Chapter 41

"Raven?"

The human turned back, looking away from the book in her grasp as she looked towards the door of the throne room. She beamed at who she saw, immediately setting the tomb down and running towards the excited mare. Both Cadance and Raven rushed towards one another and immediately embraced themselves in a welcoming hug.

"What are you doing in such a dangerous place?" Cadance asked worriedly.

"I could ask you the same question," Raven remarked back before spotting something behind the mare. "Hi Shiny!" she waved to the stallion who wandered inside. He waved back as he set a couple of bags down on the floor with a gentle grunt. The two shared a handshake and a quick embrace before breaking apart, the female of the duo resting her hands on her hips as he crossed his over his chest. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Auntie Tia sent us," Cadance replied as Shining nodded. "Told us to see what is going on. But what about you? I thought you had some special thing you were doing?"

"I was," Raven replied to her cousin. "We were heading back when there was an explosion and a rainbow light. We came to investigate."

"Who else came with you?" Cadance inquired with a furrowed brow.

"Hey princess?" a different voice called from the entryway of the throne room as Queen Saturnia wandered inside with a tomb in her grasp. "We seemed to have-"

"AHHHH!" Cadance immediately shrieked, diving behind her husband as he reached over his shoulder, drawing a sword and taking up a defensive stance. He was determined to protect both his wife and friend at all costs!

Saturnia's guards, who had just been out of sight, responded with their own drawing of swords and took up defense between the prince and their queen. The three sword bearers stared each other down, silently daring the other to make a move. To say that the room was tense was a massive understatement.

"WOAH WOAH WOAH!" Raven was quick to jump between the fighters, her arms held high and placating. "Friendly! Everyone here is friendly!"

"She's one of them!" Shining spat with an accusatory point of his finger at the changeling queen as she deathly glared at him. He then gasped in horror, looking towards his in-law. "She brainwashed you, didn't she!?"

Raven's expression went bemused immediately, but she knew if she argued that it would only lead to more confusion. Thankfully, she would not need to do such a thing. For another would call out their ridiculous antics.

"Bestow your weapons! All of you!" Atlas boomed as he entered the room, his stone feet shaking the castle with each thunderous step. "You are to make peace not war!"

All three guards flinched at the accusation and in unison, wearily eyeing one another before they hesitantly sheathed their blades. They all knew better than to question the titan of the earth, for they all knew he could best them all in a fight, fair or not.

"We have bigger problems to attend to," Atlas stated over his shoulder as he headed for the throne. Turning, the god king sat on the throne made of pure crystal with a resonating clack of stone. "Right now the empire is in a state of chaos that demands the utmost attention, not some squabble between xenophobes."

Shining Armor was about to retort, but Raven beat him to it. "Queen Saturnia is not a part of the hive that attacked Canterlot and -if anything- wants nothing to do with the queen that did. She's a delegate looking for peace, not war. I promised her safety."

Cadance reached around and grabbed her husband's hand, who in turn, held hers close to his chest, gently rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "You better know what you're doing?" Shining questioned, still unsure.

"Wouldn't be here if I didn't," Raven replied with a reassuring smile. She then turned towards Queen Saturnia. "Anything?"

"I found this tome!" Saturnia replied happily while holding up a red leather tomb that had golden trim and a three pointed crystal on the front. "Not much to it though. Something about a fair and powering a mystical object. But I couldn't get the librarian to remember without it causing a headache." She flipped through the pages until reaching the end. "Missing some pages as well."

"We'll hang onto it for now. See if we can't find anything else," Raven then turned towards the king. "What about you?"

"They do not seem to remember who I am," Atlas informed them. "Unfortunately, without Nyx, I am unaware as to how we will break such a curse."

"Same thing?" Saturnia asked the titan, referring to the headache plaque that seemed to have many of the empire's residents in pain.

"Same thing," he nodded.

Cadance glanced back at the queen, subtly shuffling herself closer to her husband for support. "Raven?" she asked her cousin from over her husband's shoulder, grabbed the woman's attention with a whisper. "Auntie Tia and Luna are sending Twilight and her friends this way here in a few days. So we'll have more help."

Shit…

"Okay," Raven conceded. As much as she didn't like it, the princess was going to put aside her hatred for the sake of an entire empire that has just popped into existence. Ponies lives were at stake here. "How long?"

