Chapter 28: *Insert Ice Pun Here*

[Twilight's POV]

My ears folded down as the Overlord all but stormed away from us, and it was all my fault! I should have known that dark magic like that wouldn't be so easy to remove, I should have been paying more attention to the Overlord when I stupidly tried to yank the shards out of him and I should have stopped when-

"Twi, stop."

Shining's voice cut through my internal monologue. My anxiety made me wish he hadn't, but I had already learned not to listen to that part of myself by then. For the most part.

"But it's my fault! I was supposed to make sure that the Overlord was more open to us and I've already messed it all up! How am I supposed to help the crystal empire if I can't even keep from hurting people that I'm supposed to be making friends with!?"

Now that I was out of breath from yelling it gave the others a chance to speak, starting with Rainbow sarcastically saying "Uh, Twilight, I don't know if you got the memo? But, all of us are supposed to make friends with the Overlord."

Rarity followed with "And there was no way you could have known that those awful shards wouldn't come out with a good tug. Why, if you hadn't I most likely would've tried the same thing!"

Fluttershy, still recovering from her close encounter, gave a shaky "You aren't alone in this, we've got your back! That's what friends do, after all."

I could feel a warmth build in my chest that had nothing to do with the magic barrier keeping out the blizzard. "Thanks girls, I... you're right. We can do this!"

"I'm still so glad that you made some good friends Twily. But, you should probably head to the crystal palace to check on Cadence. I'm going to chase after the Overlord, see if I can't help him shore up our defenses. Give Cadence a nuzzle for me when you see her." Shining said as he stood up, stretched and started to trot away.

"Ooo! I'll go with you!" Pinkie almost squealed while vibrating back to full poofyness.

"Uhh, That's not really-" Shining tried to say as Pinkie dragged him down the street by one of his fore hooves.

The rest of us (myself included) chuckled at Pinkie's antics.

At least until I realized that this meant that Pinkie would be alone with Shining and the Overlord. Then I stopped chuckling.

[Overlord's POV]

I was tired. Bone tired. I wanted to sleep, and in the back of my head that sounded like a good idea, but I knew that it must've been some part of the magic in the crystals lodged in my back and shoulders. Well, that or blood loss due to internal bleeding, I didn't really know which.

The thing that worried me the most about these shards was that they didn't hurt. As much as you may not like pain, if something is obviously wrong with you, like if say your hand was split in between your middle and ring fingers and it didn't hurt... well, yeah, that cringe was exactly correct. And I was stuck in a position where the spear from hellboy 2 was all over my back and a slightly panicking mare had just tried to yank them out. And I wasn't even itchy.

I couldn't dwell on that, there were more important things to do then drive myself crazy with worries about my own mortality. Case in point, there were ponies mindlessly wandering around the streets and alleys, often bumping into one another. If Sombra broke into the city early they wouldn't stand a chance, Sombra would take them back in an instant. I needed a way to extend that to at least thirty seconds.

"Heeeeeyyyyyy! Wait up! Wait for uuuusssss!"

Was that...?

Oh, Pinkie was following me... with shining. Was she dragging him by the tail?

"Well, at least we know that Cadence isn't wanting for physical companionship!" I heard Sarra giggle in my head.

"So, what are we doing?" Pinkie asked excitedly, letting Shining get his footing and cover what dignity he had left.

"Pinkie, while I admire your enthusiasm, please never do that again." Shining told her with as much sternness as he could.

"Okey doki!" Pinkie responded with the same level of enthusiasm she always had, leaving both of us to wonder if she even really understood what he was mad about.

"Ahem, anyway... we are trying to shore up our defenses." I said, unsure of what to do about the two ponies that were tagging along.

"Well I know that! You said it at the gate to the city, remember? Right before you walked off, and I grabbed Shining, and we had to run to catch up with you since you're so big, and then this conversation happened!"

"I think," Shining interrupted "What Pinkie is asking, is what are we doing to strengthen our defenses, and how can we help?"

"Well... for one, we need to clear the streets. The ponies that are wandering around would both be in danger if Sombra broke in and be in the way of the defenders trying to protect them, and that is the best case. Worst case is they panic, run around blocking escape routes and trampling the weak and young to death, preventing defenders from doing their job at all, all leading to Sombra having control of the empire again."

"Yes, that should be a priority... but that is obvious, what else can we help you with?" Shining asked.

"That is about all you can help me with, unless you want to be my tour guide? I might know a little something to reinforce the barrier your wife has made..."

"Pinkie, go get two of your friends and help them get everypony to a safe location, I'll show the Overlord where he needs to go."

Pinkie gave a salute, yelling "Sir, yes sir!" before zipping off in the direction of main street. I turned and started walking toward the closest part of the barrier, Shining right behind me.

"So, what is your idea to strengthen the walls?"

Once we were close enough I looked at him and said, "This."

I bent over and griped a minion by the neck, a brown, possibly a newborn as he had little to no armor. I then stood and began to shake the minion violently, though he only began to laugh insanely as some minions do. Once he began to glow, I cocked my arm, and with a good heave, sent the minion flying into the barrier.

The minion died on impact, all but merging into the glowing dome of light surrounding the city. The light changed for a moment, becoming more of a sickly yellow then a light blue, but it soon faded back to its original color.

The thing that did not fade was the newly added strength to the barrier.

Author's Note

Merry Christmas! and I'm getting another job soon! Maybe that is what makes me wright... I mean, I only started because I had gotten a job and I was full of confidence... then I lost it and... yeah...