The Fairy Tale Fiasco

by LaWombat

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, King Sombra, Adventure
Length: 152844

Trapped in a magical storybook with King Sombra, Twilight must escape by finishing a collection of fairy tales. All they have to do is reach the ending. But not all heroes get a happily ever after...

No important political meetings to attend? Check! No letters to answer? Check! A magical and child-safe gift for Flurry Heart that she's sure to love? Check!

Her schedule was clear. Shining and Cadence were off on vacation. She'd prepared all her materials. Twilight Sparkle was more than ready to spend a fun-filled weekend babysitting her favorite niece.

But she wasn't prepared for King Sombra's return. Nopony could prepare to be trapped with him inside a storybook of fairy tales.

And nopony's ever ready for an unhappy ending...

Proofread by: Alicornpriest

Winner of November 2017 NaPoWriMo: Goal of 50k smashed!

Now Featured on Equestria Daily - First hit the Featured Box on April 28th!

Published 2018-02-19 21:50:06 UTC
Last updated 2019-03-05 21:50:57 UTC

Chapter 1: The Lost Foals

Twilight’s head pounded painfully, and the ringing in her ears made it nearly impossible to straighten out her thoughts. She might have blamed the disorientation on her trip through a multicolored vortex of swirling darkness and light, but it had most likely been due to her sudden impact against a very hard surface. The vibrant and blinding hues of the tunnel had spun around at a dizzying speed and simply tossed her into the open air of a strange new place. She didn’t have a chance to get a look at her surroundings before tumbling in confusion and crashing to the ground.

It took her a moment to deal with the headache and blink away the brightness stuck in her vision. The white splotches before her faded into a dull, dismal surrounding with dark and spindly shadows. As she lay on her back, cushioned by a thin layer of crackling leaves, she gazed up at the large and unfocused shapes scattered around her. Drooping forms and misshapen shadows filled her with a sense of unease.

“Spike?” She rubbed the sore spot behind her ears and eased herself onto her hooves, stumbling when she felt the tug of fabric draped around her. Twilight looked at herself to see that she was wearing a dress that hadn’t been there before. Perplexed at where it came from, she wondered how it had ended up on her. She hadn’t been wearing anything before getting thrown through that tunnel and landing in this dark forest.

Her ears twitched at the rustle of dry foliage and with a jolt, her gaze shot around the clearing. Seeing nothing in the endless darkness of the surrounding forest, she appeared to be all alone, but she still called out anyway. “Flurry Heart!?”

Her shout was answered by a snap of twigs and the thud of hooves galloping over the barren dirt. She experienced a brief moment of joy at the possibility of reuniting with her niece... a hope that was snuffed out when a large form barreled through the bushes and slammed her to the ground. The assailant knocked the breath out of her and she gasped for air while strong legs pinned her against the dirt. She kicked and squirmed, not needing to see clearly to know that the dark wisps of mane and fierce red eyes glaring down at her belonged to Sombra.

“What is this prison!?” His deep voice growled, and he leaned over her, a hoof stomping heavily against her chest to keep her pressed into the soil. Dark spheres of magic sparked around his horn with the threat of a spell.

Twilight grit her teeth and lit her horn in a bright flash that teleported her out from beneath him. She re-appeared above the tree line, flapping her wings to hover unsteadily. She didn’t question the struggle to fly and quickly swung her head back to ready another spell before he could try anything. Much to Twilight’s surprise, her magic only responded with a startling pop and fizzled out.

Confused about the magical-short, she pedaled her legs in the open air and realized it had become difficult to keep herself aloft. She pumped her wings frantically to remain in flight, but despite her best efforts, Twilight simply dropped like a rock.

Trying to concentrate on keeping herself from crashing, she didn’t notice the branches until it was too late. She dropped into the dead leaves, twigs tangling in her mane and poking against her fur. Even though they broke her fall, she didn’t consider it very lucky when she bounced through the tree before landing flat on her stomach atop the dusty ground below.

“It appears you have discovered what I already know.” A shadow fell over her and she opened her eyes to see the villainous scowl of Sombra above her. “Magic does not work here.”

Her hooves scrambled at the dirt, and she stumbled beneath the cover of a nearby tree. She gave a grunt when she tried to light her horn with a spell to defend against him, but as before, it only let off small sparks before going out completely.

“So neither does yours.” Sombra’s frown shifted into a sneer when he trotted closer.

Twilight’s gaze shot around the immediate area to try and formulate an effective plan of attack. He had a size advantage, so keeping her distance appeared to be the best idea, but she didn’t have any magic to throw at him. A quick scan of the ground revealed a few boulders that she immediately ran to and planted her hooves near. With a few swift kicks, she launched the rocks through the air, aimed right at Sombra.

He hid beneath a leg as they thudded around him, a few plowing harmlessly into the dirt, while others hit their mark. Sombra growled, knocking some of them away with his hoof and stomping with an angry snarl. “Answer me, wench! What prison is this!?”

“Prison?” Twilight ducked behind a tree as he charged at her. “This is your spell! You tell me!”

“Yours was the aura from that book! This space is your doing!” Sombra shouted, jumping around the trunk and chasing after her when she bolted. While his hooves pounded into the dirt behind her, Twilight couldn’t help but notice how solid he appeared to be here. It was a reassuring change from the shifting shadows of his form back home.

Twilight suddenly skidded to a stop, yelping when he collided into her and tackled her to the ground again. They grappled with one another, Sombra trying to force her down, but she rolled onto her back and kicked out with her hind legs. Her hooves smashed into his stomach, and she heard a satisfying “oof!” before he toppled over, choking for air.

“The storybook?” Twilight remembered how it had pulled them all in. “Your spell must have changed it!” She jumped up and scrambled out of his range, keeping her front facing him. “It wasn’t anything like this before!”

“Story… book!?” He coughed out while slowly struggling to stand upright before settling against his side when he slipped. “You’ve... trapped me in some... children’s fantasy!?”

“You attacked us!” Twilight shouted, flattening her ears when she realized she was arguing with an enemy. “And I wasn’t trying to trap you here!”

“I doubt that,” Sombra rasped, grunting when he planted his feet into the dirt and finally lifted himself on unsteady legs. “Either way… you were trying to keep me from my empire.” His eyes moved up to her forehead where he watched a tiny spark of magic float uselessly to the ground. “Though the way you are now, you wouldn’t be able to stop me regardless.” He laughed before gritting his teeth and leaning forward, stretching up on his legs almost like he was trying to balance on the very tip of his hooves.

Twilight backed away uneasily, not sure of what he was trying to do. With his eyes squeezed shut and the position he was in, he looked completely unthreatening, not to mention outright ridiculous. “What… are you doing?” she asked in a disturbed tone.

Sombra released a heavy grunt and stumbled back, appearing frustrated while tapping his own solid chest. He picked up each of his hooves and briefly looked at them before checking out various points of his own body. Not accomplishing anything with that, he grumbled softly in answer, “Trying to unleash my wrath upon you.”

“I don’t think either of us are able to unleash anything right now,” Twilight pointed out, warily keeping an eye on him while making quick glances into the surrounding forest. She didn’t recognize the location, but she had a feeling about the dreary landscape that tickled the memory she had of a story from the fairy tale book. “If you promise not to attack, I may be able to figure out how to fix this spell, but you have to answer my questions.”

Sombra gave her a furious frown, but didn’t voice any sort of objection. From a pony like him, that might have been the closest they would come to an agreement, so she started with the obvious question. “What kind of spell did you cast?”

Sombra sneered and turned his head while one of his hooves tugged at the fabric over his chest. “I was attempting to trap your minds in an endless nightmare… much like the one I used to guard the entry to where I hid the crystal heart. Only this one would be stronger. I wanted to ensure it couldn’t be broken.” His snout wrinkled in a sinister grin while he glared at her.

Twilight shot him a stern frown, but inside she was trying to calm down the anger that rose up at the thought of him using a spell like that against Spike or Flurry. Instead, she forced those thoughts away and tried to keep her mind rational to focus on the main problem. “I think your magic may have mixed with the spell I used. The two obviously corrupted one another, so instead of getting trapped in our minds… we’re stuck in the storybook.”

“Well?” Sombra snorted. “Simply undo your spell so I can return to getting my revenge and reclaiming my kingdom.”

“As if I’d let you do that!” Twilight jumped up with a yell, opening her mouth to shout at him again before settling down and taking a deep, calming breath. “Look… we both can’t use magic, so I won't be able to counteract anything. I need to find Flurry Heart and Spike, so you can do whatever you want.”

She heard a deep chuckle and spun to see Sombra watching her again. He was several feet away, but still too close for comfort. “Worried about your charges?”

Twilight froze with a fearful look before rounding on him, finding his amusement suspicious. “What did you do with them!?”

“I did nothing.” He looked disappointed by that. “I simply woke up in this forest, same as you, wearing these ridiculous clothes.” He gestured a hoof to her dress, as well as the vest he had on.

Distracted by their situation, Twilight hadn’t taken any time to pay her clothing much attention after landing in the forest. Drawn back to it at his mention, she finally noticed that Sombra’s armor and cape were gone and had been replaced with a green vest and white undershirt, while she wore a simple blue dress with white fringe. She didn’t have to have Rarity’s fashion sense to see that the similar styles made them appear like a matching couple.

Even though she was in a dangerous position, the absurdity of their outfits almost made her burst out laughing. She probably would have if Sombra hadn’t been standing so close by... although she had to cover her mouth to stifle the sound she tried holding back. Sombra narrowed his gaze at her and scowled darkly.

“It’s a part of the spell,” Twilight explained between quieted giggling, getting some control over herself. “We’re dressed up as characters from the story.”

“What characters and story would that be, then?” Sombra wrinkled his snout at the simple fabric. “And how do I escape this nightmare?”

Twilight frowned, not at all surprised by his lack of empathy. He was, after all, a villain and the Empire’s greatest tyrant. “Well, we’re a pair of ponies lost in a forest. It’s either specifically blocking our magic or that’s just something the storybook is doing overall.” She turned to pace around the edge of the clearing, once again taking in the dark atmosphere. “We could be starting late in Sleeping Beauty, or lost in Snow White.”

“Neither of which I am familiar with,” Sombra grumbled in complaint. “Is there a way out?”

“If we make it to the end,” Twilight mumbled, thinking back to the magical comic book that had once pulled her and her friends in. “I think we should be able to escape.”

“Excellent,” Sombra grunted with dissatisfaction. “What or where is the end of the story?”

“I need to find Spike and Flurry first.” Twilight frowned at him. “I don’t want to take the chance of leaving them behind.”

Sombra snorted with an air of annoyance that was pretty much the reaction she had expected from him. “I’m not wasting my time looking for a pair of brats.”

“I’m looking for my family,” She stressed the word and turned around with a huff, leaving it at that. As she trotted into the dense forest, she heard a low snarl from Sombra, but didn’t catch any other sounds of him attempting to follow after her. It appeared as though she would be on her own, which was fine by her as long as she found Flurry and Spike as quickly as possible.

After only a few steps into the thick woods, she was plunged into dense shadows. The trees grew closer together and nearly blocked out what little light shone down from the dark sky. Spooked a bit by the sudden stillness, Twilight broke into a gallop and her surroundings turned into nothing more than a grey blur. If Spike or Flurry were anywhere in this dull scenery, their bright colors would pop out like daisies in the snow. Twilight called out into the gloom, “Spike! Flurry Heart!”

She hadn’t been running for very long when a clearing came into view ahead. With as dark as it was, she only spotted the lone figure when they were right in her path. Slamming her hooves into the dirt, she tried to stop, but slipped and crashed into another pony. They both tumbled in a tangle of wings and limbs, and her innocent victim let out a furious growl that caused Twilight to immediately realize she had run right back into Sombra.

“Away from me, worm!” Sombra roared while he flipped her over his shoulder and tossed her to the ground.

Twilight landed in the grass with a heavy thud and a pained grunt. She lay still on her back, panting from the frantic exertion and staring up at the bleak sky while trying to figure out where she had gone wrong. She hadn’t made any twists or turns, but managed to wind up right back where she started. “How am I…?” She began with a confused look. “Did you… move?”

Sombra gave her a flat glare and eventually snorted at her perplexed expression. “I haven’t moved. I was attempting to rip a hole in this pathetic fabric of a fantasy.” He brushed the dust off his leg nonchalantly and shook out his bare body. “At the very least that stupid outfit…” He grumbled while his eyes flicked over to the discarded vest.

Twilight followed his gaze and blinked at the tattered pile of shredded cloth and thread. Instead of just removing it, he had purposefully destroyed it in spite, like a young foal having a temper tantrum. At that thought, she blinked up at him. “Have you ever heard of The Lost Foals?”

“I don’t indulge in pathetic children’s fairy tales.” Sombra gave her a heated glare, as if that was stating the obvious.

Twilight huffed and rolled onto her stomach to straighten herself up, flicking the dead leaves off her wings. “We must be stuck in the roles from that story. From the look of our clothes, we’re probably-” she paused to keep control of the nauseous feeling rising from her stomach “-the brother and... sister that got lost in the woods. I think we might have to stick together in order to finish the story.”

The expression on Sombra’s face was one of pure disgust. “Together?” He scoffed with a harsh laugh. “And to even suggest I am related to filth such as you!”

“Listen!” Twilight grit her teeth and stomped right up to him. She prodded a hoof against his chest, and he scowled at her but didn’t back away. “We need to get to the ending in order to escape, and if the story won't let us abandon each other because of the script, then we're stuck together. So, like it or not, we need to help one another in order to get out of here!”

Sombra was silent, his expression appearing almost calm as he seemed to be weighing his options… not that he had many. After a time, Twilight narrowed her eyes into slits and growled impatiently at him, “Well?”

“Fine,” his low voice finally rumbled and Twilight sighed… though not entirely in relief. “If only to sooner bring you and that pet lizard of yours to your demise.”

Twilight brought her head up so quickly that Sombra found his snout wrinkled at the presence of hers pressed against it. His eyes crossed in surprise at their sudden closeness and Twilight shouted, “Spike. Is not. A PET!!!” She then pulled away with a furious huff and stomped past him, muttering a string of complaints under her breath. When she didn’t hear any sound of footsteps, she paused, turning back while waiting for him to follow.

“Coming?” She asked with a sour tone.

Sombra simply made a face before trudging after her, mumbling something incoherent that most likely contained nefarious ways to bring about her unfortunate and painful demise.

The dreary forest stretched on endlessly. Each length of trees looked exactly the same no matter how far they traveled. Spindly branches silhouetted against the dark sky reached up around them like a cage of bony claws as if to suggest that they would never escape.

Their only guide through the shadows came from the faint hint of stars that twinkled above their heads, but it did little to brighten up the heavy silence of the woods as it pressed in around them. Twilight found herself jumping more than once at the echoes of creaking limbs and hooting owls over the distance.

A dark chuckle made her pause when Sombra spoke, “Whatever lies in these woods is nothing compared to what lurks behind you.” Twilight turned her head to meet Sombra’s sneer, glaring at the entertainment he appeared to be delighting in from her terror.

“I know exactly what’s in the forest,” Twilight said with an edge to her voice. “I’m just worried about my niece.”

“The alicorn brat?” Sombra frowned. “If these woods are any indication, she has already been eaten.”

Twilight simply stomped on ahead, ready and willing to leave him if the storybook would allow her. Unfortunately, he continued to follow. She was certain that even if he could abandon her, he wouldn’t have the slightest clue where to go—not that she knew exactly where they were either.

Normally, she wouldn’t go wandering off into the woods without some form of direction, but her knowledge of The Lost Foals kept her moving with at least some confidence. If they really were living the actual fairy tale from her foalhood, then these terrifyingly vast woods were only the precursor to their eventual destination. True to the title of the story, they appeared to be lost in an endless expanse of forest where magic could not aide them. The foals from the original tale had kept on until they found—

Twilight’s head perked up at a shift in the scenery ahead. She could see more of the night sky beyond the darkness of the trees, which suggested an end. She just hoped it wasn't the same clearing as before.

“This way,” Twilight urged and sprinted ahead, not waiting to see if Sombra kept up. She was rewarded when the trees opened to a short field, while on the opposite stood the sight of a large, craggy cliffside. Beneath the shadow of hanging boulders was a dark opening where a thin trail of smoke lazily drifted out.

Twilight could hear Sombra sniffing when he stepped up behind her. It was no wonder, as when they approached, a heavenly smell of spiced fruit and cooked vegetables greeted them and pulled at the pits of their empty stomachs, enticing them inside. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until the scent hit her.

“This is obviously where the beast in this tale lies,” Sombra grumbled in disappointment. Twilight felt a similar sentiment, since that meant the food wouldn’t be an easy meal.

“How do you know about the dragon?” She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t read ‘children’s fairy tales?’”

Sombra snorted. “An idiot could foresee this. It is a common trope and the obvious path of this story.” He paused and squinted, trying to see into the dark cave. “What happens now?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but explained what she knew. “The lost foals come across a cave where the dragon lives. It wants to eat them, but they are able to trick and defeat it.”

“Hmmm…” Sombra mused. “This tale might be worth some merit.”

“The dragon will want to eat us,” Twilight repeated with a frown.

Before Sombra could reply, a rattle of dry, raspy scales dragging across the stones caught their attention. What sounded like sharp claws scratching over the rock moved towards them beyond the entrance of the cave. They both instinctively took a tentative step back.

When a familiar form stepped out of the shadows, Twilight’s unease washed away instantly. Spike strolled toward them, his claws nervously wringing together even as he stopped in the dim glow of starlight. His eyes widened at the sight of Twilight, before flicking over to Sombra’s dark shape standing next to her. “T-Twilight?” he whispered in a surprised hush.

“Spike!?” Twilight cried out in relief and practically skipped toward him. “You’re the dragon?”

Spike lifted his claws and shook his head in a panic, stepping back while trying to get across a quiet warning, but his words were heard too late when the thundering steps of a much bigger creature echoed from the cavern’s darkness. Twilight and Sombra only had time to register a large shadow emerging into the moonlight before a claw struck out and scooped them both into the steel bars of a cage.

“Haha! Excellent!” The door of their prison slammed shut with a wild swing, and a loud, deep voice laughed while lifting them high above the ground. “What a great treat I’ve come across!” Twilight managed to steady herself and stared up into the black, beady gaze of a dragon whose eyeballs were as big as her entire body… and oddly familiar looking.

“Garble! Wait!” Spike ran up to a foot with claws as large as him. “You can’t eat her! She’s my friend!”

Garble waved his claw with a dismissive snort. “Dragons don’t have friends! Now, get some vegetables cooking, Spike! Ponies are tasty, but they need a stew.”

“Stew!?” Sombra shouted with a growl. “I will not be—oof!” Garble swung the cage about and interrupted Sombra’s complaint when the force flung him against the side. An off-tune and piercing whistle came from above while Garble happily belted out a simple melody and stomped into the darkness.

Stepping carefully over the tilting surface, Twilight stuck her head through the bars and peered down at Spike with an incredulous expression. “You’re his cook?” she whispered in surprise as Spike ran to keep up with Garble’s longer strides.

He shrugged helplessly. “I just woke up here, and this gigantic Garble was treating me like… well, not a friend, but it’s weird! Twilight, what’s going on?”

She was about to explain before the cage jerked with a force that tested her grip on the bars and threw Sombra next to her with a metal clang. After shaking his head, he roared with fury, “I will crush you into ash, you flame-brained lizard!”

Garble only laughed at the threat, flicking his claws into the spaces and causing them both to jump away or be speared by the sharp points. “You’re just a tiny pony. You can’t even do anything about this cage!”He roughly jerked them again, and Twilight’s hooves slipped over the floor, tossing and slamming her right into Sombra’s back. With a deep grunt, he toppled over, legs splayed out from his vain attempt to keep from getting thrown about.

“Don’t antagonize him!” Twilight shouted, unwillingly holding on to his leg for support and feeling her stomach begin to flip-flop from all the motion. The darkness of the cavern slowly brightened with a soft and surprisingly warm light, while the smell of cooking grew stronger.

The torture finally ceased when Garble lifted them high into the air and attached the cage to a chain on the ceiling. Their prison slowed to a gentle swaying, giving both of them a moment to recover, as well as an aerial view of the cavern. It looked like a typical dragon’s den with a few homely touches, with small piles of gemstones strewn about. There was a large one towards the back, located by a glittering hearth of crystals that housed a black cauldron. It hung on a hook from one of the stones and bubbled with the smell from before as it cooked over the glittering light of a roaring fire.

“Ponies are food, not friends!”

Twilight stepped gingerly to the bars and kept her eyes on Garble, his loud voice booming throughout the cavern as he argued with Spike. They were standing over by the cooking pot, and she couldn’t hear his softer voice over the distance, but she could easily guess the topic of conversation based on Garble’s responses.

“He should bash his head in.” Sombra’s voice from close behind startled her, and she visibly jumped, giving him an annoyed look when she turned to face him. “Or stab him in the heart. I think I can see a sword in that treasure pile.”

“Spike would never do anything like that.” Twilight frowned, but kept it to herself that she didn’t think having a weapon to defend himself would be such a bad idea. Her gaze swept over the collection of gemstones, picking out the odd item or two, such as an iron scepter or a golden harp, but she didn’t spot the blade that Sombra had—

Her eyes snapped back to the last object, ignoring the voice behind her that complained about the uselessness of keeping dragons if you couldn't command them to destroy your enemies. She thought it had been a trick of the firelight, but the musical instrument was definitely moving. In fact, it was waving...

“Flurry!?” Twilight jumped in surprise, pushing her head through the bars for a closer look at the small form of her niece far below. Her fur shimmered in an unnatural golden tint, so she had blended in with the surrounding treasures. “She’s the magic harp!?” The air vibrated with heavy steps, shortly before Garble stomped over with smoke puffing from his nostrils.

“No talking to my harp!” Garble snapped and flicked his claws at the bottom of the cage, causing it to sway wildly again. While Twilight and Sombra tried to keep their balance and stomachs in order, Garble let them be and proceeded to stride over to the cauldron. He bent over and mumbled in a low tone at its contents, appearing to be discussing with himself what type of vegetables to add to his pony soup.

“Are we to swing here uselessly until we are eaten?” Sombra growled while tapping against his own horn, looking frustrated by the feeble pops and sparks of darkness that simply fizzled out altogether.

“We’ll be fine,” Twilight said with confidence, running through the story in her own head. “We just need to follow the cues from the original fairy tale and we’ll all get out of this safely. The siblings eventually outsmart the dragon and manage to escape, but first they—”

“If you already know,” Sombra snorted, “then shouldn’t you just get about to doing it?”

Twilight gave him an annoyed glare for the interruption, but ended up turning her head with a grumble and facing the edge of the cage. Her eyes moved over to where Garble was stirring the soup while his other claw easily held off an angry Spike. He had obviously gotten fed up with arguing and was now trying to swing at his larger companion, effortlessly kept at a distance by Garble’s long reach.

As she watched, Garble leaned over the pot and asked the inanimate object to add something to the brew. Her ears perked and she couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy at practically living one of the fairy tales she had grown up with as a filly, even if there was that slight threat of being eaten.

“Why are you talking to a pot?” Twilight asked in an obnoxiously loud tone, ensuring that Garble would hear her. His eyes slid her way, and he simply stared across the cavern in silence, making her wonder if he was going to ignore her. She tried again. “Is there somepony already cooking in it?”

“Are you a child!?” Sombra hissed with appall, but Garble’s sudden bark of laughter drowned him out as the dragon straightened up and turned to the cage. He posed with an air of superiority and a large, confident smirk.

“Nothing but vegetables in there, but I was talking to it because it understands certain requests.” He pointed to the broth in the pot, which now bubbled with chunks of peeled potatoes and carrots. “It’s an enchanted cauldron that can cook up anything I ask for without needing to gather ingredients.”

“Ooooh!” Twilight pretended to be in awe and leaned forward with feigned interest. “That’s amazing! But if it can cook anything you want, why would you need ponies like us for your stew?”

Garble faltered a little at that, scratching his head while grumbling loudly, “It doesn’t do meat… and I’m not a vegetarian.” He pointed a claw through the bars and poked at her stomach lightly, which contained enough force to knock her on her back. “So you’re here for a little variety in my soup. Now stay quiet, silly pony. I want to eat soon and need to prepare.”

As Garble stomped away, she heard Sombra’s scoff from close behind and looked up at him from her position on the floor. “Well, that was a wealth of information.”

“That was only the beginning.” She gave a sly grin and rolled onto her hooves, moving past Sombra to get a better view of the treasure piles deeper in the cave. “In the original story, the siblings befriend the magic harp and get it to lull the dragon to sleep.” She squeezed her head through the bars and waved to the golden Flurry Harp laying atop the pile of treasure. Flurry gave a squeal of delight and waved back. “But we don’t have to befriend her, because she’s already on our side!”

With Flurry’s attention on her, Twilight glanced back at Garble to make sure he wasn't looking their way. She was proud to see that Spike had caught onto her plan… or at least knew how the story went, because he was making exaggerated gestures while explaining something to Garble. The bigger dragon was plainly interested… and currently distracted.

With his focus elsewhere, Twilight turned back to Flurry and mimed out the actions of strumming a harp by running her hooves quietly over the bars of the cage, hoping she would get the message as well as a baby alicorn could possibly understand. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as she initially thought.

Despite Twilight's doubts, Flurry Heart clapped her hooves against the golden frame and giggled with excitement, waving her legs wildly toward the strings and striking them with the finesse one would expect of a newborn foal.

The strum of obnoxious noise was the equivalent of beating against the instrument with a mallet and a far cry from the lullaby that would put a dragon to sleep. Twilight’s hooves flew up to her ears, and she grimaced while turning to watch Garble’s reaction. He was already staring in Flurry’s direction with a blank expression and Twilight’s heart dropped at their failure… before Garble suddenly let out an un-dragon like squeal. He slapped his claws together and immediately strolled over to the pile of treasure, bending over to marvel at the sound of strings being mashed together.

“How precious! You’re so good at playing, aren’t you?” Garble cooed down at Flurry, who was spurred on by the compliment. She giggled and banged her hooves more forcefully against the cords.

“Wow! I’m pretty sure that’s not the real Garble, but I’m really glad I got to see this.” Twilight turned at the sound of Spike’s voice. He waved to her from the cavern wall while wearing a wide grin.

“Spike!” Twilight nearly knocked Sombra over when she shot past, greeting Spike while he carefully scaled the last few feet and leaped away from the rock to land against one of the cage bars. She reached out and supported him with her hooves, afraid he might slip on the metal. “You remembered the story?”

“Sure did!” Spike puffed out his chest. “But, if we’re trapped in some kind of fairy tale, I don’t remember this part… or Garble being in the book at all.” Spike then leaned through the bars and asked in a whisper, “By the way, what’s with dark and shadowy over there? Is he a character too?”

“I’m afraid so, but he’s not like Garble.” Twilight shook her head and replied in a low voice, “This Sombra is the real one.” She glanced back at him and frowned at the wickedly toothy sneer he was giving her. She wondered what he was doing when she felt Spike shiver beneath her hooves.

“I think I’ll just get you out, and you can explain the details later.” Spike shook himself with an unsettled grin before taking a deep breath and exhaling gently to create a thin trail of flame. He aimed it away from Twilight, at the top of the cage. In a few seconds, the metal had melted and dripped molten streams that pooled onto the floor below. Twilight was quick to step out of range, leaving Spike to bend one of the softened bars and create a gap for them to escape through.

“Not exactly what I remember from the story, but at least we’re making progress,” Twilight said while Spike hopped through the opening and onto her back. With him settled in, she turned to Sombra and gave him a frown as she offered her hoof.

“You’re expecting to carry me?” Sombra frowned at her leg.

“I don’t see any wings on your back,” Twilight pointed out.

“We don’t have to bring him, do we, Twilight?” Spike narrowed his eyes at Sombra. “I don’t trust him.”

“It seems we agree on something, lizard,” Sombra hissed and pressed closer in a threatening manner.

Twilight fluffed her wings and stepped back, putting herself between Sombra and Spike. “The story won’t let us abandon him, so we have to stick together.” She ignored their matching growls in response. “Just let me carry you.”

“As much as I would… appreciate the lift, I was there when you took a dive in that clearing,” Sombra said with an air of arrogance. “Your magic is gone, and so is your ability to fly.”

“I can still glide at least, and it will be better than dropping down to… well, that.” She motioned to the view beyond the bars, where the cavern floor was a steep distance away. To attempt a fall like that would certainly ensure at least a broken leg, if not sudden death.

“I’ll take my chances.” Sombra didn’t show any fear as he gazed below. “Besides, you are too puny to lift me.”

Sombra had a point, but not about her being puny. He was a good head taller and certainly much heavier. Without the magic that aided in her flight, they might as well have been jumping off a cliff without wings.

“We can find a way to lower the cage…” Twilight rubbed her chin, trying to organize a mental list of their options. “Or look for something to catch you…” Her eyes slid to the side and caught Sombra’s doubtful expression. “We’re not leaving you behind!” she said sternly while tapping her hoof against his chest. Not that she cared what he thought of her, but she didn’t like the fact that he appeared so obviously skeptical of her abilities.

Sombra’s expression was unreadable, but she noticed his eyes twitch in possible surprise. She didn’t wait to see if he had an actual response and turned to the opening, fluttering her wings and looking out over the cavern below. Flurry Heart was still strumming away while Garble bobbed his head to the broken tune and added his own baritone to the mix. Twilight was surprised to hear that he had a decent voice, but it wasn’t enough to make the music sound any more appealing.

With Garble distracted, she gulped down her nervousness and shifted her legs. A moment later and she had jumped out into the open air.

She kept her calm this time, making sure that she and Spike remained safe while gliding down in a carefully controlled spiral. She was also quiet, fluttering her wings almost noiselessly when she landed and scrambled as silently as she could behind one of the crystals of the fireplace. They both immediately peeked around the corner, but Garble was still intently focused on Flurry.

“What are we gonna do, Twilight?” Spike whispered in her ear, “He’s not leaving her alone! How are we supposed to get her?”

“I don’t know…” Twilight whispered in reply. “We’re not exactly following the original story anymore. Garble’s not asleep, and Sombra’s still in the cage, but we need to get to Flurry.” She looked around the room for something that might help. She needed a book—no, maybe a weapon. Or what they really needed was a—

“DRAGON!”

Sombra’s furious shout shot through the unmelodic sound of voice and music, cutting off Garble’s serenade as his head whipped towards the cage. His eyes narrowed in anger when he noticed the hole in the bars.

“I want to make good on my promise!” Sombra taunted as Garble surged up in a hurry, smoke trailing from his nostrils in response to the threat while Sombra just continued. “I will turn you into ash!”

“What’s he doing!?” Twilight hissed quietly and ducked as Garble tromped past, roaring with a fury as soon as he realized there was only one pony still in his cage.

“That doesn’t matter, Twilight! Look!” Spike pointed to the mountain of treasure, where Flurry’s golden form glittered in the firelight. “She’s unguarded!”

While Twilight bolted forward at the opportunity, she couldn’t help but glance back to see how Sombra was faring… only to skid to a stop at the sight of him dangling by his hooves from the floor of the cage. Garble wildly swung his claws out, trying to recapture him.

“Twilight?”

Spike’s voice reached her, but she hesitated with a hoof in the air, looking towards Flurry Heart giggling at the top of the treasure horde. She was laughing at Garble, thinking nothing dangerous about it in her childish delight.

A heavy clang drew her attention back to the fighting pair, right as the cage smashed into Garble’s face. He let out a furious roar, stumbling back with a clamor and falling right into the fireplace. The crystal barrier shattered, and embers flew up in a spray of sparks. Garble’s stumble knocked the enchanted cauldron off its stand, spilling soup, potatoes and carrots all over the floor.

“Look out!” Spike shouted belatedly as a wave splashed over them. Twilight flapped her wings in a frantic attempt to take off, but she was already soaked and couldn’t get any lift without her magic. She tried to paddle against the current and spit out hot soup between sputtered yelps, only to be carried across the floor and tossed about when it pulled her under.

She thought she would end up drowning until she felt a tug on her wings that helped her break the surface. Splashing up with a gasp, she saw Spike holding onto a gigantic potato as he pulled her closer. With his assistance, Twilight managed to kick her way over and hold on as the torrent quieted down to a mild flow. The stew eventually thinned, and she finally felt her hooves touch solid ground.

Lowering herself to the floor, Twilight’s attention was drawn up by a sudden shout. She turned just in time to see Sombra lose his grip and fall away from the cage hanging above.

Spike covered his eyes while Sombra tumbled through the air and Twilight scrambled in a panic, running right into the potato that had saved them. Glancing at it, she only hesitated a moment to do a quick calculation before spinning around and bucking the mass, causing it to bounce across the stones. Sombra’s dark shape landed with a muted thump right on top, squashing it into a flattened mush.

Twilight galloped over to the lumpy pile and called out with a slight tone of worry. “Sombra?” While she wasn’t so much concerned for his well-being, she wasn’t looking forward to seeing him turned into a pancake.

“Of all possible things—” his muffled voice came from the center of the smashed vegetable before he climbed into view “—you used a spud!?”

“She saved you!” Spike yelled at him, running up beside Twilight.

“And I slayed the dragon.” Sombra smirked proudly while scraping mashed potato off of his horn.

“You didn’t slay him! Dragons-” Twilight froze when a furious roar erupted from the fireplace as bits of charcoal scattered into the air and flew in every direction “-are immune to fire...” Her ears flattened as they all gaped at a furious Garble hulking over the dwindling flames. His beady eyes landed on them, and he bared his fangs in a snarl.

“Et tu, Spike!?” he growled while sprinting through the haze of smoke and embers. The heart-wrenching wail of a baby split through the chaos and Garble paused only a moment before his scowl returned, his jaws gnashing fiercely. “What have you done!?!”

“Twilight!” Spike sprinted in the opposite direction as she and Sombra galloped away from the large claw that slammed into the floor where they had just been standing. “Go get Flurry!” he yelled to her while running towards Garble, grabbing his attention by waving his arms and shouting.

Twilight resisted the urge to follow after him, but she needed to get to Flurry and she wouldn’t let his distraction go to waste. She did stumble, however, when she felt the heat of crackling flame from behind as Garble launched a jet of fire from his mouth.

“You will bow before me, stupid worm!”

She glanced back to see that Sombra had gone with Spike, running around Garble’s feet and avoiding his fiery breath. Garble swung his claws wildly with his head switching in confusion between the two. He was clearly at a loss as to which of them to go after first. “Stop running around! It’ll be quicker if I can squash you now!”

Twilight faced forward and tried her best to ignore them while jumping onto the pile of treasure, slipping and sliding while she struggled to reach the top as quickly as she could. She could still hear Flurry Heart’s terrified crying, and Twilight was desperate to reach her, both to save her as well as to comfort her.

“It’s alright, Flurry,” Twilight said in a quiet tone as loudly as she could while leaping over gold coins and gemstones as big as her head. “Auntie Twilight’s on her way.” It felt like the distance was closing too slowly, but she was close enough to see Flurry Heart’s place atop the treasure pile. A giant diamond was the only thing between her and her niece. There was a loud crash from behind, but she tried not to glance back for fear of losing progress.

“Almost there!” Twilight cried out when she climbed higher and Flurry’s wails lowered into a soft sniffling. Her niece reached out with tiny legs, and Twilight stumbled when she tried to move faster. “Don’t worry, I’ve got—”

Something large slammed into her back and crushed the breath out of her lungs. Her words turned into a sharp gasp of pain as she looked up to see the dark shadow of Garble’s claw pressing her into the pointed jewels and uncut gems. Some of the jagged edges cut into her fur, and Flurry Heart echoed her pained cry with a terrified sob. Twilight felt the pressure closing around her when a shrill shriek split through the air, causing Garble to drop her back into the treasure so he could cover his ears.

Flurry’s frightened wail rose in pitch and echoed around the cavern, bounced around by the smooth stone as it appeared to grow louder from the reverberation. The cauldron laying on the floor below started to shake, and the enhanced cry was so intense that the iron actually cracked. Magical sparks began to emanate from the pot, and a noise rumbled from deep within. While Garble still had his claws in his ears, Twilight limped the last few steps and grabbed Flurry Heart, her crying quickly subdued as she snuggled into Twilight’s leg.

Flaring her wings, Twilight quickly took to the air, gliding down the mountain of treasure while yelling a warning to Spike and Sombra. Garble only realized the screams had stopped when he saw their tiny forms run past him.

“Hey! THAT’S MY HARP!!!” Garble roared, even as the cauldron bounced and banged against the floor. He looked back with curiosity, and there was a split second of confusion before his expression shifted to terror.

“Run! Run! Run! RUN!!!” Twilight chanted, even before her hooves hit the floor. She fell into a gallop beside Sombra and Spike as the cavern behind them erupted into chaos. The mouth of the cauldron exploded in a haze of orange and white, shooting out an endless stream of carrots and potatoes and creating a fountain that hit Garble like a missile. He was knocked to his stomach and quickly buried under an avalanche of vegetables that continued to fill the cave.

“Don’t look back! Just RUN!!!” Twilight shouted, frantically flapping her wings in a panic to gain some extra speed and stay ahead of the wave of produce threatening to cover them. She heard an alarmed shout from Spike.

“Twilight! I looked ba-ha-haaaaack!” he cried out and fell to all fours in an attempt to sprint faster. Sombra simply snorted alongside them with his hooves pounding over the ground and wearing a stern expression.

The three of them managed to make it to the entrance just as the menacing wave tumbled up behind. Peeled produce slammed against them and launched them all out through the cave entrance. They soared into the air, Twilight managing to tuck herself around Flurry before they all hit the ground near the tree line with heavy thuds. The thumps of sparse vegetables rained around them while a gigantic mountain of potatoes and carrots piled up inside the cavern opening.

Twilight scrambled to her hooves, but the loud rumble had ceased and what was left appeared to be settling down. It looked as though the cauldron had quickly exhausted its magical energy.

They all sat quietly, a bit stunned by their ordeal. Twilight hugged Flurry Heart tightly and soothed her by rubbing her mane. She was shaking, but her quiet crying was only punctuated by soft hiccups as she tried to bury her face into Twilight’s chest. Spike stood up on shaking legs and stumbled over to Twilight, while Sombra simply remained on the ground with his chest heaving.

All three of them tensed when a small section of vegetables shifted and tumbled down the gigantic pile, revealing an exhausted-looking Garble. They immediately sprang up and rushed into the forest, not even stopping when they heard Garble’s miserable roar. “Aaaaghh! What am I gonna cook with all these vegetables!?”

Twilight skidded to a halt for a brief moment to yell back at him, “Try tofu!”

As she turned and sprinted off into the trees after Sombra and Spike, she barely heard Garble’s genuinely happy response. “Huh, good idea!”

Despite her fatigue, she caught up quickly and they all continued to run until a reasonable distance had been put between themselves and the cave. Twilight, Spike and Sombra, all collapsed onto the ground, coughing and breathing heavily from their narrow escape. After a moment to catch their breath, Sombra finally broke the quiet.

“Well…” he huffed, “What now?”

Twilight snuggled a worn out Flurry Heart and gave him a tired smile. “Now maybe we get out—” Before she could finish, the world around them appeared to grow fuzzy and faint. The scenery darkened, and Twilight only had the briefest of time to wonder if they were returning home before her mind drifted into a state that felt like falling into a dream.

Chapter 2: Princess of Thieves (Part 1)

Twilight didn’t even remember falling asleep, but when she groggily lifted her head and looked around, she was confused by the sight that greeted her. In complete contrast to the forest from before, the foliage surrounding her almost appeared to glow an emerald green as sunlight cheerfully filtered through a bright canopy. A wind playfully rustled the leaves, while birds sang in a chorus of quiet songs.

“Spike? Flurry Heart?” She moved to take a step forward and felt nothing beneath her hoof. Glancing down, she immediately scrambled backwards when she discovered that there was no ground where she had stepped. She planted herself firmly against the branch, legs shaking as she tried to orient herself and figure out what she was doing in a tree.

“Twilight!” Spike suddenly dropped into view and landed skillfully in front of her, digging his claws into the bark. He let the rope he had swung from fall away and ran forward to catch her in a tight hug. She happily wrapped a leg around him and returned the embrace.

“Spike!” she exclaimed with surprise, pulling away to look at him. “Have you seen Flurry?”

Spike shook his head. “I just woke up here. Sorry, Twilight.” He looked up at the forest around them. “At least this place looks better than the last one, but where are we now?”

“Hmmm…” Twilight spun as carefully as she could to get a good look at their surroundings. Aside from the cheery atmosphere and pleasant sunshine, she saw nothing of importance that hinted at the story they were in.

“I'm not… sure?” she said, eyeing Spike’s unusual attire. He had on a short cape and a hat with a wide brim that was pointed in front, like the beak of a bird. Realizing they were both wearing something new, Twilight looked down at herself and tugged at the large cloak covering her wings. There wasn't much, but the style looked familiar enough to remind her of a possible setting.

“This is Marewood Forest, and I think I’m Robin Hood. So you—” Twilight pointed at Spike with a giggle “—must be Little John.”

“Great! I’m your trusty companion,” Spike declared and jerked a thumb to his chest while posing proudly.

Twilight lifted her head to look over the woods again. “I hope we can find Flurry Heart soon. This place might be more dangerous than the last, and there are so many characters in this one.”

“More dangerous than being eaten by a dragon?” Spike huffed before wrinkling his snout. “What about Sombra? How did that happen, anyway?”

Twilight leaned back with a sigh. “He got pulled in with us. He cast a spell that corrupted the enchanted storybook I made for Flurry Heart and got us all trapped in here.” She stood and paced along the branch. “Then, when I tried to leave him in the forest from The Lost Foals, I wound up right back next him somehow. Since it looked like the spell wouldn’t let us separate, we sort of made a truce.”

“Sort of?” Spike asked with a skeptical look.

“Well, he didn’t actually agree with words.” She flattened her ears. “But he did stop attacking, so I was able to find you and complete the story.”

“But we didn’t exactly follow the book,” Spike noted. “By the book,” he added with a soft snort and Twilight rolled her eyes. “I don’t remember The Lost Foals happening like that.”

“We distracted the dragon instead of putting him to sleep…” Twilight listed out the important details that she could remember. “The cauldron didn’t really create a feast, but it did help keep Garble distracted. And we didn't have to trick him, but we still rescued Flurry and escaped.” She tapped her chin. “Maybe as long as the key elements of the story are followed, it works. We got out of the cave with Flurry, so that’s all that mattered.”

“Speaking of Garble, are all the characters gonna be like him?” Spike made a face at the thought of him. “Dragons or ponies that we know?”

“If Garble is anything to go by, then the other characters might be from our memories. They may look like our friends, but they’re just illusions recreated by the spell.”

“So, now that we’re in another story...” Spike carefully stepped to the end of the branch and peered around. “...we have to finish this one to get to the next, and then we can escape.” He pointed a claw into the air. “Just like that magical comic!”

“You might be right.” Twilight tapped her horn and got a small reaction of sparks before it lit in a soft aura. “I can use magic again, but it feels limited.” She quickly extinguished it, feeling an odd strain that she couldn’t explain. “We just have to finish the rest of the book the classic way.”

An unusual feeling dropped over her, and Twilight blinked in surprise. Her ears perked as she quickly became aware of the sudden quiet of the woods. Though the forest still appeared to be pleasant and sunny, the ambient sounds of nature had ceased. Normally she might not have noticed, but there was a perception about her senses that felt… heightened… or rather… trained?

“Spike…” Twilight whispered, but she could see he had noticed something too. In the silence, they could hear the steady clomping of several sets of hooves and the grind of wheels along a dirt road.

“Wow… this is weird…” Spike had his claw up by his fin, listening intently. “It’s like I can focus on their movements with my ears.”

“Robin Hood and his band were known to be very skilled.” Twilight pushed aside a small branch to see, while still remaining hidden. “Maybe the story did more than just dress us up to look the parts.” Through the opening she had made, she spied a rich-looking coach moving through the woods, pulled by a team of four armor-clad soldiers. “I think this is where we rob the king.”

“Rob!?” Spike barely suppressed his startled shout. “Twilight, I can't do that! I don’t want another growth spurt!”

“We’re not taking it for ourselves, Spike,” Twilight explained, watching them steadily draw closer. “Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives it to the poor.”

“Isn’t that still just stealing?” Spike pointed out with a flat expression.

“Maybe in the eyes of the king.” Twilight recalled the various versions of Robin Hood she had read, and there were a lot. It was such an old story that there were hundreds of variations from so many retellings over the years, but most of them all had the same basic elements. “He’s unfairly taxing his citizens into starvation and bankruptcy, and he’s not even the rightful heir. He’s just a corrupt king using his brother’s ransom as an excuse to collect more gold. So to finish this tale, we’ve got to stop him, and put the right ruler back on the throne.”

“Wait!” Spike tugged on Twilight’s wing. “Did you say, ‘corrupt king?’” He pointed below to the moving carriage. “I think I might know where Sombra is.”

“There’s a chance of that,” Twilight answered with a nod. “But our placement in the characters’ roles appears to be random. Just look at the last story! He was—” Twilight visibly shivered, “Bleeh… my brother!” She stabbed a hoof in Spike’s direction. “Nopony can replace my BBBFF!”

“Uh, maybe we should get back to the story.” Spike looked through the leaves to see the carriage passing below. “How do we do this?”

Twilight tapped her chin in thought, before wrapping a leg around Spike to pull him close. “I have a plan…”

She whispered her idea into his ear, and Spike nodded before dashing after her when she quickly jumped down from the tree. The carriage was already ahead of them, so she ran through the bushes to a point further along the road and waited quietly while Spike joined her.

It wouldn't take long for the coach to reach their new spot, but they were both already in position. Spike and Twilight hid out of sight by the roadside, preparing for the perfect moment to initiate their plan.

“You sure this will work, Twilight?” Spike asked nervously while he rubbed dirt over his scales to disguise them a bit. “Don’t the king’s guards know what Robin Hood and his ‘merry band’ look like?”

“If you stick to the script, they shouldn't notice who you are.” Twilight folded his cape and stuck it neatly into the saddle bag beneath her cloak. “If they're anything like Garble, then they'll go along with it, even if all you do is change your clothes. The main characters do something similar in the storybook, and it turned out fine.”

“If you say so,” Spike mumbled as he handed her his hat and finished up his lackluster disguise. Instead of his usual color, he had simply become a slightly dusty brown dragon with a purple tint. He crouched into a readied stance when the sound of stomping hooves drew nearer. When they had nearly reached their hiding spot, Spike dove out of the bushes, then put up a claw and shouted, “Halt!”

The guards pulling the carriage immediately stopped, but not because of Spike's command. Their curious eyes followed him and their rigid postures said that they were wary of the small dragon blocking the road.

“Behold, uh—yee travelers!” Spike waved his arm in a slow arc for show. “Lay before me your riches, and I will bestow a gift to thee! Your treasures I shall double… umm… verily!” He announced with a heavy accent as he struck a flourished pose.

“Spike!” Twilight hissed quietly from the bushes. “Don't change the script!”

“What’s that, I hear?” A voice asked from within the coach; Twilight ducked further back into the leaves. The door swung open, and a head popped out, but it was not Sombra. “What did he say?”

“That he would double our treasures,” one of the guards reiterated for Filthy Rich.

“Yep!” Spike happily confirmed. “Just gather all your gold, and I can turn it into more,” he said with more confidence once he realized they didn’t recognize him as a wanted dragon.

Filthy Rich, though intrigued at the prospect of extra riches, scoffed. “That sounds absolutely ridiculous. Why should we believe that?”

“Because I’m a magical, fire-breathing dragon?” Spike quirked an eyebrow at the obvious before spitting out a lick of flame to reinforce that fact.

“Huh,” a guard mused. “He’s got a point.”

“And you say you can double our gold?” Filthy Rich looked at Spike sideways, suspicious, but intrigued by way of his greed.

“It’s a dragon thing.” Spike casually inspected his claws. “We can work our magic on coins, but not on our own treasure. I just take a cut of the new total.”

“Hmmm…” Filthy Rich rubbed his chin before nodding to a guard by the carriage. “Bring out one of the bags.”

The guard saluted, and shortly after had retrieved a small sack from a compartment in the side. It clinked heavily with the sound of coin. Twilight took note of the hiding spot, even though the pegasus had tried hiding what he had done with his wings.

“Alright, now watch and be amazed!” Spike embellished as if he were performing, and Twilight rolled her eyes. They placed the bag before him and he opened it, sticking his claw inside to grab one of the coins from the top. In the process, he tipped it slightly and spilled out a few extra bits onto the ground.

Spike ignored the others and held the one coin up for her to see, and Twilight readied her magic. It might have been severely limited, but she could still use her standard levitation. At Spike’s mark, he flipped the coin into the air, drawing the guards’ and Filthy Rich’s attention as their heads lifted to follow. Spike let out a burst of flame around the airborne coin, and without any of them noticing, Twilight magically tossed one of the matching ones into the fire.

When the money dropped, Spike swung out his claws and snapped up the two coins, displaying them with a grin as if he had done a magic trick. “Tah-dah!”

Even the guards looked excited as Filthy Rich took the “extra” coin Spike offered and inspected it carefully. He then bit it before holding it up like a prize. “It’s as if it were a real minted piece!” he exclaimed with quiet surprise. “How much more can you do?” His eyes glinted with greed as he narrowed his gaze at Spike.

“The whole bag if you want,” Spike answered. “Maybe even more.”

“You’ll do this one then.” Filthy Rich pointed to the bag at his feet. “And after that, we’ll see about duplicating the rest.”

Spike took another pair of coins out, and Twilight readied a new matching set while carefully slipping from the bushes, out of sight of the guards. Spike kept their attentions drawn away as they watched, mesmerized, when he “magicked” them into a small pile of matching bits.

Stepping cautiously, Twilight snuck over to the spot where the guard had pulled out the first bag. Lifting the hatch over the rear wheels, she was elated to reveal three more sacks of treasure. Not that she would ever condone stealing, but it didn’t hurt to feel a little excited if she was stuck playing the role of a hero-thief. While Spike made a show of catching his breath, Twilight leaned into the compartment and delicately shifted one of the bags with precise and discrete movements.

“HEY!!!”

The bag of coins slammed into the compartment with a heavy rattle when Twilight leapt back, startled by the appearance of another guard out of the carriage. He had been just as surprised to see her, and before he could make a move, she flared her wings and caught him in the face, knocking him back inside. “Spike!” With her cover blown, subtlety no longer mattered. “Run!!!”

“What!?” Filthy Rich’s head snapped around and his eyes practically popped out of his head when they landed on her. “Guards! It’s Robin Hood! GET HER!”

Now well aware of what was going on, the guards sprinted forward to follow his command, but Spike quickly stepped up and let loose a spray of fire directly over them. Filthy howled and immediately started running in a circle from panic. “Put me out! Put me out!”

While they tried to beat out the flames, they were distracted enough for Twilight to quickly snap up one of the bags in her mouth while Spike scampered away with another in his claws. He hopped up onto Twilight’s shoulders when she ran alongside him and wasted no time galloping off into the trees, leaving the bewildered guards to dash after the fading sound of her hoofbeats.

Twilight kept going, faster than the armor-clad soldiers could keep up. She was smaller and had less weight to pull, even with the two bags of bits they managed to take. The rhythmic clang of their metal armor and their frantic shouting began to fade until it could no longer be heard over her hooves thudding against the ground. The calm and quiet of the forest were the only sounds that reached her ears. She eventually slowed to a stop, her sides heaving while she caught her breath and listened for signs of pursuit. She heard none.

Once they were certain they had lost them, Spike jumped down from her shoulders, and the two of them fell over in an exhausted fit of laughter.

“I can’t believe we pulled that off!” Spike rolled onto his back, laughing so hard that he was letting loose tiny licks of flame.

Twilight managed to control herself and calmed down enough to explain, “When we were in The Lost Foals, we got away with a few odd changes. I think the storybook may let some things slide for plot convenience. Otherwise, there’s no way that would have worked.”

Spike wiped a tear from his eye and settled down with a fading chuckle. “So, what do we do with all this loot?”

“What Robin Hood does best.” She paused to sling the bag of bits over her back. “We give it to the poor!”

The quaint village of Trottingham reminded Twilight of Ponyville, with straw rooftops covering modest houses and wide dirt roads stretching between them. Villagers moved about on their daily routines, though they all appeared to walk at a tired pace and wore weary expressions that loudly spoke of the harsh taxes they had endured under their king’s rule.

Twilight ambled among them with a limp in her step and a crouched gait, a careful tread that made her appear frail and disguised her true health. She hid her face under the hood of her cloak, while the bags of coin hidden beneath gave her a disfiguring hump.

“Twilight,” the lump on her back whispered, and Spike lifted a small flap for air. “It’s stuffy under here.”

“Sorry, Spike, but you need to stay hidden.” She moved with caution, alert for anypony that appeared to be royal guards. “I’m just trying to find—” Her gaze landed on a large barn coming up on the edge of town. Out front in the yard, a familiar pony was loading stacks of hay into a cart. Twilight cried out in surprise when she recognized an exact duplicate of one of her friends. “Applejack!?”

The pony looked up at the sound of her name and spotted Twilight standing in the middle of the road. She squinted at her concealed form before straightening up with a shocked expression. “Land's sake—!” Applejack suddenly sprinted over to Twilight and began shoving her into the open barn, practically throwing her inside. Twilight didn’t even get a chance to protest when the barn doors slid shut with a heavy slam and Applejack laid an ear flat against the door, listening for something. When the quiet of the peace stretched on, she finally let out a loud sigh of relief.

“What was that about?” Twilight asked, wondering if this Applejack was the one she knew or simply a doppelganger like Garble had been.

“The town’s been all up in a state, that’s what!” Applejack turned and gave her a worried look. “There was some sorta commotion up at the castle. The guards have been on high alert all day! I reckon you pulled somethin’ to stir up the king again, didn’t you?”

“Guilty as charged,” Twilight said with a hesitant laugh, quickly realizing that this wasn't her Applejack.

“Can I come out now?” Spike’s muffled voice asked from beneath the cloak.

“Oh, sorry, Spike.” Twilight pulled the cape away and lowered herself so he could jump down. The money bags that he carried jingled heavily when he landed in the dust.

“Golly, you sure did.” Applejack looked over the bags with her jaw agape. “Although it don’t look near as much as that robbin’ you pulled last winter… ooh boy, that one was a hoot! Still, it’s mighty odd that the king would throw such a fit when it ain’t nothin’ new from you.”

“Maybe he’s just tired of having the taxes returned to their rightful owners.” Twilight motioned for Spike to hide the bags beneath the hay bales. “I trust you’ll get these out to the villagers that need help?”

“‘A course, Twilight.” Applejack pulled the ragged looking straw hat from her head and held it to her chest. “We can’t thank you enough for all the trouble you go through to keep us… well, afloat in these hard times.”

“Anything for a friend.” Twilight laid her hoof on Applejack’s shoulder, only to pull it away when the loud clanging of a bell caused her to nearly jump into the rafters. She spun around in alarm, expecting guards to flood the barn where they were hidden, but the commotion continued on outside as the voice of a crier yelled an announcement out across the town.

“Now what they hay is all that about?” Applejack slid the door open a hair and peeked out. Twilight crouched behind her, careful to remain out of sight.

“What’s going on?” Spike asked with impatience, dancing from one foot to the other. “They aren’t after us, are they?”

“Nope.” Applejack opened the door a bit wider, but waited until Spike had scrambled back under Twilight’s cloak and returned to their disguise before sliding it further. “There’s something goin’ on at the square, though. Can’t quite make out what the hollerin’s about.”

“As long as they aren’t after us, maybe we can go see,” Spike’s muffled voice proposed from beneath the disguise.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” Twilight said with a bit of uncertainty. It was too early in the story for them to be in any danger… right?

She followed Applejack cautiously out the doorway, traveling along with other town ponies as they trotted towards the square. No guards rushed them or jumped out to take them by surprise, and that was enough for her to relax just a hair.

The movement of curious onlookers converged into a large crowd in the town’s square, where many of them had gathered near a raised platform in the very center. Twilight glanced around to see if she could spot any familiar faces and noticed a few individuals that looked like her own neighbors and friends from back in Ponyville.

“Hear ye! Hear ye!” The crier’s voice called out, and the noise of those gathered died down to silence. In front of a rigid row of guards, he stood at the edge of the elevated platform and loudly announced the reason for their congregation. “The Sheriff of Trottingham stands accused of treason, and has been sentenced to immediate execution for his crimes against the crown!”

A soft murmur rippled through the gathered spectators, discussing among themselves this turn of events. Usually seen as a lackey to the king, the Sheriff wasn’t a particularly liked individual, but it was still shocking to hear what he had been accused of.

“That doesn’t sound right.” Twilight frowned and lifted her head to see better. “The Sheriff of Trottingham is an antagonist in the story, but he wouldn’t attack the king, would he? He’s supposed to be Robin Hood’s greatest rival, and he works for—” Her words caught in her throat as her gaze found the aforementioned sheriff, partially hidden by the large group of guards. She spotted the unmistakable curve of his wicked horn and the glint of fangs as Sombra viciously grinned at the audience from behind his escort.

Twilight clamped her hooves over her mouth to keep from screaming at her discovery. What was he thinking!? What had he done!? And why couldn’t he just follow a simple children’s fairy tale!?!

“—guilty of treason!” The crier continued on while she had been lost in her own panic. “And you will be hanged until dead. Have you any last words?”

“I will not argue my defense against mindless golems,” Sombra snorted as the soldiers moved aside only a fraction to allow him some ability to be heard. Despite the restraints on his hooves and horn, the space between the congregation of ponies and the platform appeared to widen a bit. “But understand this: I wouldn’t bother trying to usurp the king!” He snarled with a laugh. “I meant to DESTROY HIM!!!”

Sombra’s maniacal laughter rang out over their heads, and Twilight heard a mixture of confused gasps scattered throughout the gathered ponies. This wasn’t something she had ever heard to happen in Robin Hood. She imagined that if the story was trying to correct for Sombra’s terrible decision, they were probably all baffled by the problem presented before them. They were no fan of the king, and had viewed the Sheriff as a tyrant alongside him, but did that mean they should see him as a martyr now?

If the story was allowing for this kind of development, maybe that meant she was supposed to do something. Would Robin Hood just stand and watch as one of his greatest nemesis was hanged before him? Or would he do what a hero might, even if it meant helping one of his enemies?

“I think the Sheriff might’a lost it, Twi...” Twilight heard Applejack begin to say, but she had already slipped off into the crowd, stealthily maneuvering around those gathered and sneaking over to a building that sat along the edge of the square. With an agility she didn’t normally possess, she quietly climbed her way up a stack of crates and settled herself on the roof, hidden in the shadow of its chimney.

“What should we do, Twilight?” Spike popped his head out from beneath her cloak and gazed at the scene below with wide eyes.

“Distract them somehow.” Her gaze flicked over the ground, looking for something—anything that she could use as a weapon. “I don’t have a bow, but maybe I can steal one from a guard before they notice.”

“Here! Use this!” Twilight nearly shouted when she was startled by the sudden sound of another’s voice and jumped up to face them, having expected an ambush. The sight of Pinkie Pie calmly sitting on the roof beside her was enough to fill her with instant relief. She wore a big grin on her face and held up a longbow in her hoof, with a quiver of arrows slung across her back. “You always keep a few spares around!”

“Oh thank goodness! It’s just you, Pinkie.” Twilight took the weapon and despite the scare, was grateful for her assistance. She returned to her original spot on the roof while Pinkie crouched beside her, being surprisingly quiet. The guards below fiddled with a hatch in the platform and gave a nod to another pony nearby. He rubbed his hooves together with anticipation and threw a nearby lever. The trap door swung down with a clatter and some of the guards grinned eagerly at Sombra, who only glared back quietly.

“Wowie!!” Pinkie whispered with a high-pitched squeal. “What’s gotten into the sheriff, Twilight? Attacking the king? Something like that is really out of his character!”

Twilight blinked, wondering if Pinkie meant that in an “out-of-character in the story” way, or a “sheriff's own personality” way. Even if this Pinkie wasn’t the real one, it was hard to tell with her.

“This doesn't happen in the original story… does it?” Spike asked with a nervous shiver. Even if it was Sombra, he didn’t appear to like the thought of watching what might unfold.

“No…” Twilight glanced quickly at Pinkie beside her, but she simply smiled back innocently and didn’t appear to be following their conversation about the storybook. “There are hundreds of retellings of Robin Hood, and in all of them, the sheriff is either an antagonist or the main villain.”

“Uh… quick question.” Spike gulped as he pointed down at the scene below. “If the story goes bad, do we…?” His voice faded as he failed to finish the sentence and simply stared at her.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to shoot the line before…” She took a nervous breath, nocking an arrow and drawing it back halfway. “...before anything serious happens.”

“Y-you can’t make that kind of shot… can you?”

“You’re right, Spike. I can’t.” She fell silent while she concentrated on the pony standing next to the lever that would drop the floor out from beneath Sombra’s hooves. Her eye focused on the mechanism hanging above while keeping watch for any movement from the executioner. A pair of guards led Sombra out onto the trapdoor, and he was surprisingly stoic when they slipped a noose around his neck.

She knew she couldn't make a shot like that. Twilight had never picked up a bow in her life. But there had been an inkling in her mind, a familiarity sparked when Pinkie gave her the weapon and arrows. Despite the panic shaking her nerves, there was a steely calm that she couldn't explain. It kept her thoughts from wandering and her aim from drifting. A small part of her own mind nudged her into believing she could do it.

She took a quiet breath and held it as she drew the string back all the way, flowing in motion along with the executioner as his leg reached out for the lever. The gears squeaked with a thunk, and Twilight saw Sombra’s eyes shut as if in slow motion. The floor had barely dropped a sliver before she released the arrow.

It sliced through the air like a needle just as the rope grew taut. The cord frayed in a shower of fragments as the arrow embedded itself in the wooden platform below. It hadn’t cut the rope entirely, but instead had slashed it into a single, thin strand. As Sombra dropped, the thread snapped, and he fell safely to the ground with a heavy thud.

“On the roof!” A shout from the soldiers caused heads to turn and search. “It’s Robin Hood!” The cry of alarm went up around the guards as they split into two groups, a few remaining to deal with Sombra while the rest started for her location.

“Are we doing this!?” Pinkie Pie bounced up with an excited giggle. “Oodalallee!” She jumped up with a cry and, before Twilight could stop her, dropped into the group of soldiers. Twilight could see them begin to converge on her before one of them yelled a warning and they all scattered away from the building. She only understood why after an explosion of confetti shook the foundation beneath her hooves.

“Twilight! Behind you!” Spike yelled; she turned to notice the pair of soldiers making their way along the roof and raising their swords.

“Halt! In the name of—” Twilight didn’t wait for him to finish. Without hesitation, she pulled up her hood and spread her wings, springing into the air to glide over the square.

Her first thought wasn't exactly to jump into the fray of things. Granted, there had been danger approaching, but below her was a turmoil of fleeing villagers and massing guards. She had only done it due to an instinctive feeling. It was the same that alerted her to the carriage in the forest, and the inkling that she could expertly fire the bow. While her inner thoughts screamed at her in a panic to come up with a strategy, something else, less like a voice and more like a sense, compelled her to believe that no plan would be the best plan.

While she was still in the air, Twilight loaded her weapon and fired off a volley of shots before any of the archers had even readied their bows. Soldiers quickly found their chain mail and robes pinned to the wooden platform by the steel tip of an arrow. In the midst of confusion, she landed on the ground, rolling upon impact to absorb the fall and slipping past the row of incapacitated guards.

“In front!” Spike pointed over her shoulder with a shout, where a pair of soldiers galloped at her with their blades brandished. Before they could get too close however, they suddenly tripped over one another after an arrow wedged itself into the dirt and caught their hooves. Twilight simply stepped aside as they uselessly tumbled by in confusion.

“Spike, can you see where—” Twilight tried to ask in a moment of pause, only to falter when an explosion from the platform shook the area. A cone of dark magic shot from the center of a group of guards and spread outward like an unstoppable wave, pushing them back. Sombra stood in the center of the mess, free of his restraints. As the spell spread, Twilight braced herself, but the pulse simply passed over her like a strong breeze that tossed her hood and mane.

“What was that!?” Spike’s muffled exclamation came from beneath her cloak after he hid away in surprise, but she didn’t answer him. A noise to their side had caught her attention, and Twilight whipped her bow around to quickly fire off a shot. It flew over a soldier’s head as he ducked and slid along the ground towards her. When he jumped up, he pressed his knife to her throat with a triumphant grin.

“You missed,” he chuckled darkly.

Twilight grunted as the sharp edge dug into her fur. He leaned against her to force her back, when Spike suddenly popped out from her cloak and took a deep breath before the pony could register what was happening. A cone of flame shot right into the stallion’s face, and he screamed while flinging himself backwards, beating at the wisps of fire flickering across his armor.

A shrill creak from above his head caused him to look up, all too late, when a shop sign dangling from a frayed cord snapped. It fell flat on his head and he collapsed to the ground, knocked completely senseless.

“Robin Hood doesn't miss,” she stated while gingerly rubbing the wound he had inflicted on her neck. It was only a small puncture, nothing worse than a paper cut, but the fact that it stung caused her to worry.

“That. Was. Awesome!!!” Spike jumped up onto her shoulder with a triumphant shout while pumping his fists. “How did you do all that?”

“I… don’t know?” Twilight gave him a sheepish grin. “I think we have a few magical advantages in this story, Spike.”

“Twitchy tail!” Pinkie’s voice shouted from behind shortly before she bolted past. Twilight’s confused gaze followed after her, but she didn’t get a chance to ask what she meant when an otherworldly hum turned their attention back to the town square. Sombra had his horn lit with another dark spell. His eyes had turned green with plumes of purple haze flowing from them.

“No king to save you now!” he shouted, before several streams of darkness shot away from him, slamming into soldiers and innocent residents of the town alike. Twilight ducked as one flew over her head, but Spike was not so quick to react when she felt him tumble from her shoulders with a sharp cry.

“Spike!?” Twilight jumped up and ran to his crumpled form, gasping as she hovered over him protectively. His scales were marred with dark soot, and he weakly coughed out a dusty cloud of smoke.

“I'm okay,” he wheezed, but Twilight held him tightly and didn't let him up.

“Just lay still.” Twilight’s voice wavered with concern. Her attention pulled back to the platform at a maniacal laugh from Sombra. The guards that had been surrounding him scattered with fear, even though his horn was no longer glowing from the darkness of his magic. Like her own, it appeared his had returned, but it obviously had its limits.

Ignoring Sombra, she tried to help Spike, but the heavy march of hooves approached them, and Twilight looked up to see a small circle of guards surrounding her with their weapons drawn.

“You are under—” The guard that stepped forward didn't get a chance to say any more, as a furious roar interrupted him. A large, heavy form barreled its way into the barricade, sending a few of them flying with a toss of its great, furry head. The soldiers backed up and tried to hold their ground, but they were flung like ragdolls by the backhand of a furious bear. The few remaining turned tail and retreated, leaving Twilight alone to stare nervously at the animal and freeze when it bent down to sniff her.

“Twilight!” She heard a quiet squeak and twitched her eye to see a pale form waving urgently at her from the trees.

“Fluttershy…?” Twilight started, her fear melting in understanding. With a grim frown, she caught Harry’s attention and pointed towards Sombra, who was laughing maniacally while chasing a pair of fleeing guards. “Can you grab him?” she asked, not bothering to wait and see if he would even listen to her request, immediately turning to flee. She gently lifted Spike in her magic and followed after Fluttershy, trying not to fret over the sound of more guards marching through town. They had obviously been drawn to their location by the spells Sombra fired off.

Ducking into the shade of the trees, Twilight found herself in a quieter place, where the shadows deepened with the setting sun and the noise of the village became a faint disturbance in the distance. Fluttershy acted as her guide, and they galloped further into the darkening forest, away from the danger back in Trottingham. In the calm, it was easy for her to pick up Harry’s lumbering footsteps and impossible to miss Sombra’s enraged ranting catching up behind them.

“—arrogant walking carpet! I will have you flayed and used as my chamber rug!” Sombra shouted from Harry’s armpit.

“Will you be quiet!?” Twilight spun around and hissed at him. “You’re going to get us caught!”

“There is nothing behind us!” Sombra raged, able to see more clearly since he was being carried backwards.

“Shh...” Fluttershy breathed softly, closing her eyes and twitching her ears at a sound Twilight did not hear. She tried to listen for herself, but obeyed the faint request and fell silent. A stillness settled over them, even Sombra turning to give her a glare without further complaint. Leaves rustled in a light breeze, and crickets chirped from the nearby brush. Other than that, there were no sounds of pursuit.

From the darkness of the woods, an owl noiselessly glided down to Fluttershy’s shoulders and gave a soft hoot. She nodded in response with a smile. “All clear. Thank you so much.” She nuzzled the owl, and it blinked slowly in answer before taking off into the trees with only a faint rustle of feathers.

“What were you doing!?” Twilight rounded on Sombra as Harry finally lowered him to the ground.

“Obtaining an army so that I may escape this waking nightmare sooner.” Sombra scowled. At Twilight’s doubtful expression, he added, “I may not have been as fully prepared as I first believed.”

“You think!?” Twilight snapped, then froze when Spike gave a soft groan.