"A few days," Cadance replied, much more relaxed now.

"I'm probably going to have to eat these words later, but hopefully whatever made the empire disappear, doesn't harass us to much," Raven finished.

Out in the storm, a sinister smile appeared for the briefest of seconds.

***

"Oh buck… not again…."

"Curb your enthusiasm there rookie, we have something bigger on the line than our little family feud," Raven told a less than enthusiastic Rainbow as the mare limped into the room, followed closely by the rest of the element bearers. "Lest you want me to dislocate something else?"

"You proved your point…" Rainbow remarked, rubbing her still aching leg. Applejack eyed the human with a glare, her vision was still very blurry and she suffered from occasional headaches thanks to that beating she got during the wedding. "Twilight, is it too late to go home?" she quickly added.

"As unfortunate as our current relationship status is with the princess, she is right, Rainbow Dash. We are talking about an entire empire that was lost to time. They need to be considered above all else darling," Rarity informed the group. "How can we help you princess?"

"Whatever force or curse or whatever that had kept the place in limbo has also affected the residents. See what you can do to help them," Raven requested from the mares and Spike.

Just then, a loud, drawn out yawn from Cadance grabbed everyone's attention. Sitting next to Raven, Cadance sat on the throne, slumped over, exhausted, with heavy bags under her eyes as she fought to stay awake. The princess's horn was ignited as she did her best to hold up the dome that was protecting the empire. The poor girl wavered, her eyes drifting before she ultimately fell asleep, snoring softly.

"Some pony is flirting with your husband," Raven casually remarked.

"That bitch!" Cadance suddenly screamed, awoken from her ten second nap. She quickly realized what was happening and slumped over yet again. "Crap…"

"And maybe someone can get her more coffee?" Raven asked with a point of her finger at Cadance.

"How long have you been like this?" Twilight asked, clearly concerned as she approached her sister-in-law.

"Only a few hourrrr-AH's!" Cadance replied with a yawn and a wave.

"Cadance you're on hour twenty five. You need a break! Let somepony else handle this!" Raven chastised, throwing her arms into the air and causing the pink princess to wince.

"I know Raven but…" Cadance paused, letting out an exhausted sigh that slowly turned into another drawn out yawn. "You know as well as I do that I am the only one who's magic can keep the shield active."

It was true.

Both Shining Armor and even Queen Saturnia had tried to keep the shield alive, but it was weak and caused cracks as the storm outside tried it's damnedest to smash through and engulf the empire. So Cadance had taken it upon herself to keep the shield active. But she could only stay awake for so long. It was so odd, as Shining Armor was the greatest shield mage in all of Equestria and even he could not keep it alive.

Just then, three sparrows suddenly swooped in over the group of mares and one drake, hovering in and landing on the top of the throne.

"Seems our guests have arrived," the center most sparrow greeted with a feminine voice. "Though I bring unfortunate news." She looked down at Cadance, who had been watching her as well. "Your husband was attacked in the storm. I did my best, but even I have my limits. Rest assured he is alive! But do not expect any magic from him for the foreseeable future."

"What happened?" Cadance asked, worried about her husband.

"Some sort of black…" the sparrow rolled her wing in thought as she looked to the ceiling. "Crystals? Have formed upon his horn. But as I said, no magic.

"His penis is fine however. His words, not mine."

The sparrow smirked, the other two tittering into their wings, as Raven and Spike busted out laughing. They knew full well that those were indeed, not his words. But it was still enough to cause the rest of the mares, especially Twilight, to blush like mad as Cadance wished that the throne would open up and consume her.

Rarity coughed, her face a nice hue of pink as she fanned her face with her hand, doing her best to not imagine what the buff captain looked like in the nude. "Yes well… ahem… are we just going to ignore the fact that these birds are talking?"

"Sparrows. And that's spiciest," the center sparrow retorted with a swipe of her wing before crossing them. Her two companions nodded at the statement as did Fluttershy, but more in part with the first part not the speciest part. The little bird then looked to the tenno, silently wondering if she should do her thing.

Raven replied with a nod and a purse of her lips.

Pink flames engulfed the sparrows, revealing the black chitin underneath. The guards took to a hover, buzzing to the ground as Saturnia sat atop the throne like a beautiful gargoyle. Everyone jumped in shock at the sight before them.

