystal began to crumble to dust. It was as if the sun itself was spreading its warm light over a land that had known nothing but darkness for a thousand years. Despair roared, but the light had rendered it inarticulate.

Hope had silenced Despair.

The ray of light that flowed from Flurry Heart through the Crystal Heart was of the purest, most unconditional of love. The monster faded to a smudge, then a smear, like a stain being removed from the world. There was nothing but warmth and love.

Princess Cadence lay upon the cracked stones of the palace floor. Sobbing quietly.

As the golden glow spread out from the Crystal Empire, the shadow that had fallen over Equestria began to fade. All across the land, ponies snapped out of the haze that the 'Light of the Empress', a corrupted and perverted version of Cadence's true power, had placed them under. They awoke as though from a long and restless sleep, blurry eyed and disbelieving that what had taken place over the space of the last few days had even been real. Celestia and Luna, who had been happily living as 'former' princesses, gazed at one another in shock. It was not long before they took wing from the emptied city of Canterlot and headed for the Crystal Empire.

In the Empire itself, dazed and confused ponies from all walks of life milled about, perplexed as to how they had come to the shining crystal city. They helped one another as they began the slow work of extracting hundreds of ponies that had seemed to have fallen into a wide pit. Though there were scrapes and bruises, it seemed everypony was fine. The city itself, though damaged by the short lived war between the Empress and Cloudsdale, was none the worse for wear. The Imperial Guards looked at one another sheepishly, and quickly organized as Flash Sentry made helping the perplexed ponies the army's top priority.

The Black and White Crystal Juggernaut's were the last vestiges of Despair's forces to crumble away. In their place, Discord and Twilight Sparkle looked around disoriented. Each thought the other was responsible for their being in the Crystal Empire, and their argument would go on for quiet some time before Celestia and Luna would arrive from overhead. They would laugh about this later. But now was no time for laughter.

Great wracking sobs gripped Princess Cadence as she cradled her child, their wings wrapped around one another. Spike got to his feet groggily, the pulse of warm light having revived him. He joined Starlight and Sunburst as they stood, somewhat awkwardly watching mother and daughter embrace. It seemed wrong to say anything at that moment in time. Shining Armor joined them, at last having shed the outfit and accouterments of the Crystal Emissary. With a quiet gesture, he lead the trio of heroes out of the throne room and into the hallway outside. The other Princesses, Discord, and all of Twilight's friends were gathered there. As Spike, Starlight, and Sunburst strode from the throne room each of the gathered ponies, the Princesses and Discord included, bowed their heads.

"What's this?" asked Starlight, still dazed. The power that had washed over her had wiped away even the lingering vestiges of the pain she had endured at the grip of Despair. Even so, she was not fully cognizant of her surroundings. "Why are you all bowing?"

"Because, Starlight, you, Spike, and your friend Sunburst have done Equestria a great service this day," replied Princess Celestia raising her head. "When the talons of darkness clutched the very hearts of Ponykind, you three stood alone against a terrible tyrant and prevailed!"

"We are familiar with the one whose power you faced. We most unfortunately fell under the sway of Despair once again," added Luna, her eyes downcast. "It's shadow has gripped our hearts before. We thought the creature banished, along with Sombra, into the northern wastes. He was the last to try and harness that monstrous power for his own use. We had never considered that with King Sombra's return and subsequent defeat, a more insidious foe could have lurked behind and worked his way into Princess Cadence's heart."

Sunburst spoke then, his scraggly beard bristling as his mouth was set in a look of grim determination. "Do not blame Princess Cadence! Nothing that happened was her fault! I... I should have acted," said the unicorn, his ears drooping. "She confided to me that something was wrong, but I dismissed her cry for help. I should have told the Prince there was something wrong right away, instead of keeping it a secret."

"What happened was no more your fault than it was Cadence's,' reassured Twilight Sparkle, as her friends nodded in turn. "Though it is wise to take a friends worries and concerns seriously, there was no way any of us could know what was truly happening until it was much too late. If what the Princesses tell me is to be believed, Despair is a truly relentless creature, but it's not above biding its time and striking when we are at our most vulnerable. In those moments when we have lost all hope, that is where Despair abides."

"Even so, I feel that I must extend my apologies, both on my wife's behalf and my own," spoke Shining Armor remorsefully. "I swear that I will be more vigilant in the future. It seems that not a month can go past without some disaster or another threatening Equestria. It's getting kind of embarrassing how we seem to keep finding ourselves to be linked to the cause."

"That is because we find ourselves besieged, Prince Shining Armor," interjected Princess Celestia, her eyes steely. "Though this squall has passed, I fear the true storm is gathering on the horizon even now."