“Oh! Is he alright?” Fluttershy tiptoed closer, watching Spike with a concerned look.

“Ahm hokay,” Spike mumbled woozily. He rolled over in Twilight’s magic and tried to speak again, but only coughed out another cloud of dust.

“Oh dear.” Fluttershy reached a tentative hoof towards him. “May I?”

Twilight allowed Fluttershy to take him and lowered him gently against her leg. He didn’t appear to be hurt, just dazed by the blow he had endured, but if this Fluttershy was anything like her real friend, Spike would be better off with her. Once he was settled in, she nuzzled him gently but hesitated with a glance at Sombra before stepping carefully into the trees, most likely leading them to the hidden base of Robin Hood.

“Where exactly are we going in the middle of these woods?” Sombra complained, stomping after her. “A hidden fortress with armored forces, I hope?”

Fluttershy rustled her wings with discomfort and only made quiet stuttering squeaks in answer until Twilight blocked his path and thrust her hoof into his face. “You’re not going anywhere!” She pointed back at Spike. “You could have seriously hurt him!”

“A small sacrifice in my moment of conquest,” Sombra answered without any hint of guilt. “Which would have been successful if I had my full magic to command.”

“But you don’t have your full magic! And you can’t just attack a king because you want his army!” Twilight rubbed at her temples, trying to stave off an oncoming headache. “That’s not how this works! It isn’t even how the story goes!”

Spike let out another groan and Twilight growled, fighting with herself over berating Sombra for his actions or letting it go and quickly getting Spike the aid he needed. She didn’t waste much time on making her decision, but that didn’t mean her anger had diminished.

She turned with a snort and stomped after Fluttershy. Her friend squealed in a panic and jumped up before picking her way through the woods again, back on track of escorting them to the hidden base. “How could you attack the king like that!?” Twilight continued. “You’re supposed to be his ally! You’re one of the main antagonists!”

“I was simply acting as I saw fit.” Sombra snorted, lifting his head while he followed behind her. Harry lumbered in the back, bringing up the rear. “I was not going to bow to that simpleton and be commanded like a dog. And even if I had knowledge of these events, this childish story is a waste of my time!”

“It wouldn’t be so much of a waste if it had helped you avoid that whole situation,” Twilight grumbled. “You were almost—” She paused, remembering why she had saved Sombra in the first place. With a fearful look, she touched the spot where the soldier’s knife had grazed her and turned to him. “Could you have been…?”

His calm expression only bewildered her. “I will admit...” Sombra’s eyes were unreadable as he stared back. “...I didn’t expect I might meet my end in a fairy tale.”

“So we can die?” Twilight’s breath quickened while her gaze flicked back to Spike. “If something happens to us in the storybook… that’s it?” Her eyes shook as she needlessly searched the ground. Her mind raced through frantic thoughts, more worried than ever about what could have happened to Spike... or what might happen to Flurry if they didn’t find her soon.

“I imagine knowledge like that would be common sense,” Sombra grumbled.

“I didn’t want it to be real.” She took a deep breath and gave a forced sigh, trying to calm herself down before looking back at him with a realization. “If it is true… then back in the square, you really could have…”

“Yes,” Sombra answered slowly and wrinkled his snout. “It does appear that you… might have done something of a significant benefit to me.” He paused and appeared to be glaring ahead of her with too much disgust. “An action that… allows me to continue... to...” He paused with a hoof in the air when she raised an eyebrow. “...perform daily routines of some such,” he quickly finished in one breath, scratching at his neck and looking anywhere but at her.

“That’s a very roundabout way of saying I saved your life.” Twilight blinked and stared at him in surprise. When he didn’t say anything more, she tilted her head. “You’re welcome?”

“I didn’t thank you,” he snapped. “You were only following your precious fairy tale.” Sombra took that moment to stomp ahead of her. Twilight reluctantly moved after him with a look of annoyance.

“I saved you because it was the right thing to do! How was I supposed to know you would attack the king!?” Twilight huffed angrily.

“You were knowledgeable about the previous tale. Did you not read this particular one?” Sombra snarled in irritation.

“I…” Her voice trailed off as she stopped walking, racking her brain to recall every version of Robin Hood she had ever read, but she couldn’t remember any ever playing out quite like this. “I didn’t get through the whole storybook. I had to finish my spell to be on time for the train to the Crystal Empire.”

“My Empire,” Sombra corrected her, but Twilight ignored him. With his misstep, she realized she had no idea of knowing what could happen now. How was she supposed to guide them safely through a story she wasn’t familiar with!?

“You’ve completely derailed everything!” Twilight shouted out of frustration.

“How do you know? You just said you haven’t read it.”

“I… that…” Twilight tried to find the words to answer him, but he was right, and she didn’t like Sombra, of all ponies, being correct. “Because it’s a classic fairy tale collection!” she proudly said, finding her answer. “The author wouldn’t have put such a drastic plot twist in if it deviated too much from the original,” she finished before quickly adding, “that I have read.”

“Twists or no, could we not simply skip to the ending?” Sombra boredly asked. “Particularly the part where I am not stuck with you?”

“Key events are what eventually lead us to the ending. Besides, you're not stuck with us,” Twilight said with a smirk while trotting past him, seeing a soft glow ahead that suggested they had arrived at their destination. “You’re free to go back into town and stay with the king’s guard if you want.”

Sombra didn’t answer, but she could hear his heavy hoof steps stomping behind her as they stepped into what could only be Robin Hood’s hidden camp.

“You made it!” Pinkie bounced into view when they strolled through an archway of trees. Others grew close together to form a loose barrier around the clearing while their branches closed in above to create a canopy of leaves, almost like a roof over their heads. Various crates of supplies were scattered about and log benches had been set near a cooking pot to allow for lounging by the campfire. “Who’s your friend?” Pinkie asked as she hopped up and stood right in front of Sombra. He eyed her warily.

“Pinkie, you don’t know the sheriff?” Twilight asked, surprised.

“Oh, everypony knows who the sheriff is! Especially me!” Pinkie giggled. “But he’s always really, really mean! So we’ve never actually met!”

“Right.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Pinkie, Sombra. Sombra, Pinkie.” Twilight quickly waved her hoof back and forth between the two.

“Peasant.” Sombra wrinkled his snout at her.

“Well, of course I am! I’m not rich, you know!” Pinkie snorted before leaving Sombra in a state of bewilderment and bouncing back to the pot of stew in the center of camp. “The soup should be ready soon!”

Tired of dealing with Sombra, Twilight left him to his own devices and followed after Fluttershy to a quiet corner where all sorts of baskets and blankets were set about. Most of them were empty, while others housed a few sleeping critters. Fluttershy brought Spike over to a soft cot and eased him on top of it. While she dug into a medical bag off to the side, Twilight sat nearby and watched him quietly.

“Spike? Are you awake?” she asked after seeing him stir slightly.

“‘Mm fine,” Spike mumbled, cracking open an eyelid. “Just tired… and sore.”

“Luckily Sombra’s magic is weak right now.” She reached out a hoof and wiped at the soot on Spike’s cheek. “Otherwise, he could have seriously hurt you.”

“Told you I didn’t trust him,” Spike grumbled and pointed a claw into the air before dropping it lazily over his chest. “King Sombra is bad news.”

“He doesn’t seem to care about anypony’s safety as long as he gets his way. He’s definitely more dangerous than the villains we might meet in any fairy tale.” As Twilight spoke, Fluttershy turned around and began wiping the dust away from Spike’s scales with a rag. Just like Pinkie Pie back in the village, she appeared unphased by a conversation talking about anything outside of the story they were in.

“But what if—ooh, yeah, a little higher,” Spike interrupted himself as Fluttershy moved to his shoulders. She must have used her skill to fix a knot in his back, because Spike suddenly stiffened before relaxing into the cot with a sigh. “What if he wasn’t an enemy?”

“A friend? King Sombra?” Twilight scoffed at the thought, not able to see him turning over a new leaf anytime soon.

“We showed Discord what friendship is like.” Spike eased himself up and took the rag from Fluttershy, cleaning his own face while she grabbed some bandages from the medical kit. “Plus, doesn’t Sombra owe you? I heard you two talking about it. You’re the one who saved him!”

“It didn’t look like he cared very much.” Twilight thought back to his expression when she had pointed it out. She couldn’t tell what he had been thinking, but he definitely looked irritated about it. “In fact, he seemed annoyed.”

“That’s because he's in your debt,” Spike said slyly. “You can use that to your advantage.”

“Show King Sombra the value of friendship under the threat of, ‘you owe me’?” Twilight took one of the medical rolls of tape and helped Fluttershy wrap it around Spike’s head, where a particularly bad scrape had appeared after cleaning his scales. “I don’t know, Spike. If he could be reformed, wouldn’t Princess Celestia have already tried?”

“Well, she asked us to help with Discord, but that’s because you had the Elements of Harmony to keep him in line,” Spike agreed while Fluttershy moved to bandaging his arms. “Sombra’s Elements of Harmony would be… the Crystal Heart? But we don’t have that here.”

“Soup’s oooooon!” Pinkie’s shout could be heard clear across the camp, and Twilight wondered how they had ever kept hidden so well if that was a normal occurrence. Despite his bandaged limbs, Spike leapt up with an eager expression.

“Great! I’m starving!” He sprinted away while Twilight trailed behind him, strolling up and sniffing at the wonderful aroma permeating the air. She licked her lips with a pleasant hum.

“Me too. I haven’t eaten since...” She had to think about when she had last eaten, and remembered that her previous meal happened long before they were trapped in the storybook. With the combined times between stories, it had to have been at least a whole day. After so much time had passed, it was surprising to realize that she hadn’t felt any effects of malnutrition yet. “Too long… Spike, how do you feel?”

“Great!” he exclaimed in between slurping mouthfuls of vegetable stew. Pinkie Pie had already dished out a bowl for him and he had wasted no time enjoying it.

Twilight rolled her eyes while Sombra sauntered up, snuffling at the smell of food. “Well, not now of course. But I haven’t eaten for a whole day! Other than being hungry, I feel fine.”

Sombra snorted and interjected, “What good would it do to starve to death when you are trapped in a curse meant to torture the mind and body?” His eyes watched Pinkie’s every move as she filled another bowl. “It siphons our magic at a rate that allows it to replenish itself naturally; that is why we are not up to full strength.” He tapped at his own horn. “It takes care of physical needs, so food and sleep are unnecessary, but not forgotten. The unfortunate souls caught up in my curse will still suffer the ill-effects of starvation and sleep deprivation. It is the perfect spell to ensure that a victim is forever trapped in an eternal nightmare,” Sombra finished with a dark chuckle and gave them all a smug grin.

They all stared at him in confusion and disbelief, even Pinkie and Fluttershy appearing to be flustered by his explanation, even if they hadn't understood it entirely. Twilight acted before her friends could recover, and stole the bowl out of Pinkie’s hooves, giving Sombra a heated look. “No soup for you.”

“Wench!” Sombra shouted, stepping around the cooking pot. “You have the audacity to deny me sustenance!?”

“If your spell can sustain our needs, then your hunger is only an illusion anyway.” Twilight backed away with the bowl levitating above her head. “Which means you won’t starve!”

“You will serve me, slave! I will not be denied my meal by a petty mare!”

“I can deny you food all I want!” Twilight danced away as he dashed forward. A shimmering mixture of fuchsia and darkness surrounded the bowl when he tried to tug it out of her magical grasp. “And you don’t get any because you hurt Spike and tried to use that kind of spell on him!”

Sombra lunged at her with a feral growl, but she simply sprinted away. “You and your little worm got in the way of my victory!”

“A victory that would have enslaved an entire empire and robbed them of everything that gave them joy!”

“Because they are the ones who robbed me of MINE!!!” Twilight tripped in surprise as he dove forward with a snarl, catching her off guard. When she stumbled back, he pinned her forcefully against the ground. The bowl dropped with an empty thud and Twilight stared at him with wide eyes, both of them out of breath and breathing heavily.

“Get. Off.” Spike’s voice growled softly, and Sombra turned to glare down at him. Spike didn’t look very threatening while wrapped in bandages, but the small flicker of green flame from his snout was enough to get Sombra to slowly step away.

“Are you gonna eat that?” Pinkie called from across the clearing, causing all of them to look her way. “Because I’m pretty sure it’s empty!” Both Sombra and Twilight’s heads turned toward the discarded bowl, its contents spilled out over the grass.

Sombra grunted, but didn’t voice any kind of further complaint. He simply mumbled with an irritated tone, “I’ve lost my appetite,” and sulked into a far corner of the campsite where there was less light. The message was clear that he wanted to be left alone, barring Twilight from asking him to explain what he had shouted in his fury.

“Well, that’s good!” Pinkie chirped. “Because Harry already got his share.” She pointed at the cooking pot, where Fluttershy’s bear had his head stuck inside. When he sat back up, he licked his muzzle clean of the stew and let out a satisfied belch.

“Twilight?” Spike’s voice pulled her out of a daze, and she shook her head to clear her thoughts. What Sombra had said piqued her curiosity, but now wasn’t the time to interrogate him further. For all she knew, he was just blowing hot air in his rage, because to her, he didn’t make any sense. In equal parts, she was too hungry to want to deal with him any further.

“I’m okay, Spike.” She stood up on wobbly legs and felt him touch a claw to her side for support. Her stomach growled angrily at the smell of the soup from the bowl he still held.

Standing right next to her, Spike could easily hear the rumble of her stomach, and offered the rest of his meal to her. “Here, Twilight, you can have what’s left. I wasn’t really in the mood for stew anyway.”

“No, you should eat.” She pushed the bowl back. “You need your strength. I’ll just... go into town and steal something from a rich pony.” She grinned for his benefit.

“Going to town? Oh, take this!” Pinkie jumped up and ran beyond the light of the fire, rustling around near a pile of stacked boxes before bouncing over with a scroll in her mouth. Twilight accepted it and unrolled the parchment.

“A shopping list?”

“What?” Pinkie shrugged. “We need more supplies!”

“Pinkie...” Twilight’s eyes skimmed over the paper. “These are for a party.”

“Well, duh! How are we going to throw a ‘We Beat the Big Mean King’ party without party supplies?”

“You appear to be skilled at overthrowing kings,” Sombra mumbled from the dark area he had settled himself in.

Twilight quickly uttered, “Only corrupt ones.”

Chapter 3: Princess of Thieves (Part 2)

With the sun long gone and the moon traveling slowly across the sky, the darkness of town was almost absolute, save for the last scattered glows of candlelight in the shaded windows. There were few ponies on the street, most of them already retired to their homes. This didn't stop Twilight from being cautious, sticking to the shadows that hid her from view. She had already spied multiple guards patrolling the area, so she moved as silently as she could. With her cloak pulled around her, she was nothing more than a shape in the pitch black of night.

At Fluttershy’s discretion, she had put on a set of boots in order to help traverse the mercantile district quietly. The streets were paved with stone, and more difficult to move about without the soft soles to muffle her hoofsteps. She glanced every now and then at the surrounding buildings, following the directions given to her by her friends. Rather than searching for a bite to eat, she had been informed that an urgent message waited for her in the village.

Take a right at the blacksmith. Where is the blacksmith? It should have been— Twilight turned the corner and came to a sudden stop, blinking up at the sight that stood before her. Settled at the edge of a large square, the place she had been searching for was unmistakable from those around it. A pair of statues guarded the pillared entrance, and Twilight could practically smell the parchment from where she stood. She would have appreciated the view for longer, had she not heard the march of guards approaching on their patrol.

She hastily crossed the road and flitted up the base of a statue to hide between the talons of one of the stone griffons. Two soldiers stepped around a corner, and her eyes followed them until they strolled to the end of the street and eventually disappeared. She waited a breath longer before slipping out and slinking towards the arched doorway. Naturally, when she tried the handle, it was locked, but that wouldn’t be a problem for her.

Twilight made her way to the side of the library, finding one of the many windows on the ground floor. She peered inside, unable to help feeling giddy when she spotted row upon row of bookshelves housing possible new pieces of literature that she had yet to lay her eyes upon. Fishing around in her saddlebags, she triumphantly pulled out a slender tool and fit it into the small keyhole. Even though she had never used a lockpick before, after fiddling with it for a moment, the frame cracked open with a soft click.

Stepping inside and carefully closing the window behind her, Twilight wondered what kind of books might be contained in here. A library book inside of a book? What would it even be like to read one of them? For all she knew, they were simply blank, but she just had to see for herself.

“Hello?” Twilight called out quietly and lifted her ears, listening to the silence stretch on through the vast shelves. Whoever was supposed to be meeting her hadn’t arrived yet, so she wandered through the dark rows at a lazy pace and turned her head in awe as she examined the impressive collection of tomes and scrolls. She couldn’t resist a quick peek.

Nearly an hour later, and Twilight found herself lost in a section of books, almost forgetting that she had come to meet somepony. Somepony that was extremely late. Unless she was missing something that she was supposed to do. Was she supposed to do something? It might have been easier to figure out if Sombra’s blunder hadn’t made her question the possible paths that the story could surprise her with.

She might have been able to find a solution in the library itself, but it looked like she wasn’t going to discover anything new here. After searching through several different rows, it quickly became apparent that the only books in the building were ones she had already read. The storybook must have pulled them all from their memories to use as a filler. Twilight was certain of this after finding a copy of The Friendship Journal, as well as the entire current series of Daring Doo.

So she sat in one of the rows, letting out a bored sigh as she tossed another book over her shoulder into the growing pile behind her. When Twilight reached out with her magic for the next book on the shelf, she was surprised to feel an extra weight in her levitation. She looked up, and her eyes landed on a dark object that had been completely hidden by the shadows.

There was nothing written on its binding, and no lettering across the blank front. When she lifted the cover, the heavy spine creaked eerily in the quiet. Twilight carefully turned the pages, skimming over spells of a questionable nature.

A spellbook. Specifically, a dark spellbook. There was no questioning who’s memory this had come out of. She was ready to toss it away when a sketch on one of the pages caught her eye. While most of the curses had disturbing illustrations and grim depictions, this particular one had a drawing of a dark unicorn figure with a wickedly curved horn that reminded her of a certain king. She couldn't help her own curiosity as her eyes slid over to the text.

“Umbrum Appendicem,” she whispered to herself. “The oldest of spells known to the darkest of wizards. It can become an addition of power, or a force where none exists. In order to master this weapon of destruction, there must be a source from which it stems, to act as the anchor that will bring about its full potential. The essence of others may be used in place—”

She hadn’t gotten very far when a noise caught her attention. In her surprise, she slammed the book shut, too panicked to think over what she had just read. The sound echoed through the quiet of the library, and Twilight briefly wondered if she had imagined it all in her paranoia. If a pony had come in through the entrance, she would have heard the doors open.

“Who’s there?” she called out softly, but there was no response. In the stillness that followed, her senses picked up a quiet shuffling of hooves over the floor. It was the sound of somepony trying not to be heard.

Twilight immediately fled down the aisle, taking the spellbook along in her mad dash to escape. She hadn’t even made it around the corner when she suddenly slammed into a heavy body, throwing her backward to tumble to the floor. Twilight managed to catch herself when she slipped on the polished wood, and she was ready to take off, but she skidded to a stop at the groan the other pony let off.

Staring at the shape in the darkness, Twilight lit her horn with a soft glow and balked when she saw who it was. “Sombra!?” She stared down at his deepening frown. “What are you doing? And why didn't you answer me!?”

Sombra grumbled, “If an army of soldiers is after your head, it is not wise to respond. And I was hungry,” he complained while rolling over and dusting himself off. “Because somepony spilled my—” His eyes wandered to the book floating over her shoulder, and his annoyed expression faltered into one of surprise. “Where did you get that?”

If Twilight were to guess Sombra’s reaction upon finding her with an old spellbook of his, she would have imagined him responding with anger. Instead, the soft tone of his voice was… curious? Though his eyes were hard and piercing in the soft light, a smile twitched at the edge of his mouth. “I haven’t seen this in years.”

“I found it in the library. All of the books here are ones we've read,” Twilight explained as he took the spellbook with his own magic. She watched him warily. His eyes shifted over the pages while he snorted with soft amusement. "Are those your spells? Did you create them?”

Sombra let out a dark chuckle. “If I had the ability to construct spells such as these, I would have conquered more than just a single empire.”

That didn’t stop you from doing exactly that in another future… Twilight frowned and tried to flip the book her way, but Sombra’s magical hold didn’t release it. “Is there anything in there about a counter-spell for the curse you cast?”

He lowered the spellbook with a frown, his bright look replaced once again by the bitter expression he normally wore. “These spells don’t fix problems.” The cover suddenly snapped shut in his magic and floated back up to the shelves. “In fact, there is nothing beneficial in this book.”

“But… you’ve read it,” Twilight pressed, suspicious of his sudden shift. “If the book is here, didn’t you use it?”

“I have only used one spell from this.” Sombra’s look hardened, even more so than usual. “And I… was not satisfied with the results.”

Twilight wasn’t entirely convinced, and started to lower it back from the shelf. “But if there’s something—”

A dark shadow consumed the book and ripped it away from her magical grasp, thudding heavily as his magic slammed it back into place. The other books in the case shook violently from the jarring impact. “We do not trust each other, but heed this warning, princess.” He leaned closer with a low hiss. “You do not have what it takes to pay the cost of those spells.”

Twilight faltered and stumbled away from his menacing stance. “What do you—?” she began, when the sound of a squeaking hinge caught her attention. The two of them stared at one another in surprise before the obvious noise of hooves echoed near the entrance.

Twilight stumbled over the floor in a panic, trying to find a place to hide, when Sombra suddenly grabbed her cloak by the hood and hauled her beneath a nearby table. The hiding place was rudimentary, but in the shadows of the building, it plainly worked. A solitary set of hooves appeared, Twilight only able to see a portion of the pony’s legs in the dim moonlight that stretched from the windows.

“Hello?” a curious, and familiar voice, called out into the dark. “Robin Hood?”

Twilight’s ears perked, and before Sombra could stop her, she had slipped from beneath their hiding spot. The pony searching for her turned her way and she saw his face light up.

“Sunburst?” Twilight asked, walking over cautiously.

“Of course!” He grinned nervously, looking relieved that it had been her. “I’m terribly sorry that I took so long, but the guards are everywhere! Still, it was important that you read this as soon a possible.” As Sunburst dug into his saddlebags, she heard Sombra slither from beneath the table and grumble while he trudged up beside her.

“How can you be so trusting of this fool?”

“I know the real Sunburst. He's a friend,” she simply explained.

“Not this character. How do we know he isn’t after you or me?”

“Ah, here it—YIPE!!!” Sunburst had pulled out a scroll, but the rolled parchment launched into the air at his surprise and bounced along the floor. His stunned gaze did not leave Sombra’s face as his eyes stared, transfixed with fear. “T-the sheriff! No—not sheriff! But him—! Here—?!”

“It’s alright!” Twilight quickly interjected before Sunburst could hyperventilate. “He’s…” her eyes shifted back to Sombra, and he gave her a not-so-innocent smirk. “...trustworthy?” She grinned with uncertainty.

“Ah… I-I… heard only a little of what happened in town.” Sunburst tried to fix his skewed glasses, but his hoof shook too much to place them straight. “B-but I never imagined… I s-suppose it really is true then.”

“If what you heard is my turning over a new leaf,” Sombra stepped closer, causing Sunburst to flinch and lean away. “Then you heard—” He suddenly quieted and his eyes widened. Sombra lowered his head and sniffed around Sunburst’s saddlebags. “I smell something.”

“Oh! Uhm…” Sunburst dug in his bags and lifted out a bundle of cloth. When he pulled the fabric away to reveal the sandwich within, Twilight caught a whiff of the baked bread and crisp fixings, and her stomach reacted with an empty gurgle. “I-I actually brought it for—”

Sunburst didn't get a chance to explain. Sombra immediately snatched the sandwich up in a dark glow of magic. He tore a chunk out of the bread and chewed it loudly without any care for manners. Twilight watched him with an irritated glare, when he suddenly choked out a scattering of crumbs and opened the slices with a sour look. “There’s no meat on this.”

“I-I… uh… m-meat?” Sunburst stuttered while Twilight’s jaw dropped open.

Sombra snorted with a huff and tore off another chunk. “How do you ever get enough protein?” he grumbled, rudely spitting particles with his full mouth.

Twilight felt a shiver run from her horn, all the way to the tips of her hooves. With a high squeak in her voice, she turned back to Sunburst and snapped him out of his daze with her question. “You had a message for me?”

“Yes! Oh dear, this…” He picked the scroll up off the floor in his magic and floated it her way. A red wax seal stamped on it decorated the ribbon tying it together. “I don’t know what it’s about, but I was told to get it to you quickly.”

Twilight accepted the scroll in her own levitation, but didn't get a chance to open it. They all froze and listened intently when the heavy march of hooves could be heard beyond the library's entrance. None of them moved a muscle until the noise had faded.

“It sounds like they're getting more aggressive.” Sunburst started towards the door and spoke back to them in a whisper. “You should hurry to the woods. Don't read it here.”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you.”

Sunburst dipped his head, and without any further sound, they parted ways. As Twilight quietly moved to the window she had entered through, she heard Sombra’s heavy hoofsteps following along. In a few quick moments, they were out and into the night.

She kept a cautious tread, staying silent while Sombra, equally as quiet for once, made hardly a noise behind her. Leading the way down the streets, she kept her eyes open and her ears alert for any patrol. When she heard the tell-tale signs of approaching ponies, she stopped with a silent gasp and backed into Sombra. With a wave of her hoof to direct him, she flitted into the shadow of a nearby alley.

Twilight panicked when she met the walls of a dead-end, but not because it was a trap… it was too clean for her to find a place to hide. There were no objects to dart behind or containers to dive into. There was only the rancid smell of a rotting pile of compost in the back corner.

“Quick—!” Twilight had started to whisper, trying to tell Sombra that it was no good, but there wasn’t time to find another spot. The guards were nearly upon them. While the heavy hooves of soldiers stomped around the corner, Sombra darted forward and suddenly collided with her, pressing his weight down and holding her near the stench of decomposing materials. She started to protest, when his breath tickled her ear in a hushed hiss for silence. Twilight went still, close enough to hear the sound of his heartbeat… or was it simply her own blood pounding in her ears?

Neither of them breathed while the pair of guards stepped past. If they had looked down the alley, all they saw was a dark mound of shadow, and probably caught wind of a foul odor that dissuaded them from searching further. Twilight waited until she could no longer hear their hooves before letting out a soft sigh of relief. Sombra pulled away with a disgusted snort, and without a word, they continued towards the edge of town.

It wasn’t long before the woods rose up before her, and Twilight practically dove into the bushes for the safety of the trees. Well away from the danger of the guards, she settled into a dark respite in the forest, while Sombra let out an annoyed huff and flopped down nearby.

In the safety of their surroundings, Twilight took a moment to lift the scroll from her bags, unable to restrain her curiosity for any longer. She briefly studied the wax insignia in the soft glow of her horn. There was something off about the imprint, like the stamp hadn’t worked properly, leaving a misshapen circle. “This is probably from Maid Marian,” she guessed, breaking the seal and pulling the ribbon away.

Before she could unroll the message, Twilight felt a tap against her shoulder. She turned her head to see that Sombra had scooted closer and held up a small object that she couldn’t make out in the darkness.

“What is that?” she asked.

“Your share of the sandwich,” Sombra grumbled, looking reluctant in giving her even the tiny bit of morsel that was left. “A… small token for… assisting me.”

Twilight looked up at his face, with his dark fur partially hidden in shadows. “When I saved you?” She glanced down at the tiny bite in confusion. “Are you... comparing your life to a leftover piece of sandwich?”

Sombra quickly blinked, and shifted his eyes to the offering. He then made an awkward scoffing sound and immediately shoved the rest of it into his mouth. “No-ff,” he muttered around the crumbs.

Twilight turned back to the scroll with a sigh. “I don’t expect anything in return for that.” She paused while considering something. “Besides, you helped me out just now… back in the alley?”

Sombra quickly swallowed what was left with a grunt. “You were going to get us caught.” He prodded a hoof into her ribs and she coughed from the heavy poke. “My fur blends into the shadows. Pulling you with me was the only thing I could do keep myself safe.”

“I have my cloak,” Twilight grumbled, rubbing the sore spot on her chest while unrolling the parchment. The paper crinkled in her hold of magic. “And the story has a tendency to—” Her voice trailed off when she took a quick peek at the message. She had barely even skimmed it before her eyes widened in shock. “This… this is…”

Sombra’s curiosity was piqued at the astonishment in her tone and he shuffled closer to read over her shoulder. It didn't appear to take him long to understand the problem, because he quickly said, "This is chicken scratch."

The squiggly lines and looping curls of what one could not even compare to writing was scrawled across the entirety of the parchment. Twilight unrolled the rest of the scroll in confusion before spotting the crudely drawn images in a different array of colors. It almost looked like…

“Crayon?” Twilight squinted closer, able to pick out familiar shapes in the drawings. When she realized what it meant, a grin lit her face. “It’s from Flurry!” She burst into a fit of relieved giggling. “She’s Maid Marian!”

“Hmm.” Sombra frowned at the pictures. “They certainly look as if they have been made by a brat.”

Twilight ignored him and spread the scroll out on the ground, turning her horn up and allowing her to see more clearly. The depictions were crude, but she recognized the purple blob with a horn and wings as herself, while the pink scribble with a wiggly smile drawn on it must have been Flurry. There was also a circle of red and white rings that could have been an archery target set near a frowny-faced spot of blue. A jagged gold object above the figure’s head had to be implying none other than the king.

“She’s pretty good at this…” Twilight pointed to the target, putting it together with what she knew about the story of Robin Hood. “She must be trying to warn me about the archery tournament. The king will throw a contest tomorrow because Robin Hood is an expert archer. He wants to use it as a trap to capture... uh... me.”

“You actually understood all that?” Sombra motioned to the assortment of different colored squiggles. “How can you even read what that maggot wrote?”

Twilight shot him a glare, but he either didn't notice or care. “It’s an estimated guess going off what I already know from previous Robin Hood stories.” She rolled up the parchment with a huff, before hugging it to her chest for a brief moment. Tucking the scroll into her cloak, Twilight stood to leave. “She’s going to be at the tournament too. I don’t have much time to get ready.”

“You’re not serious?” Sombra sounded surprised as he fell into step behind her. “You already said it yourself, it’s a trap.”

“I know. I just have to be prepared.”

They began walking in silence, returning to the camp, followed by a loud chorus of crickets.

“I am not concerned for your well-being,” Sombra suddenly said, breaking the quiet of their walk. “At all.”

The muted sounds of the forest dropped around them again while a soft wind tousled their manes. Twilight looked at him in the grey moonlight and arched an eyebrow. “Okaaaay…”

“But I didn’t hide you from those guards to simply have you walk into their hooves,” he finally finished.

“So you admit that you helped me?” Twilight tilted her head.

Sombra let out an exasperated groan. “Helping you at this point… appears to be beneficial to me.”

“I know what I’m walking into.” Twilight continued through the trees. “It should be easy to avoid trouble when I don’t have to predict what’s going to happen. The story has already been written for me.”

“You seemed surprised by my choice,” Sombra pointed out. “What makes you think anything else will continue along the way you know it?”

Twilight stared into the darkness with a determined frown. “I don’t have a choice. Flurry Heart will be there, so I need to rescue her and move the story forward.”

Sombra snorted. “It is extremely infuriating that you would undo my efforts by blindly throwing yourself into such a blatant trap.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, thank you for being ‘not concerned’ for me, at least.”

“So, how do I look?” Twilight spun herself in a circle, allowing Spike to scrutinize the disguise she wore. Before putting it to the real test against the army of soldiers patrolling around the tournament grounds, she wanted to be sure it was absolutely perfect.

Spike rubbed his chin when he suddenly held up his claws. “Hold on!” She stood still and allowed him to adjust something at her neck. He fixed a loose strand of mane that had fallen out of place and pushed it behind the covering of feathers. “Alright, you pass, Twilight. You look like a real griffon!”

She gave herself another once-over, satisfied that it looked as if everything was ready. She lifted a “hoof” and subtly flexed the glove with her magic, making it look like an actual griffon moving her talons. She flicked her tail to ensure everything was holding, having simply wrapped it up in a white covering and leaving a bit of fluff at the tip to mirror the tufts griffons had. To finish it off, Twilight wore a white feathered hood that covered her neck and most of her face, with a pointed crest that hid her horn and a fake beak that fit snugly over her muzzle.

“Good. I know the story may help play up any kind of disguise I wear so I don’t get noticed, but it doesn’t hurt to go the extra mile, just to be certain.” Twilight frowned. “I don’t think I want to be captured if I can help it.”

“I thought you said the story won’t let you change key events?” Spike was pulling on his own disguise, which was simply to wear a more richly looking tunic and cape, complete with stylish boots, a hat, and mustache. Twilight’s magic may have been limited, but it was nice to know she could still cast good old number twenty-five.

“I’m not sure I can make that assumption yet…” Twilight paced about their small hiding spot in the trees. “The storybook spell seems to be contradicting itself, so I’m not certain. When we were in 'The Lost Foals,' it wouldn’t let me just abandon Sombra in the woods, because the siblings are inseparable in the original story.” She paused to tap her beak in contemplation. “But when Sombra attacked the king as the Sheriff of Trottingham, we had to rescue him! That’s nothing like any of the Robin Hood stories I know! But even so, the book is still going right on track!”

“Speaking of Sombra,” Spike mentioned while buttoning up his tunic, “where do you think he disappeared to?”

“I don’t know.” Twilight peeked out of the bushes to look at the tournament grounds. Soldiers were already patrolling around the fair tents. “But it doesn’t matter. He can do whatever he wants and it shouldn’t affect our parts.”

“Maybe he just slithered off into the shadows… literally,” Spike mused as he stroked the fancy mustache on his face. “Turned into one and just slid away.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Though I don’t doubt it, I don’t think he’s able to do that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let the guards catch him in the first place.” She released the branch she had been holding back and withdrew into the leaves. “The storybook gave him a solid form. He hasn’t turned into shadows since we’ve been trapped in here.” Twilight gave Spike’s completed disguise an approving nod and moved through the leaves. “C’mon, Spike. It’s showtime.”

The two of them stepped leisurely out of the forest, trying to remain calm as they neared a group of guards on their way to the registration booth. “Morning, boys!” Spike tipped his hat to them when they passed, and the guards nonchalantly nodded in greeting. So far, so good. With a little more confidence, Twilight led the way to the entry table.

A pony glanced up from the scroll he was reading when they approached and boredly asked, “Name, please?”

“Grizelda,” Twilight answered. “The griffin.” She nervously grinned beneath her beak.

“Mmhmm,” the pony absentmindedly hummed, not appearing to care about Twilight’s suspicious behavior while they leaned over to fill out the proper paperwork. Much to Twilight’s disappointment, it wasn’t anything more than simply writing her name into a slot. He then gave her a square of parchment with a number on it.

“Listen for the announcement before the tournament begins and just go up to the archery range right over there.” He pointed with his hoof to a large field located behind a stand of wooden bleachers. “The matches should begin soon.”

“Thank you.” Twilight nodded and pinned the number to her chest. She spun around and marched over to a tree, settling down nearby to wait for the contest to begin.

“So, what are you gonna do Twi-I-I mean… Grizelda?” Spike looked up at her with an apologetic smile. “Are you gonna try to lose on purpose?”

“I won’t stand out,” Twilight explained. “I’m not sure where this particular story goes since I didn’t get to read it, but I really don’t want to be captured if I can help it.” Twilight motioned to the soldiers patrolling the area. “If Sombra could change the role of the Sheriff of Trottingham, then I might be able to change a bit of my own.”

Spike looked ready to say something when a heavy thud from nearby shook the ground so hard that his teeth clattered together. Twilight stood up with a jolt as another thud pounded close to them, and she spun around just in time to see a huge shape pass by. They both stared and watched as the lumbering form, completely covered in black armor, made his way up to the registration desk. The clerk looked absolutely terrified when the armored pony leaned in close.

“N-n-n-name, please?” the clerk nervously asked.

The figure leaned in further and moved the front of the mask near his ear, nodding with motions that suggested he was speaking softly through the grate.

“Ah, t-thank you mister, uh... Sabueso. Here’s your number. When you hear the announcement, simply proceed to the archery range.” The pony pointed with a nervous smile while the armored brute nodded and slowly trudged away, pausing only to glance back. Twilight was certain he was looking in her direction, but it was only a brief moment before he turned away.

“Wow!” Spike exclaimed. “Get a load of that pony, Tw-darn! Grizelda! He’s gotta be an important character, right?”

Twilight smacked her forehead with a frustrated groan. “It’s obviously Sombra inside that armor! What does he think he’s doing in that getup!? He stands out like a—”

“A fine example of a warrior!”

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat as a voice cut through the air, one that she had heard only a few times in her life, but knew all too well. She exchanged a look with Spike before sprinting towards the bleachers to peek around them. Set up before the archery field in a prime viewing spot, an elegant seating area had been roped off for the nobility attending the event. A regal throne had been placed in the very center, and Twilight gulped nervously at the familiar and terrifying presence that filled it.

“I am impressed by your robust appearance, Ser Sabueso!” The fangs of Nightmare Moon shone perfectly in the sun as she smiled down upon the armored pony standing before her. “It would appear as though archery might not be your only skill.”

Sabueso nodded his head slightly, but didn’t say much in the way of words.

“Truly, you should try a hoof at jousting or swordplay! I would be delighted to have you as a champion should you show some skill with a bow.” Nightmare Moon clapped her hooves together and an attendant stepped closer to give her a deep bow. “Make the announcement that the tournament will be starting.” She waved her leg through the air. “We wish to be entertained!”

The attendant lowered his head in answer, and cleared his throat before shouting out well enough to be heard across the fairgrounds. “MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE FIELD! THE TOURNAMENT SHALL COMMENCE SHORTLY!”

Entrants slowly began to gather and shuffled past. Twilight jittered nervously on her hooves. “Well, this is it, Spike.”

“Good luck, Tw—!” Spike caught himself and sighed. “Good luck, Grizelda. I’ll be rooting for you!”

With a hesitant nod, Twilight joined the flow of other contestants onto the field. An attendant waved her way and directed her into place by one of the stakes with her number on it. Across the grass, about a hundred feet away, sat the rounded target with a matching label. The call went up again as audience members filled the stands, and the excitement permeating the air spoke of the tournament that would soon be underway.

Twilight turned to watch the throng of ponies filing into their seats, some waving flags and shouting words of encouragement to their favorite contenders. She could see a disguised Pinkie and Fluttershy shuffling into place before something else immediately caught her attention. The seats near Nightmare Moon had finally filled in with other nobles, but Twilight was only interested in the bright pair that sat to her right. Her heart jumped at the sight of Flurry sitting happily on top of Sunburst’s head.

“—BEGIN!” Nightmare Moon’s voice boomed across the field and Twilight heard the snap of strings, followed by a quick barrage of arrows thumping into solid targets. She shook herself, remembering she had a contest to place in, and quickly nocked an arrow before pulling back the string. She adjusted her aim slightly off center to the target, and released it. Her arrow shot through the air and landed with a heavy smack, dead-center. The cheering spectators let off a thunderous chorus at her impressive shot.

“And we have our first bullseye of the tournament!” an announcer's voice called above the noise.

Twilight sighed at her own luck, loading her bow again and aiming far too off the mark to ever hope to hit the target. She let the arrow go to the sounds of other twanging bowstrings. In a moment of absolute absurdity, a strong gust of wind kicked up, and she was shocked when her arrow alone appeared to arc through the air and lodge itself into the center mark right next to her first one. Against impossible odds, Twilight gaped in horror as a realization dawned on her. It couldn’t have been luck or coincidence.

Even though she was trying to lose on purpose, the story wasn’t going to let her do so.

Three rounds passed, and the first half of the tournament had come to a momentary pause, giving them all an intermission to rest and refresh. Twilight trudged over to Spike while he ran up to her, leaping and cheering.

“That was fantastic!” Spike pumped his fists into the air, bouncing around excitedly. “I guess you decided to drop the act and just win this thing, huh?”

“I’m not trying to win, Spike!” Twilight lowered her head and sighed in distress. “I was actually trying to perform modestly! I haven’t been able to alter anything. No matter what I try, I’m still winning! All of those shots were purposefully off! But they all hit the target! I mean, come on!” She threw her hooves into the air. “It was more than ridiculous when I shot straight up and still managed to get a bullseye! I’m just really glad Fluttershy was there to help that poor bird...”

“I did think it was pretty weird when you stomped on your bow. You hit the target then, too.” Spike frowned, thinking back on it. “Kind of figured you were going for a javelin shot or something.”

“No!” Twilight cried. “Now I know for certain that I can’t change the story, because nopony has even noticed anything weird about my behavior.”

“So, what happens now?” Spike asked, his voice trembling a little. “If you win the tournament, they’ll know you’re—”

He cut himself of at her sad nod. “Don’t worry, Spike, nothing bad happens to Robin Hood as far as I can remember, but we need to make sure Flurry is safe. Even if everything seems to be keeping itself on track, we don’t know what might pop up unexpectedly.”

“What do you mean?” Spike asked fearfully.

Twilight glanced over at Sombra… or rather, at Sabueso, as the armored pony rested quietly in the shade of a tree. “About—” she had started, before the shout of another announcement went up. The tournament’s second half was beginning.

“I guess I don’t really need to wish you luck.” Spike laughed nervously and gave Twilight a thumbs up. “So, instead… break an arrow?”

She patted him on the head and gave him a quick squeeze before heading back to the archery field.

“The winner, and tournament champion… Grizelda!”

Twilight trudged between two lines of cheering ponies, wearing a grim frown while they celebrated her victory. The crowd was alive with excitement and elation, tossing confetti through the air and stomping their hooves with joyous shouts. Despite all the noise, Twilight’s attention was focused on the solemn group of soldiers marching along behind her. They were blocking her escape, and the only other route led right to Nightmare Moon, who stood on the raised dais with a smirk. Twilight soon stopped before her, and gave her a respectful bow. “Your Majesty.”

“Ah! Our glorious champion. What a marvelous tournament! You are impressively skilled… perhaps the greatest in the land.” Nightmare Moon gave her an eager grin. “Have you looked forward to claiming your prize?” She motioned over to her right, where Sunburst held a cushion with a golden arrow resting on top. He appeared to be having difficulty keeping it still, as Flurry Heart babbled from atop his head while trying to take the plush pillow for herself. “We have been… anticipating this moment.”

I’m sure you have, Twilight thought as she nervously stepped forward. “It is an honor to receive such a trophy, Your Grace.” She tried to inconspicuously glance at the guards, searching for a possible opening. What was she supposed to do now? Would her friends have a plan? Or did she need to come up with her own way to escape this mess?

“Yes, quite.” Nightmare Moon nodded and motioned for Sunburst to bring the trophy, along with Flurry, forward. He had only taken a single step when Flurry suddenly squealed with delight and shot through the air. In an instant, she was clutching at Twilight’s neck and cuddling against her fur with a happy giggle.

Twilight’s fears for her own safety dissipated, and all her thoughts turned to her small niece while she pulled her into a tight hug. She wrapped her wings protectively around Flurry and nuzzled her carefully, mindful of the sharp beak she still wore from her disguise. “I’m so glad you’re safe!” she said softly.

Flurry babbled something, leaning forward to give Twilight’s cheek a quick kiss. She giggled when Twilight affectionately mushed their noses together.

“She is quite taken with you, Grizelda the Griffon.” Nightmare Moon chuckled darkly, ignoring their moment as she pounded a hoof against the stand. At the unspoken command, one of the unicorn guards standing by lifted Flurry Heart away in his magic, drawing a gasp from her. “You are certainly a unique individual to have captured the maiden’s heart so quickly. I have decided to grace you with a gift as well.” She lifted her leg and held it out to Twilight. “You may kiss the royal hoof.”

Twilight’s ears flattened while she hesitated, glancing at the curious looks of the crowd before giving a curt bow and stepping forward. She couldn’t see any kind of weapon, but that didn’t mean Nightmare Moon didn’t have something planned. Twilight knelt before her and reached out to lower the presented hoof closer.

Without warning, Nightmare Moon kicked her leg up and knocked away the false beak over Twilight’s muzzle. It spun through the air and landed before the line of guards, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd. Twilight’s hoof shot to cover her nose, but it was too late. Nightmare Moon grinned wickedly. “As I suspected! GUARDS! Seize her!”

Twilight didn’t even have time to crouch before the line of soldiers struck out and roughly shoved her against the ground. Many strong sets of hooves stomped around her and held her down. She tried to fight out of their grasp, flailing her limbs and kicking out in every direction, but they still managed to clamp a metal band around her wings, and her head rang painfully when one of them shoved an iron cone over her horn. What little of her magic she could feel, quickly dwindled into nothingness.

All the while, Nightmare Moon watched and laughed triumphantly. “At last! I have captured the illustrious Robin Hood! Now,” She motioned to her entourage of guards and they stepped away from Twilight, leaving a solitary pair to keep her pinned. “For your crimes against the crown of treason and heresy, you are hereby sentenced to immediate death!”

Twilight’s heartbeat raced in fear. One of the guards holding her had his hoof pressed against her skull, and she could only listen while dull, heavy steps announced the arrival of the executioner from behind. The crowd murmured in discomfort, while a few brave individuals shouted defiance, but the line of guards brandishing their weapons discouraged any ideas of rescue.

Over the loud pounding in her ears, Twilight heard the sharp wails of Flurry by a pair of soldiers that held her back. She struggled against their grip, but she was much too small to force herself free. How was Robin Hood supposed to get out of this?

“Ah, we knew you had many skills apart from archery.” Nightmare Moon grinned as Sabueso lumbered up, coming to a stop next to Twilight and the soldiers that held her. “Do you wish to do the honors?”

Sabueso stomped his hoof before the sword at his side made a clicking sound. An aura surrounded it with a dark glow of magic, and the heavy broadsword spun in an arc before sinking with a heavy thud into the soil. Twilight gulped, and tried to pull against the guards that restrained her, but their hooves kept her in place.

There was a slim chance that she might be alright… maybe. Sombra could have been wrong about their possible deaths. But most of it was his curse, and he knew more about its inner workings. Of course, the only way to know for certain was to… meet a grim fate. As much as she enjoyed field experiments, Twilight didn’t want to find out for herself through that kind of experience.

The metal of Sabueso’s sword slid out of the dirt with a grating scrape and drew her attention back to the blade. He appeared to be making a show of it, slowly idling and showing off the weight of the weapon, swinging it off to the side to test the balance. Some of the soldiers watched with interest while Nightmare Moon jittered with anticipation. At last, Sabueso stepped over and faced Twilight, looking ready to do the deed.

Nightmare Moon’s expression broke out into an elated grin. “Execute her… by beheading!”

A murmur of terrified cries rose from the crowd, and Twilight’s breath came out in quick gasps as her wide eyes turned to look at the towering pony at the edge of her vision. Maybe she had been wrong about him being Sombra in disguise… or maybe he still was. She might have been too trusting to think that he had formed a truce with her.

Either way, Sabueso lifted his sword and crouched into a stance to swing, raising the weapon to float high above her head. With a choked sob, Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself.

The sound of metal crashing against armor rang in her ears, and the weight of the soldiers’ hooves against her was suddenly gone. Twilight’s eyes popped open when a heavy leg wrapped around her middle and lifted her.

“What is this?” Nightmare Moon hissed while backing up behind a pair of her soldiers. “You dare defy your king!?”

“You are not my king.” Sabueso’s voice echoed darkly inside the helmet, and Twilight dangled in his grasp, still in a daze over what had nearly happened. His armor clicked, and the helmet rose in an aura of magic. “I do not bow.”

“You—!!!” Nightmare Moon flared her wings and screamed with a shriek of anger, “Seize the traitor!”

“DOWN WITH THE KING!!!” Sombra’s shout thundered over her head, and Twilight winced while echoed cries from the crowd answered his bellow. The cheerful audience from the archery contest turned into a mob of enraged ponies that suddenly surged against the soldiers. Calamity broke out as fights erupted between the mass of guards and citizens.

“Snap out of it,” Sombra growled, and gave her a rough shake. “Are you really that disturbed by a near-death experience?”

Twilight returned to her senses and glared up at him. “I thought you were trying to kill me!”

“I have a revolution to lead.” Sombra lowered her to the ground. “Unfortunately, it requires your cooperation.”

“Aahbabaaaa!” Twilight heard a childish squeal before Flurry Heart collided happily against her, hugging her neck and nearly blinding Twilight when she wrapped her large wings across her vision.

Sunburst barged out of the crowd after her, his eyes wild in a panic. “We should get out of here!”

“Cease this at once!” Nightmare Moon yelled from the dais, trying to regain control, but the villagers would hear nothing of it. A circle of guards separated her from the horde as she backed into her throne to keep herself safe. “Fools! Seize them all and protect your king!”

“The villagers will only follow you!” Sombra shouted to be heard above the noise of the clashing soldiers. His own sword swung against a pair of rushing guards, arcing back and tossing them above the heads in the crowd. “I had to use your name to even get them to plan this whole thing!”

“We can’t force them to fight!” Twilight yelled back, leaping away when a pony swung his sword at her. She stumbled into Sombra’s leg and caught his attention. With a clang of his sword, her attacker slid into the dirt, unconscious from the crushing blow to his helmet.

“What are you saying!?” Sombra nearly roared. “These villagers are not real! You can use them as fodder to defeat the king! NOW!”

Twilight hesitated, but only for a brief moment. Illusions or not, she couldn’t bring herself to command these ponies to rush to their fictional deaths. Before she could argue with Sombra further, a shout from the fray caused them to pause. “Yeeeehaaaa!”

“Applejack!” Twilight cried in relief when the story’s version of her friend lept out of the confusion and landed beside her. Spike sat safely atop her shoulders. “Both of you need to get out of here, it isn’t safe!”

“Horseapples, Twilight! We’re sick of that mare’s tyranny!” Spike looked as though he shared Applejack’s sentiments. “You been fightin’ for our sakes for too long! We’ve all got your back today! Even Rarity’s gettin’ her hooves dirty to give ‘em a good wallop!”

As if to confirm that, Twilight heard a dignified, and feminine shriek, followed by a heavy crash over by the tents. “Oh, you did NOT just do that!!!”

“Rarity’s here!?” Spike jumped up on Applejack’s back and turned in the direction that the yell had come from.

“You have been gifted an army on a silver platter! They are more than willing to fight!” Sombra snarled, his sword raised before him and holding off a pair of guards. “Order them to do it!”

“I won’t do that!” Twilight shouted, flaring her wings to act as a barrier to help protect Flurry. “We need to get everypony out of here!”

“Reinforcements are coming!” A shout from above caused Twilight to look up, interrupting whatever Sombra had been about to respond with. She blinked up at the sight of Rainbow Dash diving down overhead. “There’s another squadron coming from the castle!”

“FIND ME ROBIN HOOD!” Nightmare Moon’s voice screeched out above the chaos. Twilight instinctively ducked.

“Head for the forest!” Applejack suggested, rearing back before making her way through the crowd. “We’ll lose ‘em in the trees!”

Despite his furiously loud grumbling, Sombra stood with her friends and fought to keep the soldiers at bay while they tried to advance into the forest. Somewhere in the mess, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity joined them, but they weren’t enough to keep up with the surge of soldiers that pressed around them. They soon formed a barrier that prevented her and her friends from retreating.

“Clear a path!” The shrill voice of Nightmare Moon screamed over the guards’ heads and they moved aside, allowing their ruler room to march through. Only two remained to stand guard in front of her. “Robin Hood is the one I want! I will spare any who give her up!”

“Never! You’re no king to us!” Rainbow Dash spat and flared her wings angrily.

Nightmare Moon growled with a menacing sneer. “Then along with her, you shall all be executed!” She then grinned with delight. “You will be made a fine example of, when we spear your heads on a stake! Guards! Do not let them escape!”

The spaces between the soldiers shrank as they closed in. When Flurry Heart whimpered in fear from Twilight’s shoulders, she reached around and pulled her niece into a gentle embrace and backed into the protective circle of her friends. “Go with Sunburst, Flurry.” her voice cracked as she pleaded softly. “You’ll be safer.”

Flurry Heart resisted with a whine, clutching at Twilight’s neck and burying her face into her fur. When she choked out a muffled sob, Twilight glanced down at her niece, only to shut her eyes against a blinding flash.

The familiar feeling of a teleport spell crackled along her fur. With a sound that was like air being sucked out of space, they all popped out of existence, leaving behind the terror that was Nightmare Moon and her army of soldiers.

Before she could even blink, Twilight felt the usual resurgence of her body into a new area. She and her friends, along with Sombra, appeared to be far, far away from the tournament grounds. With a loud bang, they all dropped to the grass with various grunts and groans of surprise, each of them eventually looking around to realize they were no longer in danger.

“Where are we!?” Rarity stumbled up on shaky legs, finding support in Spike when he reached for her side.

“Oh, we’re in Marewood Forest.” Fluttershy gazed around at the trees with relief. “The camp isn’t very far from here.”

“Not that I ain’t glad, but just how in the blue blazes did we get here!?” Applejack searched around, as if expecting Nightmare Moon to appear out of the trees.

“Flurry Heart!” Twilight squeezed her tightly to her chest. Small tears rolled down the bridge of her nose while she rubbed a calming hoof across her niece’s back. Flurry trembled and sobbed into her coat. “You saved us, Flurry! We’re safe!” She breathed with relief into Flurry’s soft mane. “We’re safe, don’t worry…” Her eyes fluttered shut as she repeated quietly, “We’re safe…”

Chapter 4: Princess of Thieves (Part 3)

“See, Flurry? Everypony is fine,” Twilight said softly, giving Flurry Heart a slight nudge. She responded by pulling her head away from Twilight’s chest. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and there was a trail of snot running down her nose.

“Fine? We're great!” Pinkie exclaimed. With a flick of her hoof, she tossed a large amount of confetti into the air that was mysteriously accompanied by the sound of a small horn. “Good enough for a party!”

The gesture didn’t appear to have any effect on Flurry. She let out a whine and snuggled closer to Twilight. Ever since they had returned, Flurry Heart clung to her aunt and refused to let go.

“Come oooon,” Pinkie gently urged, determined to cheer her up. Rummaging a hoof through her own mane, she pulled out a small flute and piped out a quick note. Flurry’s ears twitched, and she turned her head with a quieted sniffle.

“That’s it!” Pinkie backed up to a nearby crate and jumped in as if she were diving into a swimming pool. When she appeared again, there were a pair of drums slung over her flanks, and Fluttershy squeaked with fear when Pinkie tossed a round tambourine her way. Harry caught the object and offered it to Fluttershy, who hit it tentatively with her hoof.

“See? We’re all okay! Thanks to you!” Pinkie started playing a bright tune, pulling Rainbow Dash behind her to form a conga line around the bonfire. Fluttershy tapped out a quiet chime with the tambourine, and Pinkie carried a small mallet in her tail to create a beat with the drums. Flurry Heart’s hooves began to clap, and she eventually giggled. With a slight flap of her wings, she fluttered over to Spike and laughed when he caught her to gently lift her over his head.

Twilight let out a relieved sigh, sitting back to watch her friends celebrate their freedom. Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack danced around the bonfire, while Rarity twirled with Flurry and Spike. Sunburst sat next to Harry, swaying to the cheerful music and bobbing his head. Everypony was joining in on the fun. Everypony, that is, except for Sombra.

She didn’t think he would leave camp with the guards on alert, but without telling them, he had disappeared around nightfall. Wondering if he was nearby, she turned to search the surrounding trees. Though the shadows could possibly hide him from view, near the edge of the clearing, Twilight noticed a pair of glowing orbs flicker from the reflected firelight.

While her friends were distracted by their merriment, Twilight found it easy to slip away. Despite the darkness that concealed him, she saw Sombra frown when she approached. “I am over here for the quiet,” he grumbled. “Do not bring your jovial celebrations into my peace.”

“I’m too tired to celebrate. We may not need food and rest, but I wouldn’t say no to a good night’s sleep right now.” Twilight motioned over to her dancing friends. “I don't see how they can keep going like that.”

“Apart from your charges, they are all golems and illusions.” Sombra closed his eyes as if resting them. “They only sleep if it is by the script of the story.”

Sombra said nothing more after that, appearing to ignore her. In the quiet of the chirping crickets, she cleared her throat with a soft noise. “I never did thank you.”

Sombra didn't move. He didn't even bother to open his eyes. “And I never thanked you, so now we’re even,” he snorted. “Your friends would not follow me unless I helped you. So you can throw your appreciation at them and continue to not thank me.”

He fell silent again, apparently expecting her to leave. It wasn’t as though he were shooing her away, but the feeling she got practically screamed, DO NOT DISTURB! However, his current air wasn’t enough to demand that sort of request. King Sombra had always been a sight of terror, a figure that might strike fear into those who dreaded what he could do.

Now, as he lay with his legs curled beneath him, bare of his usual armor and his eyes shut, he looked just as exhausted from the day’s events as Twilight felt. It was an opportunity, and she was going to take it.

With a hesitant step, she prodded the grass to prepare a soft spot next to him.

“What are you doing?”

She lifted her head to see him watching her with narrowed eyes. He was definitely annoyed, but he didn’t make a move to push her away.

“You’re right, it’s quiet over here.” She looked back at her friends, their dancing forms illuminated by the fire. The music was soft over the distance, and the light of the flames was not as harsh from where she stood. With a sigh, Twilight settled down and folded her legs beneath herself comfortably. “And after a day like today, I’m exhausted.”

“I came over here to be alone.” Sombra glared at her. “By myself.”

A soft giggle grew louder over the distance, announcing the arrival of Flurry Heart as she flapped into view. With large, curious eyes, she gazed down at the two of them before wiggling her legs at Twilight in a hugging motion. Twilight patted the area between her hooves, and Flurry Heart dove into her embrace. She curled up and adjusted herself, snuggling against Twilight’s chest and closing her eyes with a contented sigh.

“Yes. I want to be alone. So everypony feel free to join me in solitude,” Sombra grumbled through grit teeth and narrowed his eyes at Flurry’s small form cuddled against Twilight. “That little maggot is really attached to you.”

“Stop calling her that!” Twilight whispered angrily, covering Flurry with a protective wing and briefly forgetting any plans to make friendly conversation. “Why do you have to insult everypony you talk to?”

“Because you are all my enemies,” Sombra snorted. “I'm not concerned with your feelings.” His eyes slid to Flurry’s sleeping form. “Or hers.”

“Can’t you at least consider what she did?” Twilight tried. “After all, she’s the one that saved us. Including you.”

“How?” Sombra muttered, sounding irritated. “Our own magic is limited, yet she was able to teleport a large group of ponies across an entire forest.”

Twilight looked down at her snoozing niece. Flurry, in the midst of their quiet disagreement, had already fallen asleep. “She does have alicorn magic, and the storybook has manipulated us before...”

“I don’t know what’s more aggravating.” Sombra wrinkled his snout. “That despite all my planning and preparation to instigate a war, I was rescued by a foal, or that this story is so poorly written it used a cheap tactic to advance the plot.”

The scowl in his expression surprised her. It wasn’t anything new from him, but his unusual tone made her curious. Her gaze lowered to the sleeping Flurry Heart before returning to him with a realization. “Are you… jealous?”

Sombra made a scoffing sound that was something between the cross of preparing a loogie and holding in a sneeze. “I’m annoyed. There is a difference. I am not jealous of a diaper-wearing worm.”

Twilight didn’t realize she was glaring at him until he snorted at her disapproval.

“I should just go back to the king’s guard,” Sombra grumbled. “At least they didn’t prattle on about respecting others.” His lips curled into something of a smile. “I called them mindless constructs to their faces, and they didn’t seem to mind... until I attacked their king.”

“That’s because they’re following the script.” Twilight frowned at him, recalling what he had said earlier, and remembering how her own friends had ignored certain aspects of conversation. “They can’t comprehend beyond what’s written in the text.” She thoughtfully tapped her chin with a wing feather. “‘All the world’s a stage,’ and we’re the only ones who can break the fourth wall.”

“HEY!”

A shout over by the campfire caused Twilight and Sombra to look up in surprise. Pinkie Pie stared at them from across the clearing. She simply narrowed her eyes before making a motion with her leg, pointing at her own face, then jabbing her hoof towards them. With a twist of her body, she integrated herself back into the celebrations as if nothing had happened.

“You know Shakespur?” Sombra asked, ignoring the strange interruption.

“You know Shakespur?” Twilight parroted back with astonishment.

“I met him,” Sombra said. “He was a playwright in my time.”

She waited for him to elaborate on that, but he didn’t continue. His eyes were half-lidded, and he was staring off into the distance as if she weren’t there.

There were too many questions, but she didn’t feel like pressing anymore. He wasn’t telling her to leave, and he wasn’t complaining. Maybe he was just too tired to bother, but it could have been some kind of progress. Twilight made a mental note in her head on an imaginary list: Break the ice, check!

Maybe Spike was right. Maybe Sombra could be something more than an enemy or a mutual ally. She just had to figure out a way to show him what friendship could be.

With the warmth of Flurry nestled against her in sleep, and weariness pulling at her eyelids, the two of them settled into a comfortable silence, nothing but the sound of cheerful music and laughter to lead them into the night.

In the early hours of darkness, Twilight had managed to get some rest, but she didn’t get much sleep. A thought had crossed her mind, floating at the edge of her consciousness even while she tried to dream. In the end, the epiphany won, and caused her to sneak out of the camp, long after the others had already settled down and the logs in the bonfire pit were nothing but glowing embers.

When her friends woke, they were surprised to find her surrounded by mountainous piles of books and scrolls.

“Wowie, wowie! Where did you get all of this, Twilight?” Pinkie bounced around the meticulously organized stacks.

“The library, a monastery, several stalls at the market… a few houses from town…” Twilight chewed on the end of her quill while she stared intently at a scroll floating before her.

“You mean to say you stole all these?” Applejack waved her hoof at the piles.

“Borrowed!” Twilight corrected her. “I just needed them for very important research! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to write down all of the possible scenarios of every Robin Hood legend, story, and fairy tale.” Twilight flipped the scroll over to show her friends the timeline she had been working on all night. “And I’ve read most of them! So it wasn’t too difficult to gather.”

“Uuuh… what’s happening?” Spike wandered over to the group, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and giving a loud yawn. “Did you stay up all night reading again?”

“For a very important cause, Spike,” Twilight said. “I needed to cross-reference what’s happened in this version of the story with other collections to determine how this one will play out. I should be able to predict what happens… aaaaaannd—” She struck her pen against the parchment in a quick motion. “I know how this story ends!” She turned to her friends with a big grin, showing the large bags beneath her eyes from lack of sleep. They simply exchanged looks with each other and shrugged.

Twilight’s ears dropped at their lackluster reaction. “I thought you’d be more excited about dethroning Nightmare Moon.” Twilight’s voice sounded dejected, but all of their faces suddenly lit up.

“Dethrone Nightmare Moon? Why didn’t you say so in the first place!?” Rainbow Dash shouted with excitement.

“I did! Sort of… I think so?” Twilight looked at the papers scattered around her. “I had it written down.”

A loud, angry shout caused all of their heads to turn and watch as Flurry Heart flew across the clearing, letting out a fearful wail. With a choked sob, she slammed right into Twilight’s embrace, nearly knocking her over from the force of the impact.

Twilight looked up with a fierce expression to see Sombra stomping over with a sour look on his face. “What did you do?!” she demanded.

“I am not that worm’s pillow!” Sombra shouted back, before his expression shifted to confusion at the sight of the books stacked around him. “Did you steal an entire library?”

“Borrowed! For research!” Twilight yelled crossly.

“So, uh, what’s the big plan,Twilight?” Spike asked. “You said you know how the story ends?”

“Right!” Twilight juggled the scroll of parchment in her magic while holding Flurry Heart to her chest. “I’ve managed to figure out exactly what our next move should be. Nightmare Moon is only king because the real ruler is missing, so it’s up to us to find the rightful heir.”

Twilight unrolled a large sheet displaying a mess of diagrams that Spike simply tilted his head at. Sombra stared down at the graphs and looked mildly impressed, if his arched eyebrow was anything to go by. “Based on what I’ve found, we try to infiltrate the castle treasury to steal enough money to pay for Princess Celestia’s ransom, because we were told that she’s being held prisoner by griffons. But the ransom is just a lie!” Twilight smacked her hoof against her step-by-step plan laid out on the parchment. “Even so, we still need to get into the castle, because Nightmare Moon is actually the one holding the Princess!”

“Wait…” Spike asked groggily. “Did you say ‘Princess Celestia?'”

“It’s only a guess, but I think that’s how the story cast her.” Twilight nodded. “Even if I’m wrong, it should adjust, since we haven’t met that character yet.”

“So… what does that all mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We’re going to storm the castle and rescue Princess Celestia!” Twilight declared, causing the rest of her friends to let out startled shouts.

“After that fuss at the tournament, the King is certain to be furious! I imagine she’s tripled security since then. How will we ever get past all the guards?” Rarity asked with concern.

“Sunburst has our solution,” Twilight said and turned to him. “You were Flurry’s caretaker in the castle; do you know any way we could get in?”

“Of course!” Sunburst answered. “How else could I deliver that message to you? As long as they haven’t found it, we can use it.”

“It would be simpler to storm the gates,” Sombra suggested. “Gather the villagers willing to follow you and overwhelm the guards.”

“This will be a covert operation,” Twilight said curtly before smiling at Flurry Heart as she chewed on one of her hooves. “Our main priority will be stealth. Pinkie Pie?”

“Yup?” Pinkie bounced over and squished her nose against Twilight’s.

Twilight pulled away with a soft giggle. “You have the most important job of all.” She lifted Flurry Heart in her hooves. “Can you stay behind and watch her? We need to make sure she keeps out of danger.”

“Okie dokie, Twilight!” Pinkie lifted Flurry into her embrace, and Flurry giggled happily. “I’ll be sure to take super good care of her!”

“This could still be incredibly reckless,” Rarity huffed.

“Ha! I’m in!” Rainbow Dash volunteered with a smirk.

“We’ve got your backs!” Applejack nodded and stepped up.

“Yaaay,” Fluttershy added, peeking out from behind Harry.

Even if they weren’t her actual friends, Twilight felt a warmth inside give her courage at their support. With a look back at Sombra, she smiled softly. “It’s not an army, but will you come with us?”

Sombra was quiet, before snorting through his nostrils. “I suppose I couldn’t stand back now. Besides.” He grinned with a glittering smirk. “I have a debt to pay with the usurping sister.”

Rainbow Dash leaned over to Twilight and whispered behind her hoof. “I think that’s a yes.”

Twilight nodded, and without further discussion, they gathered together to begin their preparation. Pinkie Pie bounced up and down, watching the group travel into the trees. “Bye, bye, girls!” She cheerfully waved while Flurry Heart sat on her head and mimicked her. “Have fun storming the castle!”

Once again, Twilight found herself quietly moving through the veil of night, but this time, she felt more confident in the company of her friends. Through the muffled silence of darkness, Sunburst led the way towards the walls of the castle, careful to avoid the path of the guards patrolling the outer fields.

Ducking beneath the cover of the bushes, Sunburst waved them all forward and they gathered at the base of the ramparts where the trees were thickest.

“I was careful to keep this spot hidden from them while I was here,” Sunburst whispered as he moved aside a section of the leaves. There was an old grate set into the base of the wall that looked impenetrable, but Sunburst demonstrated its weakness when he carefully lifted one of the bars and slid it out of the stone.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight addressed her quiet friend while Sunburst removed the rest of the gate. “You stay here and keep watch. Make sure the way is clear when we need to escape.” Fluttershy nodded while the rest of her friends slipped through the opening. Twilight was last to crawl inside, following Applejack as they all trailed behind Sunburst along a dark wall. He ushered them through a doorway, ensuring the coast was clear before shutting it behind them.

Even though they had made it inside, they weren’t in the clear yet. Without a sound, they moved into the hallways and kept to the shadows, away from the path of the diligent guard. With Sunburst’s knowledge, and all of them keeping their eyes peeled, they made it safely to the dungeons without incident.

When Twilight entered, she knew where they were before Sunburst announced anything. The cells were dark, but there was a rank and sour odor that hit her like a brick wall. Twilight wrinkled her nose and lit her horn with a dim glow. Weary and tired eyes reflected back at her in the soft light, and withered forms shied away from her to shield their faces.

“How absolutely dreadful!” Rarity’s hushed voice echoed her friends’ sentiments. They all wore equal looks of astonishment by the conditions of the ponies inside. They were frail and weak, covered in a layer of grime with matted manes and tails.

“How could she do this?” Twilight whispered.

“She just don’t care about ‘em,” Applejack said with a stern frown. “If a pony can’t pay taxes, they’re useless to her.”

“We need to open the cells.” Twilight turned to her friends. “Somepony distract the guards—”

A woosh of air flipped her mane into her face, and when Twilight shook it away, Rainbow Dash was already standing before her with a ring of keys twirling around her hoof. “Got ‘em!”

“Rainbow!” Twilight hissed, but the deed had already been done. They set to work opening the doors and helping the weakened prisoners out. As frail as they were, with the prospect of freedom, they appeared able and eager to escape their dark confinement.

While they worked their way through the row of cells, Twilight’s eyes shifted around the shadows of prisoners behind the bars, but none of them were the princess she was searching for. “I don’t understand...” She trotted closer to an older couple that Applejack was helping. “Excuse me, have either of you seen Princess Celestia?”