"Hello!" she smiled with a wave.

Fluttershy promptly fainted.

"Cadance get back!" Twilight immediately shouted, taking a defensive stance as her horn ignited. "She's going to-"

"Stay for the foreseeable future…" Cadance yawned for the billionth time as she cut her in-law off, confusing the hell out of everyone else but Raven. "Queen Saturnia…" Cadance started while weakly holding up an am to the queen. "Meet my sister-in-law Twilight, brother in law Spike, and her friends." She paused, yawning loudly. "Crap… Rarity, Pinkie Pie… Fluttershy is the one on the floor. Applejack… and… uhm… Rainbow… Dash…" she faltered, snoring softly. She was asleep again.

"Cute foals."

"I will love them and pet them and name them George!" Cadance snapped awake, looking for the foals that needed pets, but was sadly disappointed by the lack of cute foals in her presence. "Dammit…"

The five mares plus Spike eyed the queen with a questionable gaze. Fluttershy was still out cold on the cold floor.

Saturnia frowned as she stood atop the throne, resting her arms behind her back. "Now do you see why we changelings have such issues with other creatures?" the queen asked the human.

"Which is why we are going to change this after this debacle is over with," Raven replied, watching the pink and black mare who was currently defying gravity and walking down the side of the throne. So casual yet so strange to see. Like Spidermare.

"Unfortunately the…" Saturnia paused as she eyed the group with her own look of disdain. "Toxicity may never leave. No matter how nice we are. Nothing but monsters!" Saturnia spat, baring her fangs with a snap of her jaw.

It was effective at getting her point across as he mares jumped back in fear, some taking up defensive stances. Fluttershy, who had awoken at that moment and saw what was aimed their way, yet again fainted against the floor.

The mare huffed. "Sometimes I wonder who the real monsters are," she mused before turning towards the human princess. "We are going to see what we can do in town. At least some do not look at us with fear and hatred in their eyes."

With that, the trio of changelings once again burst into flames, transforming into sparrows yet again as they swooped overhead and out of the room.

"The castle has a library that we have done our best to scour through and there is another public one a few blocks from here," Raven listed, trying to change the subject away from what was going to be a shit show of a week. "Do what you can to gather information and help them. Atlas is wandering around doing what he can as well."

"Did you try asking the author?" Pinkie asked with a raise of her arm as if she were in school. "I mean, he's seen the show too many times to practically say it line for line. But then again this is a written story and has an alternate universe tag for a reason! But I guess for the sake of plot development and keeping the readers entertained, asking him is not allowed," the mare ranted randomly.

Raven blinked slowly. "Well… crazy sociopathic rants aside. Find a way to break this curse."

The six mares and one drake all looked to one another, silently confirming their orders. Without a word they all left the room to do as what was asked of them. Well, all but Spike. The little drake wandered towards Raven, causing the woman to turn and face the drake, hugging him once he was close enough. Spike had been the only one who had written her and apologized for what had happened. Of course he had heard about what happened during the wedding and he desperately wanted things to go back to what they were, but he knew that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

"Bud, could you help keep an eye on Cadance for the time being?" Raven softly requested with a smile.

He returned the smile with one of his own and a nod. He approached the mare, sharing a hug with her as well. Those two loved each other deeply, as Cadance had spent a lot of time around the drake when he was a baby, often taking care of him in tandem with Twilight.

***

Hours later, Raven found herself with Twilight as the rest of the Element Bearers were out, setting up the last few touches of the festival with Queen Saturnia and Atlas. It had taken some time, but with Raven, Shining, and Saturnia having already searched most of what they needed, they had began getting things ready for what would hopefully, be the empire's saving grace.

But they were still missing a key artifact.

The Crystal Heart.

It was the one thing they needed the most and they had zero clue as to where it could be hidden. Assuming it was still in one piece too. Raven just had a bad gut feeling that this festival would mean nothing without such a powerful artifact. Manuscripts and other documentation told of how the heart had protected the empire, keeping the land inhabitable when the cold encroached into the valley. They needed yo find it before Cadance's barrier fell and lives were lost. either to the storm or whatever vile essence attacked them out there.

"Raven!"

The woman lifted her head, focusing on the young purple unicorn that came running into the room. Twilight was out of breath, hunching over and resting a hand on her knee, the other holding the book that Queen Saturnia had found.