"What do you mean Princess?" asked Twilight confused. "I thought that you said that the Crystal Heart had managed to banish Despair from the Crystal Empire?"

"It has, Twilight," replied Luna in her sisters stead. "But it is not the first time that Despair, or any of a host of its brethren, have been banished from the lands of Equestria. We have known for some time that enemies, far older and more ancient than any you have faced thus far have been stirring. It is why the Crystal Empire returned to us from the realm of shadows to begin with. It may also be why Cerberus abandoned his post guarding Tartarus and allowed Tirek to escape," Luna paused, looking over her little ponies. "But perhaps now is not the time to speak of such things."

"Indeed sister, this can wait until later. For now we must attend to Princess Cadence and reassure her that we hold no malice for her," smiled Celestia beatifically.

"Is it alright brother? May we see Princess Cadence?" asked Twilight, her friends leaning eagerly forward behind her.

Shining Armor smiled and gave an awkward laugh. He could never deny his sister anything when she made that face. "Alright, let me see if she's in any fit condition to see you all. Even if she agrees, it may be wise for you to see her one at a time." The Prince took his leave, leaving the others stand around rather awkwardly in the hall.

"I wanted to let you know how I proud I am of you. All of you," said Twilight as she moved closer to the trio of Starlight, Sunburst, and Spike. "I knew I was right to put my trust in you, my pupil and assistant, and the pair of you really pulled through not just for me, but for all of Equestria!"

"It means a lot to me to hear you say that," acknowledged Starlight, but she hung her head and looked down at her hooves. "I'm just not sure we're worthy of such praise."

"Aww shucks, Twilight, it wasn't just us," admitted Spike. "It was Sunburst and Flurry Heart that really saved the day."

Starlight nodded in agreement, "We certainly would have been lost without them." She locked yes with Sunburst, and the unicorn blushed rosily.

"I didn't do much myself," contested Sunburst. "Truth be told, I believe we all owe the little Princess a debt. If seeing Flurry Heart hadn't gotten through to her mother, I don't know what would've happened."

"Be that as it may, I'm sure you all played your parts in seeing Equestria through this difficult time," interjected Luna. "It is good that you are modest, but the history books will record you three as heroes. I am most certain of it." The Princess of the Night smiled enigmatically as she stepped past their group. Shining Armor had returned. "So then, will Cadence grant us an audience?"

Shining Armor looked some what uncomfortable as he replied. "No, your grace. I'm sorry but it seems Princess Cadence only wants to talk with one pony at the moment."

Twilight trotted forward, "Say no more big brother, I know exactly what to-"

"Ahem," her brother blocked Twilight's path to the door, "Sorry Twily. Cadence said that the only pony she wants to speak to right now is... Starlight Glimmer."

"Huh?" said Twilight and her friends, even Discord looked mildly taken aback.

"That is, if you would speak with her?" asked the Prince, letting the question hang in the air as all eyes turned to Starlight.

She looked uncertainly around herself for a moment, before a certain steely resolve settled into her eyes, "If the Princess wishes to speak to me, who am I to refuse?" However, as Shining Armor nodded and turned to lead the way, Starlight hesitated. She'd barely shared more than a handful of words with Princess Cadence before. Why would she want to talk to her now? Especially after everything that had happened. It was Spike that got her moving, by laying a reassuring claw on her side.

"Hey, it'll be okay Starlight," Spike encouragingly. "We'll be right here if you need us."

"Thanks Spike," Starlight said with a smile, that looked more sure than she felt... And stepped through the door back into the throne room.

Love is Blind

As the darkness had faded from the kingdom, the new day outside had been freed from the pall that had dimmed its life giving light. It was a beautiful day outside.The sun was shining, birds were singing. On a day like today, it was a shame that Starlight found herself in the dimly lit throne room. Though Shining Armor had shown her the way back inside, he'd refrained from following Starlight, and the unicorn found herself standing alone before Princess Cadence.

The Princess looked exhausted. Starlight could see why she didn't want anyone to see her like this. Though the golden glow of the Crystal Heart, fueled by the love of her daughter, had cleansed her, it had left her drained. Heavy bags sagged under her eyes from all her crying and, more than likely, lack of sleep. Her hair drooped, as did her wings, both looking greasy and in need of a good grooming. Even so, her eyes lit up as they settled on Starlight. Though Cadence was slumped on her throne, she cradled her daughter gently on her lap. All the excitement had tuckered the Flurry Heart out. It wouldn't be long before she would awake, hungry for her breakfast, but for now the room was blissfully quiet.

Indeed, Starlight had the undeniable sense that she was intruding, and that despite what Shining Armor had said, she was not welcome here.