“Princess Celestia?” The old mare answered with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry dear, we haven’t.”

“We’ve been here for quite some time, too,” the old stallion added.

As Applejack helped the couple away, Twilight heaved an exasperated sigh. “She should have been here.”

A heavy presence from behind made her turn to see Sombra stepping closer. “Perhaps you jumped ahead of the story.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight blinked in surprise.

“You already know how everything is supposed to play out, so you came to the most logical place to find a prisoner. But you said it yourself, your Robin Hood discovered this princess by trying to steal from the treasury, right?” Sombra asked.

“So… by coming here first, I changed the story?”

“More like you skipped a step,” Sombra corrected her.

Twilight rubbed her forehead with a groan. “This doesn’t make any sense! How do the rules keep changing? It’s manipulated things before, why not now?”

“Because you’re in the right location, just not the right setting. And how do we know it isn’t manipulating you now? Or me?” Sombra glowered. “I am the very reason you realize you’re in the wrong spot.”

“Spike.” Twilight quickly caught his attention. “Stay here with the girls and help them get the prisoners out. I’m going to the treasury.”

“But, Twilight—”

“Don’t follow me,” she interrupted him and set off down the hallway before he could argue against her. She was swift, and she was silent, enough so that the guards didn’t even notice her searching through the castle. In no time at all, she stood before the doorway to the treasury, a heavy padlock the only thing standing between her and the inside.

There was obviously something wrong. No guards had been posted to protect it, and she couldn’t detect any hint of spells. Approaching with caution, Twilight lowered her horn to the lock and concentrated a great deal just to build up a small amount of magic. She would have preferred to use the lockpick, but along with her saddlebags, the valuable tool had been lost at the tournament when the soldiers caught her.

Her horn briefly fizzled to life and zapped the lock. With a heavy clank, the padlock fell open and hung uselessly on the latch.

Sweat beaded on her brow, and a small trail of arcane smoke rose from her horn. What little magic she had in reserve was now spent, until it replenished itself again with time. For the moment, she could only rely on the innate skills of Robin Hood.

She lifted the latch and gently pushed the door open, keeping her eyes peeled for any sort of defenses. It was too easy, and that unnerved her more than if she had actually encountered anything to impede her. Regardless of whether the story was making it so, or because something sinister awaited her, Twilight didn’t like the chilling sensation that ran along her nerves.

As expected of a treasury, when she stepped inside, there were mounds of coins piled up in loose hills. Generous amounts of treasure had been stuffed into bags, while stacks spilled across tables near weighing machines. Jewel encrusted crowns and weapons stuck out of chests with beads of pearl that sat atop silk throws and exotic rugs.

The room was large, softly lit by dying embers in the wall sconces, but it was obvious that there was nopony else with her. The treasury wasn’t made for keeping a prisoner, but that didn’t mean Princess Celestia wasn’t there. Though she couldn’t feel anything before, now she was aware of a faint hint of magic permeating the air. It wasn’t much, but just enough to possibly hide a captured princess from her view.

So she hadn’t been locked in the dungeons at all, but hidden away where nopony would expect to find her. The question was, what kind of enchantment affected her? Was she simply invisible? Or transformed into one of the thousands of gold coins littering the floor?

In the soft flickers of light, everything sparkled and gleamed back at her. Twilight searched around for tell-tale signs of something off… anything different. As her keen eyes swept over the glittering treasure, she spotted a piece of jewelry that didn’t offer a display of radiance like the other valuables.

Twilight moved closer to the unassuming necklace. A pendant, about the size of her hoof, lay atop a small pile of scattered coins. Unlike the expensive looking and polished riches in the rest of the room, this bronze amulet in the shape of a sun was dull and dented.

She reached for it, when a sharp hiss from the floor startled her. Twilight jumped back as a slim form slithered from behind the mound of coins, blocking her way and flicking its tongue at her. With the snake’s mouth parted in warning, she could see the needle-thin fangs drip with venom.

Twilight couldn’t recall any trials that Robin Hood might have faced, but if the story book was changing certain aspects, this wouldn’t seem so far-fetched. Though her instincts screamed at her to run from the predator, she took a hesitant step forward, and the snake let out an agitated hiss.

Twilight gulped. It could have been an illusion. A trap created to deter would-be thieves. But the snake swayed slightly in a threatening manner, and the way its pupils narrowed into thin slits as its attention focused entirely on her made it feel all the more terrifying.

She reached out again, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead. The snake tensed, and so did she. It struck out and bit into her hoof... but Twilight felt nothing. It quietly vanished in a burst of glittering dust that floated harmlessly to the floor.

Twilight let out the breath she had been holding. In a rush to leave, she grabbed the tarnished necklace and threw it over her neck to decipher later, tucking it into her cloak. All at once, the fires in the unlit braziers burst to life along the walls. Before she could react, there was an explosion of light from behind, followed quickly by a familiar crack of magic.

“YOU!!!” Twilight didn't even have a chance to turn when a beam of blue light shot past, singeing her feathers. With a yelp, she ducked behind a large chest.

“I knew you would somehow worm your way in here.” Nightmare Moon fluttered above the piles of wealth. “My treasury will be your tomb! I will put you on display with the rest of my trophies!”

Another arcane shot sliced through the air, and Twilight grabbed a large shield from the floor. The magic pinged off the golden surface and bounced right back at Nightmare Moon, rebounding off of her armor and knocking her into a brazier along the wall. Her shrieks echoed around the room as the hot coals landed against her fur.

“Curse you!” Nightmare Moon screamed, flinging the ashes away and kicking at the metal bowl. Twilight’s eyes followed it with fear, watching as it spilled its contents and the still-burning coals across the rugs.

“Wait—!” Twilight grabbed one of the heavy tapestries to try and smother the resulting flames, but before she could get close, she took a headbutt in her side that sent her flying into a pile of treasure. She only managed to catch a glimpse of a dark form charging before Nightmare Moon slammed her down, pressing her hooves heavily against her neck to choke her.

“Now, this ends…” Nightmare Moon hissed and readied her horn with a crackling display of magic.

Flecks of burning ash exploded into the air when a banner on the wall fell heavily against the floor in flames. Fire crackled hungrily as it quickly spread to anything that would burn.

“W-what is—” Nightmare Moon looked up, realizing what had happened. The fire had already traveled up the walls, spreading along the decorative silks and into the wooden support beams above. “My treasure! My castle! Noooo!”

Twilight thought that she might have been able to escape while Nightmare Moon was distracted, but her fury quickly shifted back to her before she could squirm free. Nightmare Moon lunged, clamping her jaws down painfully around Twilight’s neck and yanking her into the air.

Twilight kicked out with her legs and flapped her wings frantically, but Nightmare Moon did not lose her grip. The air around them sparked with blue magic and in a bright flash, she suddenly found herself looking down into the courtyard from an extreme height. Below them, guards were shouting while an alarm rang out. Trails of thick smoke could be seen pouring from places where the fire had already spread to.

She felt Nightmare Moon’s long legs wrap around her middle and squeeze her tightly, the bite of fangs releasing from her neck when she cooed softly into her ear. “If I cannot see you a proper execution, then I’ll settle for crushing you beneath the stones.”

Twilight screamed when Nightmare Moon flung her into the air. She flapped her wings in a frantic effort to right herself, but a searing pain burst against her side and tossed her through the glass window of a nearby tower.

Wicked shards shattered and fell with her as she bounced heavily against the floor, only coming to a stop when she slid into the side of a bed. Fragments of glass littered the stone around her, and she groaned while trying to carefully stand. Nightmare Moon’s maniacal laughter echoed beyond the broken window.

She grinned through the opening, hovering at a safe distance as plumes of smoke from below obscured her. “Though I may lose my castle, it is an unfortunate sacrifice if it will rid me of you!” She laughed gleefully again, her horn glowing with another flash before the wall exploded and began to collapse. Twilight scrambled out of the way of the crumbling bricks, coughing at the dust that showered her.

The stones beneath her hooves rumbled, but not because of the damage from the fire. She could hear muffled blasts of magic from outside. Nightmare Moon further ensuring that she would not escape. The walls began to groan, and rubble rained down around her as something on the previous floor crashed down.

Without much choice, Twilight sprinted to the stairwell, pulling her cloak around her to shield herself from the heat of the flames and slipping over steps flecked with ash. She barreled through to a hallway below, flaring her wings to clear some of the smog, and plowed into a raging turmoil. Her vision clouded from the smoke, and as she frantically ran, Twilight felt her leg catch against a fallen beam. She tumbled to the floor with a cry of pain.

The entire ceiling behind her groaned and fell with a deafening crash. Bits of debris and rubble rained down around her, hissing as they burned in the inferno. Darkness consumed her vision when a wall of black smoke rolled over her.

Despite the pain in her leg, she began to crawl, helped by the fact that she had fallen to the floor where the fumes were less thick. Not that it was any easier to see through the mess surrounding her.

Against the soot and blinding embers, Twilight saw a spark of green and wondered at it for only a second before she realized what it meant. She took a smoke-filled breath to scream above the chaos. “SPIKE!” Her groggy voice managed to reach his ears and she saw a growing shadow gallop towards her through the haze.

Heavy hooves stomped over the floor, and she had to look up to see Spike sitting on Sombra’s shoulders. His scales were dull and covered with soot, but he was otherwise fine and unaffected by the heat. It was hard to tell Sombra’s condition with his dark fur, but his mane did appear to look frizzled from the hot ash.

“Twilight!” Spike jumped down and hugged her briefly before lifting her head and pulling her leg over his shoulder.

“S-Spike…” She coughed weakly. “I told you not to follow me.”

“You said that nothing bad happens to Robin Hood.” Spike grinned and squeezed her hoof. “I knew you had to be okay. I couldn’t leave you.”

Ignoring their happy reunion, Sombra leaned over and demanded in a strained voice, “Where is the princess?”

“H-here.” Twilight’s voice sounded raspy, showing them the amulet around her neck. “B-but I don’t know how—”

Without warning, Sombra caught the pendant in his jaws and broke the chain with a hard tug. He then swung his head, and flung the trinket into the roaring flames.

Twilight let loose a wail in her dismay, before rounding her narrowed gaze at him in anger. Despite the exhaustion and pain in her body, Twilight rasped at him with a fierce growl, “Why did you do that!?”

Sombra glared back at her without explanation, as a sudden explosion from the flames whipped up the burning air around them.

“Dragon!” Sombra shouted above the firestorm. “Lead us out!”

Spike nodded hesitantly but didn’t delay in helping Twilight with him over the floor. Using his own fiery breath, he kept them safe from the rubble and burning debris as it disappeared in his emerald blaze. The hot winds whipped around them, drawing the fire dangerously close. The unnatural swirl of the smoke behaved strangely, and the haze in the air appeared to be clearing as they moved toward a hole in the collapsed wall.

“Just a little further, Twilight. Through the moat. Hold on to me,” Spike encouraged her as they slipped into the chilly water—a shocking contrast to the heat they had just escaped, but it felt soothing against her fur. Spike was diligent in helping her keep afloat, and they eventually waded their way to the other shore.

Twilight flopped against the grass with a heavy groan, laying still and keeping her eyes closed in defeat.

“Twilight!” Her ears twitched, and she cracked her eyes open, affording a weak smile when she spotted her friends galloping down the road. Even though her body screamed in pain, she stumbled to her hooves and fell into a warm embrace, surrounded by her friends.

“How many times must I kill you!?” A furious voice shrieked from above as Nightmare Moon swooped low and glared down at her with an angry sneer. “I have lost my castle thanks to you! The least you can do is die when I command it!” Her horn charged up, preparing to strike them all down.

A roar of air knocked Nightmare Moon from the sky. She slammed into the dirt, wings flailing, and sputtering indignantly while trying to shout for her guards.

All attention turned to the castle as the flames lifted away from the burning towers. The fire slowly faded and dissipated, leaving nothing more than smoking pillars and singed stones.

“The fire’s goin’ out!” Applejack shouted, pointing up to a shining light rising above the smoke.

Nightmare Moon pulled her head from the dirt and spat, “You will pay for your crimes! I will have you all hanged! Beheaded! Roasted on a spit!” Her desperate shrieks were ignored as the magical glow moved towards them, fading when it floated closer to the ground. “Roasted, I said! Are you ignoring me!? I am your ruler!!!”

“Not anymore.”

Nightmare Moon froze at the stern voice, a look of fear dawning on her face as she spun around. A shadow fell over them all as Celestia’s form shaded them from the rising sun, flapping her impressive wings to land gracefully before them.

“S-s-s-s-sister!” Nightmare Moon stammered. “You’re back!”

The expression that Celestia bore was enough to quiet anything else Nightmare Moon tried to say. “No thanks to you.” Celestia’s hooves were light as she stepped closer, and Nightmare Moon appeared to shrink as the distance between them closed. “You were the one who imprisoned me.”

“I-I...I am royalty, same as you!” Nightmare Moon’s fierce tone quieted, while Celestia’s frown only deepened with each word. “Why should you be the only one to rule!?”

“The throne belongs to the eldest, and rightful heir.” Sombra’s deep voice surprised Twilight, and she turned to see him glowering darkly.

“Nightmare Moon, though you are my sister, I hereby strip you of your power.” Princess Celestia spread her wings in a show of grace, looking to the gathering of guards and ponies drawn over by the commotion. “You will work to return the stolen wealth of the citizens. Maybe one day, when you command their respect instead of their obedience, you may rule by my side.”

Dwarfed by the proud alicorn standing before her, as guards from the castle gathered at her side, Nightmare Moon only grimaced and nodded silently in acceptance.

Twilight hung her head in relief and leaned against her friends. Everything appeared to be concluding with a happy ending.

“I have seen enough curses to know how to break them.”

Twilight looked up to see Sombra standing close by. His eyes were closed, even though he spoke to her. “It was foal’s-play to guess that a sun amulet should be thrown into fire to lift its magic.”

“Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia’s voice caused Twilight to jump, wincing a bit at the pain of her injury. Celestia moved with that renowned grace, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a pang of yearning to be with her actual mentor. While the creation of the storybook was impressive, it was no replacement for the real one.

“Yes, Princess?” Twilight stumbled when she left the support of her friends, bowing awkwardly with her injured leg.

“Please, bring no more harm to yourself simply to honor me.” Celestia smiled gently and lifted her chin up by brushing it with a soft feather. “I wanted to thank you for everything that you have done in my absence.” She then stood tall, and looked out at the crowd of ponies that had gathered around them. “Hear this! Twilight Sparkle, known as the outlaw Robin Hood, has been exonerated of all crimes! She and her friends are hereby pardoned!”

The gathering of ponies answered back with a roaring cheer, one that did little to drown out an excited voice that called over the distance.

“Twiliiiiight!” Pinkie shouted while a giggling Flurry Heart lifted off of her head and flew over to land against Twilight’s neck. Even though she was battered and bruised, Twilight caught her niece and nuzzled her, happy that she was safe.

“Thank you for looking out for my niece while I was gone.” Celestia smiled.

“It’s was nothing, Princess,” Twilight answered, giving Flurry a gentle squeeze. “She’s my family too!”

“Indeed.” Celestia winked while Flurry Heart gave Twilight a peck on the nose. The laughter and celebrating began to fade into the background, and the world around them slowly dimmed to shift into the setting of another fairytale.

Chapter 5: A Frozen Heart (Part 1)

Twilight slowly opened her eyes, blinking to adjust her vision in the dimly lit room, and awakening in a way that was like any other peaceful morning. A warm touch of sheets wrapped around her, and a soft pillow supported her head. The hazy light of a brand new day peeked in from behind a shaded window. For a moment, Twilight felt as if the previous adventure had been nothing more than a dream.

She might have continued to believe that, if her body didn’t ache all over from a stiff pain. With a grunt, she stretched her wings and eased herself from beneath the covers, taking in a sharp breath when she lifted her hind leg. A painful throb shot down her ankle, and she nearly collapsed back into the bed. Even though they were clearly in a new story setting, her wounds had obviously moved with her.

The gentle sound of snoring made her ears perk, and Twilight scooted to the end of the bed to peek over the footboard. Spike was curled up into a tiny ball, lying in a large, fancy basket below. She climbed to the edge of the sheets and carefully slipped to the floor before nudging him with her hoof. “Spike? Wake up.”

“Huh?” Spike lazily turned his head and blinked slowly. After squinting at her for a brief moment, he flopped back into a sleeping position and mumbled softly, “Five more minutes…”

Twilight huffed with annoyance and shook him more forcefully. “Get up! We’re still inside the storybook.”

Spike rolled over and rubbed at his eyes. “Could have fooled me. This place almost looks normal.” His back popped loudly when he stretched his arms above his head. “I thought everything was just a bad dream.”

Twilight limped towards the door and pushed it open, cautiously peeking down the wide hallway. There was a muted murmur in the distance, the sound of many ponies moving about. Some kind of work getting done further in the… castle?

“Are you still hurt?” She felt Spike’s claw against her side and looked back to see his concerned expression.

“It’s not so painful, but…” She tried to smile reassuringly. “Can you help me walk?”

Spike gave no complaint as he pressed against Twilight’s shoulder, letting her lean on him while she opened the door wider and stepped out, shuffling down the hall towards the source of noise.

“Do you know where we are?” Spike asked, his eyes wandering over the tall, elegant windows that almost looked like a section of Canterlot castle. Outside, Twilight could see a vibrant courtyard bustling with activity. A pair of pegasi hung bright decorations from the rooftops while smartly dressed ponies trimmed the hedges below and arranged flowery decorations.

“I can’t tell in the slightest.” Twilight shook her head. “It might be a new story that I’ve never read before. I didn’t have time to go through the entire book, so I never got to this one.”

“Well, one thing’s for sure, you’re definitely a princess here.”

“What makes you think that, Spike?” Twilight smiled at him curiously.

“Because of that.” He pointed ahead, and she followed his claw to see a large, exquisitely framed painting taking up most of the wall at the end of the corridor. Presented in the artwork were a regal pair dressed in noble regalia. Twilight immediately recognized herself and her brother smiling back from the image, with Spike standing dutifully by her side and clothed in his own established attire. “I look pretty good,” he said with a smug grin.

“Twily!”

Twilight’s ears perked when she heard the familiar voice, and she immediately turned at the sound of hoof steps running toward them in the hallway.

“Shining Armor!” Twilight flared her wings and flitted off the ground, briefly forgetting about her injuries. She practically fell into his open hug and pulled a laugh from him when she squeezed his chest.

“Somepony seems excited,” he chuckled and leaned back. “Which is completely understandable. Everything’s coming together smoothly for the ceremony.”

“Ceremony?” Twilight pulled away with a startled look.

“You didn’t forget already?” Shining smiled coyly. “I’m marrying Cadence!”

“Uh, aren’t you already married to Cadence?” Spike pointed out.

Shining laughed. “Not yet. We’re still setting up.” He turned to Twilight. “I need you to do me a favor, sis. The doves in the aviary are supposed to fly up behind the proceeding after we kiss. Can you check to make sure they know what to do?” Shining gave her a pleading grin. “I’ll feel better knowing they're all set.”

“Uh, sure, but—”

Twilight began before Shining hugged her. She tried to hold in the quiet gasp when he squeezed her a bit too tightly. “Thanks, little sis! I knew everything would be perfect with you around.” And before she could ask anything more, he was already galloping off down the hallway.

“I… guess he wants me to check with Fluttershy?” Twilight looked down at Spike while rubbing at a sore spot on her neck.

Spike only shrugged. “Wedding jitters probably made him forget a few details. It’s not like you can talk to animals.”

“We can look for the aviary in a moment, but first…” Twilight gingerly lifted her hurt leg. “We might be able to find a doctor in the castle.”

If only the rest of the fairy tales had been as easy to complete as it was to find a healer. Twilight didn’t get very far before a servant noticed her limping past. He immediately alerted a number of staff that came rushing at her like an overly concerned mob and quickly carried her to the infirmary. In no time at all, she found herself sitting on a cot with a lollipop in her mouth while Nurse Redheart applied a cooling ointment to her scratches and wrapped her hoof in sturdy gauze.

“No need to be too concerned, Princess Twilight.” Nurse Redheart expertly attached small fasteners to hold the bandage in place. “It’s a light sprain, and it should heal in a few days, as long as you take it easy and don’t walk on it too much.”

“What about her burns?” Spike asked with concern; Twilight popped the candy out of her mouth to give him a proper look of annoyance.

“A little singed here and there, and some slight bruising, but otherwise, most of the damage was on that leg. I applied a cream to help it along.” Nurse Redheart then gave them both a stern look. “I don’t know what you two were up to, but you should be more careful!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Twilight automatically answered, appreciative of the help, but eager to move the story along. “I was careless, it won’t happen again. In fact, we’re going to the aviary to safely check on something.” Twilight pointed her hoof in a random direction with an apologetic grin.

Nurse Redheart lifted an eyebrow, and pushed Twilight’s hoof another way, presumably where the aviary was actually located. “It’s in the south gardens, Your Highness?” She leaned closer to Twilight with a look of scrutiny. “Maybe I should check for a concussion while you’re here.”

“Nope! I’m fine!” Twilight leapt from the cot, swinging her bandaged leg with an awkward gait to keep the weight off. “Just testing! Come on, Spike!” She managed to levitate Spike away from the candy dish he had his claw stuck into, spilling lollipops onto the floor while dashing out of the infirmary as quickly as she could.

Once out on the castle grounds, the aviary was easy enough to spot. Gold statues of various bird species sat atop the peaks of four domed roofs held up by elegant pillars wrapped in leafy vines. Open corridors connected each dome, forming a circle around the garden they protected, which housed many colorful plants and numerous trees to give the birds within plenty of perches to rest on. It was a place Fluttershy was certain to feel at home in.

Twilight stopped at one of the archways that led inside and peered around, but she saw no sign of her friend.

“Hello?” Twilight tried. “Fluttershy? Are you here?”

“Hello?” a soft voice answered back.

“Aha!” Twilight smiled with triumph.

“‘Aha’, what?” Spike gave her a confused look in return.

“Fluttershy’s inside, didn’t you hear her?”

“I didn’t hear anypony.” Spike squinted to see through the bushes.

“Well, this is Fluttershy. She’s not very loud.” Twilight stepped forward, looking around for the pale yellow fur of her friend. “Where are you?” Twilight called out.

“Back here,” the faint voice almost cooed.

Twilight trotted in the direction where the voice had come from, but when she reached the other side of the aviary, all she saw was a flock of doves quietly sitting among the trees. “Hello?”

“Hello!” One of the birds fluttered down and landed on the ground at her hooves. It turned its head to the side, and almost appeared to be looking at her. Twilight stared back, and the animal blinked slowly in response. “Princess?”

“Did you just—?” Twilight jabbed her hoof at the bird and stumbled backward. “You did—!?”

The dove regarded Twilight with curiosity and tilted his head, but didn’t seem all that perturbed by her reaction. “Was there something you needed, Princess?”

Twilight shook her head to clear her thoughts, and laid a hoof on her forehead. “I’m talking to a dove,” she murmured quietly.

“Wait, you can understand it?” Spike pointed to the bird then back at Twilight. “Is he talking right now?” Spike lifted his claws to his ear fins and stared intently at the bird, but it only bobbed its head and stared right back. It cooed, a response that Spike only heard as noise, while Twilight made out the words, “He’s a funny thing.”

“It must be part of my character,” Twilight realized, looking down at the dove and giving him a hesitant smile. “I can talk to animals.” She briefly wondered if this was what Fluttershy’s talent was like. “At least… birds, definitely.”

After getting used to the fact that she could speak with them, all it took was a quick conversation with the doves about proceedings for the ceremony. Twilight gave them a rundown of their duties by simply relaying what Shining had told her. They understood, and were more than happy to perform when the time came.

The rest of their morning was spent reliving some strange, alternate loop of familiarity while getting ready for a fictional wedding. Twilight should have been more troubled by the possibility of something terrible looming in the background, ready to spring its trap, but she found herself too busy helping with the preparations.

Of course, she had her suspicions at first, but the Cadence in this story behaved like the real one she knew from home. When Twilight visited her in the Bride’s suite, Cadence had given her a warm welcome, and even recited their shared 'ladybugs awake' greeting.

Nopony appeared to be brainwashed, and there didn’t seem to be any evil stand-in trying to take the bride’s place. Maybe this story was simply one that began with a little romance, and nothing more. While some fairy tales were famous for their dark twists or fantastic adventures, there were also those short but sweet ones that weren’t as widely known, but that didn’t mean Twilight wasn’t still curious as to which one. There had to be more to this tale than she was seeing, because she had yet to run into Flurry Heart or Sombra.

As the time for the ceremony drew nearer, Twilight couldn’t even get a quiet moment to herself to figure out where they were. She had tried to visit the castle library for research, but being the sister of the groom—and his best mare—had kept her far too busy to investigate. She had a wedding to help with. Fictional or not, it was still exciting to get swept up in when she was called upon to organize the seating, appraise decorations, and direct palace guards to their stations.

It wasn’t long before all the guests were situated, and Twilight finally stood at the top of the dais next to her brother, dressed in an exquisite silver gown while Spike got ready with Cadence to carry her train for when she walked down the aisle. Twilight’s crown sparkled in the candles that she had helped set up, and the heavy tone of the organ pipes reverberated in the grand hall as they announced the bride’s entrance. A pair of guards stepped up and opened the doors for their princess-to-be.

There was a hushed rustling of numerous ponies when every head turned, awaiting the arrival of the bride… but moments passed, and Cadence did not enter. The music played on, and Twilight glanced nervously at Shining, who returned her awkward smile. She couldn’t help the familiar feeling of dread, and shuffled her hooves to move toward the stairs.

Her hoof hadn’t even touched the first step before a freezing wind burst in through the open doorway, causing all of the guests to cry out in panic and surprise. The organ fell silent when wicked laughter echoed through the grand hall, and Twilight flared her wings when a figure that was not Cadence strolled casually through the entrance. With a confident gaze, the wedding crasher smirked at the surprised looks from the guards, and her wicked horn glowed a deep blue to freeze their hooves to the floor before they could tackle her.

“Was I not invited?” Chrysalis grinned maliciously while she stepped between the rows of seating, eyeing the shivering guests with a cold hunger. Twilight could only stare with wide eyes and a slack jaw at what appeared to be the changeling queen, but it looked as though the storybook had worked its magic to fit her into her new role. Chrysalis’ shell had been changed from black into a shimmering white that sparkled with a rainbow of shades beneath the sunlight streaming in from the windows.

She couldn’t have been considered a true changeling anymore, for she lacked the holes in her limbs caused by the constant starvation of love. Glittering, transparent wings fluttered on her backside, while long, pale locks flowed down her neck in its usual length. If she hadn’t been a villain bent on harming them, Twilight might have considered her transformation beautiful.

“I don’t appreciate being given the cold shoulder, unless I’m the one doing it,” Chrysalis continued with an amused chuckle.

“Where is Cadence!?” Shining yelled with fury in his tone.

“She got cold feet,” Chrysalis snipped, before a beam of magic shot from her horn and billowed around Shining Armor in a cloudy haze of white. When it cleared, his hooves were trapped in ice. “Same as you!” She laughed at her own twisted humor.

Twilight made a move to help her brother, but the glow of another spell caused her to jump away before the floor beneath her turned cold from a layer of ice. She glared up at Chrysalis’ pale form as she rose into the air with a soft hum of her wings. “What do you want?”

“Why, I only wanted an invitation!” Chrysalis said with an exaggerated whine. “A royal wedding doesn’t happen everyday, you know. Unless you have any suitors lined up.” She gave Twilight a cheeky grin. “I have a son you might like. He’s a complete bird-brain.” Chrysalis clapped her hooves together beneath her chin. “It would be a perfect match!”

Unimpressed with the offer, Twilight leapt into the air and flew at her, but Chrysalis simply buzzed to the side, causing Twilight to shoot past. While she pulled up short and tried to quickly flip around, a flurry of wings through the doorway announced the arrival of a pegasi squadron as they burst into the room. In a tight attack formation, they soared towards the ceiling, charging without any hesitation at the changeling-turned-Ice Queen.

Wait… Ice Queen?

“Shining!”

Twilight spun to see Cadence at the front of the hall, where she stood panting and out of breath. Her wedding dress had been torn into shredded ribbons, while flecks of melting ice crumbled away from her fur.

While her back was turned, a chilling wave of magic knocked Twilight out of the air, and the room briefly disappeared in a blinding flash that tossed her to the floor. She hit the tiles with a pained grunt, sliding only a short distance before a cold grip of frozen crystal stopped her, growing to encase her legs and inch across her flanks. When the haze cleared, she could see that the pegasi guards were also frozen where they had landed, with their limbs stuck in the same icy spell.

Chrysalis twisted to the doorway with a sneer. “How did y—” She started, but blinked in surprise when she realized Cadence was already gone. She had sprinted to Shining Armor’s side while Chrysalis dealt with Twilight and the guards. Hidden behind her wings, Spike had hopped down from Cadence’s shoulders and breathed out a carefully-aimed flame at Shining’s trapped hooves.

“So that’s how you escaped.” Chrysalis smiled slyly, staring intently at the trio below her. “You have a pet dragon.”

“He’s not a pet!” Twilight shouted, gritting her teeth and tugging her legs against the ice that held them. Chrysalis turned her head with a cold expression, before her horn ignited with another spell that was slower this time in building up power. Twilight still hadn’t managed to free herself before the bolt of magic lanced towards her.

“Twilight!!!” Spike jumped in front of her without hesitation, landing on his feet with his chest puffed out. When he released his breath, the scorching flames met with Chrysalis’ magic and exploded into a huge cloud of fire and frost. Fragments of the eruption shattered around them, and Spike let out a startled cry as he stumbled back into Twilight, his claws snapping up to cover a part of his face.

“Spike!?” Twilight yelped, finally able to crack the ice from the heat that the blaze had created. She struggled to her hooves, kicked away the frozen shell and rushed to his side. With a careful hoof, she tapped his shoulder to get him to turn towards her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” Without warning, Spike swiped at her while shielding his eyes beneath his arm, and Twilight fell back in surprise, narrowly missing being raked by his claws. Though she hadn’t been hit, she could only stare at him in a daze, her mind working to comprehend what he had just tried to do. She didn’t even notice the buzz of wings fast approaching.

She briefly registered Cadence call out to her in warning, but she understood it too late. Spike let out a guttural snarl when Chrysalis suddenly dove from above. He spat out green flames, strangely tinged with unusual flecks of blue and white. Chrysalis took the blast right to her face, but from the cloud of smoke, she appeared unmarred, her pristine shell sparkling in the flickering glow. Ignoring the fire, she simply scooped him up in her hooves, unafraid of his attempts to roast her.

“HEY!” Twilight jumped after them and tried to follow as Chrysalis shot up towards the ceiling with Spike in tow, but her wings were too heavy with frost.

“Interesting.” Chrysalis hovered above their heads and turned Spike about like she were inspecting a new toy. “For slighting me on my invitation, I’ve decided to take your dragon as an apology gift.” Chrysalis’ horn glowed bright as an energetic beam of magic swept across the window. A thick layer of ice instantly froze over the wall, and she flew at it, shattering the frozen glass before escaping through the new opening and into the bright sky.

“Spike!!!” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and summoned a quick burst of warmth around her, melting away the remaining ice stuck to her. All of it instantly disappeared in quick puffs of steam. With a leap, she launched herself into the air and pumped her wings furiously, shooting through the gaping hole in the wall and following after Chrysalis as quickly as she could.

“Let him go!” Twilight demanded breathlessly, trailing behind Chrysalis by only a few yards. Her small reserve of magic was nearly spent, and her muscles were already exhausted from the effort of taking on more drag, but she wasn’t going to quit, not while Chrysalis had Spike.

“I’ve grown quite attached to him already.” Chrysalis grinned smugly. “Besides, I don’t think he suits you any longer.”

Twilight panted as she tried to lunge at them, but Chrysalis easily rolled out of the way. In her grip, Spike growled menacingly and let loose another flame, this one lighting the area with a pale blue glow. It hit the patch of clouds that they were flying into, and when Twilight dove through it, she felt a shock of cold blow against her fur.

“You should bundle up, princess!” Chrysalis laughed as she flipped on her backside, squeezing Spike against her chest and forcing him to spit out another patch of blue flames. “Winter is coming!”

Twilight ducked as the fire shot over her head, leaving behind a wake of frozen air to disappear into the sky. The temperature suddenly dropped, and clouds began to grow around them with a thickening fog. Even as she tried to stay with them, a blast of chilling wind blew her off course, causing her to tumble through the sky.

“Spike!” Twilight cried out in desperation, huffing from the effort to right herself. Her view of them kept spinning in and out of sight before she was able to gain some semblance of control. But the cold gale only grew stronger and continued to toss her about. At this rate, she would never be able to catch up with Chrysalis.

“Princess!” a voice called to her through the relentless currents; Twilight felt the storm ease up as a pair of hooves wrapped around her middle. She turned her head to see Rainbow Dash grinning back at her through the helmet of a royal guard. Small particles of frost clung to Dash’s feathers, but she didn’t appear too concerned. “Don’t worry, we can do this!”

“She’s right ahead of y’all!” Another voice called out from below, and Twilight looked down to see Applejack running along a road that was quickly disappearing beneath a layer of snow. Despite wearing a full set of armor, she powered on, her frosted breaths escaping like steam in the frigid air.

Figments of the story as they were, Twilight thought she might have a chance to catch Chrysalis with their help, but she should have known better. She had finally figured out which story they were in, and she knew that Spike’s rescue would not be a simple task. Even with Rainbow Dash flying ahead to act as a shield, the forceful winds still kept hammering her down. She could see the small bursts of blue flame in the distance, but after a while, there was no sign of them through the growing flurries of snow.

“Spike?!?” Twilight screamed, frantically flapping her wings, but the world around her was becoming hazy and frozen. Large snowflakes and hailstones whipped around her while a particularly strong gust buffeted her through the sky. “SPIIIIKE!!!”

A sudden blast of wind tossed her into a dizzying spin, and Twilight immediately lost sight of everything as a field of white filled her vision. Not knowing which way was up, she could only flutter her wings uselessly against the unforgiving weather until she landed with a cushioned thud into a relatively soft mound of snow. Another muted crash nearby suggested that Rainbow Dash had met the same fate as her.

Twilight broke through the snowpile, sputtering and spitting up flecks of ice while trying to wrap her wings around herself to keep away the chill. All around her the trees and rooftops had been turned into a winter wonderland, buried beneath a thick coating of snow.

“Are you alright?”

She looked up at the sound of her friend’s voice, and Applejack stepped up through the cloud of white that fell around them.

“S-she still has S-S-Spike!” Twilight’s teeth chattered as she tried to explain. “We ha-have t-t-to—”

“We have to get you back to the castle!” Applejack shouted to be heard over the howling of the wind. “You’ll freeze if you try chasing her in this mess!”

Twilight shivered silently and found that she didn’t have the energy to argue. She only turned her head when Rainbow Dash popped out of the snowbank next to her with a loud gasp, spitting out a mouthful of dirt. Applejack had a point, just not in the way she knew. Twilight wasn’t sure if the story would actually let her freeze in a blizzard like this, but she was certain that it wouldn’t simply let her get Spike back so easily.

Twilight nodded slowly, allowing Applejack and Rainbow Dash to lead her towards the castle for the time being.

Once back in the courtyard, they passed shivering guards that were forced to stand at attention while ponies in thick winter clothes chipped away at the ice frozen around their hooves—a remnant of Chrysalis’ surprise visit.

Twilight noted that crews were already working to repair the damage done to the wedding hall, so servants directed her to a spacious foyer where the wedding guests milled about nervously and chattered anxiously among themselves about the dreadful events. The second she stepped through the doorway, Shining Armor was there with a concerned frown. “What happened!? Twily, are you alright?”

“I-I’m fine.” Twilight shivered, shaking off the clumps of snow that had collected over her fur. “But Chrysalis still has Spike!”

“What would she want with a dragon?” Cadence asked, while Shining armor waved over a few servants. They bowed, and quickly helped to remove Twilight’s dress, which had become wet from the melted ice. One of them draped a thick blanket over her shoulders, and her shivering began to subside.

“You think it has anything to do with the storm?” Rainbow Dash asked. “These snow clouds came out of nowhere, and it doesn’t look like the pegasi are even making a dent in clearing them!”

“I’ll take my best soldiers and go after her.” Shining nodded at a pair of guards that weren’t trapped in ice, and they saluted before stepping up to their commander. “We won’t let her escape, Twilight.”

“N-no, Shining.” Her shaking lessened while she pulled the blanket closer around her, defrosting in its warmth. “Most of your soldiers are still stuck from Chrysalis’ attack. Besides, you need to stay here and keep your guests safe and calm.” She looked at Cadence as well. “Both of you. I'll rescue Spike.”

“I can’t let you go alone,” Shining argued, putting his hoof down. “Chrysalis is the Snow Queen! She has an entire army at her command!”

“I won’t be alone.” Twilight looked back at her two friends. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack can come with me. We won’t have to carry as much with just the three of us.”

“You can count on us, Princess!” Rainbow Dash saluted proudly.

“Yes ma’am!” Applejack nodded.

“Don’t you worry none, princess. We’ll make sure to keep you safe from Chrysalis,” Applejack reassured her while trotting beside Rainbow Dash. The two of them pulled an elegant sleigh with paint that matched the ivory snow and golden trim garnered in small, sparkling gemstones.

“Mmhmm…” Twilight absentmindedly answered, sitting in the front seat with her face hidden behind a large map her brother had given her. “If we can even find her castle. All we know is she’s somewhere up north.” She lowered the parchment to look at Applejack with a curious expression. “And Applejack, just call me Twilight.”

“Oh, uh, alright, prin—” Applejack wrinkled her snout with a quick expression of panic, catching herself. “—Twilight.”

“Nopony really knows where she is,” Rainbow Dash added. “The north is too cold, even for pegasi. And the entire land surrounding her castle is protected by blizzards, so marching an army up there is nearly impossible.”

Twilight gave a muffled shout when a gust of wind slapped the map against her face. She pulled it away and slammed it on the front of the sleigh. “It’s not just around her castle anymore. It’s frozen throughout the entire kingdom—” A brisk chill caused her to shiver. “And it’s only getting worse!”

“We should start lookin’ for a warm place to set up camp,” Applejack suggested, glancing around the frigid woods. “Can’t very well sleep in the snow. You’ll wake up frozen!”

“You won’t ‘wake up’ at all,” Rainbow muttered. “You’d be frozen alive while you slept!”

“There!” Applejack pointed her hoof somewhere ahead, ignoring Rainbow’s remark. Twilight couldn’t see what she had found, even after squinting her eyes through all the white. “There’s a cave up ahead!”

“Go for it!” Twilight answered, pulling the heavy wool cloak tighter around her and ducking into the sleigh as it bounced with a burst of speed from her two friends. They appeared just as eager to get out of the snow as she was.

Once the sleigh had made it inside, she immediately felt the chill in the air ease up, and her shivering slowed. While the winds whistled beyond the stony entrance, it was significantly warmer inside the cavern and well protected from the blizzard.

Applejack managed to gather some wood and started a fire in a small alcove, far away from the mouth of the cave. While she kept Twilight company near the warm flames, Rainbow Dash quickly disappeared to explore the cavern for any possible danger. A serene quiet settled over the pair as they enjoyed the comfort of the crackling bonfire. In the peace of their camp, it was the perfect time for Twilight to figure out a plan.

She retrieved the map Shining had given her and rolled it out over the stone floor. A quill hovered above the parchment while circling important details and scribbling notes about the novel she had gleaned from her friends. As with Robin Hood, the characters either ignored her or didn’t understand talk about their world being anything but an illusion. That didn’t mean they had any problems explaining common exposition that she was missing from her own memory.

Once Twilight realized Chrysalis was the Snow Queen, and not an Ice Queen, it was obvious they were inside the famous fairy tale of that same name. So far, this world had played out significantly different from the actual story she knew, which was why she couldn’t place where they were at first. The original hadn’t begun with any princes or princesses, and certainly didn’t start out with a wedding. Instead, it focused on a pair of friends and a shattered magic mirror. When the young colt is taken by the Snow Queen, his friend embarks on a perilous quest to rescue him from her clutches.

But since she hadn’t read this particular storybook, she wasn’t sure if the alterations were by the author’s choice, or because of the magical influence of her and Sombra’s corrupted spells. Even though, if she stripped it down to simpler terms, it did follow a relatively similar flow. A peaceful introduction, the villain’s appearance, and a friend taken by the queen. And snow. Lots and lots of snow. Now she simply had to embark on that perilous quest, and Spike would be rescued.

Despite her vast knowledge, this one would be difficult to map out. While there were characters and events that seemed to share a common link, such as her brother and Cadence, there were others that didn’t make any sense compared to the original. The main difference being that the protagonist hadn’t been a princess herself, and couldn’t really speak to animals.

Well… animals in that story could talk, but it had been a vaguely unexplained charm of the original where rose bushes spoke, rivers manipulated their own currents and sunshine provided words of encouragement—

The Snow Queen was an unusual, but untimely classic. And if the world they were in now was anything like it, then she was bound to face many trials and dangers.

As much as she loved the fairy tale, Twilight didn’t look forward to actually experiencing any of it. It was a fantastically whimsical tale of magic and romance, and her original plan for the enchanted storybook would have focused on those simpler aspects, allowing her and Flurry to act things out as if they were in a play. This corrupted version made everything feel like a gritty, tiring nightmare. It only meant that Spike was suffering as Chrysalis’ prisoner, and she still had no idea where Flurry Heart or Sombra were.

Her eyes slid over the notes she had scrawled, a list of possible characters she could remember and some that she had managed to get from questioning Applejack. She’d drawn two small circles with Flurry Heart and Sombra’s names inside and connected the bubbles of various possibilities with a diagram of lines.

Twilight gave a quiet sigh, which didn’t go unnoticed by her friend.

“Now, don’t you fret, prr—” Applejack caught herself with an apologetic look. “Twilight, we’ll find that Snow Queen and rescue Spike.”

Though that hadn’t been the only reason for her concern, Twilight gave her friend a smile, regardless. “Thank you, Applejack, I know you—”

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash’s frantic voice echoed loudly through the cavern, her wing beats excited as she raced in from the darkness. “I found something awesome!” She landed next to the fire with an ecstatic expression, dancing lightly on her hooves.

“What is it?” Twilight rolled up the map and stood, following after Rainbow Dash as she took to the air again.

“It’s a bunch of dragons!” Rainbow exclaimed while moving down a smaller tunnel. Applejack and Twilight exchanged a worried glance, but followed quietly, unwilling to let their friend go on her own.

They traveled down a ways before the tunnel suddenly expanded, widening into an area that practically boiled with warmth. Rainbow Dash ducked behind a copse of rocks, and Twilight followed her example, peeking around the cover to peer into the brightly lit area below. A huge chamber opened up before them, the air shimmering with heat from great lakes of lava stretching across the colossal cavern. And swimming along the surface of those pools or lounging about the stone floor, were a large number of dragons simply going about their day.

“Well I’ll be,” Applejack marveled in a quiet whisper. “It’s a whole herd of dragons!”

“Wouldn’t they be a flock?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Flight, actually.” Twilight squinted down at the group, trying to get a better look at a familiar figure across the cave. “What are they all doing down here?”

“Probably trying to get out of the snow. Even dragons steer clear of the Snow Queen’s ice storms in the north,” Applejack answered. “When they get together like this, lots’a ponies think they can resist the cold.”

“Wouldn’t they be able to take on the Snow Queen?” Rainbow Dash threw her legs out towards the dragons. “It’s not like they’re scared of her!”

“They just don’t care,” Applejack responded with a snort. “The queen only threatens pony lands, and they don’t like us enough to lend a hoof—er, claw.”

“I’ll bet they like the Snow Queen even less,” Twilight surmised, taking a cautious step out from behind the rocks. “If we could make friends with them, maybe we can fight against her together!” She fluttered her wings to take flight, but before she could get very far, Applejack pulled her to a halt when she grabbed her tail.

“Hold on there, missy!” Applejack dragged her back behind the boulders before the dragons could spot them. “Your brother’s already tried making an alliance with them!” She stepped in front of Twilight and blocked her path. “And those fancy representatives just came back with all their fur burned off!”

Twilight gulped, but steeled herself. “We can’t just let the Snow Queen win,” she argued. “The dragons could be the key to saving Spike! They wouldn’t let one of their own kind remain her prisoner!”

“Well…” Applejack pondered with a shared glance at Rainbow Dash. “We may consider Spike one of us, but I suppose they might be willin’ to help another dragon…”

“Dragon allies would be pretty awesome.” Rainbow Dash grinned.

“Agreed!” Twilight smiled. “And I already know just which dragon to talk to!” Before Applejack or Rainbow could object, Twilight hopped up the rocks and jumped out into the cavern, making her way towards the familiar dragon lounging atop a surface of smooth black obsidian. The blast of hot air billowed beneath her feathers and helped her glide high across the bubbling surface, ensuring that the dragons saw her when she approached. They made no move to attack her, but their slitted eyes followed her even after she landed and took a few cautious steps forward with her wings raised.

“I am Princess Twilight Sparkle!” She announced herself, bowing to the dragons before her. “And I have come to bridge the gap between ponies and dragons with friendship!”

The group was quiet for a brief moment, while a few of them exchanged shrugs and confused glances. A snicker broke out among them and turned into quiet, chortling laughter.

“Friendship?” The dragon Twilight had been aiming for pushed herself into a standing position. Ember’s claws clicked on the glassy surface when she stepped closer. “Dragons don’t do friendship.”

“And we don’t even like ponies!” Garble’s red scales shimmered in the lava’s light when he sauntered over to glare at her.

Twilight heard a flurry of feathers land nearby and Rainbow Dash was suddenly standing at attention beside her. She could hear the gallop of hooves through the cavern announce Applejack’s arrival.

“But we’re both against the Snow Queen!” Twilight insisted. “Spike is a dragon, just like you! And he’s been captured by her! He needs your help!”

Ember’s response to this was to blink slowly, as if trying to absorb news of a dragon’s capture at the hooves of the Snow Queen. With a heated snort, she appeared to have made her decision on how to react. “If this Spike really is a dragon, then he’s worthless.” Ember pointed a threatening claw their way. “If he can’t save himself, then he’s too weak to be called a real dragon.”

“So you’re just going to leave him!?” Twilight shouted, stomping around Rainbow Dash. She didn’t appreciate Spike essentially being called worthless.

“He’s not my concern.” Ember shrugged. “We don’t even know where the Snow Queen is anyway. If we had a reason to fight her, then it would be pointless since we can’t even find her. We’re not afraid of her snow storms, but we’re not stupid enough to freeze our scales off wandering around in her blizzard.”

“But—” Twilight started, only to find herself beneath the shadow of a very heated-looking Garble.

“Don’t need ponies telling us what to do.” He took a deep breath—

“STOP.” Ember’s voice was calm but powerful enough to echo around the cavern and freeze Garble in his tracks. His jaws snapped shut, and his cheeks puffed out with the sound of a muffled explosion being snuffed out from within.

“But they’re just ponies!” Garble rasped in argument, smoke rising between his fangs in a thick cloud, but a glare from Ember silenced his protests.

“She’s one of their princesses. We’re not about to start a war with them, even if they are puny and—” Ember wrinkled her snout in disgust “—cute.” She shoved Garble aside and stepped past him. “You can stay here and keep shelter out of the storm, but don’t expect any help from us. We’re not your friends.” With that, Ember flared her wings and took flight, gliding out over the lava and disappearing down a glowing ravine deeper into the cave system. The other dragons promptly ignored them, suggesting that the meeting was over and that there would be no more discussion.

“That went well,” Rainbow Dash said flatly.

“Could’a gone worse.” Applejack scratched her head. “What do you want us to do, Twilight?”

Twilight slumped over with a sigh, suddenly aware of how tired of this she already felt. If the dragons weren’t going to comply, why did the story bring them here in the first place? “We can rest and keep warm while we see if the storm gets any better. At least they didn’t kick us out into the cold.”

Her friends nodded and followed her diligently to a lower area of the cavern. The other dragons scattered about occasionally glanced at them, but otherwise completely ignored their presence. It appeared that they were to be left in peace, but Twilight wouldn’t push their luck by trying to talk again anytime soon.

Weary from another day trapped in what felt like a never-ending adventure, Twilight settled down beneath a stony alcove at a safe distance from one of the large pools of lava, only close enough for the heat to stave off any unwanted cold. Rainbow Dash and Applejack sat themselves around her, and she pulled out her map to try and work on her diagram, but the temperature eventually got to her. After only a short time of staring at the parchment, she felt her eyelids droop, and it became more difficult to concentrate on her own writing.

Returning the map to her saddlebags, Twilight removed the plush cloak from her back and set it on the ground while arranging her bags to create a makeshift pillow. When she was ready, Rainbow Dash laid down next to her like a sentry to watch out while she dreamed. Applejack remained sitting a few feet away, diligently keeping her eyes on the dragons that smartly kept their distance.

In the warmth of the cavern and the company of her protective friends, Twilight had no trouble falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the saddlebags.

Chapter 6: A Frozen Heart (Part 2)

Twilight could see nothing through the darkness that surrounded her. She frantically galloped over a black surface, stirring up a frigid mist that drifted past her fur and chilled her to the bone. She was in a panic, desperate to reach the urgent cries for help that she could hear somewhere in the distance. It sounded like Spike, and she needed to get to him, but she simply couldn’t reach him. Her hooves only slipped over the frozen ground of solid ice.

She couldn’t see him, and she didn’t even know where he was, but Chrysalis’ cruel, disembodied laughter drowned out his shouts and only spurred her on as she desperately tried to escape the endless void. Ripples of strange, almost musical cracking echoed in her ears with every pounding hoofstep. She looked down to see the icy surface laced with delicate fissures. If she wasn’t careful, the ground might fall out beneath her.

Something heavy bumped her from behind, pushing her over the slippery floor. Twilight fell with a thud, and the ice beneath her fractured, continuing to creak and groan, but still holding up. Carefully turning her head, she had to strain her neck to peer up at a gigantic Sombra towering over her. He wore a frilly vest with a large, ruffled collar. Frowning deeply, he leaned over and said in a bored tone, “You shouldn’t break the fourth wall...”

The ice beneath her shattered, plunging Twilight into a bottomless abyss, hearing Sombra’s voice fade into the growing distance. “It was holding you up.” He disappeared as she was swallowed by nothing, and then overwhelmed by the sensation of falling before everything came to a sudden and jarring stop.

With a start, Twilight jerked her head up, her breath coming out in quick gasps while her heart raced in terror. The gentle glow of the lava pools lit up her vision, and she noticed Rainbow Dash sitting off to the side, watching her with concern. Applejack breathed quietly in sleep nearby, appearing to have switched with one another at some point.

“Bad dream?” Rainbow asked.

“A… nightmare,” Twilight answered after a time, finally able to sort out the difference between… well, not reality, but at least she wasn’t asleep. Her nerves still jittered from the disturbance that nightmares usually left behind, giving her an uncomfortable feeling. She could almost hear Spike’s voice calling out for help, her brain latching onto the memory of it and endlessly replaying it through her thoughts in a cruel taunt.

Twilight briefly wondered how anypony ever stayed sane in a time where Princess Luna hadn’t been around to pacify their dreams, while remembering all too well the vivid night-terrors she had experienced as a filly.

Another cry, exactly like the one from her nightmare, split the air and caused her to jump to her hooves. Twilight stood alert as her gaze shot around the cavern. There was no doubt that this was the same voice from her dream. “Rainbow Dash,” Twilight asked uneasily. “Did you… hear that?”

Rainbow nodded. “It sounds like a bird.”

Twilight almost collapsed with relief, not knowing whether to be happy or disappointed, but at least she knew she wasn’t losing her mind. “It’s shouting for help,” Twilight simply said before starting in the direction she thought it had come from. Rainbow Dash diligently followed after her, the both of them moving down a tunnel that split away from the cavern. Not wanting to wake Applejack, they left her peacefully sleeping by the saddlebags.

The cry echoed more clearly through the smaller passage, and Twilight soon spotted a stout brown dragon ambling along ahead of them. Clutched tightly in his claws, a bird was attempting to struggle his way free.

“Hey!” Twilight shouted, and sprinted to move in front of the dragon, blocking his way. “Can you let go of that bird? You’re hurting him!”

“He’s going to eat me!” the poor creature shrieked from between the dragon’s claws, which only squeezed tighter in response to Twilight’s request.

“This is my breakfast,” the dragon hissed, flicking his tongue at her in a reptilian way when he leaned closer. She could smell the sulfur on his breath from the dragon fire in his throat. “And I’m not letting it go for some pathetic pony, even if Ember did order us to leave you alone.”

Twilight wracked her brain to think of something. Obviously, she had to help the bird. Rainbow Dash stood at attention beside her, looking ready and willing to fight, but she wasn’t going to order her friend to simply throw herself into battle like that. Maybe if she was fast enough, Twilight could distract him and they could just take it from him.

“What about a trade?” Twilight glanced back at Rainbow, suddenly thinking of a better way to utilize her friend’s speed. “Something that’s more filling than a scrawny bird?”

“Hey!” the bird squawked indignantly.

“I’m helping,” Twilight hissed in a whisper, only to glance up at the dragon when he glared down at her. She gave him a nervous grin. Since he didn’t appear to be in a hurry to leave, she must have said the right thing. “How about some tastier gems instead?”

This appeared to pique the dragon’s interest, as Twilight noticed his eyes twitch in surprise. “What kind of gems?” Though he tried to sound disinterested, he couldn’t hide a hint of eagerness in his expression. He may have been hungry, but he was also greedy—a combination that worked in her favor.

“Oh, some sapphires, garnets and even—” Twilight paused for dramatic effect “—rubies.” She smiled when he appeared to involuntarily lick his snout. If Spike’s eating habits were anything to go by, then the dragon shouldn’t be able to resist her offer. “Rainbow Dash,” Twilight whispered to her friend and waved her closer. “Can you quickly get to the sleigh and pry the gems off the side?”

“Oooh, I gotcha.” Rainbow grinned and nodded. “Be back in a second,” she promised, and hopped away to take flight down the tunnel, leaving Twilight to watch the dragon nervously while his tail twitched impatiently over the stone floor. Luckily, right as she was getting antsy about whether he looked to be deciding on having a snack before his breakfast, Rainbow was already zipping back down the tunnel with a small pouch in her mouth.

When she landed, Rainbow spat the package onto her hoof and opened the bag, showing the dragon the gemstones inside. Even though they had been used as decorations and wrenched out of the sockets of the golden trim, the masterful cuts remained resilient, sparkling and gleaming in the soft light. Rainbow lifted the bag closer, and the dragon immediately dropped the bird with a pleased grin.

“You have yourself a trade, pony.” He snatched up the pouch and turned to waddle down the tunnel, munching contentedly on the gemstones until he disappeared from sight.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked the bird as he righted himself, fluffing out his feathers and immediately preening the ones that had been pulled askew by the dragon’s claws.

“Thanks to you! You saved my life!” He shook out his straightened plumage and hopped up and down excitedly. Now that she could see him fully, Twilight noted that his white coloration was unusual, because he wasn’t just any bird: he was a raven. “How is it you can understand me?”

“I can speak with animals; it’s my talent,” Twilight answered. “I’m Twilight Sparkle—” she then pointed at Rainbow next to her “—and this is Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow squinted at the raven. “Never seen a white crow before.”

“Raven!” the bird cawed while ruffling the feathers of his crest.

“You should stay with us,” Twilight suggested, wondering what kind of role he would play in the story. There had been a raven in the original, and while he had brought the main character to a helpful prince and princess, she obviously didn’t need introductions to her own brother for this one. “The dragons will ignore you if you stick close.”

He gave her a nod before waddling closer to inspect her. “How is it you are safe around them?” He sounded impressed, turning an unusually colored purple eye on her. She briefly wondered if his strange coloration meant anything significant. “Dragons don’t listen to ponies. I would normally steer clear of them myself, but I was trying to keep warm from the blizzard.”

Seeing as how he appeared to be an important character, Twilight quickly and efficiently relayed their situation to him so far, with only a few interruptions from Rainbow Dash as she excitedly interjected with extra details of the fight against Chrysalis.

“Twilight Sparkle,” the raven repeated once she had finished her story, as if testing it. “Princess Twilight.” He unfurled his wings and bent his body forward in a low bow. “You should consider traveling on quickly; this place isn’t safe.”

“I know it might sound dangerous to trust them,” Twilight said, huffing a little and wondering if he had even listened to her explanation, “but I’m confident that they’ll follow Ember’s orders. They won’t hurt us.”

“The dragons aren’t what I meant.” The raven shook his head and held one of his wings aloft. His feathers rustled softly in a quiet breeze. “The Snow Queen’s storm is reaching deeper. Not even the heat of the dragon’s home can stave off the cold for much longer.”

“You… think they might be in danger?” Twilight’s eyes widened while Rainbow Dash appeared to perk up from a nap, even though she had been sitting upright. Twilight didn’t blame her for zoning out, since she could only follow one side of the conversation.

“I know they are,” the raven stated, fanning his wings out. “I have seen the blizzard she controls farther in the north. Unless the dragons can create a ward against it, her magic will only creep further into the caves until they are all frozen, and pose no threat against her!”

As if on cue, the faint sound of roaring echoed down the tunnel. From Twilight’s experience, a dragon only raised their voice like that when they were upset… very upset.

The raven ruffled his feathers before taking flight, circling slowly above their heads. “Come see!” And with a twist, he flew off down the passage. Twilight took off after him, with Rainbow Dash galloping alongside her.

“Where’s he going?” Rainbow huffed.

“Apparently, something’s happening with the dragons…” Twilight couldn’t help but worry. She could have easily created a ward on her own if the storybook weren’t still sapping her magic. The best spell she could manage would only warm a single dragon with a quick burst of heat before needing to wait some time for it to replenish.

The raven circled back above them when they exited the tunnel into the large cavern. The air was still, while the light was significantly more difficult to see by. The brightness of the lava appeared to have faded to a dim glow, but at least the comfortable temperature hadn't dropped to freezing. While nothing really looked out of place, something tickled in the back of Twilight’s mind as she tried to figure out what else was off.

“There you are!”

Applejack galloped over and let out a relieved breath when she stopped before them. “I was gettin’ worried when I woke up alone. I thought you were both in danger!”

“We didn’t want to wake you,” Twilight apologized, looking around and realizing what the problem was. Unlike before, where dragons lounged on almost every surface, now there was not a single scale to be seen. “What’s going on?”

A furious shout from across the cavern interrupted whatever Applejack had been about to say. The raven flapped above their heads and flew in the direction with a cry. “This way!”

When Twilight and her friends arrived, she spotted Ember with the rest of the dragons. All of them stood in a scattered ring around an area where one of the molten lakes should have been located, except the surface was nothing but a solid mass of black stone with cracks that glowed faintly from the lava trapped below. Ember was yelling at a smaller group standing close to the rim.

“Breathe from your gut! Make your flames as hot as possible!” Ember hollered, directing them by pointing to the rocks.

They shuffled awkwardly before following her directions, taking in a hefty gulp of air and letting it loose in columns of flame that swirled around one another. The stone began to glow white, but after a moment, they all eventually fell back in coughing fits, wheezing and spouting nothing but thick clouds of smoke. When the flames died down, the soft glow faded with them and left behind nothing but a scorched surface.

Without waiting for an invitation, Twilight nosed her way through the crowd and called out, “Ember!” The dragons all turned to her, including Ember, who only gave her an annoyed look as she trotted up. “You can’t say that the Snow Queen isn’t your problem anymore. Look at what her magic has done to your home!”

“This?” Ember pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the solidified lake. “This is nothing!” She waved her claw to the other dragons gathered around. They looked reluctant, but still managed to stand themselves in a line around the edge of the pool. At her signal, they tried again as the previous group had, but failed in the same fantastic way as the surface remained unchanged. Ember scowled at the rocks in fury.

“Please…” Twilight tried with a pleading voice. “If we work together, we can stop her! We can—”

Ember rounded on her with a furious shout. “We’re NOT getting help from some LAME PONIES!!!” Twilight fell back from the force of her voice while Applejack and Rainbow Dash jumped between her and Ember. Twin trails of smoke drifted from her flared nostrils. “What do you think you can do against her!? An alliance with you wouldn’t benefit us at all!”

“We could… help one another…” Twilight’s voice wavered, whatever speech she had prepared dying in her throat as she became uncertain of her own answer. What was she supposed to do to prove that their friendship might be the key to defeating Chrysalis?

Her hesitation only made Ember scoff before she turned back to the dragons standing around the cold rocks. “Well? Get back to work! That lava’s not going to heat itself!”

Amidst the shouting of Ember’s fury, Twilight felt a soft touch against her side. “I don’t think you’re lame.” She lowered her gaze to see the raven looking up at her, one of his wings pressed against her fur in reassurance. “You helped me.”

“Thanks.” Twilight sighed, genuinely grateful for his encouragement. Spike was usually the one to morally support her when she needed it most, but even that thought was enough to make her feel worse. “I’m just not certain what I’m supposed to do. I have to convince them that ponies aren’t weak like they believe.”

The raven nodded in agreement. “If you could restore the lava… maybe use a spell? To protect it?” he suggested.

Twilight shook her head in defeat. “I wouldn’t be able to work anything strong enough, not now…”

“There may be another way. Wait here!” The raven suddenly hopped excitedly, taking to the air before she could ask him to clarify. His white feathers faded into the shadows before he slipped from sight.

“Did you two have a fight?” Rainbow Dash asked, watching the direction in which the bird had flown.

Twilight tilted her head. “No. He’s helping… I think?”

“Well, least you made a friend.” Applejack glanced back at the dragons. The previous group had already collapsed while another stepped up to take their place. “More than we can say about them.”

Ember let off another frustrated shout, stomping her feet in a fit of rage. “This HAS to WORK!!! Why isn’t it working!?” She then grabbed one of the other dragons by his shoulders and shook him. “This should be working!!!”

“It’s the Snow Queen’s magic!” Twilight tried again, getting a mixture of looks from the dragons. They appeared to become unsettled as a murmur slowly spread through the crowd.

“Enough!” Ember yelled, and the whispers quieted down. “We are stronger than her! Our flames cannot be extinguished! We just have to be tougher!”

“That won’t work; she has a dragon helping her.” Twilight's ears flopped at the thought. “She might have found a way to use his magic, whether he wants to or not. Couldn’t that make her storms strong enough to be a danger, even down here?”

Ember was quiet for a moment, and the muttering started up again while the dragons began to speculate about the possibility. Twilight felt a faint glimmer of hope. It appeared that they were beginning to understand that they weren’t as safe as they believed.

“If what you say is true—” Ember took a step forward “—and the Snow Queen really is using a dragon’s magic… then…” She wrinkled her snout. “Maybe it’s possible… that she’s a threat to us after all.”

Twilight almost let out a relieved sigh, but held it in considering the circumstances. While the menace looming over them wasn’t thrilling news, it was an improvement that the dragons were at least coming to terms with their potential doom.

“But we still don’t know where she is,” Ember amended. "So, much good it will do dragging a thunder of dragons—" Rainbow Dash let out an abrupt laugh "—to the north if we can't find anything to attack."

A loud cawing echoed throughout the cavern, and they all swiveled their heads to find the source. The white raven flew in a slow circle above before coming in for a careful landing. He awkwardly hovered to keep himself upright while he held up a single claw. The other tapped against the ground, and he wobbled as he tried to balance himself before Twilight, lifting his foot closer to her. She stared at him curiously, because it didn’t look like he was carrying anything.

“On the tip of my claw.” He nodded towards his foot. “Do you see it?” Twilight squinted her eyes and leaned in closer, finally able to spot a tiny shimmer of white on the pale tip of his talon.

A snowflake. He was actually holding a snowflake.

Twilight couldn’t help but think that this was the type of ridiculous absurdity that she had come to be familiar with in the happenings of the actual fairy tale, but she still hadn’t expected it. She simply blinked at him.

“If you wish to help the dragons, then touch your horn to it.” The raven motioned towards the tiny flake. “However, there will be a price. Your magic can protect their home, but it will connect you to the heart of the Snow Queen’s blizzard. If you cannot keep warm, her spell will begin to freeze you from the inside out. Do you still wish to try?”

Twilight took a quick breath in through her nose. This was it. This was her solution for helping them and saving Spike.

She nodded and lowered her horn to the raven’s claw without hesitation. The dragons and her friends watched her with confused curiosity, uncertain of what she was doing.

The moment her horn touched the snowflake that he held, a painful chill shot along her spine. Twilight cried out in shock, feeling like she had been dropped into a frozen lake as all the warmth suddenly left her body. She immediately crumpled to the floor, curling into as small a ball as possible and shivering uncontrollably.

“Princess!?” Rainbow Dash and Applejack cried in unison and were immediately at her side. Their hooves frantically stomped around her in a panic before she felt the weight of another cloak added to her own.

“What’s wrong? What did you do, you dumb crow!?” Rainbow looked up to glare at the bird, but he was already hopping towards the edge of the solidified pool. In a numb confusion, the dragons backed away from him, though not appearing to understand why.

With a flick of his claw, the raven tossed the snowflake, and it drifted lazily to land atop the rocks. There was a flash of light, and a white glow spread out before fading to reveal the bright, bubbling surface. Rainbow and Applejack had to shield their eyes from the sudden and intense heat.

Ember and the other dragons stared in awe at the sight, before turning to look at Twilight. Ember asked incredulously, “How... did you do that?”

“T-t-the s-s-sp-sp-spell—” Twilight stammered, her trembling only lessening slightly at the change in temperature. “My m-magic is p-p-protecting it.”

Ember stared back at the lava for a brief moment and blinked slowly, pursing her lips as she appeared to be considering something. With a small grunt, she then returned her attention to Twilight. “Why? We’re not even allies.”

Twilight felt Rainbow Dash lean closer as her friend’s wings wrapped around her for extra warmth. She sighed and accepted the embrace, relieved to feel her shuddering ease up a bit. Rainbow's hug seemed to be doing the trick. “I couldn’t just leave without doing something. Even if you aren’t our allies, that doesn’t mean we c-can’t help each other.”

Ember was quiet at that, looking to the lake and appearing to relish the renewed heat radiating from it. It almost felt stronger than it had before, as if it were trying to make up for the chill it momentarily allowed to enter. With a sigh, she scratched her head. “Well, maybe you’re not so lame after all...” Ember pointed into the crowd, managing to pick out Garble, and he jumped to attention at her order. “Find me a heating rock! And be quick about it!” she roared as he took flight. She then knelt down in front of Twilight to be even with her eye level.

“Maybe dragon’s don’t do friends, but this one can if it means you’d be willing to go so far to help us.” Despite the confident statement, Ember's snout wrinkled and she frowned uncertainly, reaching out with a hesitant claw to poke at Twilight's leg. Twilight couldn't help her giggle, but she reciprocated the gesture by moving the flat of her hoof to Ember's palm and shaking it slowly.

The flutter of Garble's wings announced his return when he landed beside them, holding a glowing orange boulder about the size of Twilight’s head in his claws. Ember motioned for him to set it down nearby. “This will retain the heat of the cave and give you some warmth on your journey. And this—” While he lowered the stone, she reached towards Garble’s tail and plucked a scale without warning, causing him to jump up with a yelp “—when you find the Snow Queen’s castle, burn it with dragon fire, and we’ll know the location.”

“Does this mean we have a dragon army?” Rainbow whispered excitedly.

“Yes,” Ember answered, a hint of a smile twitching at her lips on seeing their surprise. “We will fight with you against the Snow Queen.” She waved an arm at all the others standing around them. “Because friends should help each other, right?”

The cavern reverberated with the sound of dragons roaring in agreement.

The blizzard raging outside had become nothing more than a pleasant flurry. While the landscape was still buried beneath a layer of ice and snow, it made travel much less difficult. This was especially helpful, since Rainbow Dash was now pulling the sleigh by herself.

Applejack had left on her own trek back to the castle, bringing with her the news of their alliance with the dragons, as well as the status of Twilight’s journey. She would leave it up to Shining Armor to work out any other plans about attacking the Snow Queen.

“The sky’s pretty clear now,” Rainbow Dash noted, squinting up through the treetops. “But it looks like more snow clouds are gathering to the north for another wave. We might have to find shelter later, if that’s the case.”

“We c-c-could move f-faster—” Twilight tried to respond.

“You stay where you are.” Rainbow Dash huffed, tired of repeating what appeared to be a continued argument. “I can pull the sleigh on my own.”

“S-s-sor—”

“Don’t apologize again!” Rainbow Dash shouted back at her before she could finish. “It’s thanks to you we have a whole dragon army backing us against the Snow Queen! She’s going down once we find her castle!”

Twilight gave a tired nod, snuggling against the thick sheets tucked around her. She hadn’t been able to see much of anything since she practically cocooned herself in blankets that the dragons had generously scrounged up for her. Her snout was the only thing poking out beneath the covers while she hugged the warming stone against her stomach, which provided a much-needed source of heat. Even so, it still felt as if there were a lump of ice sitting heavily in her chest.

“It’s not your fault.” She heard a flutter of wings as the raven landed close by. “The Snow Queen’s magic is stuck inside of you. You need to keep warm to stave off the chill.”