"Raven! We have a problem! The Crystal Heart. It's missing!" Twilight panted, but the look on the princesses face made her reconsider what she was going to say next. "And you already know about it don't you?"

"I've been thinking about it for the last twenty minutes," Raven coolly replied.

"Do you know where it is?" Twilight inquired as she straightened her back and hugged the book close to her chest.

"If I had it I wouldn't be standing here. But... If it was me, there is only one pony I'd trust with such an artifact and that would be me. So I'd keep it in the most secure building in the city," Raven explained before she pointed at the floor. "And we're standing in it." She sighed, looking about the room, hoping it would relinquish the secrets that they held. "Just need to find it…"

"Let me help you!" Twilight quickly added.

"No."

Raven turned to leave as Twilight let out a small whimper. But that denial only seemed to increase Twilight's resolve. So the mare chased after the princess, nearly taking out Spike in the process as he came wandering by. The young drake, not wanting to be left out, promptly chased after them. While Raven went ahead, Twilight and Spike lingered back, silently watching Raven as she headed into the throne room, which was surprisingly empty. Just as Raven made it to the throne, there was a loud explosion that shook the building, followed by a loud screaming that died with a steamy hiss, like a hod rod being dipped in water.

"That's just the initial reaction!" Pinkie's voice could be heard from somewhere in the castle. "She'll wake up soon!"

"She better not be referring about the pony I'm thinking of…" Raven muttered before she turned her attention towards the throne. Twilight and Spike stepped up next to the woman, sparing her a glance then the throne. Without saying a word, Twilight opened her book, quickly searching for what she was after before her horn and hands started to glow a sickly black as dark magic manifested itself before she shot a beam up at the crystal throne.

The minerals absorbed the magic with ease, creating a dark, lengthy shadow along the length of the floor before the throne, revealing a hidden passageway that had been lost to time. Twilight stood proud, crossing her arms with pride as she expected the praise to rain down upon her.

Raven ignored her and stepped forward and peered into the abyss.

Spike hissed out a set of giggles into his claws while Twilight grit her teeth before they too approached the access. What appeared before them was a spiral staircase made of the same material as the castle that led down into a dark lower room of some sort. In a flash of light, Raven transferred into Frost, drawing her Javlok before taking the first tentative steps into the darkness. Not wanting to be left behind, both Twilight and Spike followed suit.

Their descent was slow and methodical as they made sure there were no traps or other dangerous secrets hidden within. But there were none to be found. All they did find was a lone, wooden door at the bottom of the abyss and nothing more. ~Raven~ cautiously approached the door, reaching out for the handle.

She pulled away as the door shot to the right.

It slid along the wall and over towards Spike, taking up position just behind him. Curiously, he did the same as his friend, slowly reaching out towards the handle. He flinched as for a second time, the door shot off to the left this time, sliding past ~Raven~ and towards Twilight. This time the mare was prepared, holding out her hand and shooting a beam of dark magic towards the crest, catching the door and holding it firmly in place on the wall. Beaming with pride as she reached out, grasping the knob, Twilight opened the door and stepped through.

"Princess Celestia?"

Both Spike and ~Raven~ shared a look of concern, the former of the two nervously biting his nails as he approached his older sister. Twilight stood there with a look of absolute devastation on her face, tears in the corners of her eyes as she blankly stared at the open door with a glazed over daze.

Spike jumped as his sister started to mumble and whimper, almost as though she was having a nightmare in her sleep. It was starting to build up in intensity, making the other two worry more about what sort of trap she had been caught in. But just as Twilight started to sob, the green gem above the door that Twilight had used her magic to connect to, shattered upon impact when ~Raven's~ Javlok connected with it.

The glazed look in Twilight's eyes faded, slowly bringing her back to reality. "Huh? Where am I?" she gasped, frantically looking around the room before her gaze landed on Raven, just as she transferred from her warframe.

"Please go tell Atlas what we found," the human said to her warframe before turning her attention towards Twilight. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"What happened?" Twilight muttered as she wiped away the tears with her sleeve.

"Some sort of hallucination or mind control spell," Raven answered before she jumped up and pulled her Javlok from the wall. As she landed the young woman turned her attention towards the door, poking her head through the open veil. "Oh joy… more stairs…"

So they climbed.