Just as she was about to excuse herself and turn to leave, Princess Cadence spoke. "I'm glad you decided to speak with me Starlight," Cadence uttered, in the sad, haggard tones of the truly weary. "I fear I may not be up to speaking to the others for some time. And while my husband has been very understanding, I don't think he really can understand. Not like you might."

"Understand what, your majesty?" asked Starlight, perplexed.

"What it means to be the villain," replied Cadence bluntly. Starlight was taken aback, and it must have shown, because a strange smile crossed the Princess's face. "Am I wrong?"

Starlight Glimmer didn't know what to say at first. Here Twilight and the others had just been praising her as some kind of hero, and now this. But Cadence wasn't wrong. No matter what excuses Starlight might make, about her past or about her good intentions, Equestria would always know her as a villain... Albeit a reformed one. "I suppose not your highness. Though does that mean you consider yourself to have been a villain?"

It was Cadence's turn to be taken aback, "How could I not? I enslaved the ponies of Equestria, forced them to bend to my will, and plotted to steal away all of their happiness." Though she smiled, tears rolled afresh down her cheeks. "I twisted my power to inspire love into something truly terrifying, and very nearly unleashed Despair upon the entire world."

"Was that truly your doing, or Despair's?" challenged Starlight.

"Does it matter?" asked Cadence, her eyes going cold. "Even if everypony believes I was simply a victim of circumstance, I will still know. I will still remember what it was like to plot Equestria's destruction. What it was like to hurt the ones closest to me because of my selfishness... Because of my weakness." She looked down at her sleeping daughter, and her smile turned somewhat manic, not unlike the one the demonic entity Despair had worn. "I very nearly destroyed my own child because I was afraid to ask for help, because I was terrified of what everypony else would think of me. How can I live with that guilt?"

"But you didn't destroy her Cadence," declared Starlight as she climbed the slope to the crystal throne. "When you were in the very depths of Despair, you reached out to Sunburst and I. You asked us to help you. If it were not for your actions, we would have all been overwhelmed by Despair!"

"And that's supposed to make up for everything else?" asked Cadence, as she clutched her daughter tight to her chest. Flurry Heart grumbled in her sleep, uncomfortable in the sudden tight embrace.

"No, of course not." The Princess looked like she was about to burst into tears before Starlight quickly continued, "The way you make up for past mistakes is by apologizing for them, and learning to forgive yourself, even as you ask forgiveness of others. Obsessing over your past mistakes doesn't make you a better pony. Learning from those mistakes, becoming a better person because of them, and moving forward is the only way you can ever make up for what you've done."

"How can you stand it?" sobbed Cadence in disbelief. "How can you stand there and say that to me, knowing what I almost did? What I had convinced myself I wanted to do?"

"Because like you said, your grace, I was a villain," replied Starlight. "Emphasis on the was," she continued, wrapping both mother and daughter in a tight hug. "Somepony helped me, when I was in a very dark place, and I didn't really know how much harm I was doing... To myself as much as to everypony around me. It's only fair that I do the same now. We will get you the help you need Cadence. And this doesn't have to be the moment that defines you."

Princess Cadence lost it then. Huge, heaving sobs wracked her body as she shook in Starlight's embrace. However, it was different from the tears she had shed before. These were not the hopeless sobs of someone lost in despair. These were the tears of someone who, despite everything, had been offered absolution.

Starlight rejoined the others. Discord and the rest of Twilight's friends had taken their leave, as had the Royal Sisters. They would call again another day, when things had a chance to settle down. There were many bewildered citizens to tend to after all, and arraigning for their travel home would be a task all unto itself.

For once, Twilight had chosen not to be at the center of the action, and had instead chosen to wait with Sunburst, Spike, and her big brother. "So, how did it go?" she asked, as her pupil re-appeared.

Though there were still a few tears at the corners of Starlight's eyes, Twilight's question made her grin, "About as well as can be expected I suppose, under the circumstances." Spike, ever the faithful assistant, offered Starlight a tissue that she used to dabbed at her eyes. "Given enough time, and with the right kind of help, I'm sure she'll pull through. She's an incredibly strong person."

"I know," replied Twilight with a grin of her own. "So what's next for my star pupil? Any other Empire's need saving, or ancient evils you want to vanquish?"

"Now Twilight, you're not jealous are you?" teased Shining Armor, in typical big brotherly fashion.

"Of course not!" chided Twilight. "I just think it's only fair that the heroes of the hour choose what we do next."