“I just wish I c-could do more…” Twilight sighed, peeking out from beneath her shelter. “I didn’t have much magic left to begin with, but now I can’t even levitate anything, and I’m too cold to write any notes!”

Twilight had tried to read the map. Maybe she could have triangulated a location or decoded some sort of clue, but every time she exposed herself, she shivered too much to accomplish anything. It was almost impossible to hold a quill when your teeth wouldn’t stop chattering!

She had, instead, tried to de-stress herself by running through similarities and possibilities in her head. But that only caused her to worry all the more. She couldn’t help but feel anxious, knowing full-well where Spike was but having no knowledge of where Flurry might even wind up. Combine that with how alone she felt…

Of course, she still had Rainbow Dash and the Raven for company, but they weren’t exactly the best companions when it came to her growing concerns about the storybook. It was enough to make her miss even Sombra. Granted, he was stubborn, hard-headed... and rude, but at least he didn’t give her a blank look whenever she tried to discuss the intricacies of what kind of changes had been made to the plot line.

“It’s important to focus on keeping yourself warm,” the raven continued. “You’ve done more than enough to help them—”

Twilight peeked out from beneath the blankets when the raven fell silent, then jumped in surprise when he launched himself into the air in a flurry of feathers with an ear-splitting cry.

“Danger!” He swooped above Rainbow’s head and shrieked in alarm, mimicking a word that even she could understand. “DANGER!!!”

Rainbow Dash planted her hooves, skidding over the ground and jarring Twilight in the sleigh as it slid to follow her. Rainbow’s eyes shifted about the area, peering into the trees as her ears swiveled, alert to any sounds. Twilight shivered as she lowered the blanket a hair to listen for herself, but the landscape was muted and quiet. There was only the eerie creak of trees weighed down by the snow collecting over them.

The raven cawed from somewhere in the canopy, and Rainbow suddenly jerked to the side. A slim bolt pinged off her armor and buried itself into the snow. She took off at full speed, yanking the sleigh in a sharp motion that sent Twilight tumbling into the back seat.

The cold wind rushed around them, and Twilight climbed up from the floor, lifting up a loose flap of fabric and looking back to see a pair of ponies pursuing them. They had a rough, grizzled appearance, wearing heavy furs and clothing to protect against the cold. Other shapes and shadows darted among the trees, but she couldn’t see them all clearly to count how many there actually were.

“Bandits…” Twilight breathed. Finally, the story was throwing something familiar at her as she recalled one of the crucial arcs from the original. Twilight found herself getting giddy before she remembered the danger they were in. If this moment was anything like the fairy tale, then the thieves would end up taking more than just their money.

“You wouldn’t be willing to leave us alone, would you?” Twilight called out to them. The pair that she could see exchanged a confused look, before sneering at her. Twilight yelped, and ducked when one of them hurled a bola her way. “That's a definite no!” she shouted as the stones thudded uselessly against the back of the seat.

The sleigh slammed to a sudden stop, and the force threw Twilight into the wooden banister, dazing her momentarily while sounds of a scuffle reached her ears. When she managed to right herself and crawl to the side, she saw Rainbow Dash tossing another pony into the snow, snorting angrily at two more ambushers and wearing an expression that dared them to try and approach her again. Rainbow looked capable of keeping them at bay, but more were quickly spilling out of the woods. They would soon be outnumbered.

“Rainbow!” Twilight called out, scrambling to her hooves in an attempt to help.

“Stay in the sleigh!” Rainbow Dash shouted back.

“Hold up!” One of the thieves jumped forward, raising his leg in a silent signal. The others surrounding Rainbow suddenly retreated, giving her a wide berth, but not entirely leaving the area. She glared at them suspiciously, not letting down her guard, even though everything had gone quiet. Even the raven made no noise, or… Twilight’s eyes darted to the trees, but she saw no sign of him. Was he hiding from them?

The stallion that spoke stepped closer, and Twilight turned her attention back to him. Something about him felt familiar, but she couldn’t place where she had seen him before. He wore a simple red scarf, but she could still see the shadow of darker brown fur around his muzzle that suggested a groomed beard. His black mane was covered with a woolen cap and a heavy winter cape obscured his cutie mark.

“No need to fight us,” the stallion said in a soothing tone. “We just want your valuables. Give them up, and we’ll leave in peace.”

“We don’t have anything,” Rainbow answered through grit teeth.

“We’ll take the sleigh then; we’re not picky.” He eyed it appreciatively. While it was missing some of its gemstones after their encounter with the dragons, the gold finish was still fancy enough on its own to look costly.

“You can’t take it!” Rainbow Dash blocked the thug’s way when he moved towards it. “My friend is sick; she can’t travel on her own.”

Twilight faked a quick cough to try and sway their conscience, but the thieves didn’t look at all sympathetic to her plight. She made a show of easing herself carefully to the snowy ground. “It’s alright, Rainbow. If we can go safely, they can have it.”

With the blankets slipping over her eyes, she didn’t know that a pony was standing in front of her until she bumped her nose against his chest. She looked up to see a brutish face smirking down at her.

“Whatcha hiding under there, missy?”

“Don’t touch her!” Rainbow yelled and tried to leap to her aid, only to be intercepted when several thieves closed in around her. Twilight yelped as the stallion took the sheet in his mouth and began to pull. She grabbed another clump in her own grip and tried to wrench the blankets free. While some of the others began to laugh at the spectacle of their tug-of-war, a loud rip split through the noise, and Twilight tumbled backward in a spray of snow and fluttering cloth.

The laughter quickly died as Twilight struggled to right herself, finally sitting up and shaking away the snow to see a bunch of wide-eyed stares. The sheets were gone, her cloak was askew, and her wings were flared for all to see.

In the moment of stunned silence that followed, the leader among them looked back and forth at his followers. “Well? We wanted their valuables.” He pointed his hoof at Twilight. “What’s more valuable than a princess?”

The group of thugs all exchanged thoughtful glances before shaking their heads and muttering quietly, actually trying to figure out the answer to his question.

“GET HER!!!” he roared, startling them from their stupor.

The ponies charged, and as they galloped through the snow towards her, Twilight picked up the only weapon she had.

She chucked the warming stone at the first pony, and it fell against his head with a heavy thud. Quite literally, he dropped like a rock, and the others stumbled over him, toppling like dominoes into a messy pile-up. In the chaos, Rainbow Dash leapt over the group blocking her way and soared towards Twilight, grabbing a bit of her mane and yanking her to her hooves. Twilight immediately bolted after her, glancing back quickly, only to be spurred on by the sight of the mob of angry faces chasing them.

The chill in the air immediately set upon her, and Twilight felt her hooves go numb as she ran through the deep snow. Rainbow Dash was only a few feet ahead, but she felt miles away as her breath came out in ragged gasps. The frigid feeling in her chest began to spread, causing her fur to stand on end as she tried to ignore it. Fear spurred her on despite the cold pain coursing through her.

A whirring sound made her ears perk, and Twilight only caught sight of a dark blur sailing over her head before the object collided with Rainbow Dash, sending her tumbling in a spray of powdery snow. Twilight hopped over the small ditch Rainbow’s crash had created to help her friend, finding a web of ropes tangled around her legs. She grabbed a hold of one of the cords in her teeth, but Rainbow turned to her with a fierce look.

“Leave me and run!!!” she shouted, right before the first pony caught up to them. Twilight spun to face him, and his expression shifted from triumph to fear when her horn lit up in a bright glow.

The aura immediately sputtered and shorted out, but not before a tiny puff of magic shot up to hit the thief in the face and caused him to balk. His nose wrinkled, and he crossed his eyes and let out a loud sneeze that threw his head forward. As more of the thugs spilled out of the trees to circle around them, several of them laughed.

“What’s she tryin’ to do? Give us the sniffles?” one of the mares taunted her with a grin.

“RUN!!!” Rainbow Dash shouted right before a group of thugs rushed at them. Some remained standing among the trees to block off any possible escape routes before she could turn and flee—not that she would have left Rainbow alone to defend herself. Even with the bola caught around her hooves, she continued fighting and resisting the mob as she kicked out and nearly walloped a stallion in the snout.

Twilight wanted to fight back as well, but they were drastically outnumbered, and it was becoming harder for her to move from the numb feeling in her limbs. The cold was spreading, affecting her movements. Her sad attempts to kick the bandits away kept getting dodged or blocked.

One of the ponies in the crowd suddenly lunged at her, and she instinctively jumped away, only to slam into another from behind. He shoved her roughly, and Twilight fell face-first into the snow. Like a cat hunting its prey, the others saw their opportunity and pounced.

Their hooves pushed against her, holding her to the cold ground and having no trouble ignoring her weak struggles to break free. She heard Rainbow Dash shout something, but her words were garbled, then suddenly cut off when a loud thump reached her ears.

“Rainbow!?” Twilight coughed out, digging her hooves beneath the snow and scraping at the frozen dirt in an attempt to lift her body, but her attackers only pushed more painfully against her. “Let—us—GO!!!”

“Don’t worry, princess.” Her gaze shot up as the ponies standing in front of her scrambled away to reveal the familiar-looking stallion that she still couldn’t place. Despite the situation, this only irritated her more. He simply smirked at her, appearing to be entertained by her struggles. “We need you both alive.”

Twilight didn’t find his words at all reassuring, since the next thing she saw was his hoof rapidly descending into view. Her vision exploded into white, and she only felt a brief moment of pain before her world went black.

Author's Note

Dun, dun, dunnnn! I apologize for the severe lack of Sombra in this chapter and the last, but his role was too good not to cast him as, and it didn't work to reveal him so early in this arc. Rest assured that he'll be in every chapter from the next-on-out, for all of the stories. I also hope that his phenomenal role/entrance will make up for the absence.

Chapter 7: A Frozen Heart (Part 3)

Twilight couldn’t remember where she was or what she had been doing. All she knew when she woke up was the darkness surrounding her and the sharp pain pounding in her head. She shifted carefully to stand, but something she couldn’t see pulled at her legs, restricting her movements. Blinking slowly, she decided to stay on the floor and patiently waited for the shadows to come into focus while her vision adjusted to a soft, muted light. In the meantime, she tried to remember where she was.

Her memories were an utter mess. Thoughts and events slowly trickled to her consciousness in no particular order, only allowing her to piece together an unhelpful timeline. She could recall, at least, that she had been trapped in the storybook, so her first concern was to wonder what new fairy tale she was waking up in.

But her head throbbed again, causing her to flinch. It painfully reminded her that she hadn’t finished the current story… How could she have forgotten her encounter with the bandits? They were attacked… surrounded… and she had been knocked out. The lump on her head could account for that.

Collecting her wits, Twilight calmly assessed her situation through the fog of pain, even though her heart rapidly pounded in her chest. She was lying on a wooden surface, one that rumbled beneath her from a slow and steady movement. Above her, a thick canvas dully glowed from the flicker of an outside light, but she couldn’t see anything useful beyond it. Shapes and structures rattled about inside of the packed compartment.

While her head wound was obvious from the get-go, Twilight sluggishly registered her condition, already aware of the fact that she had obviously been restrained. She tried to move her limbs, but only felt the bite of ropes dig into her hooves and wings. More alarmingly, the thieves had tied a cloth around her muzzle. She wasn’t certain if there was anypony out there that could hear her, but she assumed they didn’t want her calling for help… or biting them, at any rate. At least they had taken some care to bandage her injury.

Twilight’s first instinct was to use her magic to escape, but she couldn’t even summon a tiny spark. The ward protecting the dragon’s home was still draining what little she had left, and the frigid cold weighed heavily inside her, but it didn’t cause her too much discomfort. Ironically, whatever the thugs had tossed her in was protected enough from the elements that, by some miracle, they hadn’t turned her into a princess popsicle.

Slumping her head against the floorboards with a snort, Twilight noticed a lumpy shape across from her in the dim light. While it was still dark, her eyes had finally adjusted enough to pick out the vibrant colors of Rainbow Dash’s mane. She had been dumped nearby, and Twilight was able to see the shadow of ropes tied around her friend’s limbs as well. When she squinted, she could just make out the garish cut on her forehead framed by a dark blot trailing through the fur along the side of her face. The thugs hadn’t even bothered to patch up her wound.

Twilight trained her ears forward and listened intently, able to hear the soft sound of Rainbow’s breath. It was ragged, but at least she was still breathing. Twilight closed her eyes in relief.

The rumbling beneath her came to a quiet stop, and Twilight twisted her head to follow the sounds of hoofsteps moving outside. The light filtering through the canvas had gotten brighter, but other than that, she couldn’t see their location.

She listened to the muffled voices and shifted herself awkwardly, quickly trying to come up with some plan of escape. The thieves had left Twilight her saddlebag, but only because it didn't contain anything valuable to them. It also had nothing useful to her as a weapon or tool, unless the dragon scale had other magical properties that she didn't know about. Her quiet moment of formulating was interrupted when a pony tossed a flap of the canvas aside and startled her. Twilight shielded her eyes against a bright light as an unfamiliar figure lifted a torch into view.

“Well, well, look who’s finally awake.” Twilight squinted up at the form of one of the thieves greeting her, while much farther above, the darker shapes of stalactites menaced her from the ceiling of a cave. As the mare stuck the torch she was carrying into a holder nearby, Twilight noticed the bright color of her pink fur. She wasn’t a pony Twilight had met before, but her attention had been drawn by the brief glimmer of her mane and eyes in the firelight.

The mare’s head ducked away, and the sound of a wooden latch being worked reached her ears. The wall of the cart slowly opened, and the mare jumped up once she had laid it flat. Twilight squirmed uncomfortably when the pony grabbed her shoulders to pull her out, but she suddenly stopped and leaned closer to Twilight’s face. The mare narrowed her eyes before straightening up with a bark of laughter.

“What’s with the gag? She get a bit too mouthy for you?” The mare spoke to somepony outside of Twilight’s view, but she didn’t have long to wonder when a stallion answered her from around the cart.

“There are some very credible rumors—” the familiar stallion from before strolled into sight “—that this princess can speak to animals.” He sauntered closer, and without warning, the mare shoved Twilight from behind, pushing her over the edge and right onto his back like a saddlebag. She landed on her gut with a pained grunt, wobbling awkwardly as she tried to hold on, not wanting to receive another lump by falling onto the stone ground.

“What? Afraid she’ll serenade some songbirds?” The mare scoffed in a mocking tone and fluttered her eyelashes, ignoring the furious look Twilight shot at her.

“More like shouting for a beast to maul us.” The stallion turned back to Twilight, lifting a leg and forcing her to face him as he scrutinized her bandage. “Or convince one to help her escape.”

“Hmm, right.” The mare wrinkled her snout and disappeared inside the cart, her voice muffled as she responded from within. “Boss isn’t gonna be happy you damaged the goods.”

Twilight bristled when she realized the mare had been talking about her, but the two simply continued on as if she wasn’t there. “She’ll just have a migraine. Be careful with the guard, though; that one might have a concussion. We weren’t so gentle with her.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The mare appeared again, but this time with Rainbow Dash draped over her own flanks. Despite the movement, she didn’t wake, but she did let out a very loud groan.

“We need her to fly straight.” The stallion pressed as the mare made a show of slowly and carefully stepping down from the cart, finally planting her hooves on the ground and giving him a sour frown.

The stallion rolled his eyes and started forward, trotting through bulbous columns and stone pillars while the mare followed after. She left the torch behind because it wasn’t needed, even though they were heading deeper into a large cavern. On the distant ceiling, a huge crevice opened to the outside air. Twilight could see blue sky and small flurries of snow as sunlight spilled into the cave and gave the place an unexpected, cheery sort of glow.

It looked as though the bandits had roped enormous sheets of canvas to the stalactites beneath the opening to keep out some of the snowfall, but that didn’t stop the chill from making its way inside. The cavern was very similar to the dragons’ home, only cold and frigid, but somehow not completely frozen by the periodic blizzards. Twilight shivered, wondering if the place was protected and hoping her cloak would be enough to keep her warm.

As the pair moved her and Rainbow Dash along, a murmur of noise grew louder over the distance, echoing off of the cavernous walls and giving Twilight the impression of a crowd ahead. When they stepped out from around towering spires of stone, the sound turned into a cacophony of shouts and chatter.

Her eyes swept over a large gathering of ponies, all dressed in dark cloaks and heavy robes. What looked like hundreds of them milled around campfires and shared conversation. Some played cards on shabby tables set up throughout the cave, while others roughhoused or simply slept in hammocks and makeshift beds of dirty mattresses and blankets. They had obviously brought her to their seedy lair.

Twilight gulped nervously when she noticed a few curious gazes turn her way. Stallions taking swigs of drink paused to watch as her escort carried her past. A few of them smirked when they saw her, and some even raised their mugs in a mocking toast.

Trying to ignore their stares, Twilight continued to look out at the crowd of thieves. Though most of them had on thick clothing to protect against the cold, the bright sunlight shining in through the ceiling shimmered on the occasional exposed tail or mane. And every so often, a glance thrown her way sparkled with a faint glimmer.

Crystal ponies. Most of the bandits were crystal ponies.

It wasn’t so unusual, since she had been to the Crystal Empire on numerous occasions and met many of its residents, but there were too many in one place. Twilight couldn’t help but think it meant something important, or was at least significant. Seeing as Sombra had also, if briefly, lived in the Crystal Empire, it was only natural to assume that these characters were from his memories.

Even though she didn’t spot him amongst the crowd, she had a feeling he would be at the head of it all, maybe even as the boss the mare had mentioned earlier. It felt like the perfect role for him to play, and hopefully meant something would go her way for a change. With Sombra as the leader of the thieves, he would be more likely to help her, if only to get the story moving to benefit himself.

She initially believed that she might have found Flurry here. A young filly in the original tale had aided the protagonist by helping and introducing her to one of the story’s most famous elements, apart from the Snow Queen herself: the reindeer. Though as things appeared to be leading up to Sombra’s reveal, she felt a bit relieved that her niece hadn’t been dropped into a literal den of thieves.

The pair carrying her and Rainbow soon left the crowded area behind, moving around a tall structure of natural columns. The noise instantly hushed, and the only sounds were their hoofsteps shuffling over a path of natural steps in the stone floor. It led up to a curtain of fabric that had been strung up to create a barrier to the cave hidden behind it. The mare disappeared beneath a flap with Rainbow Dash, and the stallion nosed his way through shortly after.

For a brief second, everything was quiet before a racket of shrieking off to the side of the entrance startled Twilight so badly that she nearly slipped off the stallion’s back. The voices of animals assaulted her ears as birds stuck inside a large cage flew about, flapping their wings and screeching in a flurry of panic.

Twilight’s wide-eyed gaze moved along the wall over a collection of what looked like a menagerie of animals lining the cavern, locked in tiny pens or chained to the floor. There were small mammals and unusual reptiles, birds and all varieties of exotic and rare creatures. A snow leopard even prowled at the end of its chain near the back.

Her attention moved past them all, because standing at the very end, Twilight had a hard time making out something in the shadows. A frosted cloud of breath was the only sign that a living creature was even there. While all the other animals scrambled about in their small enclosures, he stood motionless, stoically watching her as his pupils reflected the flicker of torches. He moved, and Twilight saw the towering shape of a reindeer form itself in the darkness.

“SILENCE!!!” A sharp voice cut through the chaos of noise, causing the birds to immediately settle down in fear. Twilight turned her head to the back of the room, where a stallion sat at an elegant desk, facing away from them. “What is it?” he asked without even turning around.

“Guests,” the stallion carrying her answered with a smirk. As the pony at the desk glanced at them with a haughty frown, Twilight’s ears drooped in disappointment. He was a pony that she had met before, yes, but Dr. Caballeron was not the stallion she had been hoping to encounter in this situation.

The chair he sat on creaked from his movement, and he narrowed his eyes as he looked down his snout at them. “I hope they’re important. You know we don’t do ransoms for chump change.”

“This one is very important.” The stallion stepped closer and turned, allowing Caballeron to see his passenger from a better angle. He appeared to accidentally slip out of his seat before recovering and trotting closer. With an exaggerated flourish, he gave Twilight a mock bow.

“Well! Good evening, Your Highness!” Twilight wrinkled her snout and bristled when his hoof pushed beneath her chin and forced her gaze up to look him in the eyes. “I have a feeling your brother will pay a fortune to get you back safely.” Caballeron pulled his leg away and motioned at Rainbow Dash. “Is that the guard?”

The stallion nodded. Though she didn’t know his name at all, Twilight now understood why he felt so familiar when she first saw him. She had only met Dr. Caballeron’s henchponies in a brief encounter. The fact that he was wearing a different outfit now hadn’t helped with recognizing him.

“Wake her,” Caballeron demanded, and the mare lowered Rainbow Dash to the ground before running over to a nearby table and grabbing a pitcher that sat on top. She quickly sprinted back and unceremoniously dumped its contents over Rainbow’s head.

Rainbow immediately sputtered with a jolt, coughing and blinking in confusion as she tried to lift herself into a sitting position, but only managed to fall over with a shout. She paused a second to stare at the ropes around her hooves before her eyes finally moved to the thugs watching her. Rainbow’s gaze hardened when she noticed Twilight slung over the stallion’s back. “You—!?!”

Caballeron shoved a hoof against her snout. It only interrupted her, but Rainbow chose to growl at him through her teeth. “I’m going to make this simple,” he began. “You’re to bring a message to your prince. He will deliver three—no, four carts of treasure to a designated meeting place for the safe return of his sister. If he refuses, well then…” Caballeron turned back to look at Twilight with a grin. “I think it should be quite clear what will happen. Understand?”

“You think I’d just leave her here!?” Rainbow shouted.

“You’ll deliver our message.” Caballeron simply answered and nodded in Twilight’s direction. The mare stepped up beside her, and Twilight felt a quick tug at her mane. The mare only came away with a few strands of hair, but the discomfort caused Twilight to wince. “Or we can send her in pieces as proof instead, something a bit more extreme than a haircut.”

Rainbow’s ears flattened with a grimace, and she turned her head to face Caballeron with a snort. “Fine. But if you hurt her—”

“As long as we get our money,” Cabelleron interrupted, “then your little princess won’t be harmed.” He waved his hoof in the direction of the entrance, and another pony Twilight had not noticed slipped from the shadows.

“Take her to the meeting spot, and make sure you’re not followed,” Cabelleron instructed while the new pony shoved a burlap sack over Rainbow’s head. She yelled, but her words were muffled beneath the material. Caballeron leaned closer and spoke up so she could hear him. “Just a bit of precaution! Don’t want you mounting a rescue! Simply return to the meeting place in a week with the ransom, and your princess will go free!”

Rainbow wasn’t given much of a chance to respond while the two ponies carried her back through the curtains at the entrance. They were able to drag her through, but not before she managed to give one of her escorts a kick in the head.

“What about her?” The thug still carrying Twilight nodded at her, and Caballeron gave her a once over before smirking.

“Drop our princess over there.” He motioned to a pile of blankets and rugs close to the desk along the wall and chuckled darkly. “She won’t be going anywhere.”

Caballeron’s thug trotted over to the sheets and unceremoniously dumped her onto the pile, sitting down abruptly so that she dropped against it with a startled squeak. Without so much as glancing back, he followed after his boss, their low voices discussing among themselves how much space they would need for all the money they were going to get from this venture. As they disappeared behind the curtain, everything settled into an eerie quiet.

Save for the variety of animals stuck in their cages, Twilight was left alone in the chamber. She watched the entrance for a good while, just to make certain they had left before quickly rolling onto her back. Wrenching her legs against the ropes, she started kicking and struggling to free herself.

A warm snort in her ear caused Twilight to jolt in surprise, and her gaze shot back to see the dark shape of the reindeer looking down at her. They stared at one another for a brief moment, until she calmly and carefully rolled over onto her stomach. Lifting her head slowly, she kept her eyes locked on his.

She had nearly forgotten about him in all the fuss, which was understandable. Keeping with the theme of unusual animals that Caballeron seemed to collect, Twilight could see that this reindeer’s fur was dark, enough so that he practically vanished into the shadows. Not an unheard-of trait, but a rare one all the same.

As she watched him, uncertain of how to ask for his help, his mouth appeared to deepen with a frown, and he finally spoke. “Of course you would be a princess.”

Twilight blinked when she recognized the strong voice that reached her ears, not entirely believing what she’d just heard. He was not the friendly creature she knew from the fairy tale.

He was Sombra.

The reindeer.

Sombra was the reindeer.

Her mind blanked while trying to process that. Even though she had been hoping to meet him, she hadn’t expected this sort of twist. She simply gawked at him in silence, trying to sort out the rush of emotions that were fighting to surface all at once.

Laughter would not have been her first choice, but the absurdity of what he had been turned into meshed with an exhilarated feeling of relief at finally finding him. Spike wasn’t safe, and Flurry Heart was still lost somewhere, but she couldn’t help the rush of elation at no longer being alone.

A snort managed to escape her as she quietly giggled, before it quickly turned into a fit of mirth that shook her sides while she curled up on the floor. Twilight only quieted down when Sombra stomped his rather large hoof a few inches from her snout.

“I fail to see the humor in this.” He huffed a warm breath into her face and eyed the ropes that held her. “I suppose you’ll need me to save you?”

Twilight nodded very clearly in answer to his question, and Sombra stepped back with a startled snort. His ears perked up, and she could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. Since the thieves couldn’t speak to animals, he had probably discovered early on that they weren’t just ignoring him. “You can understand me?”

“Mff,” Twilight answered.

“I’ll assume that was a yes.” Sombra leaned closer, and a metal clang jangled at his neck. Twilight looked past his head to see a collar attached to a chain on the wall like many of the other animals. “Hold still,” he commanded.

Twilight froze, trying not to flinch when he lowered his antlers. One of the sharp-looking prongs wobbled uncomfortably close to her eye before it slipped beneath the cloth around her muzzle. With a surprisingly gentle tug, he ripped through the material and pulled it away.

Twilight let out a relieved sigh once she was able to properly speak. “Thank you,” she said, genuinely glad that she had met him here. “Can you reach the ropes?”

Sombra grunted with a frown, but ducked his head again and managed to catch his antlers between one of the cords. They didn’t tear as easily as the gag, but he managed to saw through them, and soon enough, Twilight was finally freed.

“Good.” Sombra’s eyes moved up to her forehead while Twilight stretched her legs. “Now you can use your magic to release me.” He then straightened up and puffed out his chest to display the collar around his neck.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “If I had any magic left, I would have used it to escape on my own.”

“So, you aren’t just… saving it?” Sombra asked with a curious look.

“For what? I didn’t even know you were here before...” Twilight paused as a thought occurred to her. “Were you... waiting for me to rescue you?”

Sombra snorted in her face with a deep grunt. “You have a way of acting… predictably. I estimated it was only a matter of time before you showed up with something useful.” He frowned at her horn. “Not even a tiny amount?”

“I don’t have anything.” Twilight sighed. “It’s completely gone.”

“How did you manage to lose all of it?” Sombra snorted. “No wonder you were caught by those fools.”

“Hey!” Twilight jabbed her hoof at him. “I gave it up to help my friends! And what about you? You’re stuck in here too.”

Sombra actually laughed at that. “I simply woke up here. For the convenience of the story, I started out as their prisoner.” He leaned in with a wide grin, close enough for her to see that, even as a reindeer, he still possessed his vicious looking fangs. “What’s your excuse?”

Twilight glared at him and opened her mouth to respond before shutting it and sitting up with a sly expression. “I used my magic to convince an army of dragons to follow me.”

“You—” Sombra’s expression shifted from one of mocking laughter to mild surprise. “—what?”

Twilight quickly explained her encounter with the dragons and everything that had led up to their alliance. For a moment, she thought he appeared to look jealous before she pointed her hoof at him with a confident smile. “We just need to find the Snow Queen’s castle, and you know the way.”

Sombra stared at her blankly for a moment, before snorting out a laugh. “I hope this plan doesn’t rely on that knowledge.”

Twilight’s expression faltered. “Why?”

“Because I have no idea where this castle is.” Sombra frowned at her. She blinked back.

“But… you’re the reindeer! From the story!” Twilight exclaimed in a panic. “You have to know where it is!”

“I already told you,” Sombra muttered. “I woke up here. I’ve never even read this book, let alone know the locations in it.”

“What—but—!?” Twilight sputtered, wracking her thoughts over the story in her head. “How could the reindeer not know where the castle is!?” Twilight groaned and rubbed at her forehead. “Why can’t this stupid story keep anything straight?” In reaction to the building frustration, she stomped her front legs against the floor and bucked, accidentally hitting the desk behind her.

Her hooves smacked the furniture with a loud thud, and the other animals made a small racket in response. An object rattled over the edge of the desk, and before Twilight realized what it was, it rolled off and struck her on the head. She winced and rubbed at the sore spot while glaring down at the offending scroll as it bounced with a hollow thud.

It was an absurd size, as she could see when Sombra pawed at it with his equally large hooves.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“This looks like a map,” Sombra grunted, gritting his teeth while he tried to open it. “Curse these alien hooves!”

Twilight jumped towards the scroll, eagerly unraveling it and confirming Sombra’s suspicions while marveling at the landscapes that appeared before her. She revealed the caves where she and her friends had met the dragons, and higher up where the forest merged into the thieves’ territory. Farther still, the fields of the north appeared in great detail, not too far from an area that was circled as the cave where she had been brought.

Sombra lowered his head next to hers as her gaze moved across a snowy expanse. Secluded in the northern tundra, a specific location had been marked out in red.

“They know where it is…” Twilight marveled, thankful that Caballeron was apparently a very efficient cartographer. “We know where the castle is!” She closed the map back up and tucked it into a safe corner on the desk to retrieve later. It would have been too conspicuous to carry with her for the time being.

She looked towards the flap where Caballeron had left through. “I can get you out of here. In fact, I know we can escape together.” She stared at the collar around Sombra’s neck, finally noticing a small hole. “Is there a key?”

“That stallion had it,” Sombra answered. “He carries it on a belt at his side. Not that you’ll be able to get it.”

“Excuse me?” Twilight glared at him. “If the key is what we need—”

“You were already captured once,” Sombra muttered. “I highly doubt you could steal it without them noticing.”

“Why? I snuck into the library back in 'Robin Hood.' I stole—”

Sombra scoffed at her. “That was different. Another story, another role.” He lifted a hoof and jabbed her in the chest. Twilight stumbled back, but caught herself. “Here, you’re just a weak princess captured by a bunch of thieves. Can you really steal that key from a professional criminal?”

“Of course I can!” Twilight exclaimed before ducking when she realized how loud she was being. The other animals made a constant noise that helped to cover her voice, but she had to be careful.

Sombra watched her with a smug grin. “You’re already cowering.”

Twilight spun around with a huff and searched around, her eyes landing on the pile of sheets and rugs. She dug into it and pulled one of the blankets out, ignoring him as she wrapped herself in the material. “Couldn’t you have just a little more confidence in sompony that’s meant to rescue you?” She turned towards him and showed off her new ensemble. “There. How do I look?”

“Hmm.” Sombra scrutinized her with a frown. She had managed to disguise her wings and obscure most of her body with the dirty robe. “Decent, but a keener eye will see right through you.” Sombra lowered his head, and before she could figure out what he was doing, he covered her in a cloud of dirt kicked up by his antlers.

“There, now you’re passable for one of those buffoons.” He smirked when she sneezed out a puff of dust before frowning at him.

“Right,” Twilight mumbled, shrugging the fabric into a comfortable position over her shoulders. She started towards the entrance, moving carefully to avoid making any sound. When she finally stuck her head through, she found nopony outside, at least none that she could see. Her eyes shifted over the rocks, thinking back to the pony that Caballeron had called from the shadows.

She took a tentative step out, shifting her body carefully through the flap. The area remained quiet, with only the low murmur of voices echoing through the cave.

When nopony jumped out at her, Twilight was emboldened, gingerly treading down the natural steps in the floor and striding back along the path the thieves had originally carried her. Before she reached the common area, she ducked into another route, detouring between a pair of pillars into a darker corner before poking her head around to look out at all the scoundrels scattered about.

The number of ponies bustling about the place made her all the more nervous. There were almost too many for her to count, even though she had already done a quick estimate with the equations in her head.

She briefly thought about winging it by taking the key and simply running away. Would the story protect her and give her uncanny luck if she was supposed to retrieve it in the first place? The sheer amount of thieves she might face made her think otherwise, and the memory of the archery tournament made her doubt she could count on such a thing. The story might not simply let her do as she pleased.

Trying not to panic while thinking of a plan, Twilight hardly noticed a slight speck of movement high above her until the sunlight flared briefly in her peripheral. She lifted her head to see a small flurry of snow drifting in through the gap between the tarp and the crevice to the outside world. She might have been able to escape that way, but Sombra would have been stuck, and there was no way she could make it past the blizzard without him.

While staring at the prospect of freedom, her eyes began to follow the snowdrift, noticing an odd behavior with its fall. It looked like a heavy clump, yet it was floating down from the ceiling… as if it were… gliding?

The patch of 'snow' fluttered over to a dark area of the cave, and Twilight managed to maneuver closer without being noticed by any of the thieves. She thanked her time spent in the role of Robin Hood and peered cautiously around a rock formation, only to see the Raven from before shaking ice from his wings.

“You didn’t abandon us!” Twilight exclaimed in a whisper, but the raven still jumped up with a startled squawk. Twilight lowered the hood of her makeshift robe and the raven visibly settled down when he recognized her.

“I-I didn’t mean to leave you!” he started with a wavering voice. “These bandits have a reputation for collecting unusual animals, and I was afraid of being caught… so I hid…” He hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” Twilight reassured him. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

The raven appeared to perk up, and he fluttered his wings to hop forward and rub against her leg. “I’m so relieved you’re safe. Come!” He jumped up and flared his wings. “I can show you a way out! There is another entrance—”

“I can’t leave yet,” Twilight interrupted, lifting her hoof towards him. “There are other animals trapped here that I need to free.”

He shifted his feet nervously. “B-but, princess—”

“You know I can’t make it through that snow storm,” she said gently. “Not without freezing. There’s a reindeer that can take me through the blizzard, but we have to help him.”

The raven nodded with a sigh. “Of course.” He then hopped closer. “Do you have a plan?”

Twilight tapped her chin, standing to pace a few steps before peeking around one of the large stalactites and observing the bandits again. She could see Caballeron celebrating with his thugs, lifting mugs of drink and toasting to the ransom they thought they were going to get.

She watched them for a moment, then turned back to the raven as he fluttered onto her shoulders to perch. She blinked at him before grinning back with uncertainty. “I… have an idea, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

The raven groaned. “When involving bandits and princesses, what kind of plan would be likable?”

“Caballeron! Sir!”

Caballeron’s head turned as Twilight, covered by her disguise, galloped over to the group of thieves sipping their cider in celebration. She ran up out of breath, which helped to disguise the nervous tone of her voice. “I-I found a white raven flying in the caves!”

“A white raven, you say?” Caballeron immediately lowered his drink.

One of the other thieves around the fire nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Hey, yea! Sapphire said she saw a bird like that flyin’ around when we attacked the princess. We figured she was seein’ things since it disappeared so quick.”

Caballeron grinned as he rubbed his chin. “A white raven is very unusual, and extremely rare. Perhaps it belonged to our little princess, and followed her here looking for its owner.” He motioned at Twilight. “Have you caught it?”

“I tried,” Twilight answered with a grunt. “I knocked it out and left it. I wasn’t sure if I should move it.”

“Idiot.” One of the other thieves laughed before taking a swig of his drink.

“Sorry.” Twilight ducked her head, seeing Caballeron frown as he set down his mug.

“Well, it could still be alive.” Caballeron waved his leg as he stood up. “Either way, it’s valuable. Lead me!”

Much to Twilight’s delight, Caballeron followed her down a less populated tunnel. Only one of his thugs came along out of curiosity, while the rest were too involved in their drinking to bother. She led them into a smaller cavern, where the raven lay sprawled on the floor, pretending to be unconscious.

“Astounding!” Caballeron trotted over to the bird once he spotted him, leaning over and prodding gently to inspect him. “It doesn’t appear to be albinism… but still, the pigmentation does make it unusual… and worth a fair price.” He watched the raven silently for a moment. “And it’s still alive. Good work.”

“Thank you,” Twilight answered automatically, waiting for the other thug to move closer and have his own look at the raven before scooting up to Caballeron’s side. He was busy poking at the bird, trying to figure out if it was best to lift it in its condition.

Recalling her time spent as Robin Hood, Twilight tried to channel the character again while she nonchalantly reached for the key at Caballeron’s belt. With the two stallions distracted, she gently nudged it and noticed that only a simple magnet held it in place.

Twilight moved her hoof to knock it away, when Caballeron suddenly spun around and kicked a hoof into her gut. She flew back, sprawling out on the floor and gasping after having the breath knocked out of her.

“A clever attempt, princess.” Caballeron smirked while motioning his thug over. “But even as respectful as my associates may be, they have absolutely no manners.”

Twilight heard a flurry of feathers and struggled to scurry away right as the raven let out a deafening screech, flying straight into Caballeron’s face. The pair shrieked and shouted in fury while the other stallion tried to catch the raven and pull him away from his boss.

With the thug's attention elsewhere, Twilight kicked at him and managed to catch his hooves when the raven launched himself overhead. The lackey stumbled and plowed right into a boulder while trying to avoid his claws.

“SHE’S ESCAPED!!!” Caballeron bellowed to any of his followers within hearing range and lumbered towards her while covering the scratches on his snout with his leg. “CAPTURE HER!!!”

“RUN!” The raven unnecessarily shrieked, taking to the air as Twilight scrambled to her hooves and dodged Caballeron’s hoof when he swung at her. He lurched unsteadily towards her again, but she ducked and caught the key around her horn, immediately spinning away and galloping down the passage.

It wasn’t long before she heard shouting at the other end of the tunnel, and was terrified to see a group of thugs barreling towards her. She slowed down a moment, but only to let the raven fly ahead of her.

“Help the boss!” she yelled at the group of approaching ponies. “I’ll get the bird!”

With her disguise still intact, the group barely gave her any notice when they galloped past, giving Twilight a few extra seconds to make it back to Caballeron’s office. She burst in through the entrance to a cacophony of sound as the animals shrieked and screamed at the excitement.

“Do you have the key?” Sombra was quick to demand while straining at the end of his chain.

“Got it!” Twilight immediately turned, lifting the key away from her horn and sticking it into the door of the large bird cage.

“What are you doing?” Sombra raged impatiently. “Free me!”

“Hold on!” Twilight yelled, and twisted the key in the lock. She jumped back after tugging open the door, and the birds inside gave triumphant squawks as they burst from the cage in a whirlwind of wings and feathers. They swooped out through the entrance like one big cloud, and Twilight heard the muffled shouts of startled ponies.

She stumbled as she moved down the line, freeing all the animals from their cages while Sombra shouted at her over the mess of noise that erupted at the entrance. Animals snarled and squeaked while ponies yelled in a panic and chaos broke out in the ensuing mess.

“Those beasts are a waste of time!!!”

“They’re helping!” Twilight yelled back, finally letting loose the snow leopard from her collar.

“Duck.” She heard the feline purr as it lowered itself into a crouch. Twilight dropped to the floor, and the cat pounced over her head. A stallion screamed from behind her, and Twilight didn’t dare to look back as she made it to Sombra, who was furiously stomping and snorting.

“You’ve should have started with me!” he shouted at her over the turmoil.

“Hold still!” she yelled at him and plunged the key into the lock on his collar.

A heavy body slammed into her side and tackled her to the floor, and Twilight stared up at the sight of Caballeron standing over her, grinning in triumph. He leaned closer, and she could see the angry red of the fresh scratches over his face.

“I’m normally good on my word about not harming captives, but with the trouble you’ve caused me—” Caballeron growled, but he didn’t get to finish his threat. Sombra’s antlers swung into view and sent Caballeron straight into the wall. He hit the rock with a sickening thud, and Twilight stared at him as he crumpled to the floor and lay still.

“Is… is he—?” Twilight asked.

“When will you stop concerning yourself with these illusionary figments!?” Sombra shouted and roughly grabbed her cloak in his teeth. She yelped when he swung her wildly onto his neck, and she tried her best to hold on as he reared back and sprang forward with a powerful lurch.

“Wait!” Twilight shouted in a panic, reaching back towards the desk. “The map!”

The raven swooped down and grabbed the scroll in his claws before flying up and diving past them, only giving a quick caw in response. Sombra suddenly surged after him, and Twilight could only hug him tightly as he tore through the feeble barrier of curtains.

The cavern was complete mayhem. Ponies scrambled around in a panic, trying to recapture the escaped animals, or simply fled from the larger predators that chased after them.

Despite the chaos, Sombra wasted no time barging into the mess of things, tossing aside a few thieves that were unfortunate enough to be standing in his way. They flew into the darkness like ragdolls and quickly disappeared from view while Sombra powered on.

Twilight was certain now that if Sombra hadn’t woken up as their captive, they never would have been able to catch him. As a pony, he had been a powerful foe, and a fearful force to be reckoned with. As a large, burly reindeer, he was more like a train. A thundering, unfeeling force that simply broke through any barrier placed before him. The animals attacking the bandits were quick enough to scatter from his path, but the thieves were not so nimble.

The columns and the stone stalactites blurred together while Sombra made quick progress through the cave, crashing through the rickety tables, leaping over smoldering campfires, and making his way into a tunnel that started to grow colder the further they advanced.

And then, suddenly, the chill dropped to freezing as the sky opened up above her. The commotion of the thieves’ den disappeared into a muted quiet when the white fields and rocky hills spread out in the barren distance. They had made it to freedom, but Sombra did not stop; rather, he only seemed to move faster in the open landscape.

His snorting breath became rhythmic as he barreled over the frozen ground and kicked up clouds of snow behind them. Though he was a pony at heart, he was currently a beast made for traversing such harsh terrain. Twilight took a quick look over her shoulder, only to be surprised at the sight of the cave’s entrance shrinking in the distance behind them. The bandits were nothing more than dark specks in a sea of white.

The cold wind whipped up around them, blowing frost and snowflakes across her vision. Twilight numbly hugged at Sombra’s thick ruff, determined to keep warm and not fall off. She could feel the cold in her chest grow heavier, and the storm around them grew stronger, but she did not let him stop. She did not want to be caught again.

The sky darkened, and the snowfall thickened into a blanket of sleet and fog. Twilight buried herself deeper into Sombra’s fur, long since losing track of any sense of time. The wind howling past her ears sounded muffled, and her limbs grew heavy as her thoughts lulled slowly into sleep.

“Princess!” A grating shriek at her ear jolted her into wakefulness, and Sombra’s voice rumbled deeply beneath her.

“What’s wrong?”

“She’s succumbing to the cold!” Feathers rustled closer, and the raven landed lightly atop her shoulder, his talons prickling against her cloak. “She needs shelter!”

“Is this necessary?” Sombra mumbled. Twilight was only faintly aware of the fact that he was looking back at her, waiting for an answer.

“She is not well!” the raven insisted. “If she can’t get warm, she will freeze from the Snow Queen’s spell!”

“C...c-c-cold…” Twilight added, unable to get much else out as she squeezed his fur and tried to bury herself deeper into his warmth.

She could feel Sombra move beneath her, his gait a bit less powerful as he slowed his pace. The raven stood above her, trying his best to shelter her from the worst of the blizzard. She wasn’t certain where he was headed. The snow was so thick, she couldn’t even see an inch beyond her nose.

After a time, she heard Sombra’s hooves stomp heavily against something solid, and Twilight stiffly lifted her head to the sight of a porch nearly buried in snow. It was attached to a quaint cottage, the windows glowing warmly from an inviting light within. Somehow, Sombra had spotted this dwelling through the raging storm.

“Are you going to get down?” she heard him ask, and Twilight nodded into his fur, but she couldn't find the will to move.

Sombra grabbed her cloak in his teeth, and Twilight made a soft noise in protest when he dragged her off of his back. She had no strength to berate him, and only tried to curl up around herself while he lowered her to a welcome mat in front of the door. Her breath fogged up into heavy clouds as she strained to lift herself, only managing to scrape her hoof pitifully against the wood in an attempt to knock.

Sombra rolled his eyes, and stepped over her with a grunt. “We demand shelter and accommodations!” he shouted while pounding his hoof heavily against the door. “And nourishment!”

“I’m s-s-so glad they c-can’t unders-stand you,” Twilight muttered, her ears perking at the sound of hoofsteps from inside. Shortly after, the door creaked open, spilling a warm rectangle of light across her fur. Twilight could already smell the scent of something baking within, and her stomach growled. She struggled to her hooves, but wound up stumbling back against the porch.

“Oh! You poor thing!” a familiar voice reached her, and suddenly a pony was supporting her by leaning into her shoulder. “Here, let me help you inside so you can warm up.”

Twilight blinked at the familiar face of Starlight smiling warmly back as she slowly guided her inside the cozy cottage. Sombra’s heavy hoofsteps followed after, and the door shut against the blizzard outside, shielding them from the cold.

Starlight led her to a rug right in front of the fireplace, and Twilight had no issue planting herself right there on the floor. She practically collapsed against the rug as all the weariness from their adventures finally caught up with her.

“Are you alright?” Twilight looked up to see Starlight gazing at her with concern. “Uhm… would you… like some tea? Or maybe coffee…” She appeared to be indecisive. “What about hot chocolate?”

“Y-yes,” Twilight simply answered, curling up into a tight ball to try and warm herself up. The chill inside her chest was still there, but at least the bite of frost was no longer attacking her.

“Oh, alright!” Starlight cheerily responded before turning towards what looked like the kitchen. The sound of dishes clinked as she prepared something, while the tune of her humming drifted back towards the comfortable living room.

Twilight shivered despite the heat of the fireplace. It wasn’t enough to offset the frozen feeling that still numbed her body from within. She continued to face the fire, even when Sombra’s heavy steps lumbered over. While she expected him to settle close by, she was caught completely by surprise when he lowered himself next to her. His thick fur pressed against her back, and he even curled his legs up around her body to form a warm barrier.

“Uh… uhm…” Twilight found herself at a loss for words, taken aback by his sudden care. It was completely unlike what she knew of him, and for some reason what little warmth she had regained suddenly rushed to her face.

“Your dragons wouldn’t be very cooperative if you wound up frozen,” Sombra muttered, adjusting his legs carefully over her. “Consider this a return for freeing me.” Twilight stared at him for a brief moment before finally finding her voice again.

“R-right,” Twilight stammered, shaking some sense into herself while the raven flew over and landed on top of her, appearing to want to help as well. As the bird fluffed up his feathers and nested in the space between her shoulders, she cautiously lowered her head onto Sombra’s side, cuddling against him purely for the heat that radiated from him. His fur was exceptionally comfortable, but she didn’t say this out loud.

“Here you are!” Starlight sang out, strolling over with a tea cup and a blanket floating in the glow of her magic. She unfolded the comforter across the trio and lowered the saucer before Twilight. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I just mixed a little of everything!”

Starlight giggled as Twilight took a sip and gasped. The intense flavor that hit her almost as good as the warmth that slid down her throat. Twilight was certain she had burned her tongue, but continued to gulp down the rest as her insides seemed to recover better from the drink. The cold wasn’t completely gone, but at least she could feel her legs again.

“That was perfect.” Twilight sighed and licked her lips.

“Would you like more?” Starlight asked.

“Please!”

Twilight was nursing her fifth cup when she started to feel full, and the frigid cold had receded to the uncomfortable lump within her chest. Sombra had left her to lay on his own on the other side of the rug, somewhat to Twilight’s disappointment, but the raven had stayed with her, diligently napping on her back.

“...and it sounds like it could be an altered take on an energy dispersion spell. But the distance you’re talking about is impossible. You said the raven showed you this?” Starlight asked after finally ending her spiel about different spell types. They had been discussing for the past few hours the intricacies of her ward, after she had finished telling Starlight about her meeting with the dragons. “How exactly does it travel so far?”

“It might work a little differently from what we’re used to, since it’s not standard unicorn magic.” Twilight shook her head. “Or alicorn magic. I didn’t have enough of my own to cast a proper spell, so the raven offered me another way. He explained that it connects my magic to the Snow Queen’s, so if hers is able to extend like that because of the blizzard, mine must simply flow along it to protect the dragons, but at a price.”

“Interesting…” Twilight was surprised to hear an echo as both Sombra and Starlight responded similarly, but only Sombra turned to look at Starlight with disgust. “Your magic works as a power source, even though you’re so far from the initial spell-casting location. That’s amazing!” Starlight stood up to gallop into another room. “I need my notebook!”

“Yes,” Sombra rumbled when Starlight had left. “That certainly is amazing.” His eyes narrowed in the direction of the sleeping raven. “How exactly did you meet that bird?”

Twilight fluffed a wing protectively in front of the raven. “I saved him from a dragon. What does it matter how we met?”

Sombra clicked his tongue. “Have you never wondered why he would know so much?”

“He’s… the raven.” Twilight faltered, realizing that answer wouldn’t work with him. She had read the original, and knew the significance and help that the raven provided, but Sombra had never read The Snow Queen. He didn't know it was just a whimsical tale with equally whimsical characters. “What are you suggesting? If you’re implying he’s up to no good, you should know that he’s saved me twice already.”

“Conveniently,” Sombra grumbled. “I am simply insinuating that you not blindly believe he is an ally just because he’s helped you. I trust him about as much as I do your new friend.”

“Do you just have issues with ponies that are trying to help?” Twilight said with a sigh. “Without Starlight, I would have frozen in the blizzard! And without the raven, we wouldn’t have escaped the bandits!”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t have ulterior motives,” Sombra practically snarled.

“Like you?” Twilight shot back, recalling his attempts to overthrow the king in Robin Hood.

Sombra didn’t even bat an eye. “That mare doesn’t sit right with me... she wants something.”

“She wants a friend,” Twilight argued. “And she’s my friend. I trust Starlight.”

“You are too trusting of these characters simply because they have a familiar face.” He stood up and stretched his legs. “Their relation to you does not mean they have good intentions.”

“How would you know? You haven’t… met anypony...” Her voice faded as she remembered the crystal ponies back in the thieves’ den. “Have you?”

“I don’t care to recall,” Sombra grumbled, making his way toward the door.

“Did you know them? Those bandits?” Twilight asked, standing and taking a step closer to him. Miraculously, the raven sleeping on her back didn’t wake. “They were all crystal ponies. You did know them,” she said with a little more confidence when he glanced back and wrinkled his snout.

“They were once my subjects. A group of renegades that fought against me, to rip the crown from my brow. Ponies I once thought I could trust.” He bared his fangs at her in a sneer. “It is only fitting that they now play the downtrodden thieves that they are. Happy?” Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the door handle in his mouth and wrenched it open, letting in a burst of winter winds that sprayed the entrance with frost and snow. “Shouldn’t we finish this story? Don’t you have another friend to save?”

Twilight felt guilty the moment he said it. She hadn’t forgotten about Spike, but being reminded that he was still in danger didn’t sit well when she was just lounging comfortably in front of a roaring fireplace.

“Why is the front door open?” Twilight turned to see Starlight standing at the back of the room with a notebook hovering at her side. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh, that,” Twilight started, gently rousing the raven from sleep. “I’m sorry this is so sudden, Starlight, but it looks like Sombra’s ready to go.” She knew it was a gross understatement, as Sombra had already disappeared out the door.

“Oh…” Starlight responded sadly, and the notebook dropped to the floor. “Are you sure? It’s still freezing outside. It’s probably not safe to travel...”

“Now might be the best time actually.” Twilight noted. The snow drifting in wasn’t accompanied by blistering winds like earlier. “Things look calm, so it’s better to leave before the blizzard picks up again.” Twilight trotted over to Starlight, placing a hoof on her chest. “I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality.”

“That was nothing,” Starlight snorted with a wave of her hoof. “I just made some tea… and coffee… and hot chocolate.” She tapped her chin. “Speaking of, I have a lot of dishes to clean.”

Twilight giggled, and stepped closer to Starlight to pull her into a quick hug. “Thank you, Starlight.

“Don’t... mention it.”

When Twilight pulled away, Starlight’s expression was troubled, and the look on her face prevented Twilight from turning to leave. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s...” Starlight started. “It was just… nice to have somepony to talk to… especially somepony that understands the intricacies of advanced spell theories.” She laughed nervously. “I don’t get many visitors this far north.”

“I promise to come back,” Twilight said, making a note to do so if she actually could. “I wouldn’t miss out on making time for a friend.”

“A… friend?” Starlight seemed to freeze at that, and after a moment of looking like she wanted to say something, she bolted away before Twilight could ask. Starlight quickly returned with her notebook, flipping to a page and squinting at her writing. “Are you familiar with Spark Lee’s work on memory spells?”

“Not in particular.” Twilight shook her head, curious to know what Starlight was getting at.

“Perfect!” Starlight’s eyes quickly skimmed over the page, and she snapped the journal shut. Twilight hadn’t expected anything, which was why Starlight took her by surprise when she leaned closer. A flash of magic jumped from her horn onto Twilight’s, and a painless jolt shot through her body. Twilight stumbled backwards, wobbling as her vision started to sway. Her legs went numb, and the room appeared to tilt as she collapsed onto her side, looking up to see a wavering view of Starlight standing over her.

“Star… light…?” Twilight breathed softly, not having enough strength to even lift her head. The room began to spin, and memories drifted through her mind as if they were being tossed out like leaves into the wind. With a sudden gust, her thoughts scattered in a mess that she couldn’t make any sense out of.

The noise of her surroundings grew fainter, even as Sombra crashed back through the doorway and yelled something unintelligible. His dark form galloped towards her, but he ducked out of sight when a shimmering light shot through the air. She could hardly focus on what was going on as one of the fragile strands of memories burned away. She turned her gaze in confusion to watch her friend… no… companion? Wait… maybe an enemy? Why couldn’t she remember correctly?

Twilight ignored the bolts of magic flying above, mentally trying to sort out the clutter in her head and battling against the spell as it struggled to pull her deeper into unconsciousness.

The raven shrieked, and something heavy smashed against the wall nearby, breaking her concentration. An unfamiliar voice shouted at her, and in a bright explosion of magic, the room suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Starlight slammed the door shut and stomped her hooves against the mat. “That takes care of that. Now…”

After a few quiet steps in her direction, Twilight felt Starlight’s hoof gently stroke her mane. Twilight stared up at her groggily. Everything that she knew was being ripped away, but she still recognized who Starlight was, more clearly than anything with so little else to grasp.

“Not… again…” Twilight whispered, still resisting the enchantment that fought to drag her mind into the darkness.

“Shhh…” Starlight consoled her. “Everything is alright. Just relax and get some sleep. I’ll make us something to drink when you wake up! You’ll probably be thirsty.”

Twilight didn’t know what to make of that, but as her thoughts and vision floated in and out of a sensible reality, she finally let out a quiet breath and rested her weary body against the floor. Her eyelids closed, and she nodded off into the peaceful serenity of a dream, trusting Starlight’s reassurance.

Afterall, why would she doubt the words of her only friend?

Chapter 8: A Frozen Heart (Part 4)

Twilight’s eyelids gently fluttered open when the warm air of a light breeze tousled her mane. The sunlight that greeted her caused her to squint, and she lifted her head sluggishly to look out over a lawn of bright green grass. Pale flowers waved serenely while the wind rippled lightly through the small field where she lay.

“What… what was I…” Twilight rubbed her head, trying to hold onto a disturbing thought. She couldn’t quite remember what it was, but in the calmness of her surroundings, even the vague knowledge of it rattled her nerves. The decorated garden with neatly trimmed hedges and pebbled pathways made it difficult to grasp. Her ears kept flicking toward the light splashing of a small fountain, where a stone mare spit an arc of water into the pond below.

Twilight wanted to remember, but like a fading dream, the more she fought to recall it, the fainter it grew. She dug into her own thoughts, picking out the sliver of a memory only to have it slip away. Even in the middle of such a tranquil place, she felt a headache begin to develop from the strain.

So she let it go. Maybe it would hit her later when she wasn’t trying to force it.

“Oh good! You’re awake!” Twilight turned to see Starlight strolling towards her from the quaint cottage. She held a tray in her magic that she lowered onto a checkered blanket spread out beneath them. A pitcher of lemonade and a pair of full glasses sparkled in the sun. “I was beginning to think you might sleep all afternoon.”

“How long was I out?” Twilight asked, racking her brain for something useful. She couldn’t recall anything before waking up, and the fact that this didn’t appear to be a concern disturbed her. “When did I even fall asleep?”

“Oh.” Starlight waved her hoof dismissively. “You just took a short nap in the sun. Happens to the best of us. Lemonade?” Starlight floated one of the glasses her way, and Twilight blinked at it after it bumped against her snout. As she stared at the liquid, she felt her worries vanish. Her lips were dry, and her throat was parched. The offered drink suddenly became her top priority.

She nudged her magic towards the glass to pick it up and… nothing happened. Twilight stared at it intensely until Starlight must have realized what she was doing and quickly interjected.

“You hit your horn!” she frantically explained and pointed to her own forehead.

“My… horn?” Twilight asked while Starlight nodded. A bump on the head might have explained why she couldn’t remember anything. “How did it happen?”

“An… unfortunate match of dueling spells.” Starlight rubbed her leg with a guilty smile. “I have an idea for something relaxing to make up for it. And it doesn’t require magic!” Starlight’s horn glowed softly, and she pulled out a large, diamond-shaped kite from behind a nearby bush. “Tah-dah!”

“You… want to fly a kite?” Twilight asked with uncertainty.

“Yes! I mean—” Starlight hesitated. “If you want to...” In a much softer voice, like she was spilling a secret, she added, “I like kites.”

Twilight couldn’t hold in her quiet giggle and answered Starlight with a nod of her head. “It sounds very relaxing. Where’s mine?”

The weather was absolutely perfect for flying kites, almost as if some magical enchantment was at play. The breeze was fair, and not too blistery as to rip the kites away. Twilight sat next to Starlight with the spool in her hooves and not a care in the world. The two were lost in deep conversation; complimenting the climate, discussing what they could fix for dinner, and how they could better develop the intricate equations for transferring magic over long distances.

“I’ve been toying with it, but I’m not able to travel very far without completely depleting my magic from a constant cast,” Starlight explained while her kite’s spool floated near her chest. “When the source of magic leaves the range of the protective spell, it simply—”

“Extinguishes?” Twilight finished for her.

Starlight nodded. “Exactly. The spell is extremely powerful, but that ironically makes it very fragile.”

“Maybe if you had smaller sources connected together,” Twilight suggested while tapping her chin thoughtfully. “You could spread them over the distance you would need to travel; then the magic would have more of a direct path to transfer through.”

Starlight blinked at her, then suddenly jumped up and dropped her kite’s string to the ground. “We should do that! Let me get something set up, and we can work on it together!” She practically skipped up the porch, leaving the kite to lazily drift into a bush. “This is so exciting! We’ll probably work late into the night! We can tell scary stories! Or give each other facials! This will be so fun!”

With an excited hop, Starlight yanked open the back door and disappeared inside, leaving Twilight to pull in both of their kites. After struggling to get the strings straight on their spools without the help of her magic, she finally strolled up the stairs and dropped the tangled mess by the door before sitting herself down in a nearby rocking chair.

Twilight quietly admired the view of the garden while she waited for Starlight to return. Every so often, her thoughts would drift to how she had dozed off before, but each time she felt that curiosity, a surprising calmness settled over her, and she found herself unconcerned about the time before her nap. She didn’t need to investigate, because there was nothing strange about it.

As Twilight felt the serenity begin to pull her into a light sleep, a heavy thud echoed from inside the cottage and caused her to jolt up in her seat.

“Starlight?” Twilight called out with concern, but her friend didn’t respond. Instead, there was a sharp crash against the wall inside.

“Starlight!? Are you alright?” Twilight jumped to the entrance and tried to rush inside, but her head only slammed against the tightly sealed door.

“Perfectly fine!” Starlight yelled back, her voice strained. “Just stay out there!”

A deep thud shook the porch beneath her, and Twilight stumbled away as the door bent from the impact of something heavy slamming against it. She smartly scrambled out of the way, right as it splintered into pieces. Starlight flew backward over the deck, surrounded in a glowing shield that protected her when she bounced against the lawn and disappeared behind a group of tall hedges.

Twilight tried to follow, but a shriek from inside startled her, followed by a streak of white that dove after Starlight into the bushes. She heard voices yelling, and bright beams of magic shot wildly into the air.

Before Twilight could decide to rush to her aid, a large creature charged through the doorway and slammed against her, throwing her over the stairs and to the ground. She skidded to a stop on the grass with the breath knocked out of her, gasping as she stared up at the dark shape above her. The bewildered face of a reindeer stared back, a heavy layer of frost and snow clinging to his fur.

She reacted without hesitation and kicked him square in the snout.

The reindeer reeled back with a vicious snarl, while a clump of snow fell loose and splattered right in her face. A shocking chill shot through her body from the cold, and she couldn’t comprehend his words when the reindeer growled at her. “What are you doing!? I thought you were her prisoner!”

Twilight pressed her hooves against her head as memories suddenly flooded her mind. Everything that had happened… the storybook, the fairy tales, and Spike’s capture… Her eyes snapped open with a gasp, horrified that she had forgotten any of it.

“A memory spell!” Twilight pounded her forehead with a groan. “This is the part with the garden and the witch…”

“Oh good… you seem to remember now.” Sombra rubbed his nose and glared at her. “It would be a shame for you to forget and attack me.”

Before Twilight could answer, a shout from the garden caused both of their heads to turn. Bright streaks of magic lanced through the air, and the white raven crashed through the bushes with a terrified screech while Starlight burst after him. When her frenzied eyes landed on Sombra, her expression warped into a furious scowl. “YOU!! You’ve ruined it!”

“I couldn’t distract her!!!” The raven swooped down and dove for cover beneath Twilight’s wing right as Starlight’s horn lit the area with a dangerous-looking glow.

“Idiot!” Sombra shouted and lunged for Twilight, pulling a yelp from her when he shoved his nose beneath her body and scooped her up. Twilight shouted from the prongs that stuck into her side, but she still wrapped her legs around his antlers as he spun and headed for the tall hedges that lined the yard. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut right before they crashed into the leaves, and the warm breeze blowing against her immediately dropped to a frigid gale.

The shift in scenery was instant, as if they had stepped from one story to another, like flipping the page to a new chapter. The landscape surrounding them was dark and frozen, with stormy winds whipping snowflakes across her vision. She looked back to see snow-covered hedges with a large, reindeer-shaped hole that led back into warmth and sunlight. The garden had been nothing more than an illusionary haven.

“Wait!” Starlight appeared as a dark shape in the gap, outlined by the inviting light behind her, but Sombra wasn’t concerned with finding out what she wanted. Twilight only caught a quick glimpse of Starlight’s pained expression before she faded into the haze. “I-I can explain! Please—” As the distance grew between them, the howling winds ripped Starlight’s voice away, while the sight of the cozy cottage was soon lost in a fog of ice.

Twilight kept staring back into the gloom, even though her vision had been completely engulfed by the grey and white landscape. That heavy, cold feeling in her chest began to spread, but a heavier thought wouldn’t escape her mind, even while Sombra galloped effortlessly over the frozen ground, leaving that arc of the story far behind them.

She could have been okay with that. She was even somewhat glad to be escaping that place. Twilight didn’t want to dwell on the thought of Starlight’s role… Even though the pony depicted by the storybook hadn’t been the real Starlight, she had still used a friendly facade to hide an ulterior motive. It dredged up her own memories of the past that had led to their eventual friendship.

Starlight hadn’t hurt her. As terrible as it seemed, this story version only appeared to have wanted a friend. Her voice calling after them had even sounded so heartbroken… and the familiar shout that echoed in her mind only pulled at her the longer she dwelled on it.

“G-go back!” Twilight shouted to be heard above the screaming winds. “We h-have to go b-back!”

“Are you mad!?” Sombra yelled, his stride not even slowing as he powered on. “There’s no way I’m wasting my time with that warped, conniving little—”

Twilight struck out and bit down on Sombra’s ear with a tug. He tripped over his own hooves, throwing them all head-first into the snow with a shouted curse.

Shivering uncontrollably, Twilight managed to pull herself from the snowbank, racing up and pushing through the powdery snow that rose to her chest. Sombra’s furious threats rang out behind her, but she ignored him and spun in a slow circle, trying to figure out what direction Starlight’s cottage was in.

“Princess!” Twilight jumped when the raven’s talons stabbed into her shoulders, but she settled down when he huddled against her neck. “We need to keep moving! You can’t stay out in this blizzard for very long!”

“Wench!” Sombra yelled from behind, and she turned to see him stomp over to her, his lips curling back in a snarl. “You have the audacity to bite me!?”

“You wouldn’t turn around!” Twilight shouted at him over the howling winds.

“You want to go back to the psychopath that abducted you!?” Sombra lowered his head to glare closer to her level. “That unicorn is more dangerous than the bandits!”

“She’s not a psychopath!” Twilight yelled back. “She’s my friend!”

Sombra’s sneer briefly shifted to an expression that bordered on surprise, but he narrowed his eyes while his voice dropped to a low growl. “Now I see how those stooges captured you in the first place. You set yourself up for your own destruction, but I’m not going to fall along with you.” With a deep huff, he turned into the storm and marched over the snow.

“W-wait!” Twilight called out, but Sombra did not stop. “Where are you going?”

“I am done with this fairy tale! And your foolish ideologies!” Sombra stomped off, his dark form quickly fading into the fog.

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat as she stared after the spot where he disappeared, feeling a wave of panic course through her. She was lost and alone in the bleak, frozen wasteland. A creeping sensation crawled up her spine, and she wasn’t sure if it was the anxiety or the frost collecting against her fur.

“Princess?” She felt the raven shift along her back, and his wings wrapped around her neck like a feathery scarf. While it did little to block out the cold, she lifted a hoof and hugged him closer.

“I’m f-f-f-fine.” Twilight trembled and stumbled to her hooves. “I just have to...” Her voice faded as she stared over the hazy landscape.

Not even a minute had passed since Sombra stormed off, but she could already see a large shape growing more defined over the clouded distance. After a time, Sombra stood in front of her with an annoyed frown as he looked down at her. “I… don’t know where the castle is.”

“And I d-d-don’t have the map,” Twilight answered.

“She still cannot be trusted,” Sombra grumbled.

“I know…” Twilight said solemnly. “You were right, I s-should have been more careful with Starlight.” She bowed her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

Sombra was quiet for a moment, and the only sound she heard was the wind whistling past her ears.

“Why… would you apologize?” he finally asked.

“W-why?” Twilight repeated and lifted her head.

“We are enemies,” Sombra elaborated. “But you already have my cooperation, because… as much as I despise it… we require one another to get through this accursed storybook, so you don’t need to apologize.” At her dumbfounded expression, Sombra wrinkled his snout with a maddening glare. “What I mean is—you should, but you don’t have to! NOT because I don’t want you to... because—of course—I was right. So you should. Apologize.”

“I… f-felt bad.” Twilight couldn’t stifle the snort of laughter that escaped her, and Sombra narrowed his eyes from suspicion. “Really! You were the only one t-thinking of that possibility. Maybe if I had l-listened to you, it wouldn’t have been as bad a s-situation as it turned out.”

“Pity for your nemesis.” Sombra snorted. “I don’t need it.”

“It wasn’t p-pity!” Twilight insisted. “It was…” Her gaze trailed down, trying to figure out a reason for herself before explaining it to him. “When I recognized you… back in the bandits’ c-cave? I laughed because I… was relieved.” Twilight looked up at him, blinking in surprise at her own conclusion. “I didn’t f-feel alone anymore.”

Sombra gave a doubtful snort. “Are you suggesting we’re friends?” he said in a mocking tone.

“I d-don’t think we’re enemies.” Twilight smiled at him.

Sombra stared at her for a long moment, but eventually moved and lowered his head. “Come,” he simply said, before nudging his nose beneath her stomach. Twilight was a little less startled this time around as she settled near his antlers. “Your legs are freezing over.”

Twilight looked at her hooves in surprise and noticed a layer of frost that she hadn’t felt while sitting in the cold. Any longer and she might have unknowingly turned into a statue.

It was too long before Twilight spotted the shadow of the cabin through the storm, and Sombra headed for the warm glow of the enchanted garden in the hidden backyard. As he approached, Twilight could see Starlight curled up on the grass with her legs covering her face.

Sombra stopped right outside the opening, and Twilight was tempted to ask him to step into the warmth, but she was also hesitant to have them enter haphazardly. She called out softly, “S-Starlight?”

At the sound of her voice, Starlight’s head popped up, and Twilight could see that her cheeks were wet with tears. She blinked in surprise at the sight of Twilight draped over Sombra’s head, and with a loud sniff, she wiped at her eyes. “You… you came back?” her voice croaked.

“You c-can’t leave the garden… can you?” Twilight asked in a reserved tone.

“I… If I do… the protection spell falls apart.” Starlight turned her gaze to the side. “The few ponies that do pass through wouldn’t have a safe place to stay… and the garden would… just… I… I just…” She ducked her head and hid beneath her hooves. “You were happy, weren’t you? We were having fun together?”

“That d-doesn’t make it right.” Twilight took a step onto the grass after Sombra lowered his head, sighing when she felt the warm air of the protective spell wash over her. The raven slid from her back and fluffed out his feathers in a spray of snowflakes.

“I… I just wanted a friend…” Starlight’s voice cracked from a sob.