Raven didn't like it after about ten minutes and not for the reason most would.

"Raven, please just listen to me!" Twilight pleaded as Spike lagged behind her exhaustively. They had been wandering up these stairs for an hour and no matter how far they went, it felt like they were going nowhere. All the while Twilight had been trying to plead with her friend, to no avail.

"I'm not going to listen to you and your abandonment issues," Raven shot back as she looked up the spiraling staircase that continued aimlessly into the distance. "There is no way this keeps going…" she muttered to herself.

Spike finally collapsed from exhaustion, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. That prompted Twilight to pause and Raven to push past her to check on him.

"Look I'm sorry okay?" Twilight pleaded. "How many times do I have to say it!?"

"You know if you cared about me or even your brother half as much as you care about your studies, maybe I could accept that pathetic attempt at an apology," Raven replied harshly, causing Twilight to wince. "But I don't care what you think anymore. I'm tougher than I look, it's Moondancer who you hurt the most." She paused, glancing back at the teen mare. "I doubt you've talked to her since I last saw you?"

Twilight's head slowly dropped.

"Figured." She moved her attention back to Spike, who had been watching intently. His exhaustion had long been forgotten and was replaced with concern. It didn't stop Raven from checking up on him.

Spike grasped the edge of the stairway, peering over and first looking down at the endless abyss then up to the same endlessness. "What if this is another trap? Like the door or the throne?"

"Should have figured," Raven sighed, sitting back. "We've walked longer than the castle is tall."

Through her tears, Twilight paused and found the strength to start thinking and planning. She ignited her horn, grabbing the two others in her magic. There was a strange warping sound as they turned one hundred and eighty degrees, their feet, hooves, and claws connected with the smooth surface below. To which none of their appendages could find purchase on the smooth crystal as they began to slide. Spike fell forward, screaming his head off as he slid down the slide head first. Raven fell backwards, frantically kicking her feet to slow her descent. Twilight was the only one to keep her balance successfully and surf her way forward.

The wind rushed past her ears so loudly that Raven failed to hear Twilight as explained how she thought of such a thing.

The trio raced down the crystal slide at such speed that before they knew it, they were spit out onto the roof of the castle. There was a lull as gravity seemed to right itself, all three grunting as they connected with the hard crystal floor. It was groans of pain all around, Raven helping Spike to his claws as though pushed past the pain. Nearby, Twilight gasped, her eyes sparkling with joy at the sight of the missing relic.

Hovering in the air, the light blue, heart shaped artifact spun slowly.

It was at that moment, that the shield protecting the empire shattered to dust. Panic overtook the trio as the impending storm encroached on the land. The cold winds burned at their skin, roaring over the peak of the castle. Jet black crystals shot out of the floor of the castle, causing the three to jump out of the way lest they be impaled. It was clear that whatever dark force that was attacking the empire had busted through and it was not to pleased by their actions.

"Twilight wait!" Raven shouted as the purple mare made a dive for the crystal.

But there was no time!

Twilight dove after the heart, grasping it in her fingers and holding it close. But there was a pulse of magic, the trap activating. Twilight frantically dove for safety, but it was all in vain as the heart was knocked from her grasp, bars of solid crystal entrapped her. Spike dove for the heart as Raven threw up her arms as she was pelted with razor sharp pebbles. The drake stood, holding the heart high over his head as he danced around the stalagmites that tried to impale him from below while Raven jumped around to keep from getting impaled from below.

"Spike, you have to go!" Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs.

"But what about-" Spike went to protest, but was cut off yet again.

"GO DAMMIT!"

Raven was on him in a heartbeat, grabbing him by the back of his collar and dragging the drake towards the lip of the roof. "Tuck and roll if you hit anything!" she shouted, transferring into her warframe and throwing the drake off the roof.

Spike screamed out in horror as he fell several feet before landing chest first against a crystal protrusion. ~Raven~ grunted as she hit the same spire, but her momentum kept her going as she slid right off the side, smashing back first into a different lip that protruded out farther below. She sat up with a groan, grasping her head before she spotted Spike as he slipped off the predominant above. It was just in time too as she witnessed Spike as he jumped towards her. ~Raven~ scrambled desperately reaching out and catching the drake by his tail as he fell short from his impromptu dive. Spike shook in her grasp as he dangled below her, desperately holding onto the Heart lest it -or more importantly, him- drop to the hard ground below.