At just that moment, Spike's stomach grumbled loudly,"Er... I don't know about you guys, but I could really do with some breakfast." As if the words themselves had quickened their appetites, Starlight and Sunburst's stomachs growled in unison as well. The pair blushed, but the Sparkle siblings only laughed.

"If I know Chef, even during a catastrophe like this, he's probably been busy brow beating everypony back into the kitchens," mused Shining Armor. "It would be my honor if you would all join me for a Royal Breakfast."

"Oh, but I couldn't!" protested Sunburst. "This whole episode will have thrown off my schedule for your daughters teaching for days! And there's the reagents for the spells I was going to teach her for today to pick up. I have no idea if the shop even survived all the fighting that happened earlier. And then theres-"

Twilight raised a hoof. "Sunburst, take it from somepony who knows. There's always time, in any schedule, no matter how skewed it becomes... for breakfast. Right, Spike?"

"You said it 'pancake'," replied her dragon faithfully, the pair winking at an inside joke.

"Well, I suppose a few moments wouldn't hurt. And there's no point in worrying on an empty stomach," admitted Sunburst.

"And I imagine it would give you two some much needed time to catch up," added Twilight with a knowing grin as she looked between Sunburst and Starlight.

The pair of unicorn's both started to sweat, "Yes, well!" yelped Starlight, her voice higher pitched than normal. "I'm sure we could all use the time to catch up."

"Indeed," agreed Sunburst.

As the motley crew moved down the halls towards the distant sounds and smells of breakfast, nopony noticed a small shadow slither surreptitiously out of sight.

A Many Splendored Thing

This was a place that had never known the gentle kiss of sunshine. There were no stars or moons to lend the least ray of light. A luminous fog drifted fitfully over the strange alien surface, lending only the barest shape while rendering all detail hopelessly distorted. The sound of apocryphal winds groaned in the vast black expanse, but not a breath of a true breeze could be felt there.

Perhaps that was for the best, as the damp chill that gripped the place would seep all too quickly into your bones, even without the aid of errant winds.

In the distance, the soft susurrus of echoing whispers were silenced, as the sound of a great iron bell tolled. Its resonant tones pealed, boomed like the slamming of coffin lids, rolling over the land of shadow. Strange smoke choked flames rose in the broken stillness, lending no light nor heat to chase away the dark and the chill, but rather adding a kind of warped definition to their surroundings. The fires rose, in great roaring braziers that followed the complex curves and plains of walls that knew no geometry, euclidean or otherwise. Lurid visages of pain, hatred, and madness leered from every surface of a darkling city that took sudden shape in the impenetrable gloom.

Edifices that could be obelisks or pyramids, as old and as dry as dust, were limed by the strange shadow light that spilled out over very inch of their wide, time worn steps. At the top of the tallest of these ziggurats, great bonfires of the smokey shadow flame erupted into twisted life, evincing the shadow of a great sarcophagus standing upright amid a circle of plinths. Each of the nine pillars was surmounted by a grotesque statue, terrible to look upon. One would actively try to avoid taking in the details of each, so strange and eye-wateringly distorted were they. All, that is, save one...

One statue that looked much like the rough-hewn features of the beast known only as Despair.

From the mouth of this image, an oily black stream issued forth. The fluid splattered on the cold stones, as the filthy liquid flowed through grooves that were intricately carved eons ago. The last part of a pattern was being slowly filled in with shimmering detail, as the silhouetted effigy of Despair wept and vomited forth its fetid flow. There was a brief glow as the last of the liquid reached the massive stone coffin and the sigil, that had lain dormant for millennia, was at long last complete. A whirlwind picks up, dispersing the chill fog that had settled over everything, sending dust devils howling through the empty streets of the ruined city.

After more years than can be counted, the haze that had engulfed these strange temples and towers are pushed away, to the very margins of its crumbling walls. The iron bell rings again, this time its clangor sounding like the last, and most chilling knell of an incomprehensible doom.

Even so, it too is all but drowned out by the long, low creak... Of the sarcophagus lid slowly opening.

"I'm not sure I like where this story is going," spoke a familiar male voice from the ether. This is another realm entire, one where chaos reigns supreme. But chaos cannot wholly exist without some degree of order. "It was nice of you to include me in your little stories. I appreciate that," said the voice again as a lions paw reached down and ruffled the purple and white swirled mane of a little pony. "But I worry about the game you've set in motion. These are dangerous and primordial forces you are playing with. I'm not sure things will turn out the way you would like."

Screwball looked up, her eyes swirled with utter delight, and more than a little madness, "Don't worry daddy. My story will have a happy ending."

Discord looked down at his adopted daughter with more than a little sadness as his ears drooped. "That's what I'm afraid of..."

Author's Note

Welcome back to the Book of the Broken.