“You can’t force friendship like that,” Twilight said with a stern tone.

“I was so afraid…” Starlight sniffed as the tears spilled from her eyes. “Everypony ends up leaving! I’m always alone!” She covered her face with her hooves. “You don’t know what it’s like!”

Twilight touched Starlight’s hoof and gently moved it away from her face, giving her a sad frown as Starlight looked up at her. “I know how important it is to have friends that can support you, and I know what it’s like to feel abandoned…” Twilight helped Starlight into a sitting position, then leaned in to give her a hug. She wrapped her wings across Starlight’s shoulders and lowered her cheek against her neck. “I can’t imagine where I would be without my friends, but as close as we are, we aren’t perfect. We have our differences, and I may have doubts… I may even be afraid of losing them, but that doesn’t mean we should give up.”

She felt Starlight’s weight fall against her, and her shoulders shook from the sobs convulsing her sides. Twilight patted her back and let her cry, giving her time to let it all out.

Or at least, she would have… had a large snowball not splattered against her back. Twilight flared her wings with a sharp yelp, snapping her gaze around to see Sombra pointing an innocent hoof at the flabbergasted raven.

“Are you kidding!?” Twilight hissed.

“Consoling this fictional character is a waste of time.” Sombra’s annoyance was clear as he spoke without any hint of shame. “Are you almost finished?”

Twilight ignored him, unable to help think this was revenge for biting his ear, and turned back to Starlight, who had quieted down to soft sniffles. “I’m… sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I c-can… I understand if you don’t—” Starlight tried to explain through her quiet sobs.

“Apologizing won’t erase what happened,” Twilight said, able to grasp what Starlight was going for. “But it doesn’t mean you can’t be a good pony, or a good friend. We can work towards it together. That’s what friendship is.”

Starlight drew away, pushing Twilight back while she wiped at the tears on her face. “Even after everything I did…?”

Twilight nodded. “It’s up to you if you want to change, and I can help you.” She then put a hoof on Starlight’s shoulder, while placing the other over her own chest. “But right now, I have to go. I promise that I’ll come back and visit… but Spike needs me. He’s a part of my family, and he’s been taken by the Snow Queen.”

Starlight grimaced and slapped her forehead with her hoof. “You were headed north to find him… now I feel so much worse…” Starlight then sat up straight, looking like something suddenly bit her. “Wait here!” She turned and bolted into the house, and the sound of crashing pots and pans echoed from inside. In a burst of light, Starlight quickly teleported back with a bundle floating in her magic.

She thrust the bags against Twilight’s chest, and Twilight managed to catch them before they dropped to the ground. “I’m sorry! Again. I already threw out your cloak, but I kept your saddlebags. I just... didn’t want it to trigger your memory.” Her gaze fell while her ears drooped, and she held out a scarf folded on top of her hooves. “But I don’t travel—obviously… so you can have my emergency scarf. I just hope it keeps you safe,” Starlight mumbled.

Twilight lowered her saddlebags and accepted the scarf, wrapping it around her neck. “It’s perfect, Starlight, thank you.” She leaned in and gave her friend a warm hug.

“Oh! And another thing!” Starlight sat up with a look of excitement. “There’s a wizard over the mountains just east of here. They helped me set up the garden before I… got stuck.” Starlight grinned sheepishly. “It’s a bit of a detour from where you’re headed, but they might be able to help you with your affliction. I don’t think you can make it to the Snow Queen’s castle otherwise.”

Twilight turned to Sombra, and he rolled his eyes with a soft huff before she turned back to Starlight with a big grin.

Equipped with nothing but her new scarf to combat the cold, Twilight found it difficult to keep her eyes open while clinging to Sombra’s neck as he galloped effortlessly through the snow, staying on course of the path that Starlight had pointed them in. Even though he was warm, the elements beating against her quickly wore her down. The scarf wrapped around her head and the raven trying to act as a shield did nothing to stave off the numbing chill.

She couldn’t tell how long it had been, or even how far they had traveled. She thought her eyelids might have frozen shut, and it still felt as if she were trapped in the storm when a jumble of faded voices finally reached her ears. Almost as if they were trying to talk to her through a thick layer of ice, she couldn’t understand any of them. Her legs were stiff, and her head wouldn’t move. The only thing she could do was hug Sombra’s fur even tighter.

Something shockingly warm touched her cheek, and she grunted when a hoof gently lifted her head. In response to the cold air that filled the emptiness between herself and Sombra’s coat, she clung to him, but whoever was speaking didn’t move her any more than that.

A hot liquid spilled against her lips. Surprised by the heat and wanting more of it to combat against the cold, she was able to open her mouth just enough to swallow a few gratifying gulps.

Whatever the drink was, it immediately warmed up her insides and seemed to help her break through the frost that clouded her mind and body. Even though she was still freezing, the feeling had started to return to her limbs. With an effort, she cracked open her eyelids and blinked at the pleasant light that met her.

She couldn’t clearly see her surroundings, but she got the impression of a large cabin with a wide, open living room. Although everything was fuzzy, she could almost identify a small kitchen and dining room table off to her left, while the bright light flickering nearby was obviously the fireplace.

The voices around her were still muffled behind that wall of ice, but they sounded stronger and clearer than before. A blurry orange figure stood before her, and a cup floated into view and pressed against her lips again. She heard a garbled string of words and assumed he was asking her to drink, so she obliged. The same beverage slid down her throat, and her vision gradually returned.

“W-where…” Twilight tried to ask, but the pony interrupted her, saying something about resting a moment longer. She felt a deep rumble beside her, and a high-pitched squawk from the weight on her back. Even through her confused senses, she could pick up on Sombra’s irritation as he argued with the raven. But she had more patience, and after a minute of waiting, the pair of figures standing in front of her slowly came into focus.

“F-Flurry?” Twilight croaked out. She received a happy babbling in response when Flurry Heart rushed forward to hug Twilight around her neck. Twilight happily caught her in a warm embrace and nuzzled her nose against Flurry’s cheek. She was so elated that she wanted to fly up with her niece and spin through the air, but her legs remained planted on the floor, and her wings barely twitched in response.

“It was definitely more than a simple flurry,” Sunburst leaned closer and explained. “That blizzard is perpetuated by the Snow Queen herself! It’s very dangerous to travel now, especially in your condition!”

Flurry Heart cooed with concern, burying her face against Twilight’s chest with a small frown and gently tapped her hoof against the spot where the magic pooled in a frigid lump. She wasn’t certain if it was just coincidence or if Flurry actually understood what was happening to her.

“Indeed, you might have frozen out there,” Sunburst scolded her, appearing to respond to an unspoken statement. “What were you doing?”

“Going to… the queen’s castle…” Twilight breathed, resting her head atop something soft. It turned out to be Sombra’s shoulder, but she didn’t care, not after traveling with him through the storm.

“Why would you want to go there!?” Sunburst exclaimed and raised a hoof to fix his spectacles.

“Spike…” Twilight huffed out, feeling as if she had done all that running through the blizzard on her own. “She took him. I have to… rescue him.”

“We came here to find a cure for this,” Sombra explained, motioning his head at Twilight. “Quickly heal her so we can be on our way.”

“You’re in no condition to rescue anypony, not with that spell threatening to freeze you,” Sunburst continued on, unable to understand Sombra, but somehow appearing to know about the magic affecting her. “You can rest here, but I can’t condone you rushing off to die in the storm!”

Flurry Heart made a series of babbling noises that Sunburst tilted his head towards. When she stopped, Sunburst nodded and trotted toward the kitchen. “I can prepare the water, then.”

In the silence that followed, Flurry fluttered up to follow after Sunburst while Sombra watched with a blank expression. “Is he going to elaborate, or are we just going to pretend that’s normal?”

Twilight was too drained to even roll her eyes; she simply flicked an ear and laid her head down to rest like Sunburst had recommended. Bottles clinked and cutlery rattled while Sunburst assisted Flurry with some kind of preparation and not the other way around.

“Buuah!” Flurry finally announced while flying over a pot that boiled with heat. Sunburst used his magic to scoop the liquid out with a ladle and poured it into a cup. Still scalding hot, he floated it over to Twilight.

“Breathe in the steam, Princess.” Sunburst lowered the cup, and Twilight opened her eyes, grunting as she lifted her head to sniff at the concoction. As soon as the vapor entered her nostrils, she snorted and flopped backward with a sneeze, instantly feeling a warmth spread across her body. The effect was only momentary as the chill quickly returned, but at least it was no longer draining her strength.

“What is it?” she asked, feeling more alert while she sat up to peer into the cup.

“Something to help with the cold. It should be safe to consume now.” Sunburst tipped the cup to her lips and she took a few gulps. With each sip, a heat burst down her throat and through her insides. The stiffness that had frozen her joints melted away, and she immediately felt her temperature begin to rise. Twilight had to stop, pulling away with a puff of steam escaping when she breathed out.

“Can’t…” She let her tongue loll out of her open mouth, stumbling to her hooves in the direction of the door and causing the raven on her back to squawk in surprise. “Too hot!”

A burning sensation rose in her throat and raged across her tongue. The hut had become too warm, and her entire body felt like it was on fire. Twilight suddenly sprinted to the door, leaving the raven hovering in the air while she tugged it open and tumbled down the steps into the blizzard. Her relief came in the form of a snowbank as she plowed head first into it, letting out a heavy sigh after crunching on a few bites of the powdery snow.

“Oh dear…” She heard Sunburst’s voice from the porch. “We might have made it too hot.”

“Might have!?” Twilight pulled her head from the snow and gave him a heated glare. The others stood with him, Flurry Heart clapping and giggling while the raven paced on the edge of the steps.

“How do you feel now?” Sunburst asked, seemingly unphased by her outburst.

Twilight blinked and realized she felt fine, considering that she was laying in a mound of snow while a blizzard raged around her. Even though all she had on was the scarf, she only felt a slight chill from the elements. “Good… actually.”

“Well, that was entertaining.” Sombra’s head ducked through the doorway with a smirk. “As well as beneficial. Off to the castle then?”

Twilight shot him a sour look, but she hastily climbed out of the snow pile, sharing his thoughts on traveling as soon as possible. “Right. We can go to the Snow Queen’s castle without any worry—”

“Hold on,” Sunburst interjected, causing Twilight to slip right back into the snow. “The potion needs time to settle and defend against her magic. Traveling through this blizzard too soon will just freeze you all over again.” He moved into the doorway and waved his hoof. “Come back inside, you can sleep here for the night.”

Twilight shook the snow off of herself and scrambled back into the house. The moment she was inside, the raven fluttered up to land on her shoulders when Flurry Heart darted through the air and intervened. She hugged Twilight’s back and wrinkled her snout as she looked up at the startled bird, who veered away and landed in the rafters with a dejected warble.

“The potion should keep you safe,” Sunburst explained while floating over a few blankets from a closet as he trotted past. “But if any more of the Snow Queen’s magic gets in, you’ll just freeze… and next time, it won’t be so easy to fix, if at all.”

Twilight nodded in understanding, following him down a short hallway to a large guest room, with Sombra’s heavy hoofsteps lumbering after them. A pair of beds shared a space near the window, and there was a small fireplace along the wall for extra warmth. Sunburst laid the blankets out on the floor while moving over to the hearth and fiddling with the logs to get a fire going.

Twilight strolled to the nearest bed, jumping up and collapsing against the covers with a weary sigh. Flurry crawled down Twilight’s shoulder and snuggled up beside her, nosing her way beneath her wing. Twilight happily obliged her niece, shifting closer to Flurry’s warm body even though she felt perfectly fine thanks to the potion.

A flicker of light sparked in the fireplace as Sunburst got the flames started. “It seems your travels have taken quite a toll on you.”

Twilight’s eyes were already closed, but she nodded soundlessly in answer.

“I will let you sleep, then.” Sunburst quietly shuffled to the doorway, where a soft flutter of feathers announced the raven entering the room. “If you get hungry, let me know.” And with that, she heard the door shut with a soft click.

A creaking and squeaking of metal springs disturbed the quiet of the room, and Twilight opened her eyes to see Sombra with his front half on the second bed. He was trying to lift himself up, but the mattress was obviously much too small for his reindeer bulk.

“Confound this… stupid… feeble...” he grumbled while trying to figure out how to fit as his antlers scraped the ceiling.

“I think the blankets are for you,” Twilight said as she pointed to the comforter on the floor. Sombra turned and followed her hoof, frowning deeper at the sight of the sheets near the fireplace.

Despite his obvious dislike, he strolled beside it and investigated them, pawing curiously at the makeshift bed and inspecting it close enough to be able to see each thread of fabric. After a time, he finally stepped over it and flopped down, grumbling something inaudible beneath his breath.

Twilight watched him glower for a moment, adjusting her leg carefully when she realized Flurry Heart had already fallen asleep against her. The raven fluttered over silently, his light steps not even phasing the mattress to disturb them. When he settled against her other side, the room went quiet, with the muffled whistling of the wind outside the only sound that could be heard. Twilight felt herself drifting off to sleep when Sombra’s voice broke the peace.

“Out of curiosity…” he started hesitantly and lifted his head away from the sheets. “How did you come to be friends with that unicorn?”

“Sunburst?” Twilight asked groggily, careful to keep her voice low.

“The other one. With the garden,” Sombra clarified.

“Starlight?” Twilight lifted her head slowly and blinked at him. The fireplace had filled the room with a soft, amber glow.

“I fail to see what circumstances might benefit an alliance between you two,” Sombra said. “Unless this isn’t the first time you’ve been trapped in a corrupted storybook with an enemy.”

Twilight almost laughed. “I was stuck in a comic book once, but not with Starlight.” She gave him a brief summary of how they had met, after having to explain to him what a comic book was.

“Because of what happened, Starlight was afraid. She was so scared of what might change, she tried to control it in a bad way.” Twilight looked up at Sombra, who had been surprisingly quiet throughout her story. There could have been a thousand reasons as to why, but Twilight tried something on a whim. “Did anything like that… happen to you?”

For the briefest moment, a strange look flashed across Sombra’s face that could have simply been the flicker of firelight. His expression displayed its usual intensity as he glared at her. “I am not one of your friends to be consoled,” Sombra grumbled.

Twilight watched him quietly for a moment before shifting her legs, taking great pains to move delicately. She managed to slip away from Flurry without waking her niece up, but the raven turned to blink sleepily at her. With a ruffle of his feathers, he shifted his body to press against Flurry, and her little legs reached out to hug him like one of her stuffed animals.

Free from the pile, Twilight slid down the bed and trotted over to Sombra to offer her hoof to him. “Not yet.”

He wrinkled his snout while looking down at her leg. “What is this?”

“An offer of friendship. Officially,” Twilight continued after Sombra’s scoffing snort. “Even if it’s only while we’re trapped in here. As long as we’re working together, why not?” Twilight smiled up at him, and Sombra frowned back at her as if she was holding a rotten fruit. “We can work through this… together. I’ll listen to your concerns, and you consider mine. If not, then… we escape and go back to being enemies. You can conquer the Empire...” Twilight paused, frowning sadly at him. “And I’ll stop you.”

Sombra chuckled darkly and leaned closer. “You can try,” he rumbled, and Twilight’s ears flattened, disappointed that he wasn’t willing to agree.

“But—” he started again, and her ears perked up. “You are… intelligent, despite your poor judge of character. And…” His gaze slid off to the side. “I’ll… admit, you have served me usefully in some instances.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Friends help one another. They’re loyal and kind—”

“Yes, fine. I don’t need any selling points.” Sombra lifted his leg and nearly toppled Twilight over when he laid his large hoof over hers, giving it a slight shake. “I shall give this friendship a try.”

Twilight tapped his hoof and pulled away, shaking her leg to get the feeling back into it, but grinned at him awkwardly, not really sure what she should do next. “Alright then… uhm… Goodnight… Sombra.” Twilight blurted as she stepped back towards the bed, but before she could climb back up, Sombra’s voice stopped her.

“I suppose…” he hesitated, appearing to sound a little flustered. “Since we are… friends… of a sort, I should ask a fairly important question.” He turned his head and muttered, “One I probably should have asked a while ago.”

Twilight paused and tilted her head when he remained quiet. She lifted her hoof, urging him to continue. “What is it?”

Sombra rumbled something deep in his throat before speaking up. “What is your name?”

Twilight was quiet for a moment, not certain if he was being serious. Of all the times that he had been around when her storybook friends had called out to her… and after all this time? “Really?” Twilight asked flatly. “You don't remember my name?”

“I didn’t care to pay attention… or remember.” Sombra glared at her. “It didn’t seem important... Although, admittedly, it would have been easier than coming up with new insults to call you.”

Twilight sighed with a drop of her head before placing a hoof over her chest. “Twilight Sparkle.”

“Princess… I assume?” Sombra asked curiously, but Twilight shook her head.

“Just Twilight, is fine.”

“Then...” Sombra mused as a thoughtful expression crossed his face. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Twilight.”

Author's Note

Eight chapters in and he's only now learning her name... BAD Sombra, BAD!!!

Chapter 10: Flipping Your Fins (Part 1)

Of all the places Twilight had been dropped when starting out in a new story, the depths of the ocean was perhaps the most shocking place to find herself in.

At least, she assumed that was where she had landed when she opened her eyes to find herself submerged in a shadowy place, the pressure of water surrounding her on all sides. Without even bothering to take a breath, Twilight clamped her hooves over her mouth and floundered in the current. When her hind legs didn’t respond the way she’d intended, she became aware of how immensely different her body felt.

Bubbles of air burst from her nostrils as she flipped around and lit up the darkness, thankful that her horn finally responded, although confused when the glow of magic bobbed in front of her like it was bouncing through the currents. What she thought had been open ocean lit up before her and revealed a richly furnished room, with walls and ceilings carved from a pearlescent stone.

Twilight looked down at her back legs only to see the shape of a single tapered tail, with a fin the same color of her mane drifting through the soft light. She turned slightly to observe the fins along her back, and when she thought to “flap” her wings, the transparent appendages at her shoulders unfurled in response.

The setting couldn’t have been made any clearer than if she’d been slapped with the title of the story. Even though her panic subsided at her discovery, Twilight still gasped at the unusual sensation when she pulled her hooves away. Her brain went into a frenzy of both hysteria and relief as the water filling her throat made her feel as if she were suffocating, even while her system filtered it through to create oxygen.

Twilight took another deep breath and patted her own chest in reassurance, taking note of the new layer of scales that ran beneath her fur. She tilted her head back to study the soft orb of magic lighting up the dark water. It hung in front of her like a bulb on a string; Twilight realized she had a lure like an anglerfish instead of a horn.

“Twilight?” a voice called to her through an arched doorway with curtains tied across the opening. “Are you awake?”

“Umm… yes!” Twilight answered hesitantly, slowly floating down to settle atop a spongy surface that she assumed was a bed. Hidden in shadows, another creature squeezed in through the curtains to swim over to the far wall.

“Then what are you doing in the dark? Today’s your big day!” a familiar voice sang out while throwing open the shutters over a window. Twilight hid her face momentarily while her eyes adjusted to the sunlight filtering in from the water above. The darkness of the room faded, and Twilight found herself staring at a version of Cadence with the fins and tail of a seapony.

“Oooh, I can’t believe it’s finally happening.” Cadence darted over and caught Twilight in a crushing hug as she squeezed her. “My little sister’s going to see the surface!”

“Sister?” Twilight pushed herself away from Cadence’s chest to give herself some breathing room. “You don’t have a daughter, do you?” Twilight asked hesitantly, but at Cadence’s blank look, she pretty much had her answer.

“Our youngest sister has reached the age where she can visit the surface.” A voice floated in from the doorway, and Twilight’s heart skipped as she turned her attention to the two figures that had entered without her noticing. Though they had been given the same storybook transformation, Celestia and Luna were still very regal and easily recognizable as they swam into the room. “We’re all so happy for you, Twilight.” Celestia beamed while her powerful tail fin brought her closer.

“Yes, it is high time you had a chance to see the surface world for yourself,” Luna said with a stern expression. “Even if father only allows it so that we may witness the horrors of the land.”

“Life on the surface still offers us beautiful spectacles to behold.” Celestia chuckled as she embraced Twilight in a comforting hug. “Don’t let Luna’s experience cause you to worry about your own.”

“Hmph,” Luna scoffed. “It’s not my fault if you don’t prepare her properly.”

“Come on, Twilight,” Cadence urged as she tugged her leg gently with a laugh. “Father wants to give you one of his speeches before you leave.”

Rather than swimming out into the hallway like she had thought they would, Cadence instead led her to the window and slipped through the opening while Celestia and Luna followed along behind them. She swam over lively coral reefs that had been carved into houses, the water shimmering as schools of fish darted around the depths and other seaponies flitted alongside them.

Her 'sisters' swam back in an arc, guiding Twilight toward the center of the gigantic underwater castle, its surface glistening in the glow of the crystal blue waters. They swam past a pair of stoic guards, through an enormous archway, and down a grand hall that led into a towering chamber with large windows and openings to let the natural light in.

“Twilight!” A quick form darted right for her, and Twilight found herself spinning when a large purple dolphin circled around her.

“Spike!?” Twilight pressed her hooves over her mouth to suppress her incredulous giggle. “Is that you?”

“Of course it is!” Spike slowed to a stop and turned one of his eyes her way. “You don’t recognize me?”

“Sort of.” She drifted closer and reached out a tentative hoof to lightly touch his rubbery skin. “But… you’re a dolphin!”

His long snout broke out in a wide grin and Twilight heard him emit a high pitched clicking. “Now I see how Sombra was a reindeer. The storybook can change us into different things, because you all look like seaponies!”

“Twilight,” a much deeper voice boomed out from the throne at the back of the room, and a seapony with a long, flowing beard drifted closer. Twilight gawked when Starswirl reached out to grasp her leg, a sparkling crown sitting atop his brow instead of his signature wizard’s hat. “Are you prepared for your journey to the surface today?”

Before Twilight could answer, Luna spoke up for her. “We have prepared her the best we can, father. With our advice in mind, Twilight is certain to stay out of trouble.”

“Hmm.” Starswirl gave her a look that didn’t seem too convinced, but he released her hoof to stroke his beard. “I am more reassured knowing that Spike is accompanying you. He will be there to protect you should trouble manage to find you instead.” Starswirl turned around and lifted his gaze. “It is important to remember—”

“Here it comes,” Cadence whispered in Twilight’s ear with a giggle.

Starswirl’s pronounced throat-clearing echoed through the throne room. “It is imperative to remember that dangerous ponies lurk about the surface that will wish to do you harm.” Starswirl turned to Twilight with a frown before shooting Cadence a stern look. “If you ever feel in danger, do not hesitate to dive and just keep swimming. The surface dwellers cannot breathe underwater.”

“Of course, umm… father.” Twilight bowed, nodding her head in understanding while Spike suppressed a chuckle beneath his fins.

Starswirl grunted satisfactorily. “Then I suppose we should all see you off. I already anticipate the time when you return to us safely.”

“Is your shoulder alright?” Spike swam around to Twilight’s front with a look of concern while they moved away from the castle and the lively city beneath the sea. “Last time we started a new story, you were still hurt.”

Twilight stopped in the water and turned her head, having forgotten that she’d been injured in the last fairytale. Her hoof moved along her neck, but she didn’t feel any pain or signs to indicate that the wound had ever been there.

“It’s gone,” Twilight said airily, slightly in awe. “And completely healed. I don’t actually remember feeling any pain after, ah… Thorax kissed me.”

“The… magic of love?” Spike gave her a grin and shrugged his fins. “At least it worked out this time.” He nudged her with a snicker. “Starswirl might have thrown a fit, since he sounds like a pretty protective dad.”

“Stop,” Twilight scolded him, although she had trouble stifling her own grin.

“So, why are we going to the surface?” Spike asked as Twilight started swimming again. The open ocean was calm and quiet around them; the city they had left behind was nothing more than a hazy shape in the distance.

“When a merpony comes of age, they visit the surface to see the world above.” She raised an eyebrow as she looked toward him. “Haven’t you read 'The Little Mermare?'”

“No.” Spike wrinkled his snout. “Isn’t it just another mushy romance?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at him. “So you didn’t read that book I gave you for Hearth’s Warming like you said you did?”

“Oh, hey!” Spike shouted as he lunged ahead. “There’s uh… something going on up there!”

“Spike!” Twilight cried angrily, quickly flipping her tail fin to chase after him.

“I’m serious, Twilight!” He sped up through the illuminated water and headed straight for the surface. “There’s something up here!”

Twilight followed him with a doubtful expression, but it quickly turned to surprise when the shadow of a large ship appeared through the waves as it sailed above them. While she stopped to watch, Spike swam around and sidled up beside her. “So… umm… what do we do now?”

Twilight sighed with a roll of her eyes. “I have to save a prince, and we… ah… fall in love…” Her voice trailed off when Spike started snickering. “What?”

“The prince isn’t gonna be Thorax again, is it?” Spike failed to conceal his laughter as he 'squee’d' like a real dolphin in his mirth.

“I… don’t know…” Twilight frowned as a slight blush rose to her cheeks. “There’s nothing special between us. It was just because of his relation to Chrysalis.”

“Riiiiight,” Spike said while leisurely flipping toward the bottom of the ship. “It’s got nothing to do with the crush you have on Thorax.”

“I don’t have a crush on him!” Twilight yelled and sped past him, breaking through the surface of the water right as the boat was passing by. She fumed, even while gazing up at the towering vessel as it glided over the water rather gracefully despite its size.

“Sure you don’t,” Spike continued when he floated up beside her. “You two only kissed.”

“It’s not like I wanted to kiss him! I couldn’t even move when he did that!” Twilight shot a glare at Spike before turning back to the massive galleon. “I’ll climb up there and prove to you that Thorax isn’t the prince this time… probably.”

“A-huh.” Spike nodded while she paddled over to a rope hanging low into the water. “And if he is, we’ll have to talk about the obvious connection you two share!”

Twilight groaned, but otherwise ignored him, snapping up the rope in her mouth and testing out her magic. It was a slightly different feeling, but her 'bulb' worked identically to her horn; although she could feel the limitation of the storybook interfering again, at least she had a small reservoir she could still rely on.

She wrapped herself around the rope and used her magic to wind it back along a pulley system that sat above the railing. Lifting herself up to a gunport, Twilight reached out for one of the cannons and climbed on top of it, carefully raising her head to peek over the floor of the quarterdeck. She was able to watch as the ponies on board bustled about and worked the sails while a small group of musicians played a jovial tune near the cabin entrance.

The sailors appeared to be celebrating, watching as a group danced to the tune of the music and stomped their hooves. They were all too distracted to even notice Twilight while she spied on them, searching through the sailors to find one that stood out from the obvious seafarers with their bandanas and vests.

As Twilight watched, some of the ponies looked toward the bow of the ship and cheered; she followed their gaze to see Sombra stroll down the stairs. An elderly pony with a bushy grey mustache shuffled behind him, holding himself diligently.

Sombra wasn’t quite dressed in his own cape and armor, but the tailored cloak that he wore looked like one a prince might own. The gold circlet on his head also suggested royalty rather than a seafaring rank, and as he stomped slowly along the steps, the other ponies quieted respectfully when he simply cleared his throat. It looked as though he were going to give a speech, but an echoing rumble of thunder interrupted him before he could start.

Many of the sailors shouted out a relay of orders that rippled through the boat, and Twilight ducked when they started rushing about, their hooves pounding along the deck above her. Their movements didn’t seem to be in panic, but there was certainly an air of alarm as they tried to prepare the sails. The cloudy sky grew darker as the wind picked up and waves started to lash against the sides with a building fury. Twilight, meanwhile, was simply trying to calm herself down, her mind in a frenzy, but not because of the oncoming storm.

She couldn’t make sense of what she had seen, or rather, didn’t want to accept the fact that Sombra was obviously the prince that she needed to save. She tried to argue with her own thoughts that he might have been a superior officer for the vessel, but even she couldn’t deny that crown atop his head.

Everything so far was lining up to be the story she remembered, which only caused her more frustration. It was a simple story of romance that Twilight was certain would only cause her more grief. Though she doubted Sombra would do so, she felt uneasy about the possible embarrassment of another prince proclaiming his love, even if it was fictional.

A torrent of rain released from the sky like somepony had suddenly turned on a shower, and the growing shadows made Twilight aware of the fact that the daylight had long since disappeared behind the clouds. The boat started to rock as waves crashed into the sides.

A flash of lightning lit up the darkness, and thunder immediately exploded through the air, shaking the very seas and the ship with its rumbling echo. Twilight heard frantic shouts and orders yelled across the deck while hugging the cannon below her.

Another flash, a crack, and something exploded from the deck above, sending a rain of sparks and burning debris over the railing. The shouting turned into terrified screams as the growling creak of splintering wood droned on above her.

Twilight quickly launched herself to the rough waves as the mast crashed into the deck where she had been sitting. She splashed into the current, dodging around objects and wooden beams that floated and bubbled around her. She sputtered back up to the surface at a safer distance and watched as the ship slowly listed onto its side while burning amidst the torrent of the storm.

“Twilight!” She turned as Spike swam up to her. “Are you alright!?”

“I’m fine! But the ship is sinking!” Twilight shouted before spinning in the water when another crash of thunder rumbled from above. There were few ponies still left on board, with the rest already struggling to row away in lifeboats. While she watched, a tall wave slammed against the ship and caused it to capsize, catching one of the smaller boats in the collapsing sails. Twilight could hear frantic cries even above the storm and dove beneath the water toward the sinking vessel.

“Wait! Twilight!” Spike cried out, but she didn’t even stop or slow down. She was concentrating on reaching the area quickly, and only hesitated when she paused to search through the floating debris littering the water. She eventually spotted a dark shape, and when she swam closer, wasn’t surprised to see Sombra sinking into the murky depths.

“Help me get him to the surface!” Twilight called to Spike as she lunged through the water and hooked her legs beneath Sombra’s neck. He was unresponsive, with his eyes closed and meager bubbles of air escaping his snout.

When they emerged into the sweltering waves and pounding rain, Spike helped her drag Sombra through the currents, slowly but surely making their way to calmer waters, and away from the terror of the storm.

Some time later, Twilight huffed and gasped while dragging Sombra’s body through the shallows along the shore, where the sea was at peace and only soft gray clouds dotted the sky. Spike stayed back in the deeper water where she had told him to wait, not wanting him to accidentally beach himself.

With a powerful flip of her tail, she managed to get herself and Sombra onto the sand, flopping over onto her back with a heavy sigh to catch her breath. She opened her eyes to glance at him, knowing full well that as the mermare, she would probably need to leave soon, but she wanted to ensure that Sombra was alright… or at least still alive.

“Sombra?” Twilight quietly called out, leaning over and twisting her ears toward him. He didn’t appear to be breathing, but right as she moved to help him, he hacked up a forceful cough and a mouthful of seawater. Twilight backed away to give him room while he sat up on the sand and took in deep, gasping breaths of air.

“Who...?” he asked with a hoarse voice and lifted his head in her direction. Twilight laid back on the shore as their eyes met, and his gaze froze for a split second before trailing curiously along her body, quiet as he appeared to be slowly processing what he was looking at.

“You’re a fish?” he finally blurted out.

“'The Little Mermare,' actually,” Twilight corrected him.

Sombra snorted out a mist of saltwater from his nostrils and wrinkled his snout. “‘The Little Mermare?’ Are you supposed to be the only one?”

“It’s just the title.” Twilight rolled her eyes, watching as Sombra tugged the soaked cape over his head and tossed it into the water. “It’s a story about a mermare who wants to be a pony.”

“After she rescues a king?” Sombra gave her a wide grin, looking smug with himself.

“You’re actually… ” Twilight’s voice went quiet, again reminded of what his role most likely meant. She felt her heart jolt, but not in some childish anticipation of the possible romance. “The—the prince… and… ah... the little mermare—I mean… well, they—” Twilight ducked her gaze as Sombra eyed her with a suspicious gleam.

“What?” he pressed, stepping over the sand and causing Twilight to scoot away. She was suddenly very aware of how close he was to her.

“Y-you’re the prince…” Twilight stammered, feeling a warmth rise to her face. “And in order t-to remain a pony, s-she has to… kiss him...”

She heard Sombra scoff and looked up to see him watching her curiously. “Is that all?”

“Is that… all?” Twilight parroted back, surprised by his indifference. Her heart felt like it was trying to beat out of her chest, and her mind was racing to think of ways to get out of the forced relationship, so it was a surprise that Sombra appeared to be reacting so calmly about it.

“What?” Sombra chuckled darkly at her bewildered expression. “You think I would be unwilling?”

“Uhm…” Twilight turned her head away, but kept her eyes on him. “Yes, actually.”

“Twilight.” For some reason, her nerves jumped at his tone of voice. Alarms went off in her head as he strolled closer, and all her possible plans scattered in the panic of her mind while her hooves remained planted in the sand. “Do you really need me to explain how pleasurable kissing can be?” Twilight tried to scramble away when he lifted his hoof to her face, but she quickly found her back pressed against a boulder from the shoreline. “If all we need to end this fairytale is a kiss…”

Sombra leaned forward, close enough that she felt his breath warm her face. Twilight squeaked out a gasp, and with a spray of sand, she brought her tail up to slap him clear across his snout. With a furious shout, Sombra splashed into the surf, kicking up a shower of water while Twilight pulled herself atop the rock and spun around to watch him with an intense glare.

“WHAT WAS THAT!?” Sombra roared at her when he had finally pried himself from the waves.

“Y-you were trying to kiss me!!!” Twilight shouted back at him.

“Of course I was!” Sombra snarled, stalking onto the shore and shaking the saltwater out of his mane. “If we kiss, the story will end!”

“It doesn’t work like that!” Twilight yelled, not entirely certain if it was true or not, but after everything she had experienced, something told her it couldn’t be that easy. “I’m not even a pony yet! I’m still a mermare, so... there’s no spell on me.” She managed to settle down slightly, even though every nerve jittered with suspicion as she curled her tail over the rock and watched him carefully.

“Information that would have been less painful, much sooner,” Sombra grumbled while shaking sand off his hooves.

“I… didn’t mean to hit you like that,” Twilight apologized while tapping her hooves together. “You just… took me by surprise. You don’t seem—umm, that is...” Twilight looked at him with confusion. “You aren’t… reluctant?” It wasn’t the exact word she had been looking for, but simply the best one she had settled on.

“Well,” Sombra mused while dusting himself off. “It’s not as if you are an unattractive mare.” Twilight gaped at him while he turned away and continued, “Though I suppose I may have deserved that, if you already have a suitor.”

“I—” Twilight started, but her voice faltered when his words sank in. “What?”

“Your lover,” Sombra said, but she only stared back blankly. “The bird-prince?”

“T-Thorax?” Twilight blinked when she managed to follow his train of thought. “H-he’s not—that was…” She tried to calm herself, but her racing pulse only helped to fuddle up her thoughts. “It-it was only the story.”

“So,” Sombra grunted with a frown, “you just don’t want to kiss me?”

Twilight felt her face grow hot the same moment she heard voices echo further up the shore. She glanced down the beach and saw the approaching figures, feeling a wave a relief at the excuse walking her way. Without giving Sombra an explanation, she darted into the waves and splashed beneath the surface while his startled shout followed after her.

She sped out into the deeper water, putting as much distance between herself and Sombra as she could, only stopping when she reached a jetty of rocks to hide behind. Covering her face with her hooves, Twilight curled her tail over and went limp, letting her body drift through the current as she tried to sort out her thoughts and maybe calm herself down.

Her heart was still pounding at a frustrating pace. It wasn’t as if she hated Sombra, but she wasn’t certain she could make it through a kiss with him without exploding from embarrassment. She had already gone through enough awkwardness after the storybook version of Thorax had caught her unaware.

And his words before she had left him… he had sounded… disappointed? The only conclusion that she could reasonably believe was that Sombra was just teasing her as he had done before. Friendship or not, that didn’t stop him from being cynical and even blind to the feelings of others.

“Twilight?” Spike’s voice echoed through the water as he swam up beside her. “What’s wrong? Did Sombra hurt you?”

“I…” Twilight jerked in surprise. “No, I just…”

“You’re obviously worried about something.” Spike swam closer and nudged her hooves.

Twilight pulled her legs away from her face and hugged him around his dorsal fin. “I have to kiss him, Spike...” She hid her face against his side. “I have to kiss Sombra!”

“What!?” Spike blinked in confusion, curling his body to give her a shocked look. “What are you talking about?”

Twilight drew away, her face still flushed pink as she swam back to the surface. Spike followed after her while she pulled herself up on the rocks, into a hidden spot that had a view of the beach if she wanted to look back. “After I go to the sea witch to turn myself into a pony… in the story, the little mermare has three days to… to get the prince to kiss her... or she returns to being a mermare.”

“That’s it?” Spike dropped his fins with a relieved expression.

“Spike!” Twilight looked at him incredulously. “This is serious! I don’t… I mean… I don’t hate him… but… kissing him?”

“But… you don’t have to kiss him, do you?” Spike said while Twilight quieted, waiting for him to elaborate. “You’ll just turn back into a mermare at the end of the story… and probably be normal again in the next one.”

“You think it could work like that?” Twilight asked quietly, too distracted by her own jumbled thoughts to work out that possibility.

“Well, Sombra’s not still a reindeer, is he?” Spike pointed out.

“No…” Twilight mumbled with a shake of her head.

“So, worst case scenario: you don’t kiss, and turn back into a mermare… but you’ll probably be normal in the next fairytale.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “I… don’t know. I don’t think I can change it. You saw what happened when I tried to fix the tournament in 'Robin Hood.'”

“Well… you could always… not kiss him and see what happens?” Spike suggested.

Twilight tapped her hooves together nervously. “I guess… the worst that could happen is… I’m stuck as a mermare? Maybe you’ve got a point…” She let out a shaken sigh.

“Of course I do!” Spike sidled up next to her and offered a comforting fin. “And I’m pretty sure you can find a spell to turn yourself back once we escape.”

“Right…” Twilight rested her head against the rock face with a sigh, feeling a little better about the situation, or at least reassured by the options for a different outcome. “Now we just have to find the sea witch.”

Spike didn’t answer, appearing to be distracted as he stared at something back at shore.

“Spike?” Twilight lifted her head.

“Ah!” He jolted in the water as if caught doing something wrong. “Umm, sorry. It’s just… Rarity...”

Twilight turned and peeked around the boulder to watch the small figures that stood with Sombra on the beach. She had to squint to see the extravagantly dressed shape, but once she did, she easily recognized her friend, even over the distance.

Spike bobbed in the water next to her, a little less afraid of needing to hide while he pointed an eye in their direction with a far-away expression on his face. “She looks just like a—”

“A princess,” Twilight interrupted him with a grim tone as a terrible feeling fell over her. She wilted against the rock face as her breath caught in her throat, and Spike turned to her with a look of concern.

“Uh, Twilight. Are you okay?”

“It’s… the ending. Maybe it’s just a coincidence… I can’t imagine a children’s book using it, but—” Twilight trembled from the fear that replaced her calm at the possibility that had suddenly exposed itself. “T… the original telling of 'The Little Mermare' isn’t a happy ending, Spike…”

“What do you mean?” Spike splashed his fins in the water with agitation. “I thought you said the prince and the mermare fall in love at the end!?”

“If… if Rarity is playing the other princess…” Twilight began, “then… the prince falls in love with her instead.” Twilight watched as Sombra strolled up the beach while Rarity fell into step beside him. She couldn’t see all the details at such a distance, but she could imagine the eyes that her storybook friend was making at him; she had just rescued a prince, after all. “And when he marries her, the mermare… turns into seafoam…”

“That’s—that’s bad, right?” Spike asked in a fearful tone. “Does that mean that you…?”

“It’s supposed to be happy!” Twilight found her voice cracking at the thought. “She returns to the sea, she finds peace!” Twilight slid back into the water as Spike splashed in beside her.

“We can’t let that happen!” He spun around and made a move to swim back to shore. “We’ll tell Sombra! Can’t he do something? Wait!” Twilight watched while Spike bolted back and forth in a panic. “Starswirl! He can fix this! Or Princess Celestia, one of them must know a way to stop it!”

“Spike, stop!” Twilight took a deep breath and extended her hoof toward him. “Maybe we shouldn’t jump to conclusions just yet.” Spike turned back to her with an anxious look as she explained a bit more calmly, “The stories in this book haven’t been exact copies of their sources, but not all of their parts are completely unique either. We can find the sea witch first, and she’ll be able to give us the terms of the spell. Maybe we can… convince her to change something if it’s not the ending we want.”

“I thought we couldn’t change things?” Spike asked.

“I couldn’t abandon Sombra in the woods, and I was forced to win the tournament even though I tried to rig it…” Twilight recounted, swimming slowly in the water to try and calm her panic. “But… I’m very sure that the Sheriff of Trottingham was never an ally to Robin Hood.”

“You said it was just the way the story was written,” Spike pointed out, slowly drifting after her. “It’s an old one, so there were too many retellings to be sure.”

“If I had finished reading the storybook myself… I would know for a fact. But no matter how many times I try to analyze it, it just doesn’t make any sense.” Twilight dove deeper through the water and started leading him into the depths. “Maybe the Sheriff did become his ally, so everything might have worked, but the premise doesn’t hold up at all. Sombra rebelled against the king because he wanted to be king. The sheriff was an evil character, but he was also greedy: he was content to serve the king because it got him what he wanted. So why would he rebel? Why would he side with Robin Hood and get nothing in return?”

“So,” Spike began in a hesitant tone. “You’re saying that Sombra changed the story?”

“I don’t think he changed it, really,” Twilight said, flipping onto her back and staring up at the fading rays of sunlight. “Robin Hood escaped from the guards… then rescued Maid Marian and freed the rightful ruler. The Sheriff’s role was still there… just different.”

“Okay…” Spike moved his fins around and rubbed at his forehead. “So… we can change some things?”

“Maybe,” Twilight said with a nod. “We just have to know where the story is going. Maybe it’s the path we take. I couldn’t abandon Sombra in 'The Lost Foals' because it’s the siblings that stop the dragon together, and winning the tournament led to Maid Marian’s rescue.”

“But if the story leads to you—” Spike choked, unable to get out the words. “If you turn into seafoam at the end… how do we stop that?” He frowned at her with a furrowing of his brow. “If that’s how it ends, how do we take another path to avoid that?!”

“We’ll just have to visit the sea witch and make sure.” Twilight smiled softly. “Hopefully that isn’t where this story is leading.”

“Okay,” Spike finally relented. “But you’re not turning into seafoam on my watch!” He straightened up and wrinkled his snout. “Even if I have to… I mean—I guess I can’t replace the prince, can I?”

“Oh, Spike.” Twilight giggled, swimming closer and giving him a soft peck on his forehead. “If not, I still feel better knowing I can count on you.”

Author's Note

The mermaid has many sisters in the story, and since Twilight is playing her, I originally considered using Shining Armor with a wig, pretending to be a girl. As hilarious as it would have been, I felt it might have taken some readers out of the story. :rainbowlaugh: So we get all the alicorn "sisters" instead.

Wait... all? Hmm, where could Flurry be?

Also, it didn't take long for me to decide on King Triton's role. I simply took his two prominent aspects: Grumpy old man, and his beard.
Starswirl makes for a proper angry beard. They even have a similar grumpy beard face.

Chapter 11: Flipping Your Fins (Part 2)

The lair of the sea witch was almost too easy to find. Even though the merponies back in the undersea city quickly gave up directions to the location, they simultaneously warned Twilight to stay as far away as possible.

“I’m pretty sure Starswirl meant anything but this when he said you could visit the surface,” Spike whispered while they moved slowly through the dark waters of the deep ocean. Twilight’s bulb lit the way, but its light didn’t expand very far beyond a few feet around them.

“That’s why we couldn’t tell them. Starswirl and my ‘sisters’ still think that we’re using our day to visit the surface,” Twilight said in a normal tone, not as concerned with keeping her voice down. “I’m sure they’ll find out soon enough, but by then, I’ll already be a pony. At least… as long as the spell isn’t one we have to worry about.”

“Did I mention how much I don’t like this idea?” Spike bumped against her side as they passed the decaying skeleton of a spindly sea creature, the gaping jaws grinning at them when it lit up in the glow.

“A few times, actually.” Twilight rolled her eyes, but subtly tried to swim as close to Spike as she could. Through the blackness of the waters, a small ring of lights appeared out of the gloom, and the shadow of the abandoned reef loomed into view.

“There it is.” Twilight darted ahead and hovered over the opening of a small tunnel. Green flecks of luminescent slime dotted the entrance, through which the lair of the infamous sea witch awaited them.

“I really don’t like this idea.” Spike stared at the opening with apprehension. “Are we sure Sombra can’t just kiss you now and fix everything?”

“I don’t know why you’re so scared,” Twilight said with a twinge of fear wavering in her voice. “It’s not like she’s going to cut out your tongue.”

“Wait! Can that happen!?” Spike exclaimed while Twilight slipped into the hole, eyes flicking around the deepening shadows when her bulb suddenly sparked and shorted out. She gulped as the feeling of magic left her, not at all comforted by the dull glow of the slime.

The darkness only seemed to swallow what little light they provided, since Spike was only a dark shape when he swam in behind her. Twilight could hardly see anything as they inched along the tunnel. She found herself flinching and shying away when stray seaweed lightly brushed against her.

They were deep in the tunnel when Twilight spotted a small shadow darting toward them. She yelped and tried to dodge out of its path, but only ended up kicking back into Spike’s snout. In the ensuing confusion, the creature shot right for her and thumped against her chest with a high-pitched squeal. Twilight screamed when short tentacles wrapped around her legs.

“Wha—! Twilight!?” Spike’s startled shout was drowned out by a sudden wail, and whatever had a hold of Twilight only constricted tighter. She kicked her tail fin to escape and accidentally slammed into the wall, dislodging a large chunk of the strange ooze clinging to the tunnel. The glow flared for a second at her touch, and Twilight briefly saw a familiar curl of hair.

“Flurry Heart!?” Twilight stopped screaming long enough to recognize the crying, and struggled to pull her legs free of the suction cups before hugging her niece against her chest. Flurry’s sobs subsided as she hiccuped, soothed by Twilight’s comforting hoof against her mane. “I’m so sorry, Flurry! I didn’t know it was you!”

In the dim light, she could almost make out her niece’s curly mane. From her barrel up, she appeared normal, but in the shadow of the tunnel, Twilight could barely make out short, wriggling appendages below her waist, like the arms of an octopus.

Flurry finally managed to calm down from Twilight’s comfort and eventually let out a happy giggle when she hugged her back. Suddenly twisting in Twilight’s grasp, she popped away and darted back down the tunnel, only stopping once to wave her legs at them. Twilight and Spike exchanged a look but hesitantly started after her.

“So, Flurry Heart’s the sea witch?” Spike asked the obvious as the tunnel slowly opened up ahead and a light grew brighter as they drew nearer.

“She’s the most adorable sea witch ever.” Twilight grinned, watching Flurry swim into an open chamber at the end of the tunnel.

“Focus, Twilight.” Spike gave her a flat look while he followed her through the opening. They swam into a large area with glowing orbs and luminescent plants hanging from the roof, which let in a large amount of light through the pocked ceiling. They must have been swimming up the whole time, because the cave appeared to be incredibly close to the surface.

“Bffft!” Flurry spit out a happy noise as she wiggled back over to Twilight, holding a round, bubble-like object with a red gemstone trapped inside. Flurry released the orb, and Twilight reached out while it slowly descended in front of her.

Flurry Heart clapped her hooves together with a giggle when Twilight picked it up, and swam away before Twilight could ask about it. Her niece gathered two more glittering objects from a shelf set into the cavern walls, and returned once again to drop them into Twilight’s hooves.

“They’re all very lovely, Flurry.” Twilight smiled with uncertainty, hugging the three identical orbs to her chest while Flurry Heart sped away to collect more things for her. “But, umm, we really need to know about the spell…”

“You think she understands what’s going on?” Spike asked while Flurry deposited a glowing conch shell in front of Twilight.

Flurry Heart let out a grunt when she tugged on an iron ring sticking out of a crevice in the wall. Before Twilight could find a place to set her items to help, Spike had already swum over and grabbed the ring in his mouth. With a kick of his tail fin, bits of the wall crumbled away, and the heavy black object shifted before tumbling into the middle of the chamber with a hollow clang.

Flurry gave Spike a hug in thanks while Twilight drifted closer to look at the rusty and barnacle-encrusted cauldron.

Flurry Heart babbled something in baby-speak and swam over to the pot, hovering above it and waving her front legs while giggling at Twilight. Twilight glanced at the items she held, then drifted closer and carefully tossed them above the cauldron. As each bubble floated into the dark pot, it glowed with a soft flash of light. Flurry Heart flitted about above, appearing to dance while a hazy, sparkling mist spilled over the lip.

“Do you know what to do?” Twilight asked Flurry, but her niece only blew a raspberry in response and giggled.

“I'm pretty sure she doesn't,” Spike said right before Flurry Heart suddenly darted to Twilight’s tail and grabbed her in a hug.

“Oww! Flurry!?” When Twilight managed to pry her off, she yelped as her niece’s suction cups managed to pull away a few scales. “That hurt!” Twilight tried reprimanding her niece, but Flurry was already hovering over the cauldron and tossing the items into the pot. When they floated close enough, the mist formed a long fin that swept out to scoop the scales inside.

The cauldron shook with a quiet rumble before a spray of froth erupted from it, and Twilight watched the glowing gems rise within the torrent. They settled into the chests of the creatures that materialized behind the bubbles; when the haze eventually cleared, the three transparent shapes of the sirens hovered above the pot.

“The sirens!?” Twilight exclaimed, swimming back with a jolt, but the three only stared silently, making no move to follow after her.

“I think she got the wrong spell!” Spike shouted before grabbing Flurry Heart and darting around to hide behind Twilight while the three sirens stared at them with their glowing eyes. The middle one leaned forward and shook her head.

Twilight blinked, watching as the siren returned to float between her sisters, and the trio waited patiently in the water.

“Umm…” Twilight started hesitantly. “Can you… turn me into a pony?”

The siren to the left nodded her head and swung up her tail until she was pointing at Twilight’s throat, then waved at herself with a slow movement.

Twilight lifted her hoof to her neck and glanced at Spike with worry. “So… I’ll lose my voice, but in exchange, you can make me a pony?”

“Twilight, no!” Spike shouted and tugged at her tail fin, but she pulled away and drifted closer to the ghostly sirens.

“What are the conditions? Will I… what will happen to me?”

The sirens moved their legs to mime out an answer, putting their hooves together to form the rough shape of a heart. Twilight felt herself blush slightly when the pair on either end leaned in to exchange a friendly kiss and pulled apart with a soft “pop”.

“So… I have to kiss the prince?” Twilight asked, even though she was already well aware of this part of the tale. The sirens continued, making another heart again, only this time, the third sister flipped around and sliced the shape in two so viciously that the water bubbled and foamed.

“And if I don’t,” Twilight whispered with a sinking sensation, “I turn into seafoam?”

Much to her dismay, all three sirens nodded silently, and each lifted up a single leg to display a count.

“And I only have three days…” Twilight rubbed her forehead with a groan. “Is there a way to change the spell or alter the conditions?”

The sirens all shook their heads in unison, then two of them started toward Twilight as if to seize her.

“Wait!” Twilight swam between the pair, but they moved to surround her, diligently following while the third twisted above to cut her off. “I don’t want to do this!”

They didn’t appear to care. As Twilight made a mad dash toward the openings in the ceiling, she suddenly jolted to a painful stop, looking back to see one of the sirens biting her tail fin.

“Hey!” Spike left Flurry Heart floating in the water and sped toward the siren holding Twilight. “Let her go! She doesn’t want your stupid spell!” He lunged for the siren and tried to bite her, but surprisingly tumbled in the water when he harmlessly passed through.

Even though Spike had failed to physically attack them, Twilight couldn’t escape the siren’s grip as she dragged her back through the water, thrashing furiously when a second one coiled around her like an eel. She tried to squirm out of their hold, but they spun her around to face their sister, who pointed a hoof at her neck.

“Spi—!!!” Twilight shouted, but her voice immediately fell silent. A warm glow lit up beneath her chin, and as the siren moved her leg up, Twilight could feel a swell of magic slide through her throat.

She heard Flurry Heart begin to whine while Spike shot through the water again, ramming his head against the cauldron with a painful-sounding clang. He managed to shift the pot in its place, and the sirens appeared to growl in fury before one of them swung her tail around to launch Spike across the cave.

The glowing orb that was her voice floated out into the water, and Twilight could only watch silently while the siren lifted it toward her mouth and gulped it down for it to settle in her own throat. The orb's glow increased, and the siren began to sing a haunting melody in her own voice while the other one’s grip constricted tighter around her.

Twilight thought she heard Spike scream her name, and Flurry wailing in the background, but her senses soon became lost behind a searing pain that ran across her whole body. Like she was being run through with a sword, she could feel every ache and strain as her tail split in two, and every needle sharp stab when feathers erupted along her fins to form two full wings.

When Twilight took in a gasping breath, the water suddenly felt like it was suffocating her, pouring into her mouth as bubbles escaped through her nose. Her legs flailed wildly, and Twilight realized that the siren was no longer holding her.

And then Spike was there, pushing beneath her stomach while Flurry held onto one of her wings. The water pressed her flat against Spike’s head when he barreled through one of the holes in the ceiling, quickly racing out into the open water with the cackling wail of the siren's cruel laughter fading behind them.

Twilight felt the burning sensation in her chest grow as she desperately tried to hold in that final breath, feeling herself slowly drowning and listening to the frantic pounding of her heart in her ears as her vision grew hazy and bright.

A torrent of water suddenly splashed around her, and the sky opened up above. Twilight choked out a lung-full of seawater, her chest heaving while she took in laborious gulps of oxygen.

“Twilight?” Spike asked quietly while floating carefully over the water’s surface. “Are you okay?”

Between her gasping breaths, Twilight could only nod her head, hoping that Spike would feel it against his back.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” he asked again while her hind legs suddenly touched land. Twilight slid down his side and stumbled into the water, sputtering and tripping as the waves nudged her onto the beach. As she collapsed over the sand and huffed out a quiet wheeze, she shook her head in answer. Her body ached, but she was still alive… for now.

Spike let Twilight rest to catch her breath, but she heard Flurry Heart crawl up to her side and pat her head comfortingly. Twilight looked up to see Flurry sniffling quietly, with small tears forming in her eyes. Despite the pain she was in, Twilight carefully shifted her legs to pull Flurry into a soft embrace, nuzzling her and trying to convey that the situation was not her fault.

“What do we do now?” Spike asked softly, and Twilight huffed out a breathy sigh while struggling to lift herself into a sitting position. She only ended up toppling to the ground, so Twilight lit her horn instead and lifted Flurry Heart onto Spike’s back to cling to his dorsal fin.

When she pointed her hoof out to the ocean, Spike shook his head. “I don’t want to leave you, Twilight.”

She patted her own chest and looked up the shoreline, then pointed to a castle further down the beach on a distant cliff, a place that Spike wouldn’t be able to go to with his fins. When Spike didn’t move, she gave him as stern a look as she could muster.

Spike finally started to wriggle away after a moment of intense staring. “I guess if I have to, but I still don’t like it,” he grumbled, maneuvering his body as he flopped back out into the deeper water. “I should tell the others what happened… maybe they can help. But I’ll be back to make sure you’re alright!”

So he finally left Twilight alone on the shore, and she watched his dorsal fin until it disappeared beneath the waves. Twilight stared at the point for a long time before turning back to look at the castle in the distance. It was difficult not to think about what she needed to do, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but fret. Among the terror, confusion, and absolute restlessness she felt, it was hard to think positively.

To finish the story and save her life, she would eventually have to kiss Sombra. It was a long-shot, but maybe the storybook wouldn’t care about how much of a kiss they shared, even if it was just a quick peck on the cheek; and if the kiss even worked at all. With Rarity as the second princess, it was possible the kiss wouldn’t even save her. So if the mermare inevitably turns into seafoam at the end, how was she supposed to escape the fairytale alive!?

Twilight sank to the sand with her wings covering her face, trying to convince herself that everything would be fine. If the Sheriff of Trottingham could be a good guy… then the mermare would marry the prince and live happily ever after! That’s how it went in most versions!

She regretted sending Spike away so soon, because without him for support, the terrifying thoughts continued to haunt her mind. While she eventually managed to calm herself down with a few deep breaths, hidden beneath the shadow of her wings, she still trembled from the feeling of dread. She needed to deal with one problem at a time; if a kiss was necessary to save her life, she just had to get it over with.

It was only a kiss, after all. It wasn’t like she hadn’t just received one, even if she had been completely embarrassed by it. She had simply been surprised, since she hadn’t considered Thorax in a romantic way. He was a good friend, nervous and timid, but also honest and kind; so at least he wasn’t some sleazy creep that could have made things worse.

Not that she thought of Sombra in that way. While he wasn’t exactly the kindest stallion, he did have some teeny-tiny redeeming qualities if she thought hard enough. If he wasn’t so impatient and rude, he probably could be charming. In the few calm moments that they had shared, he’d shown a lack of maliciousness, and even seemed to be a cultured intellectual—

Why am I even thinking this!? Twilight flared her wings open with a start. I don’t want to date him, I just need to endure it and kiss him!

Or maybe you could enjoy it, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind. How she managed to hone in on it in the turmoil of her thoughts only embarrassed her more.

“So you’ve come back?” Twilight jolted at the sound of the deep voice from behind her and turned her head to see Sombra staring down at her with a frown. She hadn’t even heard him approach over the sand. “And you’ve lost your fins. How did you manage that?”

Twilight felt her heart skip as she scrambled to her hooves... or at least tried to. The sand slid beneath her frantic movements, and she only wound up falling flat on her stomach. Sombra watched with a bemused smirk while Twilight fought with her own legs to stand before she settled for staying on the ground with an irritated huff. Apparently, as the little mermare, she had never learned to walk.

So Twilight instead tried to signal to him what had happened and tapped a hoof against her neck while opening her mouth. Sombra only wrinkled his snout with a frown. “Is this some sort of game?”

Twilight shook her head, and instead tried pointing to her mouth and moving her lips; of course, no sound came out.

“You’re not—” Sombra began, but stopped with a surprised look when his ears flicked forward curiously. “You’ve lost your voice?” A strange grunt issued from his throat. “And now you can’t talk.” He gave her an unusual expression that Twilight only wondered about briefly. When she saw his shoulders begin to shake, she narrowed her eyes at him.

She stomped her hoof against the sand, more determined than ever to lift herself, but immediately slipped on the unsteady surface. Twilight tumbled right into Sombra’s chest, but he didn’t move away or appear irritated at all. Instead, he simply lost it and burst out laughing.

At first, she was stunned, gawking up at him while he shook with laughter. It wasn’t the wicked sound that usually had his enemies quaking in fear, but as time passed, Twilight’s surprise faded, and she started fuming over his amusement at her expense. She flailed her hooves to flip herself, but when she started to fall again, she grabbed onto Sombra’s front legs for stability—which only gave him his second wind.

Twilight glared daggers at him, and Sombra eventually quieted down to a deep chuckle. “You don’t need a voice to convey your intentions anyway.” He leaned over and cleared his throat, his usual frown quickly fixing itself on his snout. “You have very expressive eyes.”

Twilight leaned away with a suspicious look, staring at him and not really knowing how to take his remark, but before she could decide, Sombra offered his leg to her. “If you’re really so helpless, it will be faster if I assist.”

She stared at his offered hoof as if it were a trap, but slowly and hesitantly reached for it. The moment she was close enough, Sombra linked his leg around hers and stepped against her side. When he took a cautious step forward, Twilight had to actually concentrate as he moved down the beach with her, which helped in distracting her from the burning sensation she felt at the base of her ears—and the extreme pounding of her heart.

As he helped her to the castle, she suddenly found all her other worries completely forgotten, but only because she had a new concern: silently hoping that Sombra couldn’t feel the racing of her pulse against his leg.

“Oh my, look at how nicely you clean up!”

Twilight shifted her gaze away from the mirror to the maid that stood behind her. The pink crystal pony gushed over the stylish blouse she now wore, and the round braids they had woven into her mane while doing up her hair. Twilight’s fur had even been scrubbed clean of sand and grit by the helpful staff, who were prompt to give her a bath as soon as she had arrived at the castle gates.

“How do you like it, dear?” the maid asked, and Twilight took another look at herself before nodding her approval. She held a hoof up to her chest and gave a slight bow of her head. The maid tittered before waving and moving out the doorway. “Right this way, then. I’m certain His Highness will be interested in seeing you all nice and dressed.”

Twilight doubted that, but she followed the maid out into the richly decorated corridor anyway, careful not to misstep and lose her balance again. While she had improved on her trek up to the castle, she was still a bit slow and shaky as she moved over the slick floors.

While the maid led her to another room in the elegant castle, Twilight marveled at its marble tiles and high windows. It wouldn’t have surprised her if the storybook had pulled some of the style from their memories, since it very much reminded her of the Crystal Empire, which was only made all the more apparent when the staff consisted of nothing but crystal ponies.

They soon entered an enormous study, where one wall made up entirely of glass windows from floor to ceiling gave the room a perfect view of the ocean as it stretched across the horizon. Tall bookshelves filled the other walls, while rich furniture had been arranged nearby for comfortable sitting. Sombra was lounging on one of the sofas and scribbling something into a book, clearly ignoring them.

“Tah-dah!” The maid presented Twilight with a flourish of her leg. “Isn’t she just adorable?” she gushed while Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously, giving Sombra a sideways glance to see his reaction… not that she cared about his approval.

Sombra didn’t appear to care either: he simply looked up from his book with an annoyed frown. While his eyes seemed to linger on Twilight for a brief second, his gaze promptly returned to the book floating before him. “Quite. You may leave now, slave.”

The servant didn’t bat an eyelash at the degrading title, merely bowing before trotting out the door. Once she had left, Twilight managed to stomp over to where Sombra sat without tripping up and gave him a fierce look.

Even though Sombra’s attention was on the book, he eventually looked up with a grimace of his own. “Oh, the princess doesn’t approve?” he said in a mocking tone. “I only address them as they are, not that they have noticed. As before, they don’t even seem to remember their rebellion against me.”

Twilight blinked in surprise, looking back at the doorway where the maid had left through, wondering now if she should have recognized the crystal pony. The last time she had seen any, they had been playing the roles of thieves and bandits, which was an odd switch if the same ponies were suddenly appearing as servants.

While Twilight hadn’t identified a finite set of rules that the storybook seemed to follow, when she had encountered ponies from her own memory so far, they had appeared and acted appropriately with roles that matched their personalities and past. Even Starlight’s role, as horrible as that situation had been, had followed a similar take in relation to their original meeting.

But she couldn’t ask Sombra to elaborate, and he had already gone back to his scribbling. The quill lifted in his aura of magic and furiously flew across the page, practically tearing up the paper while he wrote down something in a rush.

She was curious to know what he was so engrossed with, but Twilight was also interested in the journal itself. Of course she wanted to know what he was writing, but she realized that she had just found her means of communication. Lighting her horn, she attempted to borrow the book and quill from him.

Sombra reacted immediately, yanking away the pen and closing the book with a snap of its cover. “Do you mind?”

Twilight huffed, pointing at the objects, then tapping against her horn to try and indicate that she wanted to write something. Sombra stared at her quietly for a moment, appearing to process her train of thought. “I’m not working on a spell that will help us escape, if that’s what you are implying.”

At that moment, an elderly pony that Twilight recognized as the one from the ship entered the room and stepped up next to them, bowing deeply. “Sire,” he addressed Sombra. “And… erm…” The stout pony adjusted his spectacles. “Have we learned the lady’s name?”

“No.” Sombra didn’t look up from his book, his voice short and impatient. “I was simply going to call her Flounder for the way she washed up on shore.”

Twilight puffed up her cheeks with a glare. He knew full well what her name was—he could easily end the charade by simply telling the staff—but Sombra stubbornly remained silent for some reason. She knew he wasn’t the most cooperative pony, but why was he suddenly acting so vindictive? At least… more so than he usually was...

“Perhaps the lady could write it out?” The servant stepped closer and pointed to Sombra’s journal. Sombra lowered it for a moment, and with an irritated snort, he finally relented and tore out a blank sheet before floating it over to Twilight along with the quill.

Twilight skipped happily on her hooves and took the sheet in her own magic, settling down right there on the floor. She lowered the quill to the paper and scribbled away, quickly finishing off her name and moving onto the most important thing: her current predicament. Twilight started to explain the conditions of the spell the sirens had cast on her, but about partway through the paragraph, she began to notice something odd.

She happened to glance back at her words to check the grammar, but found herself frozen as she stared at a mess of scribbles and lines that didn’t make a lick of sense. Twilight pulled the paper closer, trying to read over what she had just written, but nothing legible appeared in the nonsense of marks.

Her mind raced to try and figure out what was going on. Had the spellbook messed with her in some way? Again? Maybe the lack of oxygen from her near-drowning had done something to her horn-writing, or she had hit the sand one-too-many times after getting her legs back—

In a rush, everything suddenly became clear. The little mermare couldn’t walk because she grew up in the sea with fins… so it only made sense that the merponies didn’t have books and literature because they disintegrated underwater.

She simply didn’t know how to write.

Twilight slammed her head on top of the page, not bothering to look up when she heard hoofsteps stop in front of her. Only a sharp poke against her horn caused her to lift her gaze to see Sombra standing above her. “Are you finished? I know your name isn’t that long.”

With a frustrated sigh, Twilight turned the page around and showed the two stallions her messy paragraph. She didn’t have high hopes, but maybe there was some small chance that it was legible to others.

The servant’s eyes went wide before squinting at the paper, while Sombra leaned closer and skimmed over the page. The expression he shot her gave it away before he had even spoken. “Are these even words? This is worse than that brat’s drawing.”

“Oh my,” the servant mumbled. Twilight’s ears flopped down, and her cheeks went red with embarrassment. “It’s quite alright, dear,” the servant reassured her. “Perhaps we can… umm… oh…” He sighed, at a loss of what advice to offer.

With a groan, Twilight kicked the sheet away and stood up, slowly strolling over to the windows while pounding her hoof against her head. Of course her last means of clear communication had been taken away. She stumbled over to the glass and leaned against one of the panes, glancing at the view and trying to work out a way to fix this. How did one mime out the signal for imminent death?

Twilight stared outside at the darkening sky, watching the mix of orange and blue create a smudge of vibrant hues amid the sunset, and her ears perked with a small idea. At the very least, she could find a way to communicate her name to the crystal ponies.

While she had been thinking, the two stallions had picked up her sheet of paper and appeared to be trying to decipher it. She tapped her hoof against the floor to get their attention and pointed at the windows when the older stallion looked up.

“Hmm?” He moved closer as she tapped against her own chest before motioning outside again and pressing her hooves against the panes, encompassing the view of the setting sun and pointing at it vigorously. “Are you trying to say something? Ah! Perhaps a name, let’s see...”

Twilight smiled with a small feeling of hope. If she could get him to guess her name without words, then maybe she could eventually communicate to Sombra how serious the situation was. It was also a nice thought that she wouldn’t be stuck with some stupid name that Sombra made up for her.

“Sunset!” the servant proclaimed. Twilight shook her head, pointing again at the sky.

“Oh, not that? How about… Starlight?”

Twilight sighed and shook her head once more, trying to wave at the entirety of the stars and setting sun, only confusing the poor servant when she included the clock as well.

“Twilight.” Sombra’s voice broke through their frantic game from where he had returned to lounging on the sofa, scribbling in his journal again. “That is her name.”

“Oh! Did he guess correctly?” the servant asked, turning back to Twilight. She nodded slowly, a bit flabbergasted that Sombra had finally given her real name despite his apparent moodiness.

Upon her confirmation, the servant turned to Sombra with a grin. “How clever, sire! You got it on the first try!”

Sombra simply huffed, his eyes glued to his journal. “Of course I did.”

The servant nodded happily and gave them both a quick bow. “If you would excuse me, I will go check to see if the lady—erm, pardon me. I will see if Miss Twilight’s room is ready.” Sombra only grunted while the stallion left the study.

Well, her name was taken care of, but now she just needed to alert Sombra of the danger to her life. At least he was aware of the fact that they needed to kiss… he just didn’t know why it was so important. She leaned back against the windows with a sigh, closing her eyes and pressing a hoof against her furrowed brows while trying to come up with ways to communicate to him the story. She could always act it out? She wasn’t very good with charades, but when losing meant turning into seafoam...

“Not that I care.” Sombra’s voice moved up beside her, and she turned to see him approaching, finally done with whatever he had been writing in his journal. “But what are you worried about now?” He leaned closer. “You’ve had that same look before… with more troubling matters.”

Twilight’s ears flopped as she hesitated, sitting back and tapping against her chin. Sombra watched quietly while she threw her legs up, waving them over her head and trying to show what had happened beneath the sea.

Sombra looked at her blankly and raised an eyebrow. “Is this about the kiss?”

Twilight blinked with a sharp intake of breath, then nodded her head before switching the motion to a swift shake.

“So? Which is it?” Sombra commanded with an impatient growl. “Are you saying you’re ready to try it now or not?”

Now!? Twilight’s heart jumped with a sharp beat, and she covered her mouth but still nodded behind her hooves. They were probably only halfway through the story, so she wasn’t entirely certain it would even work. Then again, with her life on the line, it was worth testing… right?