Down on one of the lower balconies, Cadance and Shining Armor could only watch in horror as their loved ones dangled dangerously from above.

"Shiny throw me…" Cadance muttered, but her husband failed to move, still in a state of shock. The second time she frantically turned towards her husband, screaming. "SHINY THROW ME!"

Without a second thought, Shining Armor lifted his wife into the air and drew back like a professional spear thrower. Cadance did her best Supermare impression as she made her self as small and aerodynamic as possible as Shining Armor reared back and threw her with all his might. She opened her wings immediately, using them to propel herself through the air as she desperately held out her hand, reaching out for her brother-in-law. Upon noticing her racing towards him, Spike threw out his own claw, just in time for Cadance to catch the drake as ~Raven~ released him with a shout. Cadance held onto him for dear life as she did her best to quickly glide towards the ground below. But even for her, he was just so heavy and awkward to keep airborne, so she was forced to land.

Hard too.

Spike landed hard with another roll, taking Cadance with him as they tumbled along the stone street before sliding to a halt when their momentum ran out. The pair groaned on the cold crystal street, the Crystal Heart sliding towards the crystal stalactite and stalagmite in the center square under the castle and far out of their respective reach. Being built a little tougher, Spike was the first to stand, thankful that his body was a little bit harder to injure thanks to his dragon heritage, but instead of going for the heart, he went for the princess.

“Cadance, come on!” he urged, grabbing her by the arm as she groaned a second time. She held a hand to her head, afraid that she may have hit it on that rough landing.

But she didn’t make it to her hooves when a jet black hoof smashed against the stone not to far away. Both Spike and Cadance gasped at the stallion that loomed over them with a deep, fanged scowl. His fur jet black, clad in full iron armor, a red and white cape draped over his back. His eyes were bright, toxic green with blood red irises, a black, corrupting mist surrounding his eyes. His horn swooped back, razor sharp with a a red tint on the tip. The stallion growled, teeth razor sharp as he bared his fangs.

“Give… me… that… heart!” he boomed.

A thud smashed down behind the stallion and grabbed his attention. It was deep and resonating, to loud to ignore. So he turned, facing the threat that dare challenge him. But his eyes went wide at the sight before him. He recognized that armor. “You!” King Sombra spat, stomping his hoof towards the warframe. “You might have survived the first time. But you will not survive a second time!”

“Let’s dance motherfucker,” ~Raven~ taunted, drawing her blade.

The war drums played, the ten beats, of the Naga Drums.

Low and resonating for all to hear

Sombra held out his open palm as a black mist manifested into a lengthy, hooked sword within his grasp, igniting in a thick, black flame. But much to his surprise, his opponent simply laughed, taunting him further by her noises as she found his threat amusing and not threatening as he had wished. Was... Was this some game to her!? No, no, she was teasing him. She wanted him to react like this. So instead, Sombra doubled down as the stallion growled yet again, taking up his defensive stance. But instead of answering the challenge, ~Raven~ just simply pointed past him with a finger. Curious and confused, King Sombra turned back, his eyes going wide as he watched Spike rest the Crystal Heart on its floating pedestal. Immediately, the heart pulsed, sending out a magical wave so powerful that it smashed Sombra's corrupted crystal into nothing but dust in the wind. Ponies all around that were engulfed, were filled with new life. Their coats shimmered in the midday sun, their minds restored, the corruption wiped from their minds. They were free!

But much to their horror.... King Sombra still stood.

The stallion had closed his eyes and threw up his arms, preparing to die, but was surprised as the heart's power did nothing to him. He blinked, glancing down at his unaltered and still alive form. Just to double check that he was still indeed alive, Sombra slowly ran a hand down his chest, confirming that he was indeed still there.

“GAH!” Sombra screamed as ~Raven’s~ blade punched through the front of his abdomen and right through his open palm. With a hate filled growl, Sombra pulled his impaled hand free and was surprised to see how quickly the wound healed. ~Raven~ who had been watching over his shoulder, was surprised to see that herself. Sombra smirked, grabbing the protruding blade with that same hand, ignoring the pain of his bleeding palm. ~Raven~ pulled and jerked at her weapon, but it failed to budge from his vice like grip. Sombra cackled like the maniac he was, but all that did was earn him a heavy clubbing to the side of the head with a closed fist.