Without a word or warning, Sombra lifted his leg and pulled her hooves away from her muzzle, watching her quietly for a moment before leaning forward. Twilight flinched and steeled herself with a gulp, only to close her eyes so that she wouldn’t be tempted to back out… or hit him again. She could feel the heat on her face and her heart pounding strongly in time to each passing second while she waited for their lips to touch. Any moment now… aaany moment...

“But what if I am not ready,” his deep voice suddenly whispered in her ear. She felt a hoof cover her mouth to push her away. Twilight opened her eyes to see Sombra grinning at her devilishly. “After all, I can still feel the sting of that slap from before.”

Twilight worked her jaw even though she knew she couldn’t speak, and Sombra pulled away, sauntering back over to the sofa where his journal lay. As he picked up the book and taunted her with a smirk, her temper suddenly flared, and she scrambled forward, only to lose her balance and stumble to the floor.

Twilight felt an intense heat burning on her face, both from embarrassment and anger. How could he toy with her emotions like that!? He was… actually being childish! And petty! And… and holding a grudge like that when she could seriously lose her life!? Okay, he didn’t know that—but that didn’t make her any less furious about his stupid little stunt!

The elderly servant promptly returned to the room at that moment, preventing Twilight from doing something she might have regretted. “Sire, the guest bedroom has been prepared.”

“Excellent.” Sombra strolled to the doorway, either oblivious to Twilight’s anger or intentionally ignoring her. Twilight assumed it was the latter, as she had seen the flicker of a smile when he’d turned his head. “I will retire for today.”

“Very well, sire.” The servant bowed as Sombra left, then walked over to Twilight and offered a hoof to help her up. “I can lead you to your room, Miss Twilight.”

Twilight stared at the hoof for a long time, then let out a soft sigh when she realized she was making the poor stallion wait, as his stance didn’t falter the whole time she hesitated. Her anger didn’t fade completely, but her dispute wasn’t with the innocent servant.

She could be mad at Sombra in the morning. Right now, she just needed some sleep to figure things out.

With the help of the old stallion, she climbed to her hooves and let him lead her to the guest room with its fancy drapes and plush, canopy bed. Her tired body was easily enticed into the soft blankets, but it took much more time trying to convince her thoughts to settle down. Her mind was too abuzz with worry and fear. She had to get across to Sombra how high the stakes were… and she now only had two days to get him to kiss her.

How could she convince him that her life depended on it?

And would he even care enough to want to save her?

Chapter 12: Flipping Your Fins (Part 3)

“Wakey, wakey!”

Twilight woke up to an energetic sounding voice as a pink blur bounced across her room to open the curtains and let in way too much sunlight for so early in the morning. She squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped the pillow over her head while the maid moved around and pulled her covers down.

“C’mon! Get up! Breakfast is ready!” It took Twilight a moment for her drowsy mind to realize that the high-pitched voice was not the same maid that had helped her dress the previous day; when she finally jolted into a sitting position, she found Pinkie Pie lowering a tray of food with a big grin. “And it’s happy to see you!”

Twilight looked down to see that the pancake on her plate had a smiley face made of strawberries and chocolate syrup.

Pinkie giggled at her expression while pulling a folded outfit from her mane and placing it on the bed. “Here, I also brought you your clothes for today!”

Twilight sniffed at the enticing smell of her breakfast, but her eyes were drawn to the bright clothing, and she couldn’t resist reaching over the tray to pick up the dress that unfolded before her. While she didn’t have Rarity’s fashion sense, she knew enough to see that the gown had been designed for function, even though the elegant ribbon and black vest looked fairly expensive. Twilight turned to Pinkie and raised a curious eyebrow.

Her friend apparently didn’t need words to know what she was asking. “Oh! Oh! That’s right, nopony’s told you yet!” Pinkie bounced up with an excited giggle. “The prince is going to take you into town today to see if anypony recognizes you! He actually didn’t want to go, but I wouldn’t take no for an answer!” She beamed proudly, and Twilight silently giggled, only imagining what sort of Pinkie shenanigans Sombra had been subjected to so early in the morning.

After Twilight finished off her breakfast and pulled on the blue dress, Pinkie led her down to the castle courtyard, but not before they made a quick detour to the study. When Twilight finally walked down the front steps of the castle, Sombra gave her a suspicious look when he spied the book she had tucked beneath her wing.

“The ride isn’t going to be that long,” he grumbled while a servant held the door to the carriage open. “You can see the town from here.” Sombra motioned with his hoof. Sure enough, peeking above the vast fields beyond the castle gates were the quaint looking buildings of the nearby town.

Twilight used her magic to float the book inside the carriage anyway and followed after it.

“Have a safe trip!” Twilight heard Pinkie shout from the steps as she waved enthusiastically. “I’ll swing by later! I’ve got a big surprise!”

Twilight leaned out the open window to wave back and noticed Sombra standing rigidly with a grimace on his face. When Pinkie winked at him, he quickly turned to jump into the carriage before slamming the door shut.

Pulling her head back inside, Twilight gave him a curious look while he settled into the plush seat across from her. When he saw her expression, he let out a deep snort. “Your pink friend is… troublesome...”

Twilight looked a little too smug while popping open the book she had brought with her. She had planned on trying to educate herself on the trip, even if it was brief, but as servants started to pull the carriage leisurely down the road, she quickly became frustrated at her own lack of comprehension. No matter how closely she studied the letters, she couldn’t make any sense of them, even though she should have known the book by heart.

Letting out a deep huff, Twilight slammed the book shut and tossed it away. It thudded against the seat next to Sombra, and the pages fluttered in a crumpled mess before slipping to the floor. He watched it with a raised eyebrow before picking it up and flipping through it.

“I was curious about your choice of reading, but with the way you were skimming through so quickly, I didn’t believe you were enjoying it.” Sombra closed the book and looked over the cover. “Honestly, ‘The Friendship Journal’? Who comes up with this nonsense?”

Twilight blew out through her lips before slumping against the window sill to watch the fields of farmland pass them by. The carriage passed before a small group of ponies tending to some of the crops, and when they looked up, they waved their legs in a cheerful greeting. Twilight blinked at them and hesitantly waved back.

“I wonder if they’re all the same…” Sombra mused quietly, and Twilight turned to look at him curiously. He was staring out the window with an unusual expression on his face—at least, unusual for Sombra. A soft frown pulled at his lips, and his eyes looked out at the ponies without their usual intensity.

When Sombra noticed her attention, he gave her a scowl and stuck his head out the window. Twilight heard happy shouts from some of the workers in the field as they greeted their prince, and Sombra quickly pulled his head back inside, wearing a fierce frown while he fell back against the seat with a grunt.

“Sire? We have arrived,” a muffled voice called from the driver’s seat after only a few minutes had passed. Outside, Twilight could hear the muted murmur of voices from a large crowd, and the door opened to reveal the old servant, bowing to them as he stepped aside.

“After you?” Sombra mumbled, waving his hoof at Twilight with an exaggerated flourish. From his expression, Twilight got the feeling that he looked uneasy about meeting what awaited them in town.

She was suspicious, but her hesitation disappeared when she stepped into the charming surroundings. The cobbled square spread out before her, with cozy buildings neatly lining the roadway. The place was bustling with so much activity, it was hard to find an open space beneath the crowds moving about, and an air of excitement rippled through them. Music drifted from a band playing beneath the trees in the nearby park, and colorful banners and flags decorated almost every shop and home.

As Twilight took in the sights, a few ponies stopped in their tracks to glance her way and murmured softly to one another. While she shifted uneasily at the attention, it took her a moment to realize that they were pointing behind her, not at her, and she turned to see Sombra disembarking.

One bold colt trotted up and happily waved in greeting. “Good morning, Prince Sombra!”

The hum in the air increased, and the crowd’s chatter grew louder as several groups of ponies trotted together and quickly formed a small, cheerful mob. Twilight tried to step out of the way, but she quickly got caught up in the mass of bodies closing around her. She ducked down and crawled around the clutter of hooves, managing to pull herself free once she reached the edge of the throng.

Twilight caught her breath as the cheery and eager voices called out to be heard above the rest, all clamoring to say hello to their prince or ask him about his day.

“It’s an excellent time to visit the fair! I heard the dancing troupe will arrive later tonight!”

“Are you going to participate in any events, Prince Sombra?”

She couldn’t even see him over the heads of the ponies, but soon the edges of the crowd shifted, and Sombra burst through by shoving his subjects aside, looking flustered and panting, as if he had just finished running in a marathon.

“Enough!” he snapped at a nearby filly that only grinned at him happily. “All of you, get back!!!” Sombra’s expression had a mad edge to it, and his eyes shifted around the kind faces that only laughed as if he were making a joke. He eventually spotted Twilight, and lunged for her, linking his leg with hers and dragging her up roughly. “I need peace!!!”

Twilight nearly tripped while Sombra tugged her along and ducked into a short alley between a pair of buildings. When the murmur of the crowd faded in the quiet, Sombra released her leg and flopped his back against the nearest wall to release a loud sigh.

Shaking her leg where he had grabbed her, Twilight gave Sombra a curious look, but he wasn't paying her any mind. She let him have a moment to catch his breath, and when he opened his eyes and noticed her staring, he wrinkled his snout with an uncomfortable look.

“If we kiss now, this blasted story ends sooner... right?” Sombra asked quietly.

Twilight felt her heart flutter at the word 'kiss,' but tried to keep herself composed. She shrugged her shoulders slightly, not certain how to give him the right answer. She had been hopeful that the kiss might save her from the mermare's original fate, and if it did, it was reasonable to believe that it might bring the tale closer to a swift ending.

Sombra slid himself away from the wall, and with a jolt, Twilight scrambled back a few steps. While she was willing to prepare herself to give it another shot, she couldn’t forget the way he had treated her the night before. Sombra must have caught on to this when he saw her suspicious look, because he stopped in his tracks.

“I’ll… behave this time,” Sombra grumbled. “You have my word.”

Twilight gave him a narrow look, not really trusting him, but it wasn’t worth her life to put off for much longer. A soft jittering ran along her spine when she moved forward, giving Sombra one last sideways glance before taking that final step that brought her to stand in front of him. Sombra shifted his own body, and her pulse started pounding in her ears when he leaned closer.

The light at the end of the alley darkened, and Twilight nearly jumped out of her own fur when the old servant spoke up. “Sire? Would you like to show Miss Twilight around?”

“Why would I want to do that?” Sombra growled through grit teeth while Twilight tried to settle her ruffled wings straight against her back.

“If you take her through the fair, somepony may recognize her,” the old servant explained. “There are many travelers from far and wide visiting for the festival, and one of them is certain to know her.”

Sombra turned to Twilight, looking like he wanted to say something, but instead, he simply cleared his throat. “I doubt that,” he grumbled, then stood up and trotted out of the alley. Twilight trailed behind him slowly, only slightly concerned that he appeared to have moved on from their attempt to kiss again, even though she didn’t try to press the issue, since she wasn’t too keen about their lack of privacy.

Even if they were just fictional characters, it still made her feel nervous to think about being watched. It wasn’t as if it was a traditional kiss between actual lovers… the moment didn’t have to be perfect or atmospheric. She couldn’t afford to be picky for much longer.

With this thought in mind, she emerged from the ally with a determined frown, but found Sombra already surrounded by a group of ponies. His eyes darted nervously from one face to the next while the friendly group greeted him and tried to chat about the fair.

Hanging her head and letting out a quiet sigh, Twilight trotted closer and reached for Sombra’s leg, getting a surprised look from him when she tried to pull him away. Making sure that the other ponies could see her, Twilight pointed to the fair tents and waved in their direction, tugging him forward to get him to move to that area.

The villagers exchanged confused glances before understanding dawned on them, and they politely moved aside to let them through. Twilight strolled with Sombra between the smiling faces that watched them curiously as they walked by, but the villagers were happy to give the pair some space when they saw how close they were standing. Meanwhile, Twilight’s face felt hot from all the questioning stares, seeming to have earned them even more attention than before.

But as they moved along at a leisurely pace, Twilight could feel Sombra slowly relax against her. When they passed villagers that called to them, Twilight simply bowed her head in return, with Sombra moving to mimic her and occasionally waving in a quiet hello. The ponies returned the gesture with cheerful grins, and most went back to their own business or continued on to enjoy the fair.

“I suppose this... isn’t as terrible as it first seemed,” Sombra said quietly. “It almost reminds me—” He stopped himself, glancing at Twilight while she looked up at him in surprise, but he didn’t elaborate; instead, he quickly fixed his gaze straight ahead.

If she’d still had a voice to badger him with, she would have pressed further, but as it was, Twilight didn’t feel like figuring out how to sign to him all the questions she had floating through her thoughts.

The morning passed quickly after that, and even though the villagers appeared to have given them some room, Twilight could still feel their eyes upon her. Groups of whispering ponies tried to be discreet as they strolled through the many shops of the fair, but she couldn’t help but notice their attention—and she didn’t really blame them.

It was almost something she would have expected from back home had the situation been reversed. The villagers couldn’t help but feel curious about a mysterious mare that they knew nothing about, spending her day with their prince. The way Sombra stuck to her side even made it look and feel as if they were on… well, a date; that explained why ponies were giving them their space, but also appearing curious wherever they went.

Even if she had tried to signal to him about the kiss, they had no privacy in the throngs of the crowds. And Sombra, strangely, didn’t try to bring it up again, so Twilight was content to remain silent for the time being.

“Well, well, aren’t you two quite the couple!” A boisterous voice pulled Twilight from her thoughts, and she looked up to see Flam trotting towards them. “And the talk of the town, as I hear it!” He pulled his hat off and waved it towards the tent behind him. While most of it was covered, Twilight could see the empty floor through the open flap. “What do you say, Your Highness? Fancy a pair of tickets to Flim and Flam’s Marvelous Show of the Century?”

Twilight watched Flam with a narrow look, suspicious from the get-go. Most of the ideas run by the enterprising brothers often ended up being some scam to fill their own pockets, but she wasn’t certain how that could affect them in the story.

Sombra, meanwhile, appeared bored with the idea, but asked with a curious tone to his voice, “Do you… want to see it?” He glanced down at her with a small frown. “It might be… welcome... to escape the crowds for a while.”

“And may I add that, for you and your lovely lady, Sire, entry is free,” Flam said smoothly while digging out the pair of tickets from his vest before Twilight could shake her head. He floated them closer to Sombra’s face, and the magic around them turned dark when he accepted them.

Even in the storybook, the brothers were quick to seize an opportunity, and Twilight followed Sombra into the tent with a sour look. Her expression changed, however, when she passed through the open flap. She had been right about the empty tent, because when they entered, nothing but a bare ground stretched out before the waiting stage. They were the only two ponies inside.

But that appeared to be a work-in-progress, as Twilight heard both Flim and Flam shouting to try and bring in more customers.

“Hurry, hurry, folks! Step right up and treat your eyes to the wonders of Flim and Flam’s Marvelous Show of the Century! Enjoyed by none other than the prince himself!”

Twilight snorted, realizing that had been their catch. Sure enough, ponies began filling the floor, and soon there was hardly any room to stand as they all clamored to find a place. Twilight found herself pressing close to Sombra, a blush warming her face when she realized that, even though the show hadn’t started yet, most of the audience were paying more attention to her and Sombra than the stage.

And then the show began, with Flim and Flam introducing themselves with a song, hyping up the crowd for the spectacles they were about to witness. The lights and the simple magic tricks were actually quite entertaining, but Twilight couldn’t help but feel a few stares still cast her way. She couldn’t pay attention to the show, and eventually, she tried to hide beneath her wings just to escape the feeling of unease.

After a time, she was only slightly aware of a voice calling for her attention, and an object floating in front of her, but it wasn’t until Sombra shoved something over her snout that Twilight snapped her head up in surprise. She crossed her eyes to see the red-and-white-striped bag while the smell of popcorn invaded her nose.

“I was trying to offer you a snack,” Sombra growled crossly, leaning closer to be heard over the rising roar of the crowd. The music had become more intense as a pony balanced himself atop a unicycle while juggling flaming pins. “But you seemingly had something on your mind. Are you really so worried about a kiss?”

Twilight pulled the bag off her muzzle and lowered her ears, timidly nodding her head. There was so much more to it than that, but her overall thoughts of the kiss were the source of all her problems. It might have been silly that she could get herself so worked up over it, but she couldn’t help fretting about the limited time that she had remaining and her concern over the crowds, even if the onlookers were only illusionary storybook characters.

“I won’t try anything here. It is not something I intend to do carelessly,” Sombra grumbled while floating a glob of popcorn into his mouth, his words muffled as he spoke around the food. “It will be more enjoyable when we have some... privacy.”

Twilight blinked at that. Was Sombra being… considerate? Or at least having his own concerns about kissing her in public? Regardless of which, Twilight felt herself relax a little at the thought.

“Popcorn?” Sombra offered her the bag again, though this time he didn’t shove it over her face. With a small nod, Twilight picked up a few pieces in her magic and popped them into her mouth, finally able to sit back and pay attention to the show. Their impending kiss had faded to a small note in the back of her mind.

Even though her concerns had been relieved somewhat, the day seemed to fly by in the end. The afternoon activities quickly wound down, but the crowds only grew as the street lamps lit up, and the villagers celebrated through the darkening hours in anticipation of the grand finale for the night.

With the sun setting the sky ablaze as it sank into the sea, Twilight found herself alone, save for the few travelers passing behind her while she rested her hooves on a stone bridge that arched over a wide river. Sombra had excused himself a while ago, leaving her with a mumbled excuse before disappearing into the bustling fair.

Twilight stared at the setting sun—but not directly, because she didn’t want to blind herself—and nervously wondered if they would act on their inevitable kiss when he finally returned. Maybe he wanted to prepare for it this time around?

“Psst!”

Twilight’s ears perked at the sound of a soft hiss, and she looked around for the source of the noise.

“Psst! Twilight!” She heard Spike’s voice whisper from nearby. “Down here!”

She leaned over the railing and found Spike waving at her from the river below. With an overjoyed grin, Twilight sprinted to the end of the bridge and practically jumped down the hill to the sandy banks. She nearly fell into the water when she leapt right on top of Spike to hug him.

He laughed and nuzzled against her. “I missed you too!”

“As have we,” another voice said, and the water rippled when Celestia lifted her head, followed closely by Luna and Cadence, who held a giggling Flurry Heart in her hooves. Her 'sisters' converged in a hug around Twilight, and she melted into the warmth until a loud throat-clearing made them all look up. Starswirl glared at them with a stern frown while his hooves crossed over his chest.

“Spike has explained everything to us.” Starswirl tugged at his beard as his brows furrowed in anger. “Just what were you thinking!?”

“Father, please.” Luna hushed him, pointing back at the town beyond the bridge. “If you yell too loudly, the surface dwellers will hear you.”

“And what of it?” Starswirl snapped. “I’ll drown any one of them that tries to intervene!”

“Father’s only worried,” Celestia said while swimming between him and Twilight with a concerned expression. “We were all afraid when we heard what happened.”

“I think it’s romantic,” Cadence swooned, hugging Flurry Heart tightly against her. “I wish I could meet a prince like that…”

“You’ll do no such thing!” Starswirl scolded her. “What your sister has done goes against everything we are, not to mention the danger to her life! A merpony can’t live on the surface. We draw our power from the sea!” He began to move back and forth as if pacing. “If the prince doesn’t share his magic with her in the form of his love, then hers will expire, and she will dissipate into seafoam!” Starswirl splashed his hooves into the water angrily. “If you hadn’t lost your fins, young lady, I would demand you swim home this instant and confine you to your room for ten years!”

“What’s done is done,” Celestia said in a calm tone, placing a hoof on Starswirl’s shoulder. “All we can do now is support her, or else the only outcome will be the loss of our dear sister.”

Starswirl made a loud “harrumph,” but went quiet and folded his legs. With that at least, he seemed to agree.

“So, have you kissed him yet?” Spike asked, looking up at Twilight. All eyes turned to her, and she felt her face grow warm beneath their gazes as she shook her head slowly in response.

Starswirl threw up his hooves with a frustrated groan and slapped his forehead. “How am I supposed to support this relationship? I have to rely on such innocent love for the life of my youngest daughter!”

“Perhaps we can ask the sea witch?” Luna turned to Flurry Heart, who was entertaining herself by blowing bubbles in the water. “If she can summon the sirens again, we can ask them if there is an alternative should things not work out.” Luna then swam closer to Twilight and put a hoof over her own. “In the meantime, I wish you strength, Twilight. Do whatever it takes to secure your happiness.”

Luna dove beneath the surface with a splash, and the rest of her family followed after their own goodbyes. Spike swam closer to the bank and let her off his back, pausing to watch her with a thoughtful frown. “Twilight…” he began softly. “Do you… do you think the kiss will work?”

She nervously bit her bottom lip, trying to come up with an answer to that in her own thoughts, but eventually just gave Spike a slow nod of her head. He stared at her for a long moment before turning in the water. “Okay.” He continued out into the middle of the river and spun to face her once again. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” And with that, he dipped beneath the surface.

When she carefully climbed up the hill by the riverside, she heard a bombardment of popping and a loud, echoing boom as a firework screamed into the sky and exploded into a sparkling sphere of stars. Twilight passed over the bridge and heard the sound of music rising from the square, where crowds of ponies had gathered around the center to watch dancers moving to a spirited tune.

“Twilight!” Her ears perked when she heard Pinkie’s voice yelling for her and noticed her energetic friend briefly lit by the glow of the exploding fireworks. “Surprise!”

Twilight couldn’t help the smile that lit her face, and she trotted over to join Pinkie.

“Do you like the fireworks?” Pinkie asked as she bounced closer, and Twilight nodded, earning a squeal from her storybook friend. “Great! Then you’ll love the rest! C’mon! The party’s just getting started!”

Pinkie pulled on her hoof and led Twilight through the crowd, jostling ponies to move out of her way and securing a place at the very front. Twilight had an unobscured view as the dancers twirled over the stones and swung about in time to the beats of the exciting music. The dresses and decorative outfits that the ponies wore fluttered and swayed, adding a colorful display that was just as impressive as the lively band with their array of unique instruments. Spotting a caravan of carriages parked in the nearby trees, Twilight remembered a pony mentioning the traveling troupe earlier in the day.

As she watched, she became mesmerized by the group of ponies swinging their legs to the music as flutes and drums played in a catchy tempo. The crowd stomped their hooves in tune, and Twilight soon found herself tapping her own hoof to the energetic beat while Pinkie swayed along next to her.

At the last note of the song, another firework shot into the sky and burst into a rainbow of colors, and the crowd “oohed” before stamping their hooves in light applause. The dancers took a bow, only for the musicians to start up a new song, and they launched themselves back into another dance without missing a beat.

In the brief pause, Twilight took a moment to look out around the crowd, but despite the scattered light from the lamps, in the darkness of the faces that surrounded her, she couldn’t see Sombra anywhere.

“Ooooh! That looks like so much fun! We should join them!” Pinkie bounced up and jumped into the circle before Twilight could stop her. As she reached her hoof out to grab for her friend, Pinkie took hold of her leg with a grin and asked, “You wanna join too?”

Twilight tried to pull away and shook her head, wanting to go out and search for Sombra, but Pinkie dragged her forward anyway with a giggle. “I didn’t hear a no!”

Though she wasn’t in the mood for dancing, she felt a strange sensation come over her as Pinkie spun her into the flow of gliding bodies, with the music appearing to grow stronger as she felt surrounded by it. She didn’t know when she had taken the first step, but once she had decided on a move, the music instantly caught her up, weaving her into something like a dream as instinct tugged at her consciousness. It took the lead and she simply followed, moving about the cobblestones with a grace that she had not possessed before.

Twilight felt her wings unfurl from her sides, adding their display to the dance as well. They rose and fell with her as she trotted and twirled, dancing beside Pinkie, but quickly losing her in the whirling of motion. She felt the eyes of the onlookers, but something whispered in her mind not to let their gazes fumble her movements. It told her that she wanted their attention, and so she danced for it all the more. Twilight kept her steps steady, neatly keeping in tune to the music, and the two intertwined in a dazzling display to embrace the focus of her audience.

Too caught up in the dance, Twilight hadn’t even noticed the disappearance of her friend. Many ponies twirled around the square, and another dancing partner quickly took her place, bowing swiftly in introduction before joining her side. The crowd cheered as they moved together, and the stallion spun her, only to pass her on to another partner.

And somewhere along the halfway point, a new stallion bumped up against her, taking her hoof and sweeping her around to face him. Twilight looked up in surprise to see Sombra standing before her, and she only faltered for a second, almost tripping over her own hooves before he was the one to steady her and continue through the movements. She was even more shocked to see him stepping lithely alongside her in tune to the music.

All at once, the song reached a high point before fading into silence, and Twilight found herself kneeling with her wings spread. Her sides heaved while she panted, and she felt a dampness of sweat beneath her fur. She looked up to the applause of hooves and a few whistles from the crowd. The dancers that she had joined were laughing with appreciation, some of them even bowing, but she could only stare at Sombra with a bewildered expression.

Sombra opened his mouth as if to say something, but only grunted as he instead brought up a small object in his magic. A bright orange lily with a blue ribbon tied to its stem floated in front of her. “I wanted to give you... something... for last night. I may have acted brashly.”

Twilight stared at the gift, feeling her heart pounding quickly against her chest, although that could have simply been from all the dancing. Her stomach fluttered restlessly when she tilted her head, and he tucked the lily behind her ear. With his gaze lingering on the flower, he let out a soft grunt that might have been his approval.

A pony stepped up to them through the dispersing crowd with a friendly shout. “Excellent! Bravo, my friends!” The orange unicorn grabbed Sombra’s hoof and shook it vigorously. “You must join us for supper! My troupe wishes to dine with the fabulous mare and her dancing prince!”

“I am not her—” Sombra started, but the stallion swung his leg over Sombra’s neck and was already dragging him toward the caravan where Twilight could smell the scent of food wafting their way.

“Come, come! Join us! Nopony should refuse good cider and good company!”

Twilight balanced a tray of food and drinks in her magic, stepping carefully around small groups of ponies that were enjoying their dinners in the quiet of the night. While the festivities of the fair had settled down, the entertainers hadn’t completely packed up. Soft melodies drifted through the air amidst the laughter and chatter of conversations floating around the glow of a large bonfire.

As Twilight moved over the grass, a light blue pegasus suddenly stepped in her way and bowed to her with a smile. “If it isn’t the dancer that’s captured our hearts! Would you do me and my companions the honor and join us, milady?” He directed her attention off to the side, and Twilight turned her head to see a group of stallions raising their drinks and grinning hopefully.

She tried to politely decline with a shake of her head, but she felt the stallion’s wing lower over her back, attempting to lead her away. Twilight fluffed up her own wings to discourage him, but just as she was about to brush him off, Sombra’s shadowed figure appeared to step out of the darkness.

“You’re delaying my meal,” Sombra rumbled, staring the pegasus down with a stern frown. He smiled politely and stepped back, bowing his head in defeat. In the background, his friends roared with laughter.

With an impatient snort, Sombra took a hold of the tray in his magic, and stood close to her side. “This way.” He nodded his head, and Twilight followed alongside him as he strolled past the light of the fire. Unsurprisingly, he settled over in a dark corner, where there were fewer ponies lounging about, but the music and low voices could still be heard as a soft murmur.

When Sombra set the tray down and slumped to the ground next to it, Twilight sat herself comfortably across from him and lowered the two mugs of cider in front of both of them.

“What sort of food is this?” Sombra wrinkled his snout while poking one of the floral sandwiches with his hoof. “Why are ponies so content with only eating these fluffy kinds of food? It’s not filling.”

Twilight frowned and nudged a small bowl with a cover over it closer to him, giving the porcelain top a soft tap. Curious, Sombra lifted it to stare in surprise at the contents inside. “Salted fish?”

She nodded before picking up her own sandwich and taking a bite, trying not to be too obvious while she watched Sombra lift up one of the dried fillets to inspect it. She had been surprised when the dancers offered her the fish, but at the same time, her knowledge of sea practices reminded her that some sailors added it to their meals.

Even an earth pony could find it difficult to grow sufficient crops while sailing out on the sea. It was a common practice, but only in areas where food was scarce, like the vast oceans or blistery tundras. When she thought about it, that could have explained how Sombra might have acquired the taste for meat. Unfortunately, she had no ability to directly ask.

“Aye! If it isn’t our stars tonight!” A gruff-looking pony strolled over with a mare following close beside him. “You’re going to steal all of our patrons if you keep dancing like that!”

“What about it, prince?” the mare asked with a grin. “Fancy running away from the royal life and joining a troupe?”

“I don’t plan to,” Sombra grumbled, taking a quick sip of his drink.

“Well, if you ever reconsider, the invitation is always open.” The mare winked, and the two ponies fell into their own quiet conversation as they strolled away.

Sombra simply stared at them in silence, and Twilight’s eyes moved between them while she chewed slowly on her sandwich. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but his expression was unusually calm, and Twilight could only assume that he was curious about them because they appeared to be a couple.

She choked on her food at the thought, remembering that they still had a kiss to act out. The quiet of the night and the glow of the fire over the distance gave everything a soft outline of ambient light, hiding some of the other ponies across the park in partial shadow. Twilight realized there were actually quite a few pairs spread out over the grass, and she found it difficult to gulp down the remainder of her dinner.

She stole a glance at him, but Sombra wasn’t paying her any attention. His gaze was on the others moving around the fire, still awake and enjoying the night. He watched while the musicians played their quiet instruments, leading on the slow dancers as they leaned their heads against one another and swayed to the tune.

“This truly is some kind of nightmare.”

Twilight blinked as one of her ears fell in confusion. Her mind frantically tried to sort itself out, distressed over the possibility of what he was referring to. She briefly thought that he was voicing his feelings to their eventual kiss, and felt a bleak, almost hollow feeling fall over her in her dismay.

She must have been making an odd face, because Sombra watched her for a moment before asking quietly, “How much do you know about the Crystal Empire?” He paused, but not for very long, because he knew she couldn’t answer him. “What does history remember me as?”

It took a minute for her to restart her thoughts, realizing that Sombra was thinking of something else entirely, yet that didn’t make his statement any less baffling. Twilight lowered her ears with a frown, recalling what Princess Celestia had told her about King Sombra. There wasn’t much to tell, since there weren’t any history books that actually covered his brief reign.

Sombra had appeared 'from the shadows,' as her mentor had put it, and swiftly conquered the Crystal Empire. He enslaved the crystal ponies and, during his short rule, subjected them to all kinds of unspeakable horrors.

Her expression must have said it all, because when she turned back to him, Sombra snorted. “Typical. History is always written by the victors.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes with a glare.

Sombra eyed her expression warily before giving a small grunt and folding his front legs over one another. “Fine… there may be varying amounts of truth, but only because I wanted what was mine.”

He fell silent after that, letting the quiet stretch between them. When it was apparent he might not continue, Twilight lowered her head with a wave of her leg, as if to say, go on. Then she lifted her hoof to her ear. I’m listening. Or I’m all ears, he’ll get the meaning.

Sombra’s look made it seem as if he had just stepped on a bug, and his ears flattened. “I’ve never had anypony to… confide in.” His snout wrinkled as his eyes narrowed. “That is what… friends do… right? Listen to one another?” he grumbled softly, looking unsure about it. Twilight simply nodded.

“I have said it a few times,” Sombra hesitated as he began, “that the Empire was mine. It is not simply some desperate claim. You appear to be well educated, so you may have heard of my aunt: the princess who ruled before me.”

Twilight nodded, knowing only a portion of the Empire’s history. What little of it remained in the memories of the crystal ponies after his rule had managed to survive in the library. A princess had led the Crystal Empire before Sombra’s mysterious uprising. Wait… his aunt!?

Sombra continued, appearing oblivious to her shocked reaction. “She had no children, so it was only natural that the throne pass down to the next eligible heir.” Sombra’s look darkened, and he ground his teeth with a low growl. “I was her eldest nephew… it was supposed to be mine.”

With an abrupt lighting of his horn, Sombra brought the mug to his lips and gulped down the remainder of his drink. He exhaled loudly and slammed the empty mug against the ground. “But my own parents didn’t agree that I was the right successor,” he quickly spat. “All because I…” His voice wavered, but that hesitation quickly disappeared when anger contorted his face. “I wasn’t good enough in their eyes. My brother had—” Sombra abruptly stopped, glancing at Twilight with a bewildered look before continuing. “He was... much more proficient in magic.”

Twilight had no choice but to sit quietly, ruminating on the past that Sombra was presenting her. She couldn’t imagine what that was like… spurned by his parents simply for a lesser magical prowess? But it was believable… because some unicorns could be like that: holding their abilities in high regards to their worth—she had seen it for herself.

As she noticed Sombra staring forlornly at his empty mug, Twilight leaned forward and pushed her unfinished one in front of him. Sombra considered it for a second before dragging the drink closer, but he only took a quick gulp before holding it between his hooves.

“They favored him over me,” Sombra continued in a much more subdued tone. “And in my naïveté, I thought that if I studied enough, trained myself, became stronger… maybe I could win their approval. They might look at me with the same recognition they reserved for my brother.”

Sombra’s expression furrowed as he stared into the darkness of his mug, glaring at it as if it were the source of his misery. “But no matter how hard I studied, or how much effort I put forth—” his teeth clenched with a snarl “—I wasn’t good enough. It was NEVER enough!”

Twilight ducked out of instinct when Sombra’s magic suddenly sent the mug flying into a nearby tree, even though it hadn’t gone anywhere near her in its path. The cider foamed as it splattered across the bark, and the cup bounced to the grass before rolling off into the shadows.

The alarm on her face was more from the shock of what had caused his outburst, but when she looked at Sombra, his expression faltered, and he lowered his ears with a surprised grunt.

She wasn’t certain of what she wanted to do. There were so many things she wanted to say and ask… but she only grew frustrated by the limitations of her silence. She was beginning to understand a bit of his fury… Her mind wondered what it would have been like if her parents hadn’t been so supportive of her. Just the thought of it felt lonely... and maddening… but did it merit the suffering that he had eventually wrought?

And she was surprised to learn how similar they might have been… wanting something so badly and turning to books to achieve her dreams. In the end, she thought she had failed that fateful entrance exam, but luck had other plans. Without Rainbow’s Sonic Rainboom, she never would have passed: a turn of events that led her on the path to where she was today.

“Umbrum Appendicem.” Sombra’s voice interrupted her thoughts, and Twilight’s ears perked as she looked at him with curiosity when she recognized the word. “So you did read through my spellbook.” Sombra tapped against his own horn. “I came across it in my studies, and driven into the corner I found myself in… I tried to control what I thought would be a harmless spell. It gave me strength, power... and an unfathomable magic. I was so caught up in the corruption that I took over the entire kingdom through unparalleled force.

“I dethroned my aunt and defeated the royal guard… all on my own...” He let out a disheartened chuckle before the shadows cast on his face seemed to deepen along with his thoughts. “And my parents…" His gaze stared out at the dancing ponies, but his thoughts seemed to be a thousand years away. “They were devastated... and the kingdom was mine.”

His voice cracked, and Twilight heard the rumble of a low growl begin in his throat. “But I was a foal to think I had won. To believe I had attained the happiness I desired. When I stood before my subjects… my…” His gaze lighted over her. “My friends… they only cowered before me in fear.”

Sombra went quiet, and Twilight felt tears prick the corners of her eyes as she gulped quietly.

“Nothing good came from those dark spells,” Sombra rumbled softly. “I thought I could control it, but I was weak-minded. In my madness, I only destroyed what I sought to attain. And in my anger… I…” Sombra’s face fell, his eyes widened as if only now realizing the conclusion he had come to. “I went too far…”

If Twilight had still had her voice, she wouldn’t have known what to say. She could only remain silent, with her ears hanging low as a heavy pressure settled over her. She wanted to offer him some comfort, to let him know that it might be… alright?

But how could something like that ever be okay? If she could speak, what could she even say to him? Her vision blurred, and she tried to blink away the pooling tears.

“They only remind me of what could have been, if I hadn’t ruined everything,” Sombra said quietly, staring at the ponies still gathered around the fire. “Maybe they could have been happy. Maybe I... could have been content?” He watched the flickering firelight as the couples danced before the flames. “This… delusion of a world isn’t real, and yet… even after all of their annoyances and pestering, I… I find myself reluctant to leave.”

In the quiet that fell over them, she couldn’t bring herself to move, staring at the ground as quiet tears finally rolled down her snout. When she sniffled softly, a rustle of movement caught her attention, and she quickly looked up to see Sombra moving closer. He stopped in front of her, brushing his hoof lightly against her wet cheek, and she blinked at him in surprise, seeing an unusually calm expression on his face… one that almost looked… regretful.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked softly.

She knew he wasn’t talking about his seaside castle in the storybook. Twilight tried to wipe her tears away, shaking her head slowly to explain, but she had no words to let him know the conflict of emotions warring within her. Instead of controlling herself, she only broke down further, feeling fresh tears spill down her face.

And Sombra, surprisingly, was there to console her. His warm fur pressed against her as he stepped to her side and hesitantly lifted his hoof until his leg rested over hers. Other than that, he didn’t make any further movements.

“If I am to be a decent friend, it would probably be customary...” Sombra began with a low rumble, “to give you that kiss now.”

Twilight’s ears lowered, finding it difficult to go through with, even though it could have been her solution. It might have done away with her concerns, and it could have even ended the story right there, but the fact was... she just didn’t know. All they had to do was try, and with a simple kiss, she might be able to escape the nightmare of knowing what may or may not await her.

And yet… she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Not right then, at least. Twilight shook her head slowly, letting out a soft breath. Sombra said nothing more, only nodding before returning to watch the ponies as they dispersed around the fading fire.

The peaceful music continued to drift slowly through the air, keeping on long after the final embers in the camp had gone out. The night took over, and the quiet chirp of crickets eventually replaced the musicians as they prepared for sleep. The villagers departed, leaving Twilight and Sombra alone—the last to remain sitting next to one another beneath the gentle twinkling of the stars.

Author's Note

Seems like Sombra's starting to care about what Twilight thinks of him. :trixieshiftright:

Chapter 13: Flipping Your Fins (Part 4)

Twilight didn't remember falling asleep, so when her eyelids fluttered open after stirring from a fading dream, she was confused by the warmth of blankets tucked around her. She jolted up, and the sheets slid down her back while her gaze whipped around. Though the place was dim, she quickly recognized the elegant guest bedroom of the seaside castle.

Her sluggish mind took a moment to process how she had returned, slowly recalling her time spent with Sombra the previous night. He hadn’t said anything else after sharing his past, and in the quiet darkness, she must have nodded off. Twilight felt her face grow warm at the idea that he might have been the one to carry her back without waking her.

As her ears lowered, she nearly jumped out of the bed when something shifted in her mane and tumbled over her nose. She followed the bright object with her eyes, watching while the lily that Sombra had given her floated gently to the comforter. With a quick sigh and a soundless chuckle, Twilight reached out and carefully picked up the flower, rotating it delicately between her hooves.

The petals had wilted slightly, but it still held a strong floral scent when she sniffed at it, and the vibrant orange appeared to glow in the soft light from the shaded curtains. She hadn’t really seen it in the darkness of the night, but the color perfectly contrasted against her fur, while the small blue ribbon even matched the dress she had been wearing. She tried not to read too much into it, but the careful attention to such details couldn’t have been a coincidence.

And her thoughts couldn’t help but wander over the possible meaning behind the flower. Some lilies represented friendship or sympathy; while in older times they symbolized humility and devotion... even love.

Twilight’s heart began to beat in a nervous rhythm, and she gasped in surprise, dropping the flower and pulling the blanket over her nose to stare wide-eyed at the wall.

She was definitely reading too much into it. She couldn’t deny that Sombra was intelligent and well educated. He could be aware of the implications... but that didn’t make it a certainty, because it… it wasn’t as if… they were actually falling in love…?

Twilight found it difficult to wrap her head around the possibility. He was King Sombra! A past transgressor against the Crystal Empire! But… also a lost prince? The crystal ponies didn’t appear to remember or recognize who he was, but if they knew...

She buried her face in the blankets with a silent groan.

Why did it have to be so complicated? It wasn't as if they had never reformed an enemy before, and Sombra had already shown how much he could change—or at least put aside their differences to work towards a common goal... but falling in love was a bit of a leap. Her friends might be sympathetic after some serious convincing, but what would her brother and Cadence think? If Shining ever found out, he would probably try to throw Sombra in a frozen crevice for another thousand years!

But—everything was fine—because she wasn’t in love with him.

She was just nervous about kissing a stallion that she hardly knew… that was all.

Lost in her concerns, Twilight fidgeted with the sheets and didn’t hear the clamor of noise in the hallway until a resounding crash echoed behind the closed door. She jumped to her hooves and looked at it with a frown before lowering herself to the floor and approaching cautiously. She turned the doorknob as quietly as possible and opened it a crack, only enough for her to discreetly peek through.

A crystal pony was crouched against the tiles, frantically scooping up the shards of a broken tea set and dumping it all onto his tray. His tail swept out beside him, trying to sop up a puddle of liquid that had spilled across the marble.

“What a mess!” A pegasus stepped up and lifted the dripping tray. “No, no! I’ll clean this up. You go prepare more tea!” he barked impatiently at the pony on the floor. “Her visit may have been unexpected, but the princess should have been served this much sooner!”

“Yes, sir!” The pony straightened up before dashing back down the hall.

Twilight tugged the door open with a look of shock. It wasn’t as if she had forgotten about Rarity, but the knowledge had simply slipped her mind. With her thoughts completely distracted by other matters the previous day, she’d quietly hoped that Rarity’s brief introduction as a princess had been a one-time appearance.

Quickly galloping past the servant trying to mop up the spilled tea with his neckerchief, Twilight spotted another pair of ponies carrying elegant-looking sandwich trays and followed after them through the castle. They led her out to a path that curved around the courtyard, continuing on into tall hedges and white stone walls that towered over her. Twilight didn’t have time to stop and admire the architecture; she simply ran beneath the arched gateway.

She was immediately surrounded by decorative fences covered by exotic plants and flowers. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear the soft murmur of voices and hesitantly moved forward to follow a stone walkway. The path wound past trickling fountains and enclosures filled with elegant statues, so it took her some time before she finally descended a set of stairs and Rarity’s voice clearly reached her ears.

Pausing with her hoof in the air, Twilight shifted to the railing and peered over, gazing into the shaded garden spread out before her. Rarity sat at a stone table across from Sombra while the pair of servants laid the sandwich trays before them. Only a few steps away, a group of extravagantly polished guards stood at attention.

“Oh, I know it's terribly impractical,” Rarity said with an apologetic smile, continuing a conversation that Twilight had missed. “But I wasn't too certain of it myself. After all, we're practically strangers.”

Sombra’s expression was one of disgust, and he wrinkled his nose at the sandwiches as if they had a foul smell. “It’s been far too long since the initial proposal… correct?” He turned to the old servant standing next to him with a peculiar look.

The diligent pony gave an affirmative nod. “Four months, Sire.”

“It was an awfully long time,” Rarity agreed, lifting one of the sandwiches in her magic to take a polite nibble. “But you see, when I had finally worked up the courage to meet with you to consider official arrangements, well… what happened to your parents was a tragedy…”

At the mention of parents, Sombra appeared to stiffen, but he didn’t say anything to stop her, so Rarity continued on. “And I very well couldn’t have considered visiting with such intentions after everything you had been through. That was… until I rescued you on the beach.” Her expression took on a dreamy look. “I just felt something that… connected us! It was like… like love at first sight! As if fate had brought us together at last.” Rarity sighed, folding her hooves beneath her chin and fluttering her long eyelashes. “So I arrived as quickly as I could to accept our parent’s marriage proposal.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped open as she shot up against the railing, shifting so far forward that she felt her hoof slip. She flared her wings to catch herself, but her own panicked motion sent her tumbling down the stairs instead. Every head in the garden turned her way when she hit the bottom of the steps in a crumpled mess.

“Miss Twilight!?” The old servant’s surprised voice cried out, and she heard the heavy thud of hooves approach as the world spun around her in a patchwork of blotted light. A shadow fell over her, and she winced when Sombra’s dark hoof reached out to help her stand.

“Goodness! Are you alright?” Rarity trotted up beside Sombra, looking at Twilight with a mixture of concern… and apprehension? As Twilight leaned gratefully against Sombra while rubbing at a hardening lump on the back of her head, Rarity’s eyes flicked between the two of them, and Twilight saw her mouth form into a thin frown.

“And, ah, who is this curious creature?” Rarity asked in an oddly strained tone.

“A friend,” Sombra gruffly stated. “And I need to have a word with her.” He then pulled Twilight toward the bushes, parting them with his magic to step into the shade of the leaves. When the branches snapped shut and they were hidden from the others’ view, Twilight immediately started shaking her head before he could say anything.

“I’m guessing that means I shouldn't marry her?” Sombra asked in a low voice while smiling at her with amusement.

Twilight closed her eyes and nodded, letting out a soft breath in relief. As long as Sombra knew what to do, the story couldn’t progress any closer to her doom... right?

“So, do we get married instead?” Sombra moved his hoof between the two of them, a sly grin slowly curling along his face.

Twilight’s heart jumped, and she shook her head while waving her legs frantically.

“Alright, you don’t have to look so serious about it,” Sombra grumbled as his grin faded. “Though I suppose it would be—”

“My prince!” Rarity’s voice called out to them while the bushes rustled, and suddenly her head popped through the foliage as she sputtered and spit out a leaf. “Not to be intrusive, but what are you whispering about with this young mare before our wedding? Hmm?”

“That is none of your—” Sombra started, before blinking in confusion. “Did you say ‘our wedding?”

“Of course!” Rarity chirped happily and disappeared from the leaves while her magical aura surrounded Sombra and wrenched him from the bushes. With a start, Twilight burst through after him. “You were the ones to send the initial proposal, so once I told my own parents that I had decided to accept, they were so excited that they sailed here in our fabulous ship all set up for the ceremony! Granted, we have invitations to send and dresses to prepare, but sometime soon is completely possible. It’s such a grand ship! We use it to host celebrations and galas all the time, so it’s already fully stocked to serve a multitude of guests at a moment’s notice!”

“There won’t be any wedding,” Sombra said with a growl, but Rarity was too lost in her own plans and clapped her front hooves together.

“Well, not without the proper attire!” Three unicorns dressed in fabulously tailored clothes zipped up next to her while she waved her hoof at Sombra. “Please take him to be fitted for a suit!”

Sombra bared his teeth with a curl of his lip, but his expression shifted to one of surprise when the combination of three magical auras suddenly surrounded his body. Maybe he could have easily resisted the magic of an entire army at one point, but with the storybook spell limiting his own, it only left him powerless against the three unicorns.

His horn sparked and darkened in an attempt to throw them off, but they effortlessly dragged him over the grass toward the castle despite all his stomping and roaring. Twilight jumped up to follow, but skidded to a halt when she heard Spike shout for her from nearby.

She glanced back at Rarity and her guards. While the stallions continued to stand at rigid attention with their gazes forward, Rarity was looking around as if searching for something. “Was that a dolphin? Oh, this garden has so many surprises! To think that they keep such adorable creatures!”

Twilight heard Spike call out again and set off through the garden at a gallop. She followed his voice deeper through the covered pathways and into an open area with a decorated gazebo. A large lake that ended in a waterfall continued on through until it met with a river beyond a stone grate. The waterway must have connected to the ocean, because floating in the lake, waiting for her, was Spike.

“Twilight!” Spike leapt into the air and spun in a quick flip before splashing down and swimming over to her as she stepped into the deeper water. “I’ve been looking for you all morning! The ponies I tried talking to just keep giving me fish!”

“That is because land dwellers cannot understand creatures of the sea as we do.” Luna’s voice bubbled up from the center of the lake before she splashed elegantly to the surface, drifting over and lifting herself onto shore with one of her legs wrapped around a long, glimmering object.

“It does not appear that your situation bodes well, dear sister,” Luna said with a grim tone. “We saw the wedding vessel as it arrived with the dawn, so there is not much time to act.” Twilight shook her head, trying to reassure Luna that the situation wasn’t like that. Even if the characters were following a script, she was certain that Sombra wouldn’t allow them to do as they wished, so long as Rarity gave him a moment to explain himself.

Luna lifted the object that she held: a plain scabbard soaked with seawater that housed a polished handle of pearlescent material. “Rumors are spreading that the prince intends to marry this new princess.”

“Wait!? Sombra’s marrying Rarity!?” Spike yelped, looking back at Twilight. She gave a firm shake of her head, but Luna only pursed her lips and appeared unconvinced.

At that moment, the lake bubbled close by, right before Cadence practically flew from the surface, startling Twilight and Spike. “Luna!” she hissed fearfully. “We shouldn't have come without Father! If the surface dwellers catch us, they’ll cut us up and use our scales for their potions! Or worse!” Her eyes then flicked to Twilight, and her fear shifted to concern. Diving up to the shore, she grabbed Twilight’s hoof in her own. “Twilight! You have to stop the wedding!”

“That is why the sirens gave us this dagger!” Luna said sternly, frowning at Cadence while lifting up the weapon.

“B-but…” Cadence balked at the wicked knife in Luna’s hooves, even though it was still in its sheath. “We can’t ask Twilight to… to…” Her expression fell as she whispered, “Luna... she loves him.”

“And he obviously does not love her back!” Luna snapped, pushing Cadence aside and laying the weapon on the ground in front of Twilight. “The dagger is the only way!”

“Father and Celestia are with the sea witch now,” Cadence tried again. “They can find another way to save you, Twilight—”

“But they won’t make it in time!” Luna hissed before turning to Twilight with a harsh glare. Twilight gulped as she looked down at the dagger before her. “The sea witch was able to summon the sirens again, and they offered us this dagger as the only solution.” She took hold of Twilight’s hoof and laid it over the sheath. “If the prince does not love you, you must take his magic by force. Use the dagger... and thrust it into his heart.”

Twilight looked down at the knife in horror and took a step back, but Luna grabbed her leg and pulled her forward. “You must do this, Twilight!” Luna’s eyes suddenly pooled with tears. Her voice broke when she tugged on Twilight’s leg again, but with less force as before. “Don’t you want to return home?”

Her ears lowered as Twilight’s gaze shifted to the dagger, then back up to Luna’s intense expression. With a soft inhale of breath, Twilight nodded, and Luna sighed, releasing her hoof. “Then the prince must die.”

Cadence gasped softly beneath her hooves as the weight of silence pressed over them. When Twilight didn’t make a move to lift the dagger, Luna’s magic encased it in a dark blue glow as she levitated it up for her instead. “Please, Twilight. Can you do this? Can you kill the prince?”

Twilight glanced at her 'sisters' with wide eyes, and they watched her quietly, appearing to be waiting for her decision—not that she had much of a choice. She picked up the knife in her magic and gave Luna a small nod, but only because she knew the outcome to this scenario. Sombra wasn’t in any danger; the little mermare couldn’t kill the prince.

And neither could she.

Luna’s look softened with relief, and she reached her hoof up to press against Twilight’s cheek. “Return home safely, sister. In time, you will forget your heartache.” And with that, she slipped beneath the water, with Cadence hesitating before following after her. Twilight watched as their shapes moved down the river and back toward the ocean.

“Twilight…” Spike’s soft voice spoke up, and she realized that he hadn’t left with them. “A-are you really… to Sombra?” His expression was contorted into something of discomfort. “I know he’s done some bad things but… but… killing him?”

Twilight hugged the dagger against her chest and shook her head, and Spike settled down in the water with a relieved sigh that bubbled from his jaw. She didn’t have any plans to go through with it. Sombra would be safe.

And she could be too. She just had to get back and kiss him so they could end this horrifying fairy tale.

If it even works, Twilight thought grimly. If Sombra was supposed to marry Rarity, and if the kiss didn’t work, then stopping the wedding could theoretically prevent the story from ending. It meant that she wouldn’t turn into seafoam… but it could potentially trap them in an eternal fairy tale.

Whatever the outcome, time was running out. She needed to find Sombra.

Nodding a quick goodbye to Spike, she hid the dagger beneath her wing and started back along the stone path, but quickly slowed to a stop at a rustling of leaves ahead of her. When Twilight perked her ears to listen, she heard a hushed voice urgently whispering, “Come on—! These dreadful branches!”

Twilight stepped around the bushes to find Rarity yanking at her dress, trying to untangle it from a bramble. When her gaze lifted, she jumped up with a strangled cry, her eyes going wide while she shuffled a few steps backward.

“Aaah… Oh, goodness! Ah… f-forgive me, darling, I was just…” Her eyes shifted around before landing on the flower bush, picking up a patch of buds so roughly that some of them scattered over the ground. “Picking flowers! Yes! I didn’t hear anything out of the… ordinary...” Rarity laughed nervously while keeping her eyes on Twilight.

Twilight’s feathers ruffled as they both stood as still as statues, awkwardly staring at one another. She wasn’t certain how much Rarity had overheard, but it was clear from her fearful expression that she didn’t see Twilight as a friend.

Their eyes remained locked until Twilight shifted her hoof only slightly. Rarity jumped back with a gasp before letting loose a high-pitched shriek.

“GUARDS!” Rarity spun around and shot off through the garden, ripping her dress away from the bushes. “Guards! She’s attempting to kill the prince!”

Twilight started after Rarity, shaking her head in fear, but there was no way she could defuse the situation quickly enough without a voice to explain the misunderstanding. Rarity had obviously heard Luna's plan to have her kill Sombra... but without the magic of a mermare, she couldn't understand Spike's question and how Twilight had refused to go through with it. No wonder she was jumping to conclusions!

Before she could get much farther, Rarity’s armored soldiers dashed into her path, and Twilight skidded to a stop, jarring the dagger and causing the blade to slip from its sheath. The weapon fell to the ground with all the guards watching as it clattered against the stones.

They reacted immediately, seizing Twilight in a grip of magic and picking her up off the ground as her legs and wings flailed in a panic. The three unicorns worked efficiently as a team, because Twilight quickly found her horn blocked when one of their auras wrapped around it with a suppression spell.

“Goodness! Why does this have to happen today!?” Rarity stomped her hoof with a whine from where she stood at a safe distance. “Take her where she can’t harm anypony!”

“I don’t care if it’s ‘fashionable,'” Sombra’s voice suddenly raged as he emerged along the path ahead. “I am not wearing that frilly robe!” He tromped toward them, snorting with a furious expression, but when he spotted Twilight hovering in the air, he froze with a look of surprise before his face twisted with a snarl. “WHAT are you doing!?!”

“My Somby-womby!” Rarity called out while dashing over to him. Sombra stiffened when she wrapped her legs around his neck, trying to pull him away. “You shouldn’t get closer! She’s planning a coup to assassinate you!”

Sombra’s expression faltered, and he wrinkled his snout as he looked up at Twilight. For a brief second, her breath caught in her throat, uncertain of what he would think until he spoke. “She is not capable of that,” Sombra said, shifting to take a step forward—but another guard marched up and barred his way.

“I witnessed her conspiring with some… creatures! I couldn’t see them clearly, but I know what I heard!” Rarity tugged at his neck to pull him back. “Please, come away! I don’t want you hurt when I’ve barely gotten to know you!”

“A misunderstanding,” Sombra simply said, shoving past the guard as Rarity stumbled back when she lost her grip. Another servant moved in to block his way, and Sombra was soon trying to push through four stallions to get to Twilight. “You worthless piles of filth! Remove yourselves! NOW!!!”

“Nonsense! It’s too dangerous to involve yourself!” Rarity waved her hoof, and the same unicorn servants from before appeared and lifted Sombra while he growled with rage. “Take him to the ship! We don’t know if there are any more of them, but it will be safest there.” Rarity then swung her hoof to point at Twilight. “And take her to a holding cell! She won’t be laying a hoof on him!”

Twilight tried to struggle out of their magical grasp, watching with horror as Sombra failed to escape his own bind despite thrashing about in a rage.

“RELEASE ME, YOU WORMS!!!” Sombra roared, but the servants ignored his demands and hustled as quickly as they could out of the gardens, while Twilight’s own escorts started toward the castle.

Twilight had nearly worn a groove into the floor from all of her pacing. Though her magic was limited, the guards had been careful to lock an inhibitor over her horn, making it impossible for her to try any spells to escape.

That didn’t mean she hadn’t tried.

Her cell had only the barred door and a single small window at the back near the ceiling. It gave her a limited view of the sun hanging low in the sky, well past its zenith. Her time was running out, but she had already examined the room from top to bottom, testing every stone and iron bar for weak points or makeshift weapons.

With a frustrated huff, she stepped to the door one more time and lifted her hoof to bang against the bars.

“Hey!” one of the guards sitting at attention nearby yelled at her. “Quit that racket!”

Twilight angrily jerked her hoof toward her mouth and glared at the soldier, hoping he would understand her meaning.

“Just be patient and we’ll give you a chance to explain yourself with a fair trial.” He had either understood her well enough or was simply trying to get her to quiet down. “But that’ll have to wait until it is deemed safe enough for the prince to return.”

Twilight shook her head with a growl, stomping back over to the bench and flopping onto the hard surface with a huff. She would be seafoam by then!

Pressing her hooves against her forehead, Twilight tried to come up with a solution. She just needed to distract the guards and steal their key. Lost in the turmoil of her sketchy escape plan, she only lifted her head when a friendly, high-pitched voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Hey, guys! Are you gonna stay down here all day?”

“Pinkie, don't come down here smelling like that,” one of the guards complained. “You know we're stuck guarding the prisoner.”

“Yeah,” the second one piped up. “The captain promised to bring us some leftover cake, but there likely won't be any. Since they’re going through with the wedding today, Princess Rarity invited the whole castle staff to the ceremony so they could have enough guests for the celebration.”

“Well, that's why I smell like frosting!” Pinkie giggled. “I made the cake for the reception.” She then leaned closer and lifted her hoof, as if she were divulging a secret. “And I made a few test cakes that are still in the kitchen!”

The two guards exchanged a surprised look before one glanced back at Twilight with a frown. “You know we can't leave the prisoner.”

“You just can't leave her unattended.” Pinkie smiled. “Why don’t you two grab some cake while I stand watch?”

“Well…” the other guard started hesitantly. “We’re not supposed to abandon our posts.”

“You’re not abandoning them!” Pinkie grinned. “You’re taking a cake break! Duh! That’s like, a standard for any job! Plus, I’m here! So it’s not abandoned, is it?”

They apparently didn't need much more convincing than that. The two guards jumped up with happy whinnies and bolted down the hall, shouting over their shoulders, “Well be back in fifteen minutes!”

“Take your time!” Pinkie called after them before turning to grin at Twilight through the bars. With a quick dance on her hooves, Pinkie whipped her head around and fit the tip of her mane into the keyhole, bouncing on her hoof tips with her tongue sticking out. Twilight hopped down from the bench after the lock let out a loud click and Pinkie exclaimed, “Piece of cake!”

When the cell door opened, Twilight jumped up and hugged her friend tightly before leaning back and giving her a questioning look.

“Oh, I knew you couldn’t do any of that assassin stuff!” Pinkie gave a quick snort as she fluffed up her mane again and stuck it into the lock around Twilight’s horn. “It’s like everypony forgot that you could barely walk when you got here!” When the magic dampener snapped and fell to the floor with a clank, Pinkie stepped back and bounced down the hallway, beckoning to Twilight urgently. “I didn’t believe that you could hurt the prince, but that’s not important now! We’ve got a boat to catch!”

Twilight nodded, setting her expression to a determined frown as she followed Pinkie through the castle. The empty hallways echoed with the sounds of their hooves, and no pony intervened to stop them as they made their way out to the courtyard. All of the staff were gone, already aboard the ship to attend the impromptu wedding.

The castle docks were located down the seaside cliffs, where a winding path of stairs led to a stone walkway with a wooden harbor built into the cove for the ships to stay. Twilight galloped behind Pinkie to one of the piers, and only slowed down to watch in horror while the vessel they sought sailed away as a dark shape on the horizon.

“Shoot! We’re too late!” Pinkie pulled a spyglass from her mane and zoomed in on the boat. “Hey, wait! The ceremony hasn’t started yet! Nopony’s even up on the deck...”

Twilight let her head hang low, but not in defeat. She took a quick moment to catch her breath before backing up along the pier and fluttering her wings. After a brief crouch, she took off with a running leap and soared away from the dock.

Her body seemed to float before it became apparent that the wind wasn’t catching beneath her feathers properly. Twilight flailed her legs and pumped her wings, but she simply plummeted out of the air, dropping into the water below with a large splash.

Pinkie blinked at her through the spyglass when she surfaced and spit out a stream of saltwater. “Gee! It’s almost like you’ve never flown before!”

Twilight paddled in the water and stared up at Pinkie with a grimace, kicking her hooves and splashing furiously at the waves.

“Twilight!”

She heard Spike’s voice a split second before his head rose up beneath her hooves, and Twilight found herself draped across his back. Before she could slip into the water, she wrapped her legs around his dorsal fin and hugged him tightly.

“What happened? Where’s Sombra!?” Spike asked frantically, but Twilight shook her head and pointed urgently at the ship in the distance. Without any further questions, Spike set his mouth in a thin line, ducked his head beneath the waves and kicked off toward the ship.

“Wowie!” Pinkie gasped as she bounced along the pier, following them until she reached the end and waved excitedly. “No wonder nopony can hear you! You only speak dolphin!”

As Pinkie and the docks shrank into the distance, it took Spike little time to catch up with the ship. The large vessel soon loomed above them, and Spike slowed his speed to carefully survey the outside.

“Can you get up there, Twilight?” Spike asked, just as she spotted a rope hanging down from one of the levels above. She pointed him in that direction and grabbed it when she was close enough. Twilight managed to pull herself onto a tiny ledge, inching her hooves carefully over to rungs built into the side of the ship.

“Be careful,” Spike pleaded, watching her as she climbed up the ladder to the top deck. When she finally made it to a point where she could peek over the railing, she was surprised by the lack of any pony on board and not a single guard. The ship hadn’t even been decorated for any kind of celebration, let alone a wedding. Apart from a lonely table and some crates in a corner, the empty deck stretched before her in silence.

Despite the ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach, Twilight pulled herself up and hunched low, trying to sneak her way over to a stack of barrels.

“Aha!” Twilight spun around at the triumphant shout, lifting her gaze to see Rarity leaning over the railing from the bow. “There were more assassins! I knew spreading that news about the ceremony taking place today would be the perfect lure—” Rarity stopped, and her eyes narrowed as she leaned further over the railing. “You again? How did you escape?” Her gaze swept across the deck. “And why aren’t there more of you?”

While Rarity’s eyes searched the boat, a pair of guards marched through one of the doorways below her with their horns glowing brightly. Their auras surrounded Twilight and held her in place, but before they could restrain her horn, Twilight fired off her own spell, lifting herself and disrupting their magic like a popping bubble.

Even as they tried to catch her again, Twilight kept herself covered, levitating her own body through the air and using her wings to steer. It took some strain off of her limited magic reserve, but even so, Twilight’s brow quickly beaded with sweat from the effort. She managed to land herself across the deck, dropping down near the ship’s wheel.

“Guards! Arrest her!” Rarity shouted, and doors from the cabins below banged open as more soldiers poured out onto the deck. A line of them stomped up the stairs and another group stood by the mast, surrounding Twilight on all sides while she backed herself up onto the railing.

There was a high-pitched squeal from below, and Twilight heard a splash of water, followed by a shadow that quickly loomed over several of the guards. Before they could even look up, Spike’s body slammed down, knocking them across the deck and breaking through their barricade.

“Hah! I wasn’t going to just leave you this time!” Spike cried triumphantly as the guards beneath him groaned. While Twilight grinned at his arrival, the line of soldiers quickly re-formed and began marching closer with their weapons drawn. Spike slammed his tail into one of the advancing stallions, but he couldn’t do more against the others that simply jumped out of his reach, and he flopped awkwardly against the deck. “You know, maybe I didn't think this through enough.”

The ship suddenly rumbled deeply, and with a groan of planks and wood, a blast of shadowy magic exploded through the deck. Some of the guards scattered to escape the flying debris, while others stood their ground and held steady against the new threat. As rubble rained across the boat, all eyes turned to the large hole that Sombra had made from one of the lower decks. He climbed his way up through the mess, his expression furious as he growled at the nearby guards.

“If any of you come near me, I will sink. This. Ship!” Sombra threatened, even though his horn weakly sputtered with the evidence that he didn’t have enough magic to back up that claim. Regardless, the guards took a step back with uncertainty in their eyes, exchanging glances among themselves while a few turned to Rarity with questioning looks.

“Prince Sombra!” Rarity cried out as she galloped down the stairs toward him. “Why are you up here? You should be below where it’s safe!” She tried to shove him back toward the cabins, though her efforts barely budged him as he glared over the deck crossly. “There could be more assassins after your life!”

“There are NO assassins!” Sombra shouted, spinning around to bare his teeth at her. “Twilight doesn’t have the spine to eradicate her enemies!”

Twilight looked down at him with an unamused frown. While he wasn’t wrong, the way he had chosen to word his reasoning caused her feathers to ruffle.

“How do you know?” Rarity wailed dramatically. “I saw her and her cohorts! I overheard their plans!” She grabbed his leg and tried to drag him away again, grunting with the effort and giving up when she only succeeded in disheveling his fur. The guards looked as if they wanted to assist, but Sombra’s threat held them in place. “I only wanted to ensure your safety before we are wed!”

Sombra stiffened with a glare and leaned over her with an enraged scowl. “We. Are not. Getting married!!!”

“What—b-but…” Rarity babbled in stunned confusion, flattening her ears as she stepped back. “But… but why!?”

“Simple!” Sombra snapped, stomping closer to sneer in her face. “I despise you!”

Rarity immediately fell back to her haunches, looking aghast as large tears welled in her eyes. She only got out a choked sob before throwing her head back and letting out a terrible wail, her tears splashing to the deck like a pair of fountains.

Twilight glared at Sombra, and the guards didn’t stop her when she spread her wings and managed not to crash beside him. He turned to her with an annoyed look, only to frown deeper when he noticed her expression.

“What? They are nothing but illusions,” Sombra said. “I only spoke the truth.”

Twilight’s stern look intensified.

Giving a low growl, Sombra turned to Rarity with an awkward clearing of his throat, and her tears stemmed briefly as her sobbing quieted to listen. “I... appreciate your concern,” Sombra grumbled while he wrinkled his nose. “But what I mean... is that I must rescind the proposal for our marriage.”

Sombra stepped beside Twilight and linked his front leg around hers, and Twilight stiffened as she felt the attentive gazes of the soldiers focus completely on them. “In the time since, I have fallen in love with this one here. It would not be fair to ask you and I to wed, since my heart would not be in it.” His gaze then flicked to Twilight and he whispered between his grit teeth, “Happy?”

Twilight could only respond with a stiff nod of her head. Maybe he had simply said it on a whim to appease her, but at his words, her heart felt like it had jumped into her throat.

Rarity’s eyes were already red and puffy, and she sniffled lightly as she dried them with a delicate cloth. “Oh… I’m so—! I-I didn’t realize…” Rarity bowed her head. “I suppose I was so blinded by my own fantasies that I didn’t stop to think of anypony but myself. I sincerely apologize... and hope you’ll forgive my rash behavior. I was just… so happy… when I thought I had found my prince. I was also so worried for your safety when I thought your life was in danger.”

Sombra only grunted in answer before tilting his head to Twilight and muttering, “I knew you were no assassin.” He then smiled as he stepped around to face her, and Twilight froze up when he lowered his head. “You can hardly bring yourself to harm these illusions.”

She glanced briefly at their gaping audience, and Sombra’s eyes flicked to the side to follow her gaze. Without warning, his hoof slid beneath Twilight’s feathers, and her entire body trembled from the thrum of her pulse. As if he had hit a switch, her wings sprang open in surprise. He nudged them forward, and she numbly followed his direction, lifting them up to conceal their faces. “Now,” he rumbled softly, touching their horns together. “Isn’t this the part where we kiss?”

With a deep blush illuminating her cheeks in the fiery glow of the sunset, Twilight nodded stiffly, her heart thundering in her chest as Sombra gently prodded her chin. He lifted her gaze to meet his own, and he may have said something when his mouth moved, but Twilight couldn’t hear anything past her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.

Sombra leaned in, and a shiver ran through her as his lips finally pressed against hers.

Twilight’s nostrils flared as she took in a quick breath through her nose, her heart drumming all through her body while a feeling of electricity raced along her spine. She was only slightly aware of Sombra pressing closer, meshing their fur together as he sighed deeply into her mouth.

She was no longer concerned with the guards or Rarity, who may have been hiding her own blush beneath her hooves while she pretended not to watch. The sensation that engulfed Twilight was enough to distract her from the embarrassment. She only knew this moment, his touch, and the surge of new, confusing emotions coursing through her.

Time became irrelevant, and she wasn’t certain how much had passed before he slowly pulled away. Sombra wore a knowing smirk while her mouth opened uselessly. Even if the kiss had returned her voice, all that came out was an airy squeak. As the world around her came back into focus, she felt a burning heat rise along her face and ears.

The last fairy tale’s unexpected kiss couldn’t even compare. Sombra’s embrace had been just like the descriptions she’d read about in romance novels. Her fur felt jittery, and her lips tingled from the fresh memory of contact, but as the exhilaration faded, it was quickly replaced by an odd discomfort that she hadn’t expected.

Twilight lifted a hoof to press against her chest while she shifted her wings. She didn’t feel any physical pain, but the ache began to grow within her... as if a spell was winding its way through the core of her magic.

Sombra let out a satisfied-sounding sigh. “Didn’t I say it would be—” He went quiet, possibly noticing her frantic look while she stared at the deck. “Twilight?” His voice sounded strange, and she realized it was her own senses that were off when he called to her again, sounding miles away even though he was standing right next to her.

A sharp jolt of pain raced through her, and Twilight suddenly collapsed. Jumbled voices trying to reach her melded together in a thunder of noise that she couldn’t make out. She was too lost in the sudden convulsions that wracked her body. Bright streaks shot through her vision, and tears sprang to her eyes as she realized what was happening.

She was turning into seafoam.

The tears flowed over her cheeks. She had come so far, only to fail. The kiss had failed. All of her efforts—failed. All because she couldn’t work up the nerve to kiss him sooner…

Twilight curled up into a pathetic ball, only slightly feeling the distant touch of somepony—possibly Sombra—trying to lift her; but she couldn’t move, and only hugged herself tighter in her despair.

But the story wouldn’t allow her any peace. The pain kept on, growing stronger. She writhed in agony, with images flashing through her mind, calling up memories of her friends and family… how she longed to see them once again. She also remembered Spike, so close by, yet unable to help her.

Twilight’s chest heaved for air as her breath grew short, as if a weight had settled itself over her body. Shapes and forms swam around her in a vortex of encroaching darkness. As she gasped, terrified by what was to come, a feeling of warmth reached out through the shadows.

The darkness receded, all except for the shadowy figure of Sombra hovering over her. He had laid himself next to her on the deck, their lips once again connected. There was a look of unease on his face as he furrowed his brow. A bolt of pain stabbed through her again, but this time, it felt weakened, and was quickly soothed by a trickle of numbing relief.

Twilight could hardly straighten out her thoughts, caught between a limbo of magic that worked to heal her, while another simultaneously fought to tear her apart. The kiss... was working? But the magic behind it simply didn’t appear strong enough.

In a brief moment when the pain receded, she had a clear thought—a revelation. She couldn’t have warned him when she didn’t even know for herself how the story worked. The mermare would only live if the prince shared his magic with her in the form of his love…

But Sombra didn’t have enough magic. He had used it up in an excessive burst to escape from the decks below. Even if the kiss was working, thanks to its own restrictions it had placed upon them, the storybook was going to have its proper ending. The spark that Twilight felt had simply been Sombra’s magic flowing into her, giving her the essence she needed to live.

Despite his efforts, the darkness relentlessly circled her, threatening to swallow her up. She wasn’t certain if the story was coming to a close, or if it was her own mind drifting into oblivion...

Pain flared through her again, and the shadows ensnared her. Everything suddenly went dark.

The warmth of Sombra’s breath disappeared, and the agony wracking her body also ceased. She only felt exhaustion, and finally let go… settling down as if falling into an endless dream.

Chapter 14: Old as Time (Part 1)

Twilight bolted upright with a loud gasp as her heart pounded rapidly against her chest. Her hooves pressed into the sheets of a soft bed, and her eyes quickly flitted over the surroundings, taking in what appeared to be a small, cozy cottage, dimly lit in the early hours of a new morning. The calm atmosphere was a stark contrast to the storm of panic racing through her.

She quickly patted a hoof against her chest before dragging it through her fur and letting out a trembling sigh. Her body felt sore and stiff, as if she had run a marathon without pacing herself, but the ache helped to reassure her that she obviously hadn’t turned into seafoam.

Twilight managed to croak out a soft laugh before bending over from a fit of coughing. Her dry throat persuaded her to find some water, so she crawled to the edge of the bed and tried to climb down carefully, only to end up misstepping and falling to the floor with a heavy thud.

Groaning in pain and cradling her head, Twilight didn't even notice the front door swing open until her ears perked at the sound of her name. She lifted her gaze to see a familiar shape standing in the doorway, his dark form outlined in the bright sunlight from outside.

“Spi… ke?” Twilight wheezed, struggling to sit up as he immediately sprinted across the room and dove into her outstretched legs. Spike pulled himself against her, and Twilight cried out with a choked sob while wrapping him in a tight embrace.

Neither of them said a word as they simply held one another, comforted by the fact that they were both there, and taking solace in each other’s presence.

After some time had passed, Twilight finally lifted her head with an unsteady breath and coughed again. “Spike,” she rasped. “I’m really glad to see you… but my throat hurts—”

“Oh!” Spike took a step back with a start before she could finish and rubbed his arm quickly across his eyes. “I saw a faucet outside. Wait here!” And with that, he hopped up and rushed out the door. There was a series of loud bangs and thumps from out front before she heard the steady squeak of what could only be the motions of a pump. Moments later, Spike waded through the entrance with a bucket in his arms.

“I ah… couldn’t find any cups.” He smiled sheepishly, but Twilight didn’t let that deter her. When he laid the bucket in front of her, she leaned over it and gulped down most of the water before lifting her head with a satisfied sigh.

“Thanks, Spike. I needed that.”

“How are you feeling, Twilight?” Spike stepped beside her and gently lifted one of her wings to inspect it. “I mean… you look okay. Does that mean the kiss worked?”

“I-I think…” Twilight rubbed her front legs together, feeling a slight tremble run through her. The kiss itself had been a moment of magic… until everything completely fell apart. She found herself being sucked into the terrifying memory until a soft touch against her leg brought her back. Twilight’s gaze lifted, and she saw that it was only Spike, his brow furrowing in worry.

Taking in a deep, calming breath, Twilight wrapped him in another hug. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Spike.”

Spike let out a grunt, but returned the embrace with a light squeeze. “I’m fine, really! I’m just glad you’re okay, Twilight.” After a brief pause, he pulled away to look up at her. “So, uh… do you know where we are?”

“Hmm…” Twilight glanced around the room, but nothing stood out in the ordinary surroundings. It looked like an everyday home that would have melded into the background of any fairy tale. “Maybe something outside will tell us.”

“Okay...” Spike started with a hesitant tone. “But it’s weird out there. Everypony I met wasn’t making any sense.”

“How so?” Twilight asked, watching as he moved to the door.

Spike scratched his head. “Well, they keep repeating this word… uh… Bone-jer?”

“Bone… jer?” Twilight said while Spike just shrugged. She blinked momentarily before perking her ears. “Wait, I think I know this one…” Picking herself up gently, she shuffled to the door and stepped outside when Spike held it open for her. She was immediately greeted by the pleasant sight of a clear blue sky and quaint buildings lining a cobbled street.

A pony walking past noticed her and nodded with a tip of his cap. “Bonjour, Mademoiselle!”

“Oh!” Twilight smiled with a laugh. “Bonjour!” she chirped back while Spike stepped out beside her.

“What’s it mean, Twilight?” Spike gave her a questioning look.

“They're saying hello!” Twilight giggled, looking around at the charming little town. “Spike! I know which story we’re in. It’s Beauty and the Beast!”

“Beast!?” Spike exclaimed, suddenly wrapping his arms around her leg. “Shouldn't we be worried about that!?”

Twilight reassured him with a quick squeeze and nuzzled his cheek. “It’s okay. The Beast isn’t close by… and he’s not a threat.” She pulled away and moved back inside to gather some things. She had seen a belt for a harness hanging by the door, as well as a trunk that they could use to pack necessities and travel gear.

When Spike waddled in after her, he found her failing to push the chest over the floor. “Uhh, Twilight, what are you doing?”

“Eugh… I’m trying… to get this in the cart outside,” she grunted, only managing to slide the trunk a few inches before draping herself over the lid and huffing. “This has… a few things I could use on the road.”

“I got this.” Spike strode over and grabbed one of the iron handles. Even though he was much smaller, he managed to pull it easily along the floor. “But uh, where are we going?”

“I’m going to the castle.” Twilight started to follow him, but Spike stopped and blocked the doorway while his head popped over the other side of the trunk.

“Nuh uh. Wherever you’re going, I’m coming too.” Spike jerked his thumb at his chest with a stern look. “There’s no way I’m letting you go through another fairy tale alone.”

With a soft giggle, Twilight trailed after him when he started moving again. “Alright, as long as the storybook won't try and stop us. It would definitely be safer for you to come along anyway, considering the last act this story usually follows.”

“Great!” Spike grinned and shoved the chest up a short ramp leading to the cart. “Do you think Sombra and Flurry Heart are somewhere in the castle?”

Twilight’s ears flattened. “Maybe? I mean… there is one other character that Sombra might be…” Her voice faded with uncertainty. After getting to know him a little, she couldn’t quite picture him as the character she had in mind… even if she was eager to meet up with him sooner...

“Well.” Spike shoved the chest the last few inches into the cart and slapped his claws together. “Let's go find out.”

“Is that really safe?” Spike pointed out, watching Twilight with a skeptical gaze while she pulled the cart behind her and levitated a book right beneath her nose.

“I can see perfectly fine, Spike.” Twilight didn't even look up as she trotted down the road, trying to ignore all the curious stares she drew from the passing villagers. She didn't mind the attention, so long as she could distract herself with the book she was reading.

Because… she was reading it!

Twilight sighed with relief as her eyes moved over the familiar words of one of her favorite books, which had just so happened to be sitting on the little shelf inside her cottage. She could read again! Oh, how good it felt to understand that carefully scripted flow of text!

“Are you sure you don’t want me to pull the cart instead?” Spike offered. “You can read while you rest in the back!”

“It’s better for me to move around,” Twilight said without even taking her eyes off the page. “I feel worse when I’m just sitting still.”

“Alrigh—aah! Look out, Twilight!”

Spike’s warning came too late, as Twilight lost her footing—and more annoyingly, her place—when the book smashed into her snout. She stumbled and nearly toppled over, but a strong leg suddenly caught her mid-fall and stood her up to face the stallion that had stepped in her way.

“Twilight!” Blueblood’s eyes swept across her figure while he shot her a confident grin. “You're looking lovely, as always.”

“Prince Blueblood!?” Twilight exclaimed with a muffled voice while she rubbed her sore nose. From the cart, Spike let out a dramatic gagging sound.

“Prince?” Blueblood chuckled and ran his hoof along his well-groomed mane. “Well now, I know I’m dashing, but I haven’t quite earned that title.” He then leaned closer and whispered right into her ear, “Not yet...”

His breath tickled against her fur, and Twilight pulled away with a frown. “Umm... right.” She took a few wide steps back, her ears flattening when he only closed the gap. “Just keep up that mindset and you’ll get there… maybe. Now... can you move? I have to go—”

“What’s the rush?” Blueblood grinned and stepped around her, still rudely blocking her path. “I’ve hardly gotten a chance to admire your beauty.”

Twilight wrinkled her nose at the compliment. Coming from Blueblood—as the character she knew him to be playing—it only felt like a gaudy pick-up line. “If that’s all you wanted to say—”

“Well, that wasn’t everything,” Blueblood said, lifting his hoof to reach for her own, but Twilight pulled her leg out of his grasp. “I wanted to make a bold declaration of my affection, but you were too engrossed in that grungy book to pay attention to me.”

“Your point?” Twilight frowned with a flat stare.

“My point is,” Blueblood continued, waving his hoof between the two of them, “that you should marry me, Twilight.”

“Marry!?” Spike exclaimed with a disgusted look and slapped his forehead. “Why do all these fairy tales keep going back to marriage!”

Blueblood appeared to ignore Spike’s outburst and only pressed closer while Twilight gaped at him. She tried to step away again, but the belt tightened around her middle and the poles caught against her flank.

“Can’t you picture it?” Blueblood said with a dreamy expression while putting his leg around her neck and dragging her closer, causing Twilight’s insides to squirm. “Your servant giving my hooves a proper manicure after a hard day's work, while my gorgeous wife prepares dinner fit for a strapping stallion like myself.”

“T-that sounds... umm...” Twilight stammered hesitantly with a horrified expression, but Blueblood continued on as if he hadn't heard her.

“We are thoroughbreds amidst a town of average ponies, my dear! It’s only natural that a stunning mare like you would wed a handsome stallion like myself. Not to mention that marrying me would make all your dreams come true.” Blueblood leaned against her with a grin. “What do you say, Twilight?”

“I don’t—” Twilight started in a stern tone until she spotted Spike creeping around behind Blueblood “—think... it’s an impossibility.” She sweetened her voice and lifted a hoof to Blueblood’s chest, directing his full attention on her. “And… I wouldn’t need to distract myself with books…” She swirled her leg around the fur of his chest. “Not with a big, strong stallion by my side.”

Blueblood gave a bemused smile and chuckled. “Hmm, hmm. Yes?”

Spike gave her a thumbs up from behind Blueblood, restrained licks of flame flickering from his mouth.

“But I'll have to pass.” Twilight gave Blueblood a quick push and—still lost in his fantasizing—he stepped into Spike’s path, who breathed out a puff of fire that caught on the tip of Blueblood’s tail. Twilight twisted around and sprinted away before Blueblood was even aware, and by the time he started to move after her, he immediately stopped and gave the air a sniff.

“What is that—?” He turned his head and spotted the smoke rising from behind his flanks. “Yaaaah!”

While Blueblood tried to put his tail out, Spike hopped back into the cart, and Twilight broke into a gallop, making her way down the road and ignoring Blueblood’s shouting as she ran straight for the forest at the edge of town.

The soft rattle of the wooden spokes and the grind of dry snow beneath the wheels were loud against the silence of the woods. It had been some time since they had left town, and Spike sat in the cart with a blanket over himself to keep away the cold.

The chill pierced right through the scarf and cloak that Twilight had wrapped tightly around her, dug out from the chest they had brought along. The boots she’d found did little to help with the temperature, as a frigid cloud swirled around her hooves with every step, and each breath was a puff of mist before her muzzle. It was nothing like the cold she had experienced in The Snow Queen, but it was still enough to wish she had something more to warm herself. She could only continue forward and hope she would see the castle soon.

But her pace was slow as she moved along nervously, unable to help but feel a bit apprehensive about what to expect from the woods. Beauty and the Beast didn’t have plot twists as worrying as The Little Mermare, but different versions gave her a few concerns. She knew that they wouldn’t come to any harm… but that still didn’t help the feeling of dread instilled in her by the quiet surroundings.

“Are we almost there?” Spike asked from beneath the blanket. “This place is so cold, I can’t even light a spark.” He demonstrated this by gasping out a raspy breath, and a plume of dark smoke drifted away in the chill.

Twilight paused to look up, trying to see if she could spot any tall spires in the distant skyline. “It's hard to tell,” she replied. “I tried to use a navigation spell that might help, but it looks like my magic is still recovering…”

“Or it didn’t work because this storybook is a make-believe place,” Spike offered, frowning and pulling the blanket tighter around him.

“I could fly up and take a look,” Twilight said, shrugging off the harness and unfurling her wings, but before she could even lift herself, her ears swiveled toward a loud sound as it echoed around the woods. She paused in her crouch, listening as the breeze picked up, blowing through the branches and causing them to shift and groan, almost as if they were moaning...

Her breath caught in her throat, and she quickly re-hitched the belt, pulling the cart behind her with a jerk as her hooves crunched loudly over the frozen ground from her panicked steps.

“Wh-hey!” Spike rolled off of the seat and into the back of the cart, quickly popping up with an irritated glare. “What was that for, Twilight?”

“I just…” She turned her head up, but only saw the endless stretch of bleak, grey sky. “I thought I heard something…” Maybe it was just the stillness in the air that was freaking her out… but… the wind had sounded oddly like voices.

“I don’t hear anything,” Spike grumbled, climbing back into the front and fixing the blanket around him again.

The bare branches continued to squeak and shiver against one another, and Twilight grit her teeth while increasing her pace. The fur along her neck stood straight up in fear as the chill in the air seemed to drop even further. She tried to move as quietly as possible, but the freezing temperature only worked her harder as she trotted along, trying to navigate her way towards a castle that she didn’t know the location of.

With a sudden gust, the wind blasted her with frozen air, causing Spike to cry out and Twilight to stop in her tracks with a yelp. The moaning in the trees became shrill, a sound that sent a shiver along her spine. She no longer believed they were alone in the woods.

A shriek from above caused her to turn, and Twilight ducked when something dove toward her. It flew past, leaving a trail of white, misty frost that floated to the ground. She followed the wispy form with her eyes only for a second before bolting between the trees, spurred on by the wailing shrieks of the creatures as they gave chase.

“Windigo!” Spike cried out unnecessarily in his panic, drawing her attention back to them as they gave chase behind the cart. One of the spiraling forms shot through the air toward her, and she let out a shocked cry and tried to dive away, but only wound up getting jerked back by the harness. The windigo missed her and shot through one of the wooden poles, splintering it into shards and throwing Twilight into a confusing tumble as the cart toppled on its side with Spike still inside.

The pole she was still attached to pulled her into a heavy snowbank, but she scrambled up while tearing frantically at the twisted belt in her attempt to escape. The howling winds around her grew louder while her fur frosted over from the frigid air.

Pausing only for a moment to work the buckle with her magic, the strap finally opened and fell away, and Twilight dashed to the cart to scoop a disoriented Spike onto her back. Twilight sprinted over the snow and ran into the trees, losing her way entirely as she blindly tried to escape.

The wind howled in her ears as she galloped on and kept her eyes ahead, too afraid to look back. Why the windigo were chasing them, Twilight couldn’t fathom. They were normally drawn to hatred and anger… unless in a forest where no pony dwelled, fear was just as good a meal as any.

Her face was numb as she wove through the trees, slipping on the snow-covered carpet of dead leaves and twigs. She could only see bare branches reaching into the sky around her no matter where she turned. Everything blurred together and looked exactly the—

“Twilight!” Spike’s voice shouted in her ear, and she felt a tug when he pulled on her mane to force her gaze up. Her eyes widened at the shape of something dark towering above the trees, and she veered in that direction, the windigo howling as they swarmed behind her.

It wasn’t long until she saw the rusted gates, nearly hidden and overgrown with twisted and dead vines. One of them leaned at a warped angle, creating a gap that Twilight gunned for once she spotted it. Her breath escaped in panicked gasps as the cold air burned in her lungs. She was so close to the entrance when the windigo swooped past her.

Twilight cried out as pain shot through her hind leg, and a numbness in her hoof caused her footing to slip. Even with her limping gait, she kept up her determined gallop, spurred on by the towering sight of the Beast’s castle.

But at the last moment, she slipped and stumbled to the ground, rolling into a ball before slamming against the heavy gates. The rusted metal shrieked in complaint from her impact, and she felt Spike’s claws tugging at her wings to pull her up. It only took a shake of her head to regain her senses, and with a leap through the small gap, Twilight finally tumbled to a heap against a snow-covered walkway. She collapsed against the ground with her eyes screwed shut.

“Twilight,” Spike said while shaking her shoulder softly. “It’s okay, they’re gone!”

Twilight slowly cracked open her eyelids and turned her head to look back at the gate. Spike was right, but she was still shocked to find nothing there… the windigo appeared to have given up in their pursuit.

“Where did they go?” Twilight gasped softly.

Spike shrugged, turning with an apprehensive look toward the castle before them. “They just flew off… and I can kind of see why.” He pointed to the dark walls that towered above them. “I think the forest looks more inviting than that place.”

“We have to go in.” Twilight frowned, wincing when she stood up and tapped her frozen hoof against the stones to crack through the thin ice that covered it. Shivering and trembling from cold and fatigue, Twilight trudged toward the large wooden doors with Spike by her side.

Her heavy breathing was loud in the quiet of the courtyard, and when she lifted her hoof to pound the iron knocker against the wood, she could hear the deep echo from inside the castle.

“H-hello?” Twilight called out, not certain what she was meant to say. She was too exhausted to think straight. “We lost our way in the woods… and we were chased by windigo. Can we—” Twilight didn’t finish her sentence when she heard a loud click, followed by the terrible squeal of ancient hinges as the door slowly swung open, just wide enough for her and Spike to enter. They exchanged a nervous glance before shuffling inside.

The cold of the ice and snow immediately begin to thaw. While there was still a chill to the air, it was not the freezing temperature of what waited outside.

“Hello?” Twilight called again as she stepped further in, moving her head in an arc to view the enormous entryway. With the cascading staircase that met in the center, faded crimson rugs lining the floor and portraits of noble ponies adorning the walls… it almost reminded her of a gloomier Canterlot Castle.

Her ear twitched at the sound of whispering from somewhere within, but a quick sweep with her eyes revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, she hadn’t expected it to be obvious. The residents of the castle had all been enchanted.

The door gave a shrill squeal as it swung shut with a noisy bang. Yelping loudly, Twilight jumped and spun around, but her eyes only landed on Spike.

“Spike!” she hissed softly.

“Aah… sorry.” He grinned apologetically. “The cold was getting in.”

Shaking her head with a sigh, Twilight stepped into the center of the foyer and tried to search for signs of life… but she couldn’t tell the difference between the magical furniture and normal objects. Nothing moved or even breathed as she stepped quietly by. She eventually just walked over to a lone table and whispered timidly, “H-hello?”

“What ‘cha doing?”

“YAAAAHH!!!” Twilight sprang several feet into the air, landing with her wings flared and her back arched. Her eyes scoured the area for whoever—or whatever—had spoken.

“Down here!” a voice cheerfully sang from below, and Twilight looked down to see an old clock with wood paneling that was dyed pink. Colorful balloons were etched into the face and hands, and she blinked at the strange familiarity of it. As she stared, the clock suddenly hopped of its own accord. “Hiya!”

“GAH!” Twilight scrambled backward, stumbling right into another object that gave off a startled squeak.

“Oh, excuse me…” a pale coat rack with butterfly patterns stammered softly, and Twilight backed away, only to bump right into Spike, who was staring with wide eyes at the moving objects.

“Hey!” The clock that had first greeted her bounced closer. “Are you here to break the spell?”

“Of course not, Pinkie!” A candlestick with flames aglow in multiple colors slid down the banister on the stairs and soared through the air in a practiced arc before it hit the floor, landing perfectly next to the clock in front of Twilight. “She just wandered in out of the cold!”

“Oh dear, she must be—” The Fluttershy-turned-coat-rack had started to mumble when Pinkie interjected.

“That’s right! You must be freezing!”

“Umm… yes. We got lost in the snow…” Twilight explained. “And chased by windigo…”

“Then hurry up and get warm by the fire!” Pinkie bounced around behind her and started pushing at her leg. “According to my face, it’s time for a celebration! That means there’s cake!”

“Your face is broken…” The Rainbow Dash candlestick hopped along after them, followed by the slow shuffling of Fluttershy. “It’s always party time to you!”

“Umm… are you sure that’s safe?” Fluttershy whispered. “I don’t think the master will like it.”

“But we can’t just kick them out!” Pinkie hopped ahead, already leading them up the stairs. “If they leave cold and hungry, the windigo will just chase them back anyway!”

“Oh! I guess you’re right…” Fluttershy seemed satisfied by that answer, and Twilight watched with interest as her altered form moved up the stairs before following after them.

Pinkie steered them in the direction of a large den. With a grand fireplace set into the wall already well stoked, the chill from outside was only a fading memory as Twilight defrosted in the glow.

“Sit here! It’s nice and toasty!” Pinkie jumped up onto a chair near the fire, and the springy cushion flung her into the air. She would have shot right up to the ceiling if she hadn’t been caught by the spindly arms of Fluttershy.

Twilight settled hesitantly into the seat while Spike plopped down on the footrest and flopped onto his stomach, sighing as the warmth of the fireplace washed over him.

“If you want… I can take your clothes?” Fluttershy hesitantly reached out with a wooden peg. “They look awfully cold and wet.”

“Thank you.” Twilight unwound the scarf from her neck and pulled her boots off, wrapping them all in her cloak before giving them to Fluttershy. As she disappeared around the back of the chair, a metal tea cart suddenly bounced into view, and the kettle sitting on top of it hopped up with a loud whoop.

“Would you like somethin’ to warm ya up on the inside, sugarcube?” she asked in an unmistakable drawl that Twilight instantly recognized. “I got some cider fresh outta the pot.” The kettle then leaned over and poured the steaming liquid into a giggling teacup, one that jumped over the tray and bounced into Twilight’s lap, babbling excitedly.

“Flurry Heart!?” Twilight scooped up the teacup that spilled hot cider over her, but she didn’t care. She carefully pressed Flurry against her cheek and felt a tingling warmth as she received what must have been an enchanted object’s version of a kiss.

“Okay…” Spike chuckled as Flurry wriggled out of Twilight’s hug and jumped onto his open palm. “That’s way weirder than a dolphin…”

The others didn’t appear to notice their strange reunion, and continued serving their guests without concern. Fluttershy returned with a pair of warm blankets, while Pinkie dished out a fluffy strawberry cake. Just as Twilight was about to enjoy it, however, the doors to the den burst open, and a strong draft caused the fireplace to sputter and extinguish. All of her enchanted friends froze, and Twilight gulped quietly.

She had nearly forgotten about the arrival of the beast.

Outlined by the stronger light spilling in from the entrance, a shadow swept across the room, and Twilight caught a brief glimpse of a large, hulking form as the heavy hoofsteps stomped her way. She didn't even have time to prepare herself before he appeared around the chair.

Two large, clawed appendages reached out and gripped the delicate fabric of the arms, and her eyes widened as she leaned back to take in the sight of Sombra towering above her. He stood on his hind legs like a minotaur, and his mane extended into a shaggy ruff that ran beneath a ragged cloak. Though he appeared more beastly from his transformation, she could still see a familiar resemblance in his face and horn.

“You're safe?” His thick eyebrows were furrowed with concern, although it was difficult to read his expression with the way his enlarged fangs protruded over his lip.

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but the words immediately died in her throat when he lifted a paw to her cheek and delicately touched her face. Her gaze moved up in surprise while Sombra’s mouth curled down in an angry frown.

“Why didn't you tell me that kiss was so important?” He leaned over her with a growl.

“I… I didn't know,” Twilight stammered. “Not until it was too late.”

Sombra wrinkled his nose with a look of disgust. “I thought something was wrong, I just... didn't expect that. When I saw you in pain...” His voice faltered, and a strange look crossed his face. “I thought the kiss might help you... since it worked when that bug did it.”

It took her a moment to actually recall the final events from The Snow Queen. Her thoughts were too distracted by the feeling of Sombra’s palm still touching her cheek. With her heart pounding slightly, she reached up to touch his arm and felt him tense beneath her hooves. “I’m sorry. By the time I realized, the storybook wouldn’t let me warn you.”

Sombra pulled his claws away with a gruff snort. “Well, these stories do seem to be wound in an endless string of possibilities. At least... the kiss appears to have worked.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, looking up at him with a warm smile. Sombra grunted, scratching at his rough beard and looking like he wanted to say something more, but Spike’s voice broke through the quiet before he could speak.

“So uh, what do we do now?”

“Oooh!” Pinkie bounced up on the footrest next to him. “I bet she’s the one that can break the spell!”

Twilight blinked at Pinkie before lifting her gaze to stare at the rest of her enchanted friends. Her face grew warm when she became aware of the fact that they had been quietly watching the entire time.

“You,” Sombra growled, pointing a wicked claw at Spike, “go back to town.”

“What!? No way! I’m not leaving Twilight—wha—hey!” Spike shouted and kicked as Sombra effortlessly picked him up by his tail and turned toward the doorway with a surprising speed.

“Sombra!?” Twilight yelled, carefully setting Flurry Heart down on Applejack’s cart before jumping over the side of the chair to charge after them. “What are you doing? Put him down!”

“Sire!” Applejack called to him from the top of her cart. “They didn’t mean anything against you! They were only lookin’ for shelter from the cold!”

Sombra let out a frustrated growl and stomped out into the hall. “I don’t care about this nonsense! He is not supposed to be here!”

“What do you mean!?” Twilight paused only briefly when the realization hit, but quickly sprinted after Sombra before he could disappear down the stairs. “You’ve... read this story?”

“I am familiar with it—GRAH!” Sombra lifted Spike, who was growling and chomping down on Sombra’s fist. With his other hand, he grabbed Spike by the nape of his neck and held him at a safe distance. “I can only assume that you are the beauty that remains here at the castle… alone.”

Twilight nearly tripped down the steps while Sombra quickly descended with his longer gait. She couldn’t decide which to be more surprised by: that he appeared to have read this story, or that he had referred to her as 'the beauty.'

The loud squeal of the heavy front doors broke her from her daze when Sombra pulled them open and disappeared beneath the archway. With a start, Twilight sprang into the air and fluttered to the landing before diving through the doorway and out into the courtyard.

By the time she made it outside, Sombra was already tossing Spike into the carriage. He slammed the door shut, and the rickety wheels creaked to life, rolling the cart forward and slowly moving toward the entrance gates of its own accord.

“Spike!” Twilight soared past Sombra, but didn’t make it very far when his claws closed around her middle. She grunted and kicked her legs as he easily carried her back, and Twilight had to twist carefully in his grip to watch while the carriage passed through the gates, which opened with a rusty squeal before clanging shut.

She rounded on him when he trudged back inside. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“He will be fine. This is the way the story is supposed to go,” Sombra grumbled, lumbering up the steps of the foyer with her still in his grip.

“But you didn’t have to send him away!” Twilight shouted, her loud voice echoing through the castle hallways. “He was only worried about me!”

Sombra swung her up to face him and shouted, “And you think I’m not!?” His snout twisted in a scowl. “I just…” he rumbled, his fierce expression faltering while he dragged his free claw down the side of his face. “I don’t want anything to go wrong,” he muttered softly.

Twilight stared back in wide-eyed silence, her lips forming a small 'o' while Sombra averted his gaze. Lowering her ears, Twilight moved her hooves to gently touch his arm. “We’ll be okay this time, I promise,” she reassured him, but at her words, Sombra’s mouth set into a determined frown, and he turned to stomp back up the stairs without releasing her.

“Uhm… Sire? If you just—” Fluttershy’s spindly form peeked around a corner, and she merely squeaked and hopped away when Sombra snorted in her direction.

“These servants are very persistent,” Sombra grumbled as he stomped away. “I don’t remember them being this annoying from the story…”

Twilight craned her neck to see her enchanted friends following after them, trying to get his attention. While the Beast in the story had at least been willing to listen, Sombra was more content to simply ignore them, but it reminded her of the burning question she’d had earlier.

“I thought you said you didn’t bother with fairy tales?” Twilight asked.

“I liked the sound of this one,” Sombra simply said with a frown, turning back to snarl at her friends and causing them to halt in their tracks. Only the quiet tap of Flurry Heart jumping along the floor followed after them as he lumbered down the hallway and moved up a spiraling staircase.

Twilight watched Flurry Heart with a curious expression as she carefully hopped up the steps behind them. “You’re not putting me in the dungeon?”

“I am a beast—” Sombra smirked at her surprise when she recognized the line from the original tale “—not a monster.” He eventually climbed onto the landing and set her outside a large door that led to what was intended to be her room. “Besides, this is how the story goes.”

“Technically, we meet in the dungeon first—” Twilight’s voice turned into a surprised squeak when Sombra opened the door and pushed her inside with a growl.

“Stay here.” He pointed to the floor before tapping his claws together, suddenly appearing nervous. “And… maybe, if you... feel up to it...” Sombra started, and Twilight turned around to face him while Flurry hopped into the room with a giggle. “I was thinking—that is... since we will eventually get there anyway—so it’s not as if I have a choice, but…” Sombra scratched at the bridge of his nose with his gaze turned to the wall, as if it were more interesting than looking at her directly. “I was hoping you could... perhaps… join me for dinner?”

Twilight’s ears flattened, and she remained silent while she lowered her gaze. She took so long to reply that Sombra eventually turned to face her. “Your answer?”

“I don’t want to,” Twilight grumbled.

Sombra wrinkled his snout, "You're... not upset about your dragon, are you?"

Twilight swung her head up. "His name is Spike! And why shouldn't I be?"

Sombra’s face contorted, looking like he was ready to bite off somepony’s head. “You—” he hissed quietly. “Because I was helping!”

“By sending him away!?” Twilight glared at him, and Sombra scowled back just as fiercely.

“You know that’s how the story is written!” Sombra yelled.

“And you should know this is how the script goes!” Twilight shouted back. “So I WON’T be having dinner with you!”

Sombra’s jaw worked in a silent, furious snarl, his claws flexing as he moved them to his mane and pulled at it in frustration. “FINE!!!” He finally shouted with a roar, stomping out into the hallway. “I don’t care if you STARVE!!!”

“We both know I can’t starve anyway!” Twilight yelled, wincing when he slammed the door, causing the walls to shudder. From the sound of his fading hoofsteps, he was already well on his way down the staircase.

With a huff, Twilight stomped toward the door, then lifted her hoof to try the knob. When it remained shut tight, she tried pulling on it, but it only jittered in place.

“That—! What—!?” Twilight sputtered and backed away in disbelief. “He locked me in!”

She whipped around and angrily bucked the door, hitting it a few times for good measure, even though it showed no signs of buckling. Her frenzied banging quickly faded into half-hearted kicks, and with a soft growl, she sauntered over to the bed, climbing up and flopping over the sheets with an exasperated sigh.

Flurry’s small form clinked when she bounced across the floor, jumping up to land safely on the bed with her. She moved quietly to Twilight’s side and snuggled beneath her wing as comfortably as a teacup could.

Twilight picked her head up and nuzzled the small cup, smiling sadly at her enchanted niece. “I’m glad you’re here, Flurry. I’m just sorry you have to be stuck like that.”

Flurry Heart wiggled about with a soft giggle, not seeming to be disturbed or disheartened by her situation at all.

Twilight felt a small wave of relief, thankful that her niece was safe… and largely unaffected by the events of the last fairy tale. Since she had been elsewhere, Flurry had been spared the horror of watching Twilight’s near-transformation into seafoam. Her mind was still young, and seeing something like that might have had adverse effects. Not that it hadn’t disturbed Twilight herself or even Spike...

Twilight’s ears perked at a sudden thought.

Could that explain why Sombra seemed to be acting… overprotective? While Twilight had been around to reassure Spike and vice-versa, Sombra had started in the castle alone to stew over what he’d witnessed. Although—despite his concerns—that didn’t give him an excuse to send Spike off the way he did.

She just had to talk some sense into him and somehow assure him that this fairy tale would be different. They couldn’t just avoid the rest of the story out of fear of what might happen. She had no doubt that they could reconcile without more arguing... and the story might see it as progress between the two of them as characters! If she just agreed to the dinner…

Twilight smacked herself in the forehead, suddenly aggravated that she’d been too blinded by her anger to see the sensible solution. There might have been another way, and she’d just passed it up.

She needed to find Sombra and apologize… if they went through with the dinner scene, then the rest of the story might go on without a hitch.

“Alright…” Twilight stood up with a determined frown, before blinking down at Flurry Heart when she whined. Even though she was a teacup, she appeared to shiver from the loss of Twilight’s warmth against her. As Twilight picked up the blankets to fold them over her cold niece, she had another thought and peered intensely at the comforter. “This isn’t a magically changed pony too, is it?”

“Oh, heavens no!” a tired voice yawned from nearby, as if somepony were just waking up.

Twilight’s head whipped around to the source of the voice and found a tall vanity against the wall. She stared with wide eyes until the furnishing moved the large, central mirror in a way that could have been a bow or a nod. “Linens and clothing are one hundred percent unenchanted. Thank goodness for that too, otherwise, formal affairs would be incredibly awkward.”

Twilight carefully shifted away from Flurry Heart after tucking her beneath the blanket and slid off the bed, cautiously stepping closer to Rarity. It was hard not to notice the design of her cutie mark bordering the mirror’s frame. “Are all the furniture in the castle enchanted ponies?” Twilight spared a glance back at the bed.

“Not everything used to be a pony, darling. Some of it is just regular furniture. When all of the staff were enchanted along with the master, we combined with objects associated with the roles of our jobs here in the castle.” The smaller mirrors moved to cradle the larger one. “We’ve been trapped this way for so long, it’s absolutely dreadful.” There was a pause as the Rarity-Vanity’s mirror swiveled as if looking around before giving a forlorn sigh. “If only I still had my fainting couch. Though with the way I am, I suppose Davenport wouldn’t appreciate me squashing him flat.”

“Is there any way to break the spell?” Twilight asked, even though she was certain she already knew the answer.

Rarity sighed. “The master must find somepony who will truly love him; only then will the curse be broken.” Her voice turned gruff. “So we have all just about given up on returning to our former selves. As much as we might support him, we know him too well to expect he might be able to find somepony special that will look past that rash, uncouth manner; not to mention all the skulking—”

Twilight cleared her throat and Rarity jumped with a heavy thud that shook the floor. “Terribly sorry,” she said. “He would just look so much nicer if he let me pick something out for him. Speaking of…” Rarity moved with a surprising grace for a piece of furniture and pulled a dress from one of her large drawers. “Do please allow me to find an ensemble for you to wear? Perhaps a nice dinner gown?”

“Umm...” Twilight backed up a step, knowing how Rarity could get when it came to her fashion visions. “Maybe later… If I can’t get out of here, then there’s not going to be any dinner.”

“You want to leave? So soon?” Rarity gasped, sounding disappointed.

“I don’t want to leave.” Twilight shook her head. “I just need to get out of this room.”

Before she could even start looking for possible escape routes, her ears perked at a loud click, and the door to her room softly creaked open. Through the narrow gap, Pinkie suddenly fell inside with a clatter, but bounced up while happily shouting, “Surprise!”

“Pinkie?” Twilight trotted up to her friend. “How did you get the door open?”

“I used my hands!” Pinkie jumped around her hooves while Twilight stared at her in surprise. She wasn’t really sure Pinkie knew what those were… but that still didn’t explain how she’d opened the lock.

“We figured you could use a bite to eat.” Applejack hopped into the room, followed by Rainbow Dash and a hesitant Fluttershy as she only peeked inside.

She wasn’t actually hungry, but Twilight needed to find Sombra; and to do that, she just had to slip away from her friends. “I am a bit hungry,” Twilight lied, knowing full well the dinner would turn into a complete song and dance—a perfect distraction for her escape.

“Great!” Pinkie jumped up with excitement. “We can throw you a welcome party in the dining room!”

“Pinkie Pie, do try to keep it under control,” Rarity pleaded while Flurry Heart popped up from the covers at the mention of a party. “If the master hears, there will be no telling what he’ll do.”

“Of course!” Pinkie began hopping towards the doorway, followed closely by an excited Flurry Heart. Twilight scooped her up before she could bounce past them. “We’ll make it a secret party! And the master is secretly invited!” She stopped in the doorway. “You too, Rarity!”

“Then I secretly accept.” Rarity sighed, waving a mirror as Twilight followed her group of enchanted friends to the dining room. Though the castle appeared huge, it didn’t feel so big when moving with a group that knew their way around. When they arrived, the place was dark, but as rows of candles lit along the walls, the gloominess faded away to reveal an elegant table with a sparkling chandelier hanging from the tall ceiling.

“My lady.” Rainbow Dash pulled out a chair and bowed to Twilight. She set Flurry atop the table and stepped up onto the soft cushion. Twilight had only settled in for a second before a loud explosion rocked her off the seat, her nerves rattling as little bits of confetti floated over her.

“Surprise!” Pinkie yelled while bouncing up and down on a large blue canon. “Did that surprise you? Huh? Did it?”

“Y-yes…” Twilight stammered from the floor.

“Pinkie!” Applejack yelled. “It was supposed to be quiet! And it ain’t much of a surprise if you blast her in the face.”

“I know! But she didn’t know it was a surprise, and that’s the surprise!” Pinkie giggled with delight while bouncing around. “The cake cannon doesn’t have to be a surprise, though! Let me get it!”

“NO!” the others all shouted in unison and charged after her before Pinkie could get away.

Chapter 15: Old as Time (Part 2)

It was difficult for Twilight to find a moment to sneak away with their attention on her, but Pinkie Pie didn’t take long to break into a lengthy musical number that dragged the entire dining room into an elaborate song and dance. While everypony’s attention was fixated on the silverware as they somersaulted from the chandelier, Twilight made her escape and quietly slipped into the dark hall. With Flurry Heart nestled between her shoulders, she held her breath and waited, listening carefully to make sure that she wasn’t followed.

When she heard nothing but the muffled noise of the room behind her, Twilight set off quickly through the castle as soundlessly as she could, wary of the fact that the furniture she passed could have a mind of its own. Thankfully, she didn’t actually run into any more enchanted staff… or at least, none that made themselves known.

She wasn’t quite sure where she was headed, but Twilight recalled one particular telling of the story where the beast had been very protective of one of the wings in the castle; so it seemed like a reasonable location to search for. Sombra hadn’t warned her to stay away from a specific area, but she was certain that if she found the beast’s room, she would likely find him there.

And unlike the original tale, she didn’t have to worry about the Beast’s anger. Sombra did have a temper, but she couldn’t see him getting upset just because she wanted to talk to him.

“Maybe I should just yell,” Twilight whispered to herself after trotting past a corridor she thought she had been down before. “It’s not like I’m trying to hide—” In moving around a corner, she came to a sudden stop at the stretch of shadows that deepened in front of her. The hallway here was dark, with beams of dull light peeking through breaks in the tattered curtains over the tall windows. Compared to the rest of the castle, which showed signs of diligent cleaning, this hallway appeared unkempt and ignored with a decaying carpet and equally neglected furnishings.

Flurry Heart whimpered, shivering and snuggling herself deeper into Twilight’s fur. Twilight fluffed up her wings to give her niece some extra warmth and cover. “Shhh,” Twilight tried to comfort her. “It was… probably like this before we got here.” She turned back to the hallway, trying not to show her own nerves as she slowly stepped forward. “And the servants don’t clean it… because it’s in the story... not because Sombra would have any reason to keep them away.”

She approached the end of the hall and lowered her ears, confused by the sight of a large, broken beam laying across the doors and barring the way. Though it was obvious from its size how heavy it was, Twilight lifted her hoof and gave it a curious prod. As she suspected, it didn’t budge.

With a determined snort, she lit her horn and surrounded the beam in an aura of magic, grunting when she took a step back and tried to drag it with her. Sweat beaded on her brow, and Twilight could feel her magic straining to even slide the object. It felt as though it wouldn’t move until the beam suddenly shifted. At the sound of the wood scraping against the wall, Twilight scampered away and covered Flurry with a protective wing just as it toppled over and plummeted to the floor with a heavy crash.

Twilight stood at a safe distance, her body rigid with her ears perked to listen for any noise, but she heard nothing but the pounding of her heart in the deafening silence. Even though she was certain there weren’t any others nearby, she knew that the sound had to have been heard. If she couldn’t find Sombra, then at least she might manage to bring him to her.

As she stepped over the fallen beam, she tried to shake off the uneasiness that set off warning bells in her head. It occurred to her how strange it was for Sombra to bother blocking the door—but it didn’t seem too unusual when considering how odd he had been acting. He could have only been trying to protect her.

Or he had tried to keep her out.

She shook off her doubts and opened the door anyway, peeking through to see nothing but wispy silhouettes waving in the gloomy darkness within. There were no candles set out, but a visible layer of grime covered the once-elegant surfaces, and broken objects lay scattered about the room without a care.

Stepping inside, Twilight reassured Flurry with a comforting hoof, her niece shivering quietly against the spot between her shoulders. The balcony at the end of the room was large and open, with a frigid breeze that caused the shredded drapes to rustle and sway as if they were the breathing sides of a gigantic creature.

As she passed an unidentifiable, mangled wreckage of wood and metal, she shivered at the thought of it ever having once been a pony. It was all just normal, non-enchanted furniture… right?

Twilight scampered deeper into the room, unable to help glancing over the objects strewn about. Her eyes briefly paused over the enchanted rose floating in its protective glass on the balcony, but she quickly passed it by. She already knew the story behind the object: how a disguised enchantress had offered it to the prince for shelter. When he had refused to show her kindness, she revealed herself and cursed him in the form of the beast until he could find another to love him.

Twilight knew not to touch it, so instead she hurried over to a semi-clean rug set before an unpolished fireplace, safely away from anything that looked important. A chair had been flung onto its side with a leg snapped off, but other than that, the spot appeared to have slightly less debris scattered about than the rest of the room. It looked like her best option for a place to settle in and wait for Sombra to arrive.

Moving carefully over the mat, she had fully intended to sit quietly and ignore everything, but a portrait above the mantle caught her eye, only because… well, she already knew about the painting from various tellings of Beauty and the Beast. She wasn’t surprised by its ruined appearance, with gruesome claw marks marring the image of the prince—or in this case, King—that the Beast had once been.

But even with a glance, she could tell something was different. The slashes obscured very little, and Twilight could clearly see that it wasn’t a portrait of Sombra as she had expected.

Uncertain as to whether or not she was over-stepping some kind of boundary, Twilight hesitated only a moment before shuffling closer to the dusty fireplace. She carefully climbed up the toppled chair and lifted her hooves to the mantle to get a closer look while Flurry hopped onto her head and hid in her mane.

Multiple figures stared back at her from the faded painting. A pair of ponies were the perfect image of stiff-looking royalty: a stallion and a mare standing side-by-side while two younger foals sat in front of them.

It didn’t look out of the ordinary, except that once she realized it was a family portrait, she had expected it to be a painting of Sombra’s family; like the one with herself, Spike and Shining hanging on the castle wall in The Snow Queen.

But she didn’t see a stallion that looked like Sombra—at least… not at first. She only noticed the strange familiarity of the taller colt as she shifted closer, her breath catching in her throat at a very strange detail.

His fur color was bright blue, not the shadowy grey he currently possessed. The change could have easily been explained by the effects of using such powerful dark magic as Sombra had. What couldn’t be explained was the predicament of the two colts. The smaller unicorn was obviously his younger brother… but only one of the siblings had a horn.

The other was a crystal earth pony.

Twilight teetered dangerously on the chair as she lifted her head closer, her magic sputtering when she tried to shift the canvas and see if the claw marks were distorting it somehow. But no matter how she moved it, it became clear that the missing horn was not a mistake.

She clearly remembered Sombra saying that his brother had been more proficient in magic, so as her thoughts tried to make sense of it, the uneasy feeling in her only grew. He could have meant magical artifacts. Maybe potions or spells? As a unicorn, it made sense that Sombra might have felt more pressure from his parents if he had failed to be better than his brother at one of his natural talents.

But… as she stared at the unicorn colt, Twilight felt her eyes drawn to the familiarity of the taller sibling. Ponies could easily change over time, but his mane and the shape of his muzzle gave hints to the stallion that he would eventually grow into. And, while only a painting, the image expertly depicted the proud way he held himself, and that stern frown that sent a disapproving look at the viewer...

It couldn’t have been anypony but him.

Her mind scrambled to make sense of it all while she stumbled to the floor and backed away from the fireplace. Flurry Heart bounced back down to her shoulders, whimpering in concern, but Twilight was too lost in her confusion to offer comfort.

It might have been some strange, made-up addition by the storybook… but that couldn’t have been true, could it? In every instance, it had only ever pulled its components from their own memories. The portrait depicted Sombra’s real family… and his true past.

Somehow, he had become a unicorn—possibly through means of dark magic.

...they were devastated…

His words echoed in her head, and her breath grew short as she took a backward step over the floor, dark pieces of the puzzle falling into place in her mind. The shadows of the room felt like they were converging around her as panic took hold of her. She had never seen a crystal unicorn... and why hadn’t his family come back with the empire?

...It gave me strength, power… and an unfathomable magic...

She hadn't thought about the spellbook since Robinhood, and she couldn’t recall the exact words with her mind in such a frenzy, but she knew now what the spell had done. She had read it for herself, after all. The horn couldn’t have given him power without a source of magic… the source of another pony.

Twilight must not have heard anything over the pounding of her own pulse in her ears, because she suddenly backed into a solid figure. Letting out a shriek, she jumped away and spun around to see Sombra there in the darkness. He appeared frightened, frozen in place with a claw stretched toward her.

“Twilight…?” he asked slowly, his quiet tone strained in the silence of the room.

Twilight’s legs trembled and her throat tightened from fear. Her mind could only focus on the image of his parents standing over him and his innocent brother by his side. After what felt like an eternity, her voice finally croaked out, “Why… why are there no crystal unicorns…?”

Though her words were cryptic, Sombra’s eyes widened, and his expression broke into an alarmed grimace. “I… I can explain—”

He took a step toward her, but Twilight shuffled backward, keeping a wide distance between them. “You used them… you used innocent ponies to power the horn!”

“That—!” Sombra’s expression shifted between anger and fear. “I didn’t want that to happen. The spell reacted on its own!” He moved closer and reached out for her again, but Twilight only backed away, shaking her head while tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.

“You tried to hide it!” Twilight’s voice wailed louder than she had intended as it broke into a sob. “You were only protecting yourself!”

“Twilight!” Sombra shouted, his face twisting into a snarl as he stomped forward. “Listen to me!”

At his heavy hoofsteps, Twilight jumped up from genuine fright and flared her wings before spinning around in a panic. With her hooves scrambling over the floor, she made a mad dash for the door, quickly focusing on trying to find her friends. As illusionary as they were, the thought of them offered her more comfort than the horrifying truth of Sombra’s past.

“You can’t leave!” Sombra exclaimed sharply. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw his arm swing toward her, and she instinctively ducked. His claws missed their mark—only to slip and rake across her wing. In a whirl of feathers that scattered over the floor, Twilight’s pained gasp was accompanied by a delicate ping of porcelain—and Flurry’s small weight tucked against her shoulders suddenly disappeared.

Twilight stumbled to the floor, but pulled her head up just in time to see Flurry Heart hit the nearby wall with a high-pitched crack. Her blood ran cold when her niece’s small form clattered to the tiles, a wicked fracture splitting through her ceramic side.

Staggering to her hooves, Twilight rushed to her niece, relief flooding her when Flurry started wailing—a good sound as opposed to the silence that indicated something far worse. With a gentle motion, Twilight clutched Flurry to her chest, trying to comfort her niece while covering her safely in the soft feathers of her uninjured wing.

With Flurry’s crying the only sound in the room, Twilight took in a trembling breath, lifting her gaze and gaping at Sombra as he stared back at her with a horrified expression. “T-Twilight… I—”

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and turned with a gallop, bolting through the open door as her niece’s pained cries echoed down the hallway. All thoughts of finding her friends were gone as she raced through the castle corridors and stumbled down the seemingly endless flights of stairs. She needed to get out of the castle… away from this fairy tale—the storybook… everything! She just needed stability… normality…

Spike.

She needed Spike.

Twilight reached the front entrance in no time, grunting and panting as she struggled to pull open the heavy doors. She managed to make a small gap, and it was enough for her to slip out and escape over the frozen path. She galloped through the courtyard, flinching and pausing only for a second when a beastly roar echoed from the depths of the castle. Twilight caught her breath before pressing her wings tighter around Flurry Heart to quickly squeeze through the rusted gates.

Freezing cold bit into her fur as she plowed into deep snow that rose up to her chest. She tried to ignore it by sorting out the whirlwind of thoughts rushing through her mind, not unlike the winds whipping past her.

Her gait eventually slowed as the adrenaline faded, and her heavy breaths formed thick clouds of frost before her snout. The chill helped to bring her back to some of her senses, and it didn’t take long for her to realize how foolish it had been to run into the forest without thinking. The castle might not have been the safest place, but it was a better choice than where she had run to.

Twilight hadn’t stopped moving since she left the castle, and hadn’t paid any attention to the swirl of snow billowing around her. As she lifted her gaze to look around, the surrounding trees all appeared the same, and the path beneath her was completely buried beneath mounds of snow. She’d become hopelessly lost the second she’d run out into the forest.

She shifted her injured wing, but a sharp pain from the gashes caused her to wince. She might have been able to check from above, but she could already see from the mangled feathers that it would have been useless. With her wing the way it was, she couldn’t have flown even if she’d had enough magic to help her.

Just as the weight of her predicament fully sank in, a hollow shriek split the air, and a billowy form of frozen wind knocked her into the snow. Twilight sputtered and gasped, trying to right herself while several shapes dove around her, circling through the trees and wailing as they pressed closer.

Crackling ice jutted up and quickly surged over the ground, racing for her hooves and following after her when she jumped up and tried to sprint off into the trees, but the windigo dove at her in a fury and drove her into the ice’s path. The frozen crystals shot up one of her hind legs, and Twilight reared back with a yelp, trying to wrench her hoof free only to find her front leg caught as well. Above her, the circling windigo added to the blustery storm, stirring up frigid winds and wicked, swirling fragments of ice.

In an attempt to protect Flurry Heart, she curled her head around her niece’s small, trembling body, feeling the ice crawling up her legs even as she brought her wings around to cocoon Flurry in what little warmth she had remaining.

She was trapped in place, Twilight shuddering as the ice crept along her shoulders, collected over her wings, and formed icicles at the tips of her ears. Even her eyelids, tightly shut against the blizzard, felt heavy and cold.

Too tired to fight and worn from her exhaustion, Twilight pulled Flurry Heart closer against her chest. The ice along her wings groaned and splintered, locking them in place, but thankfully did not break the protective barrier she held between the monsters and her niece.

A distant roar rose above the howling winds, and her ears stiffly twitched toward it shortly before the ice sealed itself around her. A muffled silence fell over her, and Twilight felt her mind begin to spiral into darkness.

Twilight lost all sense of time, unaware of how long it had been before a dull thud vibrated against her side. After another painless blow, she felt the ice shift around her, only faintly conscious of the cold air striking her fur. While the frozen shell still clung to her, with each new hit, it slowly shattered into smaller shards, eventually crumbling away to free her completely.

She collapsed into the snow and took in a gasping breath, not even realizing that she hadn’t been breathing. Coughing roughly, and trembling violently despite the numbness in her limbs, Twilight curled her grip tighter around Flurry Heart, thankful to hear the soft sobs of her crying voice.

A shadow fell over her, and Twilight lifted her head only to have the heavy weight of fabric dropped over her. She was faintly aware of somepony wrapping a cloak around her.

It took her blurry vision a moment to adjust, and her addled mind couldn’t quite comprehend what was happening… but when she understood who was helping her, she jerked away in shock.

If she had been thinking straight, his arrival shouldn’t have been a surprise—it was all a part of the story, after all—but seeing Sombra crouched over her after what had happened was still an alarming sight. His large claws hovered nearby, but he held them at a distance as if trying not to touch her.

Meanwhile, the windigo moaned and howled in fury above them, circling about in the torrent of winds.

“Listen to me,” Sombra growled and lowered his head over her. “Just… run. I will distract them.”

Twilight stared up at him before turning her gaze into the surrounding trees, doubting that she would even make it. She could barely feel any of her limbs.

The cries of the windigo drew their attention up when a pair broke away from the blizzard and dove at them. Sombra planted his claws in the snow, placing himself in front of Twilight while he roared at their attempt. Though the creatures appeared to show no fear at his intimidation, they shot past with furious shrieks, only to swirl away and rejoin the others above.

As Twilight watched them, she took notice of their strange behavior. Where they had been so aggressive before, now they suddenly appeared to be keeping their distance.

Sombra interrupted her thoughts when he spun around with a snarl, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw her in front of him. “What are you still doing here!?” he shouted. “RUN!!!”

Angry wails split the air before Twilight could get up, and several of the windigo suddenly swooped toward them. The vortex of the blizzard shifted, and the surrounding trees buckled and groaned when the swirling walls of hail and ice turned in their direction, pulled along by the charging creatures. Twilight hugged Flurry Heart, her horn flickering in a panic to get a shield up in time, but Sombra immediately broke her concentration when his arms suddenly wrapped around her, pulling her tightly against him.

The windigo screamed, their shrieks shaking the trees as they rushed past in a bitter torrent of wind. A cascade of stones, twigs, and ice rained around them, littering the snow as everything dropped from the air and suddenly settled into an odd quiet. From the sound of things, the windigo had left, but Twilight was too stunned to actually check.

While she was certainly surprised, she couldn’t really move with the way Sombra had her pinned against his chest, with her snout pressed into the thick fur of his mane. She wanted to be mad at him, and she could feel that anxious fear over the realization of what he had done… but despite all that, she couldn’t help the way her heart fluttered softly in response.

She was busy trying to get a hold of herself when Sombra’s low voice rumbled, “Why didn’t you run?”

Twilight didn’t get a chance to come up with an answer, because Sombra’s weight suddenly bore down on her when he lurched forward with a pained grunt.

“Sombra!?” Twilight cried out, huffing with the effort to keep him standing before they both toppled into the snow together. She dragged herself from beneath his limp arm and gasped when she saw a splatter of red splotches staining the ground.

“H-hold on! I’ll—” she stammered, darting away and stopping to stomp her hooves, uncertain how she would find the castle again to go get help. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait very long before she heard a familiar shout from the woods.

“Over here!” Twilight called back and sprinted over the ground, clutching the quietly sobbing Flurry Heart to her chest.

The voices of her enchanted friends grew clearer as they moved awkwardly through the snow toward her voice. With their support, it wasn’t any trouble getting Sombra back to the castle; only a race to tend to his wounds as quickly as possible.

“RRRAAARGH!!!” Sombra’s bellow loudly echoed through the castle, causing Twilight to duck and press her hooves over her ears.

“Why didn’t you squeeze the cushion like I said to?” Twilight berated him once he had quieted down.

“Because I didn’t think you were going to stab me!” Sombra’s claws tightly gripped the sofa, gouging deep tears in the fabric. “And I don’t need some babying technique to make myself feel better.”

“It will help—and I’m not stabbing you!” Twilight slapped a gauze pad more vigorously against his fur than she had intended and was forced to sit through another howl. She glared up at him once he had quieted down. “I needed to make sure the wound was only superficial! Unless you want to bleed out, suffer an infection, or—”

“Enough!” Sombra snapped before dropping his head against the cushions and shifting his body so that his back was all that faced her. The fire crackling in the hearth popped, and the room fell into an uncomfortable silence that was only interrupted by the rhythmic tempo of a single clock.

“Tick, tock, tick, tock...”

“Pinkie, shut up,” Rainbow Dash quietly hissed while her friend giggled.

“Umm, do you need more bandages?” Fluttershy leaned over Twilight’s shoulder, bringing forward a few of the bundles hanging from her arms.

“Thank you,” Twilight mumbled, taking hold of some in her magic and lifting them over Sombra to carefully dress the rest of his wounds.

“You uh… think we should leave ‘em alone to work things out?” Applejack tried to whisper, but the words were loud in the quiet of the living room.

“Oooh! Good idea!” Pinkie jumped up and started ushering Fluttershy toward the door. “They could use some ‘alone time!’”

Twilight watched as her friends all shuffled into the hallway, wondering if they would stay if she asked them otherwise. While debating whether or not she even wanted them gone, Applejack poked back around the corner. “Just holler if you need anythin’.”

And then the door shut with a soft click, leaving her alone with Sombra.

She turned back toward him, but he was still turned away from her on the sofa, remaining quiet and allowing her to continue wrapping the bandages over his injuries. When she was finished, Twilight simply lowered the medical instruments back into the kit and stared down at the last square of cloth in her hooves while she folded it over itself several times too many.

“How is your wing?” Sombra’s rumbling voice broke the silence, and Twilight straightened up with a start.

“It… it hurts,” she mumbled. Outside in the snow, the injury hadn’t bothered her much, but treated and wrapped beneath a layer of gauze, she could feel the gash throbbing painfully.

Sombra carefully rolled over on the couch, a somber expression on his face. “I didn't mean to harm you,” he started softly. “Or your niece.” His claws gripped his face and slid down his snout with a grunt. “Things were happening so quickly—I… I just didn't want you to run into the windigo...”

Twilight lowered her gaze, trying to fix her attention on the fabric in front of her, but it was already too thick to fold anymore. His explanation didn't comfort her, not with Flurry Heart resting in the kitchen and wrapped within as many pillows and blankets as possible. It had taken nearly an hour to get her calm enough to fall asleep.

She was safe and would live, but unlike Twilight’s wounds, there wasn’t a way to provide medical care to a chipped teacup—apart from a tube of glue.

Twilight wasn’t certain what to say in response—not that she had a lack of questions or choice words—there were just too many to choose from, and she didn’t feel like she had the energy to voice any of them.

With a heavy sigh, Twilight finally settled on the burning question. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth?”

Sombra immediately snorted. “You obviously hate me for it. Same as every other fool in the Emp—” He stopped himself and averted his eyes before clearing his throat. “I didn’t want to see you… look at me like that. The way they did.”

Twilight didn’t have to ask who 'they' meant. Aside from the fact that he had taken over their kingdom, she now knew the reason why the crystal ponies feared him so much. At least… if her conclusion had been correct. But if she asked, could she trust him to actually tell her?

“Hate is a strong word,” Twilight mumbled, rolling the cloth in her hooves into a bundled mess. “I may not agree with what you’ve done in the past, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t appreciate some honesty.”

An awkward silence fell over them again, and this time, Pinkie wasn’t around to break the quiet. Twilight just squeezed the square of fabric against her chest until Sombra finally spoke up.

“You could have run away, you know.” Sombra looked down at her with a curious expression. “With the windigo," he clarified. "There was an opportunity for you to leave all that behind, but you stayed.” He leaned forward with interest and asked softly, “Why?”

Twilight lifted her gaze and blinked at him slowly before turning away, staring instead at the shadows the fireplace cast on the wall. Maybe it had simply been the storybook, but she didn’t feel like it had manipulated much in that scenario. If the windigo had simply been following a script, then their behavior would have been more straightforward—like when she had tried to sabotage the archery tournament.

“Because... something was there,” she finally answered, shaking her head even though she was certain of it. “It may have been small… but it was enough to drive them away.” She looked back at Sombra and found him watching her intently, and her stomach fluttered uneasily. “And I... can't just ignore your feelings…” She pawed at the fabric and added quietly, “...or mine.”

Sombra grunted when he pushed himself up on the sofa, and Twilight reached out to him, making a soft noise in protest, but he held up his claw to stop her. “Is it… is it too late to tell the truth?” he asked.

Twilight was silent for a moment, but she eventually shook her head without a word. Though he was much larger than her, he reached around her shoulders, and she helped him move down the halls.

Their progress was slow going through the castle, the thud of Sombra’s heavy hooves and the click of his front claws the only sound throughout the dark hallways. If there were any servants around observing them, they didn’t make themselves known.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a familiar door.

Sombra glanced at her before stepping away from her support and moving inside. Twilight fought down the urge to bolt and trudged behind him, treading once again over the dusty floors of the Beast’s room.

She followed him to the fireplace, where he stood in front of the mantle quietly. He stared at the portrait she had found, and after a time, he finally reached up with a sigh and grasped the frame, lifting it away from the wall to gently lower it to the floor. With the back of his claw, he carefully swept away the dust and eased the torn flaps back to their original place. Though it didn’t fix the image, the figures within became much clearer as Twilight stared at the painting.

“I assume you've already guessed at who they are,” Sombra mumbled sadly.

Twilight gave a small nod and gulped. “Your family?”

Sombra pointed a claw at the older ponies. “My mother and father…” His claw slid down to the unicorn in front of them. “My brother.” And finally, he directed her gaze to the earth colt. “And myself… an earth pony in a family of unicorns.”

Staring at the image in silence, Twilight wasn’t at all surprised since she had already figured it out long before. But hearing it from him, she could only gawk at the figures in the painting. She’d just assumed that Sombra had always been a unicorn. It wasn’t as if there were any reason to question it… before she knew of the existence of that dark spellbook… or before she had seen the painting…

“They resented me for that.” Sombra curled his claws away, leaving behind new rips in the canvas. “In their eyes, I had no power.” A low growl started up in his throat. “Not exactly what they wanted in a son who would be king, even if I showed them that I could be just as intelligent, and just as strong...”

“Is that why you—?” Twilight choked on the question, thoughts of her own family flashing through her mind. It horrified her to think of hurting them, even if they had acted in a way that she didn’t agree with.

As she watched, Sombra’s eyes darkened with a sadness that she had not seen from him, and he leaned over the painting, his claws hovering over the image of his brother.

“If you can believe me, I never intended to harm any of them. I just wanted our parents to acknowledge what I achieved. In my search, I found that dark spell book and its promises of power. I knew the risks, but I thought…” Sombra’s claw balled into a fist. “I thought I could control it. Like a fool, I believed I could fix it.

“So I used the spell. I altered it to suit my needs and thought it was safe, and for a while—it worked.” He frowned, brushing his claws against the image of himself. “I was a faux unicorn, with my own horn. I just didn’t have any magic… not until...”

Sombra leaned over the picture again and grasped the frame, gritting his teeth in a grimace. “It wasn’t an easy task, so I wanted to show my parents. I imagined they would be impressed, maybe recognize what I had accomplished…” Sombra closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. “But they only saw the darkness. They looked at me as if I had turned myself into a monster.”

His claws squeezed against the frame, and Twilight heard the wood crackle beneath his tightening grip. “That was when they called for the guards to arrest me. Me! Their own son! Not that they had ever shown any care or compassion. I realized that they could never love me, no matter what I did. So I… in that moment, as I heard the soldiers approaching… I… I hated them.”

With a deep exhale, Sombra lowered his head until his horn was practically touching the canvas. “That’s all the darkness needed to take them.”

His voice faded in the quiet, and Twilight could only stare at him with wide eyes, trembling lightly as the understanding of what had happened settled over her thoughts. Some semblance of her mind must have remained calm, because a voice reminded her of when she had once used dark magic. It required a remarkable amount of control—one wrong thought, and the darkness could consume a pony.

Maybe it wasn’t completely his fault… from what she knew of his parents, she didn’t like them… but she didn’t think they deserved what had happened. And his innocent brother? His entire family...

“W-what about your aunt?” Twilight stammered in confusion, and Sombra lifted his gaze to her. “Why did you conquer the Crystal Empire?

Sombra frowned deeply and turned his head away. “I just… when I realized what… what I had done... I blamed my parents… the guards. I blamed them all—everypony but myself.” His lips drew back in a furious sneer. “When the soldiers arrived, I could only think about taking what was rightfully mine. The guards stood no chance against my newfound power, so my aunt was forced to flee. She managed to escape with the few able soldiers she had left.”

Twilight felt a spark of relief, because he hadn’t gone after the princess with the intentions of using her as a magic source. Her disappearance had a reasonable explanation. “So your aunt got out of the Empire before it disappeared, but your parents—”

“Were consumed,” Sombra interrupted her, his snout wrinkling with a rumble of his voice. “Along with my brother. They were used as a power source for the umbrum appendicem. This…” His arms reached up and wrapped around his horn. “This accursed thing—!”

Sombra grunted, shifting his grip as if he were trying to pull the horn from his head, but it didn’t budge. It was a part of him, whether he wanted it or not. With an angry shout, Sombra suddenly picked up the painting and heaved it at the wall, snarling when it hit the fireplace mantle and cracked in half.

“Sombra—!” Twilight scrambled backward as he lumbered toward the broken chair. “Sombra, please!” She lit her horn, and it feebly sparked, but her magic managed to wrench his head around to face her before shorting out, and she stared up at him with her brows furrowed in concern.

Sombra froze when his eyes landed on her, and he tentatively stepped closer, lowering himself to all fours in front of her. He lifted his palm to carefully wipe beneath her eye, and Twilight felt the wetness of fallen tears spread across her cheek.

“Some friend I am; all I ever do is make you cry,” Sombra quietly lamented, gently brushing his paw against her fur. “I just keep hurting others. I wish I could say that the corruption of magic made me this way… but I think... I was always like this… even before I found that accursed spellbook.”

Twilight lifted her front hooves to wrap around his wrist, closing her eyes as she pressed into his warmth. She focused on that, choosing to ignore the uncertainty in the back of her mind. She only wanted to see the Sombra that stood before her. “I didn’t know you before now, but I’ve seen the good you can do. Regardless of everything that’s happened, you’re not the villain you think you are.”

A cold chill touched her cheek when Sombra pulled away and turned toward the balcony. He slid his claws over the surface of the small, rounded table housing the enchanted rose and stared forlornly at its glittering petals. “Face it, Twilight, this storybook simply turned me into what I really am…”

“The Beast isn't a monster,” Twilight insisted with confidence in her tone while quickly moving to his side. “He's redeemable, just like you are. You've made mistakes… but you’ve also helped me.”

Sombra shook his head with a growl, averting his gaze away from her. “I was just following a script,” he grumbled.

Twilight sighed and placed her hooves on the surface of the table to shoot Sombra a stern frown. "We may be stuck in these roles, but the feelings are still our own." Hesitantly, she reached over and touched his paw, moving her hoof around slowly to feel that warmth radiating from his palm. "You're capable of honesty and loyalty, maybe some kindness at times and... friendship definitely… and… and maybe more..." Twilight lowered her gaze, feeling her face flush when his eyes moved over her. "That's what… p-probably scared the windigo away..."

Sombra didn't say anything more; he simply closed his claw around her hoof and squeezed it gently, and much to Twilight’s confusion, she felt her heart flutter in response.

Because, despite all that he had done, she believed that there was good in him—and that only made her all the more baffled. It wasn’t the same feeling as when they were trapped in The Little Mermare. It was something different. Something new… something that wasn’t there before.

Chapter 16: Old as Time (Part 3)

“Attaaaack!”

A flurry of snowballs flew through the air and splattered against the nearby bushes of the garden, but Twilight hardly took any notice of them. Her ears only twitched in their direction, with her eyes and attention completely focused on the book floating in front of her nose.