That punch had enough force to send the stallion sliding off her weapon and tumbling across the ground, spraying black blood everywhere. When he came too a halt, Sombra propped himself up on his hands and knees, his wound healing at an extraordinary rate. His armor even healed as well, sealing to its once pristine plate. But just as he was about to stand, Atlas appeared as he slammed the stallion into the ground with such force that it cratered the crystal as he landed on top of the demon. With a mighty hand, the titan heaved the stallion into the air and raised a stone clad fist and smashed it against Sombra’s chest with enough force to shatter bone and stone.

Sombra sailed through the air, sliding across the street and smashing back first into a nearby pillar. His broken body laid in the street, but he was not out of this fight. Bones cracked and healed, joints turning back into place. Sombra groaned in agony, sitting up as his ribs and once caved in chest cavity healed.

Oh boy, this was going to be a losing battle.

The two warframes, and even the rest of those watching were in awe that he survived such a strike. Slowly, Sombra stood on his hooves, swaying slightly as he held a hand to his crackling chest. The pain still lingered, if the expression on his face was any indication. But unbeknownst them all, a force was at work.

The Heart spun on her pedestal and called out for her allies. Allies that had laid dormant within the castle, hidden even from Sombra and his dark magics. She powered their systems, ignited their weapons, and called out to them. She begged for their help to defeat the demon that separates her from her home and her people. Crystal deep within the castle moved to the Hearts will as she brought the lost back to life. She wanted them. She needed them!

Two separate hands reached out, grasping their weapons…

The ground shook, causing those in the castle courtyard to stumble at such resonating power. Forces withing the crystal itself began to move as the Crystal Heart pulsed with untamed power. The castle itself began to almost move on its own, so powerful that it caused a mini earthquake throughout the empire. Two separate walls on the legs of the castle shot open with a bang, an ominous glow emanated from within the black void. An orange hue emanated from within one of the openings, a weapon igniting with holy fire.

Two mares, two gods stepped out and into the light.

The Heart took notice, spinning faster with glee. Her warriors. Her saviors.

Mirage, the Trickster.

Gara, the Glass Queen.

A Murderous Comedy and Death By A Thousand Cuts. A lethal pair to which no one is laughing. The blck and violet jester warframe spun the flaming blade of her silva, a weapon with a blade made of pure holy fire as her aegis shield ignited, the metal spreading out as flames connected between the pieces of the metal shield, holding the weapon together. Gara, the pink princess of glass. She for her part, drew a weapon made of pure, razor sharp glass. It glistened in the sunlight, blinding any who dared to look at its surface.

Sombra flinched too, holding up a hand to shield his eyes. Gara herself was blinding, nearly impossible to track in the sunlight. Both her and Mirage used that moment of distraction to strike. Sombra for his part barely had enough to react, reflexively stumbling backwards as he was once again blinded by the attack. His eyes burned with blinding pain, the god queen was too bright to stare at for too long. Worse, her attacks were quick and precise, but Sombra too was a warrior and just barely escaped harm.

That was, until she nicked his cheek.

The demonic stallion stumbled back, eyes clenched shut as he reached up, feeling a moist spot on his left cheek. Turning away from the blinding warframe, he felt at his wound, a thick black tar oozed from it. Much to his horror and ~Raven's~ surprise…

It didn't heal…

"All that for a drop of blood," he muttered.

"If you can make god bleed, people will stop believing in him," ~Raven~ muttered to her companions.

Sombra turned back, ready to retort at the tenacity that the queen had to attack him, but only had enough time to throw up a hand as Mirage slashed at him with her own weapon. Sombra threw his hand into the air, blocking the burning inferno of an attack. The flames scorched his palm, burning away his dark fur and singeing his skin. The self appointed king grasped at his mangled hand, hissing through gritted teeth as he stepped back, dropping to an agonizing knee. He panted, fighting desperately to power through the pain, but it was a losing battle.

Once again, Gara took advantage of his distracted state and slashed at the stallion. But Sombra saw this, firing a beam of blood red magic from his horn and sending the warframe sailing, smashing into the side of a building, her weapon skidding across the ground.

Mirage dove, her agility allowing her to close the gap, but it too was in vain as she was sent sailing with a yelp, smashing through a window thanks to another shot from the king.

Gara's weapon, however, did not go unnoticed. A pair of heavy boots thudded across the crystal ground, for ~Raven~ saw her opportunity and she took it. In rapid pace she scooped up the glass blade, holding it firm as Sombra fired a ruthless beam of demonic energy. It connected true with the sword, a cacophony of reds and pinks kaleidoscoping through the air. Sombra's dark magic was strong, dangerously strong. But the Tenno held firm, a statue in the flames. But it wasn't a clean cut fight as her arms shook violently, but she had to do this!

With shaky legs, the Tenno took a step, then another and another. Slowly, she began to advance on the tyrant through the blinding light. This however, did not go unnoticed by Sombra, who increased the power on his beam, sending ~Raven~ sliding even farther back. She tried, she really did, but this was a losing battle.

That was until a stronger force body slammed her out of the way. ~Raven~ landed with a grunt, her body nearly folding in half. To her shock, Atlas had taken her place, arms held before him, using them as a shield as he absorbed the attack. He spared her but a single look and in that moment she knew exactly what to do. Without any hesitation, the woman transferred from her warframe, grabbing Gara's sword before she swapped warframes.

Atlas relinquished control of his body, letting the Tenno take over.

He felt powerful, stronger even, more than he ever had felt before. His mind was clear and for once, he felt at peace. He knew deep down, he could do this. With her at his side, he could move the world. Gara's sword manifested itself in their hand, successfully blocking the attack and letting the warframe's shields regenerate. Their steps were heavy, calculated, and without fear as they advanced forward. Each step was like an earthquake as they advanced on the stallion.

Sombra only increased his power output, but all it did was drain his mana reserves. He tried, he really did, but it was too late, as the two were on him in an instant.

In a flash of light, his power ceased. The Tenno grasped her mighty hand around Sombra's collar, holding him firmly in place as they impaled the fallen king right through his abdomen. Sombra gasped, thick black blood oozing from his gaping maw. He was still in shock, staring up at the creature that killed him and couldn't believe that he'd been bested.

The Tenno pulled their weapon from the stallion, Sombra going limp, landing on his knees as he no longer had any strength to call upon. Raven transferred from Atlas, taking the sword from him as she stood before the fallen king. Resting her free hand on her knee, she frowned at the stallion.

Sombra grit his teeth, pissed that this freak of nature bested him. "You-"

Sombra would never finish his sentence as Raven jammed her weapon right through his mouth and out the back of his head.

Cadance gagged, averting her gaze immediately as she fought the urge to vomit. It was even worse when she heard bones cracking and breaking. Raven rested her boot against the body, jerking the weapon from the corpse, which slowly faded into a fine mist that dissipated into nothing but a fine ash. Turning, the young woman spotted a limping Mirage and a rather angry looking Gara, the latter storming her way past the human and towards Atlas.

Without so much as a warning, she slapped the titan across the face. It really didn't do much, considering his head didn't even budge. Her next strike involved a kick to the groin, which yet again didn't faze him. So clearly, he had nuts like boulders. Raven watched in utter confusion, raising an eyebrow at the strange interaction happening between the pair. The female warframe sputtered incoherently, clearly angry about something and Atlas just took it. Eventually and after many exaggerated shakes and waves of her arms, Gara stormed off, aggressively taking her weapon when Raven offered it to her.

"And she is angry because?" Raven asked the titan.

"That is my wife…" Atlas sagged.

"Ex-wife!" came the angered shout from Gara.

"My angry wife…" Atlas sighed, facepalming with a groan. "Current status of my relationship aside. It's good to see you Mirage. Are you okay?"

Mirage nodded her jester shaped head. "I am well, yes." She stepped forward and hugged the larger warframe before turning towards Raven. "Hello! I'm Mirage!" she greeted excitedly while offering a hand to shake. "I hope we can become the best of friends!"

Raven shook Mirage's hand, slowly.

"Oh! More friends!"

Mirage quickly released the human's hand before she eagerly skipped her way towards Cadance and Spike, offering yet another eager hand to shake. She was the only one acting as if nothing had just happened.

"Hi! I'm Mirage! I just love to make new friends!"

Atlas gently tapped Raven's bicep with the back of his hand. "Come, we have work to do."

Author's Note

Just to much going on and am struggling about the order of what I plan to do next.