As cold as it had been before, the weather around the castle had rapidly cleared up after their little adventure. Cheerful blue skies peeked out between fluffy white clouds that floated in a crisp but gentle breeze. Hills of powdery snow still covered the landscape, but it wasn’t uncomfortable so long as they bundled up against the cold. Twilight surmised that when the windigo fled, they had taken their blizzard with them.

So, much like the characters from the original story, they took full advantage of the weather’s improvement. It was the perfect opportunity to relax and recover from their injuries, especially since—according to Twilight’s knowledge—there wouldn’t be any more unexpected twists or surprises... aside from the subtle changes she had begun to notice about Sombra.

It wasn’t as if he had suddenly turned over a new leaf, and she knew him enough now to figure that he wasn’t just getting into the role that the storybook had given him. He was still blunt with his words, but he seemed a little more tolerant when dealing with the storybook versions of her friends. Twilight was taken by surprise when he actually said “thank you” to Fluttershy after she served them their meals the previous night.

Although his reaction upon discovering Rainbow Dash’s chilli powder in the soup suggested he still had a ways to go with his temper… even if she did go a little far with her prank.

There was a splat of ice nearby, but Twilight disregarded it, too engrossed with her book—and maybe a little distracted by her thoughts—to realize that the snowball fight was moving closer. But she wasn’t in any danger, and her favorite chapter was more important than paying attention to anything else around her.

“Hold still, you little cretin!”

Twilight’s gaze shot up at Sombra’s growl—just in time to see him stomp by with a massive clump of snow raised over his head. He appeared to be swinging it in Flurry Heart’s direction while she innocently giggled and hopped just ahead of him.

“Don’t you dare!” Twilight quickly lowered her book with a shout. “She’s made of porcelain!”

Sombra jerked to a stop, but didn’t drop the snowball even when he turned to narrow his eyes at her. “Exactly. The cold doesn’t bother her.”

“You’ll break her if you throw that.” Twilight wrinkled her snout with a disapproving frown and sternly added, “Again.”

Sombra’s sour expression twitched as he managed to look somewhat guilty before slowly lowering his arms and letting the mass of snow crumble to the ground. He opened his mouth to reply when Pinkie suddenly jumped up from behind a snowbank and shouted, “He’s unarmed, troops! Fire!”

At her signal, several enchanted servants bounced out from the surrounding bushes and garden walls to bombard Sombra with a blanket of well-aimed snowballs. He turned away to protect his face as the snow thudded against his back and shoulders, then immediately spun around with a look of fury once they had run out of ammo. The servants awkwardly scrambled to scoop up more, but scattered in a panic when Sombra charged at them with a roar.

Twilight grunted, watching Sombra with an annoyed look before leaning over to wave at her niece, who hopped closer. “Over here, Flurry.” Twilight gently lifted her when she jumped up onto her hoof. “You may be waterproof, but you should be careful with that chip in your side.”

“She will be fine.” Sombra strolled back over on all fours. Chunks of snow covered his mane and backside, and without warning, he suddenly shook himself like a wet dog, tossing it all over Twilight and Flurry.

“Hey!” Twilight shouted, raising her front legs and wings in a sad attempt to shield Flurry and the book. “I’m trying to read in peace!”

Sombra let out a deep snort and eyed the book through her feathers. “That dirty thing? It looks like somepony dumped it in the woods.”

“That’s not far from the truth,” Twilight grumbled, pulling the book out while Flurry jumped down and bounced back toward the garden to join the enchanted servants in their continued snowball fight.

Sombra took the book and flipped it over in his claws while Twilight explained, “I forgot about the cart I had left behind. Luckily, my friends found it when they were looking for us in the forest and brought it back. That was stuck behind one of the wheels.”

Sombra opened the cover to look at the title page, his expression unreadable as his gaze slid over it. “From the way you acted in the previous fairy tale, I would have thought you didn’t like reading.”

"That was the storybook's fault. The little mermare couldn't read, so it made sure I couldn't either... If I had been able to write out an explanation, that would have been too easy." Twilight let out a short, irritated huff. "And there was definitely an answer in the Prince's library! I could have found something and showed you everything from the start! Maybe then the ending wouldn't have been so… horrific." Her frown turned into a disappointed pout as she rubbed her cheeks in frustration. "And all those books… I didn't even get a chance to read any!"

Sombra snapped the book shut, offering it to her while arching a brow. “Well, that would explain your talents in ‘Robin Hood,’ but it’s not as if you haven’t seen them before. Didn’t you say that they are all ones we’ve already read?”

Twilight took the book back and ran her hoof over the textured cover. “Maybe…” She suddenly lifted her gaze and looked at him with a curious glint in her eye, recalling her discovery of the dark spellbook. “But not all of them. You must have read some that I’ve never even seen before!”

“Admittedly, in my studies, I did come across a few oddities and relics—” Sombra casually scratched his chin until he turned her way. She must have been giving him an intense look, because he froze in place like one of Fluttershy’s rabbits when Winona gave them a visit. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Twilight’s grin faded, and she huffed impatiently, more annoyed that she had forgotten about one of the most important aspects of Beauty and the Beast. “Now that the windigo are gone, we can relax... maybe even… take a tour of the castle?” She leaned forward on the bench with an expectant look. “You could show me where there might be more books… ones that I haven’t read?”

Sombra blinked at her slowly before straightening up, as if a thought had suddenly occurred to him. Shuffling his hind legs quickly over the snowy ground, he beckoned for her to follow. “Would you… like to see something?”

Twilight didn’t hesitate and immediately jumped up to follow him back toward the castle.

“I've already read this story.” Twilight rolled her eyes while Sombra guided her down a lengthy hallway, unable to see thanks to the blindfold he had tied around her head.

“Just humor me,” Sombra grumbled. “We’re almost there.”

“But I know about the library,” Twilight continued, feeling his claw grip her hoof tighter to steer her carefully around a bend. With a few more steps, the creak of a large door reached her ears, and he soon led her into an area that felt like it opened up around her. She practically danced on her hooves when the fabric over her eyes loosened.

“Blindfolding me isn’t going to change the fact that I’ve seen this—” The cloth fell away, and she blinked against the sudden light to focus on the sight that appeared in her vision.

“All…” Twilight’s voice faded into a whisper as her gaze slowly moved over the walls, taking in the towering bookshelves set into every space of the massive room. Spiraling staircases led to a second floor with even more shelves rising up toward the vaulted ceiling, every nook and cranny practically spilling over with countless books and scrolls.

“...before…?” Twilight quietly finished, her mouth hanging open as she stumbled forward in awe, too stunned to process it all.

Sombra chuckled, strolling around Twilight and throwing his arms out at the nearest shelf. “You were saying?”

“I…” Twilight shook her head as if to wake herself from a dream. “I’ve never seen so many… This is bigger than my library… bigger than Canterlot’s!”

“As much as I would like to take credit, I believe this may very well be all of the books any of us have ever read.” Sombra grinned, pulling one of the scrolls out and waving it at her. It was a document that she didn’t recognize, and the thought of that unknown caused an excited shiver to travel through her body. “It makes it seem as if I have a rather impressive collection.”

“You do,” Twilight marveled in a mystified voice, spinning in place to appreciate the entirety of the room. “You really do.” She continued on for a moment, in a state of pure bliss before his comment had a chance to finally sink in. “All of them?”

“Well, there could be a few duplicates,” Sombra mumbled, unrolling the scroll in his claws. “Although I did go through a lot of research along with my standard education...”

Sombra’s voice faded as Twilight moved closer to the shelves, distracted by the beginnings of an idea forming in her mind. She swept her gaze over the rows of books, and although the number was almost overwhelming, it only took a few quick glances for her to understand the organizational system. Unfolding her wings, Twilight lifted into the air and set off along the wall, her eyes flicking over each spine until she spotted what she was looking for. “It’s here!”

“What is?” Sombra lifted his head from the scroll he’d been skimming over.

Twilight slid the book off of the shelf and lowered herself to the floor, carefully tracing her hoof along the elegant gold lettering painted across the front. “‘The Complete Collection of Classic Fairy Tales,’” Twilight read aloud. “This is the storybook we’re trapped in...”

“The same?” Sombra grunted in surprise, moving closer and leaning over her shoulder as she opened the cover.

The spine creaked in response while she flipped through each of the familiar fairy tales. “All of the stories are here… look.” She stopped and pointed at the title on the page.

“‘Robin Hood?’” Sombra read with a curious tone. “That was one of the first stories we were stuck in…”

“Mmhmm…” Twilight hummed absentmindedly, moving on through the pages until she found a segment that caught her eye. She read the words out loud for Sombra to hear. “Robin Hood faced the Sheriff, grinning confidently while aiming an arrow at him. ‘I’ll give you a second chance, my friend. You’d make a better ally than an enemy.’ The Sheriff grinned maliciously and unsheathed his sword in answer. ‘Nay, thief, I make better coin by serving my king.’”

“We weren’t exactly on the friendliest of terms,” Sombra grumbled with a sour tone. “But I’m certain I never said anything like that.”

“This must be the original script, regardless of what we did to change anything.” Twilight leaned closer to skim over the paragraphs. “And the fact that it’s different also explains a lot. I knew the Sheriff would never join up with Robin Hood!”

“It was an advantageous strategy at the time,” Sombra grumbled, tapping his claw against the page. “Which appears to be different from the book, but why is this story here? I thought you said you didn’t read this one.”

“I didn’t—wait!” Twilight gasped from a sudden realization and used her magic to quickly flip to the end of the entire book. As she lowered her eyes over the page, expecting to find the stories that awaited them, she was met with a shocking discovery.

“It’s blank?!” Twilight closed the book and opened it again, as if that might make the words magically appear. “Where are the other stories!?” She practically tore through the pages and backtracked until she finally found more text, noticing with an uncomfortable feeling that it was the end of a more recent fairy tale. She couldn’t help her gaze as it moved curiously over the words, picking out the final few paragraphs in the chapter.

“Her heart felt as if it were breaking. The little mermare stood at the railing of the ship and hugged the dagger close to her chest as tears rolled down her snout. Her thoughts were filled with the prince and his newlywed bride, whose name he whispered lovingly in his sleep. She could not bear to destroy his happiness, for she truly loved him.”

“That doesn’t sound right,” Sombra said gruffly, suddenly tugging the book out of Twilight’s hooves. Before she could pull it back, he lifted it out of her reach, his eyes roving over the page as his expression slowly shifted into a grimace. “What is this?” he hissed quietly before turning the pages toward her. “What does it mean by seafoam!?”

“That… that’s the original ending...” Twilight looked up at him with her brows knit, watching him turn the book around to glare sternly at the pages again. “The little mermare turns into seafoam at the end... because the prince fell in love with another pony.”

“But I kissed you,” Sombra added with a grunt, and Twilight felt her cheeks grow warm at his words. “This ending doesn’t match up with the one we experienced.”

“I-it really doesn’t…” Twilight stammered, fidgeting with her mane while trying to clear her thoughts enough to think straight. “I haven’t been able to figure out why though. When only some aspects wind up being different, it never makes any sense. Anytime I try to alter something on purpose, it just forces me to follow what’s written there.”

“Unless when concerned with my actions in ‘Robin Hood…’” Sombra riffled through the book again, his eyes shifting steadily over the pages. “Or my choice as the prince in ‘The Little Mermare.’”

“Exactly!” Twilight cried out in frustration, burying her head in her hooves before suddenly jolting upright and staring at Sombra with wide eyes. “YOU!” She jumped into the air and flew in front of him, grabbing his muzzle and pulling his gaze up. “What did you do differently!?”

The book thudded against the floor as Sombra reached up and grabbed her, carefully pulling her away from his snout with an annoyed frown. “I made my own decisions. It’s not as if I knew some of them might alter these fairy tale worlds.”

“R-right…” Twilight tried to calm herself down from her excitement, her wings fluttering lightly against her sides. “But it’s definitely weird that most of the variations seem to originate from you.” She tapped her hoof against her chin and leaned back in Sombra’s grip. “When our two spells collided with one another, it corrupted them… but maybe one has more sway over the other?”

“Dark magic does tend to have more influence,” Sombra said while setting her gently on the floor. “But if that were true, I wouldn’t have remained the prisoner of those thieves when I was turned into a reindeer. Instead, I had to wait for you to come along.” He picked up the book again, flipping through it until he turned it around to show her a chapter from The Snow Queen. “My role there doesn’t appear any different than what’s written here.”

“Your role?” Twilight blinked curiously and leaned closer, skipping over the paragraphs and noticing something she hadn’t thought of before. “The original reindeer was timid, but he was friendly and gentle—”

“A weak and spineless creature,” Sombra grumbled.

“He was polite,” Twilight added with an unamused frown. “What I mean is… maybe you didn’t change the story... so much as you altered the role?”

“I would think those things are one and the same.” Sombra raised a brow, but he appeared to be intrigued as he turned the book back to read over it.

“It could be… if it’s within reason of the story…” Twilight slowly began to pace along the floor as she organized her thoughts. “Certain choices are allowed as long as we reach the intended ending… in a sense. Robin Hood won the tournament that freed Maid Marian—the sheriff’s loyalties didn’t change that. The prince still chose his love, while the mermare almost turned into seafoam. The kiss to save her existed in the story, so it was a viable option?” Twilight stopped and sat down, rubbing her forehead to stave off an oncoming headache. “Or maybe it’s main characters versus secondary ones?”

“I wouldn’t dwell too much on it.” Sombra looked at her curiously. “With dark magic at work, it could simply be toying with us to add to our misery.”

“Of course it would,” Twilight grumbled before perking up, turning to him with renewed excitement. “But that doesn’t stop us from testing it out! We can try various attempts to change the story… with enough data, we might even be able to figure out how to alter something!”

Twilight thought he would have been just as curious to move forward with the experiment, especially since it possibly meant a faster escape from the storybook, but Sombra’s expression only appeared disgruntled. Her eyes followed him curiously when he stood up with a frown and cleared his throat. “I was actually… hoping to move forward with the rest of the original story.”

“What?” Twilight blinked at him in shock. “But… “ Her ears flattened, and she knitted her brow in concern when she recalled a key point in the story. “Doesn’t the Beast… die?” She shuffled closer to him, eyeing the book in his claws. “It’s not a good feeling...”

Sombra waved his arm with an unconcerned grunt and turned to face her. “But the Beast is saved—” He slipped his paw beneath her chin and turned her head up, flashing her a teasing smile “—with a proclamation of love.”

Twilight felt her ears burn as all of the warmth in her body seemed to flow to her head. “I… ah-buh… T-that’s not… reliable, is it?” She pushed his claws away and smiled at him nervously. “W-we don’t know if-if the magic would even work like that. I mean...” She rubbed her hooves over her nose, failing to hide the blush she could feel flushing across her cheeks. “It’s n-not that I don’t... like you… or anything…” Twilight’s voice faded into a mumble as her pulse pounded nervously, feeling as if her heart was trying to climb out of her chest. She only lifted her gaze when Sombra gave a low chuckle.

“We can give it a try then, during that point in the story.” He grinned with more confidence than what Twilight felt. “If I really do have some influence with my roles, I simply won’t die.”

Twilight lifted her head, ready to argue against it, but Sombra reached over and gently shut her mouth before she could protest. “It won’t be permanent; this story is a happy one. Besides, there’s something I’ve been looking forward to... so I find the risk worth taking.”

Sombra pulled his paw away, and, lost in her befuddled thoughts, Twilight dug through her knowledge of the story and came to an outlandish conclusion. “The angry mob?”

“No,” Sombra sternly growled in frustration, slapping his claws against his face before kneeling and reaching out to grasp her front hoof. He rubbed her fur softly in a sensation that made Twilight simultaneously tense up and melt from bliss. “This is the part where we get to know one another… just the two of us.”

As his words sank in, her heart responded with such a heavy beat that she thought Sombra must have heard it, because he grinned back mischievously. “I was hoping that you might accept my invitation this time.”

Her face feeling as if it were on fire, Twilight only moved her head in a small nod and managed to squeak softly with a strained response. “Okay.”

“—or this one! Oh, it matches perfectly with your mane! Although the trim may need some adjustment…” Rarity gushed over a slew of increasingly extravagant outfits she had hovering in Twilight’s vicinity, holding them up to her to check if they were a good match.

The remainder of the day had gone by relatively fast, but only because Twilight had spent most of it reading everything that Sombra managed to find for her back in the library, happily obliging after explaining his idea for the evening. She couldn’t help her curiosity, and for the things that weren’t hazardous dark magic, Sombra had been a willing research assistant until he finally had to pry her away when the sky outside had grown too dark.

“You really don’t have to do all this, Rarity,” Twilight started, glancing at herself in the mirror in the bedroom while another dress floated in front of her. “I don’t need to dress up so… formally.”

Rarity proceeded to make an assortment of incredulous-sounding noises in her… throat? Twilight wasn’t certain vanities had throats. “I highly disagree! I may not be able to move around very well, but even I can hear the whispers about the master’s plans. Trust me, darling, you’ll need something that will show off your very best tonight!”

Twilight perked up and looked at her friend suspiciously. “Plans?”

Rarity squealed loudly. “No, no! I can’t spoil it!! Although I might have said too much already...” She tittered and floated a ribbon next to Twilight’s ear. “Hmm… too mauve for your eyes. Maybe something in blue.”

“There’s more to this than just a dance, isn’t there?” Twilight couldn’t help but ask with a small smile pulling at her lips.

“Oh, please don’t make me tell! Besides, I need concentration to put together your ensemble!” Rarity flourished the dress she had chosen. “Now, hold still, I need to fit it immediately!”

As with the Rarity she knew back home, the storybook version had the same flair for fashion and skill for sewing, adjusting and improving upon the elegant gown in only a short time. The flowing fabric shimmered over Twilight’s fur in an array of vibrant silver hues with a trail of stars and pearls sparkling in her mane to accompany it.

Once Rarity had deemed her properly dressed, Fluttershy escorted her down to the ballroom and opened the doors for her with a formal bow. Twilight trotted inside, where the golden light of the room’s soft glow washed over her. Through the tall windows along the back wall, she could see a perfect view of the night, the stars twinkling gently in a clear, dark sky.

As she moved toward the staircase, Twilight heard a low exchange of voices, but they fell silent when her hooves tapped against the top steps. Sombra stood at the bottom of the stairs, and he appeared frozen when he stared up at her in bewilderment while she descended. When she reached the bottom and he didn’t move, Rainbow Dash jumped up and nudged him in the shin before hopping away, and Sombra held out a paw to help Twilight down.

“Uh…” He stared at her with wide eyes and worked his jaw soundlessly before seeming to find the words. “You… appear to be, er—that outfit—I mean…” His eyes shifted away as he shook his head and simply pulled her toward the center of the room. “You look beautiful,” he amended softly.

Twilight lowered her head to hide her blush. “You… a-aren’t so bad yourself.” Her gaze moved back to his claws when she noticed something different. “You filed them?”

Sombra flexed his trimmed claws with a nod, the dull points kneading gently through her fur. “No accidents tonight. I wanted to safely do this.” Placing a paw below her wings, Sombra lifted her front legs without warning, grinning when Twilight gasped. He pulled her closer and dipped her back until she was looking up at the ceiling.

“Hey!” A high-pitched voice shouted from elsewhere in the hall. “The music hasn’t started yet!”

There was a brief pause before the orchestral sound of instruments echoed off of the gilded walls, starting off with an elegant tune.

“Okay! There it is! You’re good!”

Sombra returned her to all four hooves and stepped back before giving a polite bow. When Twilight returned the gesture, he lifted a paw and held it out to her, and she laid her hoof against his palm, allowing him to lead her in a slow circle around the ballroom.

Twilight was surprised at how nimble Sombra appeared to be despite his size, making her feel more comfortable about her awkward movements while he guided her over the floor. When she stumbled more than once, he curiously tilted his head and leaned closer to whisper, “You’re not as graceful as you were before. I think you might have been more skilled when you had fins.”

“That was the storybook... again.” She smiled with a soft laugh. “The spell turned me into a pony, and—well… a better dancer.”

“So you traded your voice for a set of legs... and dancing lessons?” Sombra raised a brow while leading her into a gentle spin, going along with the music as it hit an extravagant high.

“W-well, the little mermare lost her voice so… I think it’s to give her a way of catching the prince’s… eye…” Her face went a little red at the thought, and she peeked up at him to see his reaction.

Sombra didn’t say anything, simply lifting up a corner of his mouth in a small smirk.

Twilight turned her gaze away, feeling the heat of her embarrassment flush over her face.

All too quickly, the music began to quiet down for a soft finale, and the two of them eventually bowed to one another. Sombra offered his arm for her to take, and she linked her leg in his elbow to follow him up the stairs and out into the garden.

While the air was chilly, braziers lined the walkway to provide some warmth and lighting; not that it was needed with the pale glow that the moon washed everything in. Its light shimmered delicately over the snow like tiny stars caught on its surface. Twilight briefly wondered how the moon moved on its own, or if there was a Luna in this fairy tale world to raise it.

“This place is actually… tolerable without the windigo to ruin it,” Sombra said while he led her over to a bench near the quiet walkway. “Unfortunately, they will be back soon enough.”

“Maybe they don’t have to return,” Twilight mused softly, fiddling nervously with the clasp on her silk scarf after sitting down. “If you can change the Beast’s role, maybe you can alter it enough to convince the villagers not to hate you.”

“I’d rather not try anything so soon,” Sombra rumbled quietly, lowering himself next to her on the stone bench and staring at the ground. “Something else could happen as a result. I won’t...” he hesitated before continuing. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”

While Twilight felt a glowing sensation at his words, the obvious problem with that idea still disturbed her. Her ears flattened against her fur, and her voice cracked slightly when she asked, “Even if it means you’ll die?”

“I won’t die,” Sombra said with confidence, moving his paw to cup against her cheek reassuringly. His tone sounded stern, but when she looked at him, his eyes were soft with understanding. “I have you to make sure of that.”

Twilight’s heart felt like it had leapt into her throat, and despite the warmth of the braziers, she shivered.

“There is… something I want to say.” Sombra lowered his paw after a moment of quiet. Twilight felt a trace of disappointment at the loss of his touch, but she looked up at him curiously, remembering how Rarity had hinted at something more about his plans.

“These fairy tales—as irritating as they may be—have given me some opportunity to… reflect. More so recently...” Sombra started quietly and cupped his claws together, fidgeting almost nervously. “And I’ve come to the conclusion that I may have somewhat lost my drive to—when I dwell on it… well…” He turned his head and looked her in the eye. “I believe it would be more... beneficial... if I relinquish my claims to the Empire.”

Twilight blinked at him in shock, taking a moment to process what he’d just told her before finding her words. “You… don’t want to rule the Crystal Empire?”

Sombra wrinkled his snout with a grimace. “I wanted to prove my worth to my parents.” A low snarl rumbled in his throat when he spoke of them. “Ruling a kingdom… gaining power… It was something I thought I needed to earn their respect… or at least just some acknowledgment of my existence.” He stared down at his claws before clenching them into fists. “I was so obsessed with the idea that I couldn't see how much of a foal I was.” His frown deepened, but he didn’t appear angry.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” Twilight began softly. “But… why?”

Sombra slid down from the bench and stepped away, but didn’t move very far. He lifted his head, and Twilight felt her gaze follow, staring up at the castle outlined with silver in the luminescence of the night. In the soft glow, it no longer looked like the Beast’s lair… it could have been the glimmering palace of the Crystal Empire. With the gloom of the dreary weather no longer shrouding it, Twilight was nearly stunned by its transformation. She hadn’t even noticed the similarities before.

“I’ve had quite a few things on my mind recently, one being the value of… of a friend,” Sombra explained, facing the glow of a brazier as he spoke softly. “And I thought it might… make you happy…” Sombra mumbled the last bit beneath his paw while scratching a spot on his muzzle, but Twilight’s ears still perked at his words, her mouth hanging open slightly. She wasn’t certain she had heard him correctly.

“I may also suspect that the lineage of the Empire has fallen back into the right hooves,” Sombra continued, his strong voice breaking her out of her stupor. “That princess has a striking resemblance to my aunt. If I wasn’t certain she was already gone, I’d swear they were one and the same.”

“C-Cadence,” Twilight stammered, shaking her head lightly as if to clear her thoughts. It wasn’t every day that a former adversary reformed. “Princess... Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Certainly has a similar feel,” Sombra mused, turning to her with a smirk.

“So... “ Twilight tapped her hooves together, giving him a curious look. “Are you going to tell the crystal ponies?”

Sombra’s expression shifted into a frown with a shake of his head, and he waved his arm out as if tossing that idea aside. “It would be a waste to bother. They’re not going to forgive what I did.”

“But they don’t know who you are, do they? Most of them don’t even remember what happened,” Twilight tried. “Maybe if you explain—”

“There is nothing to explain,” Sombra snapped with a growl, but he seemed to recoil immediately when he met her shocked expression. He continued on in a more somber tone. “What I... did to them can simply remain a memory of fear in their minds. They don’t need to know what I was before… who I was…”

“I know who you are.” Twilight looked at him sadly, sliding off of the bench and stepping closer. “You’re the pony that’s helped me through this nightmare. You stood by me against all this trouble, and saved me when I could have died.” Twilight nudged his arm lightly before resting her head against his paw. “You’re not a beast; you’re a prince.”

Sombra was quiet for a good while, and Twilight was content with simply standing by his side. He eventually turned toward her, his expression unreadable. “You may be the only one that thinks that.”

“I don’t think Spike minds you.” Twilight lifted her head, smiling softly. “Especially after you saved me last time. He did see the whole thing.”

“Fine,” Sombra grunted. “I have the friendship of one princess... and a lizard.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, certain that if Spike were here he would have… have…

“Spike!” Twilight suddenly gasped. She couldn’t believe that she had forgotten about him for so long! Twilight pounded her head lightly with her hooves. “He’s still in the village! And by now… probably…”

“You should go to him,” Sombra interrupted her, and Twilight’s gaze shot up to him in surprise.

“But… but what about you?” Twilight lowered her ears, finding herself hesitant to leave him alone. The story was like a dam about to burst. Things were quiet now, but once she left, it would all explode into the climax of the story… and Sombra was at risk of drowning. “If… if you can change the Beast’s role, maybe you could come too? There might be an alternate path to the happy ending,” she said hopefully.

Sombra clenched his jaw in thought. “Perhaps… but I can’t imagine furniture are very good at fighting. If the villagers arrive here without me, they might ruin the upholstery.”

Twilight blinked at him, lowering an ear in confusion before her thoughts came to a surprising conclusion, and she gawked up at him. “You… know they’re illusions… right?” A smile was beginning to form on her snout. “Golems? Automatons?”

Sombra simply shrugged his shoulders with casual indifference. “I need servants to cook and clean, otherwise I'll have to do it myself.”

Twilight giggled softly before her smile faded when she leaned forward and hugged his paw tightly. “I’ll come back as quickly as I can,” she promised.

“I know,” Sombra responded with a low rumble.

Twilight bowed her head, cradling his paw tighter and burying her nose into his fur. She didn’t want to let go, but there was a small voice in the back of her mind that said he would be alright on his own. Even so, she still backed away bit by bit, hesitantly releasing him. Sombra didn’t call to her and didn’t move, watching her silently all the while.

She turned around, trotting slowly over the garden walkways, occasionally glancing back toward Sombra. He still stood there, eyes keeping on her as she moved farther and farther away, until her view of him vanished behind the hedges.

With him gone from her sight, Twilight felt something spur her forward, eager to move on, and impatient to return. She burst into a sprint over the castle grounds, running into the woods without fear, because even if the windigo were still out there, she knew that the warmth glowing within her would keep them at bay.

When Twilight arrived in town, she wasn’t surprised at how vacant the roads were. The moon had risen high above the roofs of the quaint homes, announcing an hour when most ponies were preparing for bed.

But she knew that wasn’t the case. A faint clamor drew her to the center of town, where she found the square lit up by the glow of torches and echoing with heated shouts.

“Talk, dragon!” Blueblood’s voice rose above the jeers of the crowd. “Where are you keeping Twilight?”

“I keep telling you, I haven’t done anything to her!” Spike angrily yelled back.

“Spike!” Twilight jumped into the air with a flurry of her wings, soaring over the villagers’ heads to land before them, right next to where they had Spike trapped with a chain locked around him. “Get away from him!”

“Twilight!” Spike cried happily with an awkward hop before turning on Blueblood, who stood nearby and was staring at Twilight in shock. “See? I told you she was safe! Now let me go!”

“Thank goodness, you’re alright!!” Blueblood cried out, ignoring Spike and rushing right at Twilight, crushing the air from her lungs when he grabbed her up in a hug. “And you’ve managed to escape this wretched creature’s trap!”

Twilight dug her hooves into his chest, trying to wrench herself out of his hold. “What are you talking about?” she rasped. “Spike would never hurt me!”

“But you’ve been missing!” Blueblood practically whined, finally giving her a chance to pop free when he pointed a hoof at Spike. “Where else could you have been other than in this dragon’s lair? When I started to get worried about your disappearance, I questioned him about your whereabouts, and he just kept saying that you were ‘sort of’ fine!”

Twilight turned to Spike and raised a curious eyebrow.

“What?” Spike shrugged with a clanking of chains. “You were alone with Sombra. I’m not gonna trust him one-hundred percent that quickly—not after he threw me out.”

“Sombra?” Blueblood wrinkled his snout with a look of confusion.

“I was safe,” Twilight quickly interjected before Blueblood could get too far with that information. “And Spike doesn’t even have a lair!”

“Then where have you been all this time?” Blueblood demanded, a strange look suddenly crossing his features. “It’s seems highly suspicious… unless you can simply explain where you were.”

“Ah—” Twilight’s mouth hung open as her voice caught in her throat, but she quickly found a reasonable answer in the form of the fairy tale’s original storyline. “I was… at the science fair in the next town over. I entered one of my inventions into the contest.”

Blueblood narrowed his eyes at her. “That sounds like something you would do, and seems reasonable... if you had been there for the competition.” Blueblood’s voice rose to call above the crowd, “But she wasn’t, was she?”

“Nnnope!” a deep voice responded from the crowd.

Blueblood turned back to her with a satisfied grin. “You see, once I realized you were missing, many of the villagers volunteered their efforts to search—all overseen by me, of course.” He proudly puffed out his chest before deflating with a heavy sigh. “I know you want to protect him, since he’s lived under your care for so long, but we can’t just let him get away with his crimes, Twilight.” Blueblood pulled on the chain wrapped around Spike. “We can’t just let him free and run the chance that he will steal you away again.”

“W-wait!” Twilight shouted, holding out a trembling hoof. She might have been willing to fight Blueblood, but the angry mob still surrounding her was filled with familiar and innocent faces. Granted, some were waving vicious-looking tools, but still… Even though they weren’t real, she didn’t know if she could bring herself to harm them, or if she could even take on that many at once.

“I-I was…” Twilight took a deep breath. “At the castle the whole time… the one in the forest…”

Blueblood blinked at her for a long moment before he leaned back with a scoff. “There is no castle in the forest.” He turned to the crowd of villagers with a laugh, and a few of them joined him. “You think we would have noticed something like that before!”

“It-it’s true!” Twilight’s expression tightened with worry. Things were happening just like the original story… except that, with her unwilling to explain about Sombra, Spike’s fate was uncertain—or could wind up worse with the way things were going.

Blueblood quieted his laughter with a clearing of his throat. “Twilight, it’s obvious he’s traumatized you in the time you were his prisoner, so your own memories can’t be trusted. Unfortunately, this whole ordeal is obviously just distressing you even more.” He stepped away, stroking a hoof along his chin. “Perhaps there is an alternative that would be less troubling—Ah!” Blueblood lifted his leg to pose and tossed his mane back in a stance that he probably thought looked dashing. “If you were to marry me, then we could let him go! With me to protect you, he wouldn’t be able to get his claws on you again.”

“That—you—what!?” Twilight sputtered, making a slew of noises out of half-formed words in her fury. That slimy, nefarious, half-baked stallion was trying to twist the situation to his own advantage! Of course, she had expected something similar, since she had read the original story… but experiencing it while trying to defend Spike still caught her off guard.

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” Twilight finally yelled when she managed to stave off her fury. She had to stop them from taking Spike… and keep them from reaching Sombra! “Spike is innocent!”

Blueblood tsked gently, as if he were addressing a foal. “You are obviously in no position to understand what’s for your own good, Twilight.” Lifting the chain with his magic, Blueblood pulled it, dragging Spike forward and forcing him toward a pair of ponies wearing metal helmets. “Take him someplace he can't light on fire.”

“STOP!!!” Twilight yelled, her horn sparking as she tried conjuring up the makings of a spell. To her surprise, the magic responded, and a bright circle appeared on the ground in front of the villagers, glowing softly as delicate strands curled over the stones. An image formed at their hooves as they backed away in surprise, but kept their eyes glued in place to watch in wonderment as the parapets of a towering castle formed beneath them.

The spell was simple enough, creating an imperfect picture of her own memory, but one that was real enough to convince them that Twilight wasn’t crazy—and hopefully get Blueblood to back down with his wild accusations. Satisfied that the situation seemed to be going her way for once, Twilight mentally nudged at the magic in her horn to end the spell.

It ignored her. Her own magic ignored her as it continued, adding more to the castle and strengthening the image to the point that she could see the tiny blooms on a vine growing up the balcony at the top of one of the towers.

A balcony that Sombra was standing on.

“W-wait! No!” Twilight flared her wings and threw back her head, trying to disconnect the glowing twine that spilled from her horn onto the scene below. When had it even changed?!

The villagers staring at the image quickly began to notice, pointing with restless whispers that rippled through the crowd. One pony that leaned in for a closer look quickly stepped away with a shout. “What is that beast?!”

“He’s not a beast!” Twilight cried, still struggling to end the flow of magic to her horn. Sweat beaded on her brow from the strain, and her knees buckled beneath her with the effort to even stand. It was obvious something was wrong. “H-he’s the prince!”

“A prince!?” Blueblood tore his gaze away from the castle, the view of Sombra clearer than ever as he paced along the edge of the balcony. There was no sound, but she could tell he was upset, impatiently stalking around and growling, which unfortunately gave the terrified ponies watching him a decent view of his fangs.

“That thing!? Is this where you’ve been all this time?” Blueblood pressed closer to her, shaking her by her shoulders. The jarring motion finally disconnected her from the spell, and the image quickly faded, though the fear in the eyes of everypony watching only grew. “Were you trapped in that creature’s lair?”

“No!” Twilight stumbled away from him. “I-I wasn’t trapped!” Her eyes moved over the crowd, each villager staring back with discomfort and growing alarm despite her objections. “He’s gentle… and caring! He wouldn’t hurt anypony!” Unless they hurt him… Twilight thought with mounting horror. Or me.

Blueblood grabbed her muzzle and jerked her head up. “That thing is not gentle, Twilight! That behemoth is a monster!”

Twilight slapped his hooves away and scowled at him with a furious look, her feathers ruffling from her building rage. “How can you say that!? You don’t know him at all!” She turned to the villagers, taking a deep breath and looking at them with a pleading gaze. “I’ve met him! He’s not the monster you think he is! I was living with him safely in the castle until he let me go!”

“‘Let you go?’” Blueblood’s expression contorted into a furious scowl. “He was keeping you there as his prisoner!”

Oops. Wrong choice of words. Twilight could have slapped herself for quoting the script from the original story.

Blueblood continued, turning to the crowd as it grew more and more restless. “We can’t leave a villain like that to steal away our friends and family in the night!” Blueblood pointed a hoof into the throng. “You think he’ll stop at one pony!? Would we just sit back and let him hunt us down as his prey!?”

“I’m standing right here! He didn’t eat me!” Twilight yelled, but her voice was drowned out beneath the retaliating cries of the villagers all in unison.

“Then fortify yourselves!” Blueblood shouted, picking up a nearby torch and swinging it. Ponies ran about, gathering pitchforks and knives from their own kitchens—anything to face the creature that they thought was a monster. “To the Beast’s castle!” Blueblood’s strong voice rose above the frenzied shouts of the villagers, and they started to march with him toward the forest.

“Blueblood!” Twilight charged for him in a panic, snorting furiously at the lies he had quickly spread. Her horn sparked as she tried to summon a spell. “I won’t let you hurt him!”

Her magic didn’t react, already too spent by whatever power-surge the storybook had allowed to take advantage of her. It was easy enough for a pair of ponies to ambush her from the crowd and grab her before she even got near Blueblood. The two stallions held her by her forelegs, keeping her still even as she struggled and attempted to kick her way free.

“Lock her up somewhere secure.” Blueblood trotted closer and looked down at Twilight with a sad frown before leaning over and pulling her head close to nuzzle her cheek, and Twilight’s insides squirmed with disgust. “For her own safety.”

“NO!!!” Twilight screamed out, but the stallions dragged her away, bringing her over to an open cellar as the mob of villagers shrank toward the forest. She could already hear the distant wails of the windigo rising in anticipation. All of that anger was ripe for a feast.

The two stallions unceremoniously tossed her down the stairs, and Twilight flared her wings to try and catch herself, but she only managed to tumble to the bottom of the steps when the doors slammed shut with a heavy thud. Darkness swallowed her vision, and she cursed when she banged her legs on the stone floor.

“You can’t keep me in here! HEY!!!” Twilight shouted as she carefully made her way to the doors and threw her shoulder into them. They hardly budged beneath her weight, and a metal sound rattled like chains over the handles. Twilight slumped against the wood with a heavy groan.

Just like the original story, it had all gone downhill so quickly… and she had been powerless to stop them from reaching Sombra’s castle.

With a growl, Twilight rammed against the door again, regretting it immediately as a sharp pain burst through her shoulder. She curled into a small ball beneath the slanted doors, shivering and whimpering broken expletives while she cradled her leg.

“Twilight?” Her ears perked when a voice tentatively reached her, muffled by the doors. It was accompanied by a low scratching sound against the wood.

“Spike!?” Twilight jumped up and pawed at the doors. “Are you okay? How did you escape!?”

The chains against the door clanked as he most likely tried to remove them. “Those ponies were so riled up, they didn’t even notice when I hid! Guess they just forgot about me once they had Sombra to worry about.”

“Can you melt the chain?” Twilight asked hopefully. From the sound of it, Spike had managed to escape the ones they had trapped him in.

“Uh… maybe?” There was a pause before she heard him wheeze breathlessly.

“Spike? Are you alright?” Twilight pressed her face against the door, trying to see through the tiny slats in the wood. “That didn’t sound normal.”

He coughed and cleared his throat, but she didn’t hear any more progress with the cellar door. “I don’t know what’s wrong! I managed to melt the chains before, but my fire’s acting all weird.”

“The villagers are drawing back the windigo with their anger.” Twilight gasped in realization. “There must be so many of them heading toward the castle, the temperature has already dropped here as well.” With all the excitement, she hadn’t actually been concerned about the weather, but now that the adrenaline had faded, she shivered from the chill and rubbed her hooves together. She was getting awfully tired of being cold in these fairy tales.

“If they’re going to the castle, shouldn’t it warm up here soon?” Spike went quiet when she heard him make a hacking noise. “Shoot! Almost had it!”

“When the windigo get far enough away, they’ll already be at the castle.” Twilight groaned and buried her face in her hooves. “Why did I listen to Sombra? I never should have left him alone!” She let herself fall against the doors and slide down to the steps. “And I should have known the storybook would manipulate my magic like that! I was stupid to show them that spell!”

“C’mon, Twilight, you were only trying to help me,” Spike comforted her with a sigh. “I should have just burned all their fur off in the first place, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Twilight smiled weakly, uncertain about what Spike had gone through until she showed up, but she recognized his attempt to cheer her up anyway. “I’m okay Spike, I’m just… really worried about Sombra.”

“Huh, that’s new.”

“What?” Twilight adjusted her body against the stairs and tried to settle in more comfortably. She wasn’t sure when Spike would be able to get a flame going.

“You—being worried about Sombra,” Spike pointed out. “Not because of him and what he might do to mess everything up... or try and take over Equestria or something.”

“He’s changed, Spike.” Twilight tapped her hooves together, barely able to see them in the shadows. “I think we’ve spent enough time with Sombra for him to realize the importance of friendship.”

“Friends don’t toss friends out of their castles,” Spike grumbled.

“It’s a... rough start.” Twilight smiled awkwardly even though Spike couldn’t see her. “He was only trying to protect me… although it was a terrible way of doing it.” She closed her eyes, remembering Sombra’s words to her. “But I can see that he wants to be good... he even said that he doesn’t want to take over the Crystal Empire anymore.”

“Woah, for real?” Spike sounded surprised, but still a little unconvinced. “So… what, he’s like Discord now?”

Twilight was quiet while she considered that. The two certainly did share similarities when she compared their situations. “Maybe... with a lot less chaos.”

“I don’t think anything is more chaotic than this.” She heard Spike stifle a laugh. “And, considering our Ogres and Oubliettes sessions, Discord would probably love the storybook.” Spike stopped talking as the chains rattled, most likely giving his flame a test. It was a minute before he spoke up again. “I haven’t been stuck with Sombra for as long as you have, so I don’t really know what to think. What if he’s just trying to trick you, Twilight?”

She only hesitated a moment, her mind occupied by flashing back to earlier in the garden. Twilight hadn’t been certain what Sombra had said back then, but now, more than anything, she knew she hadn’t misheard. “I trust him.”

“Hey, uh, Twilight?”

“Hmm?” She lifted her head and turned toward the door, wondering if Spike had found an alternate escape.

“Do you like him?”

There was a brief moment of pause before the chill in the air became inconsequential as a heated blush burst across Twilight’s face. “W-WHAT!?” Her wings flared open at her yell. “H-how could you—why would—” Twilight sputtered senselessly before taking a deep breath. “What would make you come to that conclusion!?”

“Well, you may be friends with Discord, but you definitely don’t trust him.”

Twilight took a deep breath through her nose, trying to settle her wings neatly against her sides. “Fair point,” she mumbled.

“So something happened to fix that,” Spike continued as the chain at the door started rattling again. “I thought you might have just felt indebted to him after he saved you in ‘The Little Mermare’, but then I saw your face when Blueblood called Sombra a monster. Wow!”

“I would feel the same about any of my friends,” Twilight grumbled before her ears perked at the soft sound of him releasing his breath. Soon after, the chains clinked, and light cracked through one of the doors as he opened it up.

“Well, yeah, but that’s why I thought I’d ask.” He grinned at her from the open doorway. “So, I guess that means I was right, right?”

Twilight giggled softly and smiled at him when she stepped out of the cellar, wrapping her front leg around his waist in a tight hug. “I guess so.”

“We’d better get to the castle then.” Spike pushed away to tilt his head up at her with a mischievous grin. “You’ve gotta save your prince.”

Her prince. Twilight felt a fluttering sensation at those words while Spike hopped up onto her shoulders. It settled quickly and uncomfortably into the pit of her stomach, and she hesitated while remembering what awaited them at the castle.

“Twilight.” Spike snapped his claws in front of her nose and pointed toward the forest. “You alright? The villagers have definitely made it to the castle by now.”

“Right… I’m just… worried.” Twilight folded her ears back and sprinted toward the wood, following the trail the mob of ponies had left in the snow. “So, I… l-like Sombra, but will it be enough to break the curse? I… I mean… to say that I… love him? I don’t know if it will work if it’s not sincere.”

“Well, he seems to think so.” Spike shrugged. “Or he’s got a plan, if he let you come back alone.”

“Maybe,” Twilight mumbled as she galloped down the road, the dark trees of the forest quickly looming into view.

“Right!” Spike pumped a fist into the air and tugged at her mane. “And this time, he can’t kick me out!”

As she powered on, Twilight didn’t need to worry about finding her way back to the castle, since the frozen path left behind in the wake of the hungry windigo was a clear indication of where they went.

The sight Twilight found when finally arriving at the castle was a chilling one. The iron gates had been battered open, left askew and twisted in the wake of the angry mob. The large wooden doors at the entrance had been breached, and a frenzy of combat had already begun inside. She galloped toward the mess of chaos without thinking twice.

Engulfed by the commotion of hundreds of ponies yelling, kicking, and throwing anything they could reach, Twilight had to duck and roll through the crowd, trying to avoid getting caught up in the brawl between the villagers and the castle’s enchanted servants. All the while, she scanned above their heads. If Sombra were here, she’d have easily spotted him towering above the others, but for some reason, he was absent from the fighting.

“Can you see him, Spike?” Twilight yelled above all the noise and shouting. She heard a loud crash from somewhere nearby and hoped it wasn’t the sound of breaking furniture.

“No...” Spike propped himself behind her horn and stood on the tips of his claws, shading his eyes to peer over the heads of the others. “I don’t think Sombra—wait!” He pointed through the crowd in a panic. “I see Flurry Heart!”

With a gasp, Twilight bolted in the direction that Spike motioned, and what she came upon made her grit her teeth in fury.

Flurry Heart hopped below the crowd, her small form managing to remain unnoticed from most of the villagers, save for one stallion that loomed after her. Blueblood had his sword raised in his magic, preparing to strike down her niece.

Twilight charged forward with her head lowered, and before Blueblood could manage to hurt Flurry, she rammed against his side and knocked him over. Blueblood grunted as he toppled onto his back while his sword clattered against the floor.

When he lifted his head, Blueblood’s expression shifted from anger to shock as he noticed Twilight standing above him. “Twilight!? What—how did you get here!?” With surprising agility, Blueblood heaved himself up onto his hooves and picked his sword back up with his magic, giving Flurry Heart a menacing glare while trying to shove Twilight behind him. “Step away! I’ll take care of that vile creature!”

“Excuse me!?” Twilight shouted at him, the fur on the back of her neck raising. Blueblood’s brave face faltered when she growled at him. “You’re not touching her!”

“Wha…?” Blueblood shook his head and wrinkled his snout. “Be reasonable! That creature is—”

“An innocent child!” Twilight interrupted him with a snort. “In fact, all of the enchanted ponies are just victims!”

“Victims!?” Blueblood scoffed. “They captured you and held you prisoner!”

“That is not what happened!” Twilight stomped forward and brought her muzzle inches from Blueblood’s face, her expression so furious that he wilted away from her. “They're my friends! In fact—EVERYPONY NEEDS TO STOP FIGHTING!!!” Twilight’s booming voice rang out above the noise of the crowd, tossing Blueblood and the nearest ponies off of their hooves from the force. The hall suddenly became very quiet as stunned villagers and servants alike turned their attention on her.

“Friends?!” Blueblood sputtered, kicking the air as he rolled himself back onto his legs and awkwardly stumbled to his hooves. “You can’t seriously be on their side, Twilight! They're all monsters!” Her ears twitched as she heard a few angry murmurs from the crowd: some of the ponies were nodding and agreeing with him while warily eyeing the enchanted furniture, even though they had all settled into an awkwardly strained truce.

“They’ve never bothered you before!” Twilight turned to the crowd, fanning her wings out to encompass the ponies watching her. “Most of them can’t even leave the castle because of the curse!”

“Lies and deceits!” Blueblood shouted, stomping toward Twilight and scowling at where Flurry shivered behind her leg. “These heathens are manipulating you!”

Blueblood suddenly lunged forward, his legs extended as if to grab Flurry, but Twilight scooped her up before he could get close and jumped out of his path. He ended up falling flat on his face, sliding into a kitchen buffet. With a growl, Blueblood jumped up and rammed the furniture with his shoulder, sending it off balance to fall into the crowd of ponies.

The villagers had not so quickly forgotten their anger, as they started attacking the furniture to get it off of their trapped friends. Even though other enchanted servants moved in to help, the resulting commotion quickly erupted into a new brawl, and the chaos ensued once again.

Twilight pushed Flurry into Spike’s arms and hurriedly shouted, “Get her somewhere safe!”

“But—” Spike started to protest.

“GO!” Twilight cried, right as Blueblood jumped up and charged toward them.

“There’s nowhere to run!” Blueblood snarled. As Spike jumped down from Twilight’s back, she flared her wings and tackled Blueblood, kicking at his legs and causing him to tumble to the floor with her.

“You really are crazy!” Blueblood furiously shouted, trying to shove her away while Twilight held him around his neck. “It’s a good thing you’re beautiful, because your efforts to aid these creatures are starting to get on my nerves!”

A bellowing roar suddenly ripped through the castle, and Blueblood froze in place when a familiar voice shouted from somewhere close by, calling out Twilight’s name.

“Sombra!” Twilight’s ears perked to their full height, and her heart pounded with excitement. She scrambled to get away from Blueblood, but despite trying to get her off of him before, he suddenly grappled with her, stumbling over the floor while he dragged her down.

“Get off of me!!” Twilight shouted, trying to buck him with her hind legs, but his weight was too much for her to lift, and he started tugging her away from Sombra’s direction. Hearing another roar from across the room, Twilight spotted the top of Sombra’s head, twisting around as he searched for her in the mess of ponies.

She took a deep breath to call out to him, but her words only came out in a strangled gasp, smothered beneath Blueblood’s hoof when he clamped it over her mouth. He roughly pulled her against his chest, quickly picking up his sword and shoving it into its sheath before wrapping his magic around her legs and forcing her to move with him through the crowd.

“Are you trying to get me killed?!” Blueblood hissed in fear, his eyes darting behind him in a panic.

Twilight immediately tried to draw magic to her horn, but it only sparked uselessly as the spell from before had completely exhausted it. With the other ponies and servants distracted by the fight, Blueblood managed to drag her quickly through the foyer, darting into an empty hallway where the sounds of combat faded in the quiet. The only noise to be heard were Twilight’s muffled growls and the soft howling of the blizzard outside the windows.

“Even though you are terribly unappreciative of my generous help, I’m still willing to make sure that you’re safe from that dreadful Beast.” Blueblood dragged her around a corner, and Twilight grunted when she tried to twist away from him, only managing to strain her neck.

“He must have corrupted you somehow,” Blueblood continued in a loud grumble. “But I’m willing to forgive all of your rebellious transgressions once you see things normally again.” Blueblood’s expression shifted to an oily grin as he appeared to fantasize about something. “And after I’ve freed you from his grasp, we can finally be wed.”

Twilight responded by trying to wrench her legs free of his magic and stomp on his hooves.

A roar echoed down the hallway, and Twilight’s ears lifted at the sound of heavy steps pounding toward them. She felt Blueblood stiffen against her, and he scrambled in a panic, quickly yanking her into a stairwell just ahead of them.

He charged up the steps, frantically tugging her alongside him before flattening them both against the stone wall. Twilight could tell he was trying to keep his breathing under control to hide, but it wasn’t something he could easily do with a captive.

She flared her wings and smacked Blueblood right in the face, and though it didn't get him to release her, he did grunt irritably with the effort of trying to keep her quiet. She noticed his magic grip loosen and kept up her struggle, her feathers eventually slapping up into his nose. While Twilight was slightly disgusted as they found his nostril, the contact caused Blueblood to snort and double over.

Blueblood’s sudden sneeze exploded in the quiet of the stairwell, and it wasn’t long before Sombra’s heavy steps quickly thudded toward them. He appeared around the bend of the staircase, letting out a snarl and baring his fangs when he spotted Blueblood holding Twilight.

“Release her!” Sombra demanded, advancing up the stairway and reaching out with a paw to grab her.

"S-stay back, foul beast!" Blueblood scrambled backward up the stairs and lifted his sword out of its sheath, raising it above his head threateningly. As he dragged her with him, Blueblood's clumsy focus over his magic knocked Twilight's legs painfully against the stone steps, and Sombra's fierce expression faltered when she let out a soft complaint. Blueblood continued on, oblivious to her discomfort. "Twilight belongs to me! I won't let you lay a claw on her!"

Though Sombra wrinkled his muzzle in a clear look of disgust, he raised his claws in front of himself in a peaceful gesture. "Please…" Twilight's eyes widened at the pleading tone in his voice. "Let her go."

"Let her go? Back into your claws?" Blueblood scoffed, continuing to retreat up the stairs while Sombra stalked behind them, carefully keeping his distance. When Blueblood stopped, Sombra stopped. Blueblood narrowed his eyes and hissed suspiciously, "What do you think you're doing, beast?"

"You're hurting her," Sombra growled out between grit teeth, his eyes flitting almost nervously between Twilight and Blueblood.

Blueblood flicked an ear back, not even bothering to glance at Twilight as he stared at Sombra, a blank expression on his face before his mouth dropped open in disbelief. "You... You've actually fallen in love with her?" Blueblood's mouth twisted and he threw back his head to let out a bark of mocking laughter. "Do you think this charade will get her to love you in return? Once she comes to her senses, do you honestly believe she'll want a monster like you!?"

Sombra bared his fangs and glared at Blueblood, who suddenly wore a confident grin as he dragged Twilight along with him into the room at the top of the tower. The wind shrieking outside grew louder, and she could feel the frigid air as it blew in from the curtained archways that led outside. As they inched along, the temperature quickly dropped, and Blueblood backed out onto the balcony with Twilight still in tow.

The jarring gale that rushed to greet them startled Blueblood, and he stumbled unsteadily when his hooves met a thin layer of ice that had formed over the stones. Twilight's eyes lit up with an idea, and she flared her wings before Blueblood could get any farther. Her renewed struggle quickly threw him off balance, and Blueblood lost all concentration with his magic when his legs slipped over the ice. With his hold on her gone, Twilight tried to scramble away, but her own hooves slid over the surface, and she wound up falling right back into Blueblood.

Trying to steady himself, he lunged down to grab her again, but Twilight rolled onto her back and curled her legs around, managing to kick him right in the chin.

“OOF!!!” Blueblood grunted and fell back onto the balcony, sliding away from the force behind Twilight’s blow. Once they were separated, Sombra let out a furious roar and soared over her head, lunging straight for Blueblood.

“NO!” Twilight screamed out, but the blizzard suddenly grew stronger, ripping her voice away through the torrent of snow and hail. Sombra growled, grappling with Blueblood’s sword as it spun around recklessly in his magic. Blueblood appeared to be too terrified, and Sombra too blinded by his anger, to notice the howling winds as they picked up around them.

Twilight turned her gaze to the gale above, glimpsing the wispy forms of the windigo through the clouds. Their ethereal shrieks were the sound of the storm, and they only seemed to be getting more powerful by the second.

Metal screeched over by the railing, and her gaze shot back to Blueblood and Sombra in their scuffle. Sombra had created a weapon by breaking off the stone leg from one of the nearby gargoyles, and Blueblood’s sword clanged against it as he swung the weapon wildly. The windigo shrieked eagerly above them, rooting for neither opponent, only relishing in the hatred billowing from them.

“Stop it!” Twilight tried to scream over the wind. “Stop fighting!” A strong gust shoved against her, and Twilight yelped when it propelled her over the ice, forcing her right into the railing.

“Twilight!?” She looked up to see Sombra’s attention on her, finally distracted by the panic of her cry.

“You’re making the windigo stronger!” Twilight shouted at him, pointing up at the screaming creatures swirling and dipping through the clouds.

“Windigo!?” Blueblood screeched in fear before turning his eyes up. “Now there are windigo!?”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you!” Twilight yelled, stomping her hoof furiously against the ice. The force of her own movement shifted her balance over the slippery stone, and her world disappeared in a whirl when she fell to the balcony and slammed her head against the surface. Her vision exploded into a blinding white, and the wails of the windigo disappeared behind a shrill ringing in her ears.

It didn’t knock her out completely, but it took a moment for her sight to come back into focus. The bright light in her view began to fade, and she saw the fuzzy shape of Sombra’s large form slowly materialize above her, his expression contorted with worry.

She couldn’t comprehend why he looked so troubled until she winced at a sharp pain pounding through her head. With her senses dulled, it took her longer than it should have to recognize that there was something dangerous floating slowly over Sombra’s shoulder.

Her warning came too late. She didn’t even have a chance to gather the words before Blueblood’s blade plunged into Sombra’s back. Jerking his body back sharply, Sombra straightened up with an enraged roar.

“Take that, Beast!” Blueblood triumphantly spat, appearing to act more courageous now that it looked like he had the upper hoof.

“RRGH!!!” Sombra grit his teeth and grasped the sword in his claws. Before Twilight could explain to him the dangers of pulling out embedded objects, he wrenched the weapon from his shoulder and faced Blueblood with a snarl of fury. Blueblood’s proud expression immediately fell, and he shrieked with a high pitched squeal.

“Sombra, stop!” Twilight shouted amid the furiously hungry cries of the windigo, and Sombra, to her surprise, paused and glanced back at her while clenching Blueblood's bloody sword in his fist. “Please…” she faintly pleaded.

He wrinkled his snout and gave Blueblood a long, low growl. Twilight's heart skipped a frantic beat when he stepped back and lifted the sword—right before plunging it into the frozen stone at his hooves. “For your sake.” Sombra turned toward Twilight and carefully settled down beside her, grunting with the simple effort. He cradled her head and rubbed her cheek softly, and Twilight let herself relax into his embrace with a sigh.

“For... her sake…?” Blueblood parroted back slowly. The windigo above them appeared to shy away, but the blizzard still pelted them with sleet and snow.

Blueblood lifted himself on shaky legs, moving straight for his sword and grabbing it roughly in his magic as well as his hooves. “Can’t you get it through your thick—ugh—uncultured skull?” Blueblood grunted loudly as he tried to pull the sword free. “Twilight is mine! I won’t let anypony else have her! Especially—not—YOU!!!” He let out a piteous groan as he threw his head back and stomped his legs against the ice.

“Why won’t this come free!?” Blueblood wrenched the weapon one way, and it shuddered slightly. “This is not ‘Sword in the Stone!’”

Twilight felt the balcony rumble beneath her, and with a gasp she tugged at Sombra’s arm. “Blueblood! Don’t pull out the sword!”

Blueblood ignored her warning, wrenching his sword the other way and grinning maliciously when it shifted. The stone crumbled and ground against the blade, and a thin crack split through the ice along the length of the balcony.

“STOP!” Twilight screamed at him, but Blueblood gave the weapon one final tug. It slid free with a grating sound of ice and stone, and he shouted victoriously—only for his grin to immediately fall when a loud snap vibrated below them. The entire balcony shifted as a fissure widened over the icy surface.

Sombra grabbed Twilight, and she yelped as he hauled her back into the tower when the floor beneath their hooves dropped away. Blueblood screamed and tried to leap to safety, but he was too close to the railing as the balcony tilted and tumbled over the edge. He disappeared from view, along with the rest of the structure as it fell into the foggy abyss.

Twilight hugged Sombra tightly, staring wide-eyed at the space where Blueblood had been only seconds before. She could honestly say that she didn’t care much for Celestia’s nephew… but witnessing him plummet to his death… She trembled violently, and Sombra’s embrace closed in more tightly around her, the only comfort in the chilling wake of her shock.

“Sombra?” Her small voice squeaked out, catching in her throat when he shuddered against her before slumping over with a pained grunt. Through the ice and wind, she could see the dark spot matting within his fur. “NO!” Twilight scrambled to her hooves in a panic. “No, no, no, no, no!” The cold prick of tears formed in her eyes as she shook his uninjured shoulder gently. “You said you wouldn’t die!”

His claw reached around her and clutched her mane lightly. “It’s… not bad…” he grunted with a strained sound, cutting himself off when he touched his shoulder and pulled his paw back to see the mess of dampened fur. “Oh…” He wobbled unsteadily. “Maybe it is... a touch worse t-than I…”

While the windigo above them continued their wailing, Sombra slid to the floor, stopping only when Twilight grabbed him and tried her best to keep him from falling from the tower. Spiraling above them in a whirlwind of howls, the windigo drew closer and closer, as if the tragedy of Blueblood’s defeat pulled them in, making them more vicious in their attempts to get at Twilight and Sombra.

“Don’t come closer!” Twilight shouted up at them, and in an attempt to keep them back, Twilight tried to light her horn with a spell, but it was to no avail. Her magic hadn’t recovered enough for a shield.

“Stay back!” Twilight yelled, hugging Sombra’s limp form against her. She wasn’t certain if he was unconscious or… she didn’t want to think about the alternative. The Beast lives… the Beast lives… the Beast lives… her mind repeated over and over as the tears froze against her cheeks, her horn fizzling desperately.

Her sight was blurry with tears, but staring up at the terrifying creatures, she could still see the whites of the windigos’ blank eyes and their frozen breath misting in the gale. Their maddening glares only intensified when they dove right for her.

“STAY AWAY!!!” Twilight’s voice echoed through the air like a clap of thunder. Her vision went white as the wind abruptly died out, while her horn nearly exploded from the volume of magic it was suddenly spouting. A glowing sphere formed around Twilight and Sombra, shimmering for a brief moment before billowing out and expanding over the castle, reaching high into the sky. The furious windigo caught up by the spell screamed in pain and immediately turned to flee into the clouds, their howls of rage fading as their forms quickly shrank into the distance.

Twilight wasn't aware of what had happened, only able to see clearly when her hooves touched down lightly on the floor. Rubbing her head and stumbling woozily, she instinctively reached for the hoof that stretched out to steady her. She blinked slowly at the limb, waiting for the world to stop swaying before looking up to see Sombra smirking at her.

A normal, non-beastly looking Sombra.

Twilight blinked in confusion, tears spilling down her cheeks as she realized what she was seeing. The blizzard had calmed down, even though the snow clouds still remained above. There was a perfect hole where blue sky peeked through, and the windigo were nowhere to be seen. Below on the castle grounds, she heard distant shouting and cheers of excitement as the enchanted servants celebrated on the lawn, returned to their former pony-selves.

Twilight snorted as her eyes returned to Sombra, choking back a sob before diving forward to hug him around his neck, her sides shaking with laughter.

“What are you doing?” Sombra rumbled against her, moving her carefully away from the edge of the broken balcony, back into the safety of the more stable tower. “Are you really crying to the point of laughing?”

“No!” Twilight shook her head into his shoulder. “You just… you look exactly the same!” Twilight exclaimed between her gasps.

“I do not look the same,” Sombra grumbled. “You can stop crying.”

Twilight leaned away and wiped at her eyes, noting that everything about him had returned to the way he was before Beauty and the Beast. “How… how did you change back?” Her cheeks flushed when she realized she had completely forgotten to follow the fairy tale. "I couldn't... I mean—I didn't say anything..."

“I think we both know the answer to that.” Sombra leaned forward with a smirk and nuzzled her cheek softly. “The windigo were driven off by something.”

Twilight shivered lightly, her eyes widening in surprise as she stared at him. “But… they only… t-that's not—”

“Sometimes, actions are more meaningful than words,” Sombra playfully chided her, waving a hoof in her face.

“I-I… but…” Twilight stammered, unable to get out anything coherent as her blush deepened. Her thought process had come to an absolute stop.

“Twilight.” Sombra moved his hoof through her mane and pulled forward a lock of her hair, bringing it to his lips and kissing it gently. “I think it should be obvious that—for both of us, friendship will not suffice.”

As she stared at him, dumbfounded, Sombra didn't wait for an invitation, he simply bowed his head and kissed her, hooking one of his legs behind her neck and pulling her closer. Twilight’s gasp was muffled beneath him, and her body tensed, dragging her hooves feebly against the floor to try and push away... but the warmth that flooded her was not unwelcome, and her reluctance soon melted into yearning.

Twilight slowly closed her eyes, whatever protests she had eventually forgotten, the pounding of her heart both exhilarating and threatening to take her breath away. Her ears lowered as she shivered from the resulting sensation traveling down her back, causing her fur to stand on end with that electrifying feeling.

Her knees weakened, and Twilight relaxed against him, so lost in the euphoria coursing through her that neither she nor Sombra appeared to be aware of the fading landscape, or the absolute darkness as it fell around them.

Author's Note

Sorry for the extended wait! I had ideally wanted to get this chapter published much sooner in January, but life and writer's block and distractions got in my way. I hope the extra lengthy chapter makes up for it, and that you enjoyed reading it!

So now that Old as Time is finished, we move on to the sixth and final fairy tale. (But not the last chapter!) Our band of heroes has faced many challenges along the way, but soon they may just come across one of the most dangerous fairy tales they've ever encountered, maybe even the deadliest... of them all!

Chapter 17: The Wicked Queen (Part 1)

Twilight only became aware of the change in her location when she opened her eyes to blink up into the shadows of a dimly lit ceiling. As she turned her head about in confusion, she quickly noticed that the ruined balcony and parapets of the Beast’s castle were gone, replaced by the looming shapes of furniture in the surrounding dark.

Beauty and the Beast had apparently reached its end. Any other time, she would have been eager to find out what new fairy tale the storybook had dropped her into, but she was too distracted by the rapid pounding of her heart... and the lingering warmth of Sombra’s kiss. Even though the previous story had faded in conclusion, they hadn’t separated, completely unaware of the disappearing landscape around them.

Her brain wouldn't stop focusing on that moment, sending a tingling sensation across her fur as the last words Sombra had said to her repeated through her mind.

“Friendship will not suffice.”

Twilight felt the heat of her embarrassment burn hotter across her face with every repetition. It… it wasn't as if he had said that he loved her… but… The meaning behind those words...

She quickly shook her head to tear herself away from the daydream. The room suddenly felt incredibly stuffy, and she needed some air to clear her thoughts.

Sliding from the bed she found herself on, Twilight felt a brush of light fabric whisper against her fur, and delicate horseshoes clink lightly against the marble floor when she trotted toward the curtained windows. She pushed them aside, allowing the bright sunlight of a new day to spill in. Quickly shielding her eyes, she stepped out onto a short balcony overlooking a quaint garden bordered by tan stone walls.

Blinking against the light, Twilight laid her front hooves upon the railing and took a deep breath of the fresh air before letting it out as a lengthy sigh. Resting her head against her legs, she sat peacefully for a moment, soaking in the warmth of the sun’s rays and twitching her ears at the soft twitters of birdsong.

She wasn’t there for very long before the giggle of a young foal joined the ambiance of the garden below, and Twilight’s ears quickly perked when she recognized the bubbling laughter. Leaning further over the railing, she was surprised to see Flurry Heart fluttering across the lawn with tiny and adorable creatures scampering beneath her hooves. Small birds circled around her in a playful display, and a young fawn even pranced happily alongside her.

“Flurry?” Twilight called out, and Flurry Heart spun around before waving excitedly when she noticed her aunt, but she didn’t fly up to greet her. The animals accompanying her appeared to be keeping her distracted.

Twilight leaned back with a relieved sigh, content that Flurry appeared to be safe and sound—and more importantly, no longer a teacup. Despite her distance from the garden, she couldn’t help but notice the elegant, golden bands over Flurry’s mane near her horn, much like the clips that had appeared during her Crystalling. Twilight was certain that the storybook had given her niece the role of a young princess… but where did that leave herself?

Turning away from the open window and stepping back into the sunlit room, Twilight switched her gaze to the elegant furnishings that sparkled back at her in the glow, clearly belonging to a figure of royalty, or at least of great wealth. A tall mirror glinted at her from the other end of the room, resting at the top of a short dais, and Twilight trotted closer, unable to resist her curiosity.

The golden tiara that she spotted on her mane wasn’t much of a surprise, but what was unexpected was the style of the dress she found herself wearing. The shimmering silver of the purple silk was elegant and fascinating to look at, but the black cape that draped over her shoulders just seemed a bit too… dramatic.

Placing a hoof on the mirror’s frame and leaning in to get a closer look, she lowered an ear in confusion as she studied her reflection in the mirror. “Does this mean I’m another princess?” she mumbled to herself.

“Do not belittle yourself by any means,” a deep, familiar voice startled Twilight in the quiet of the room. Her head whipped around, but she saw nopony else, even as it continued, “Your true title is far more important, my Queen.”

“Queen!?” Twilight adjusted the crown behind her horn and cautiously stepped back in front of the mirror. She noticed a dark mist swirling in the depths, and a faint shape formed in its reflection. “You… can’t mean me.” Her feathers ruffled in a slight panic. “I-I can’t be a queen… that would mean...”

“Your subjects bow without hesitation,” the voice explained, and Twilight finally recognized Zecora’s voice emanating from the glass. “For you are the absolute ruler of this nation.”

“That can’t be right!” Twilight turned and began to pace around the room, a horrible realization dawning on her as the pieces fell into place. A magic mirror owned by a Queen... “No, no, no, no, no! How can I be the main villain? If I’m the Queen… then... Flurry is the Princess?”

“You, my Queen, are fair, it’s true,” Zecora’s voice interrupted her before she could get her thoughts straight. “But Flurry Heart is a thousand times fairer than you.”

“Fairer?” Twilight repeated, flattening her ears at the answer to a question she hadn’t even asked. Her heart began to race as she sprinted back to the balcony to watch Flurry playfully romping below. “The Queen tries to hurt her, but I don’t want to do anything like that to Flurry!” Twilight jumped up onto the railing and spread her wings.

“If you wish to brew a curse with discretion—” the Zecora-mirror started.

“That wasn’t a question!” Twilight shouted back irritably before launching into the air and gliding down to the garden. When she thudded onto the grass near Flurry Heart, the woodland creatures following her jumped up and scattered, immediately scrambling into the nearby bushes to hide.

Flurry, however, squealed excitedly and flew up to hug her aunt around her neck. Lifting a leg to embrace her tightly, Twilight quickly leaned away with a worried expression. “Flurry, I need you to listen to me.”

Flurry Heart giggled softly, but was otherwise quiet, appearing to be giving Twilight all her attention.

“I need you to get as far as you can from the castle, do you understand?” Twilight’s brows knit in concern, hoping that her young niece would be able to grasp the danger of the situation through her serious tone. “It’s not safe here.”

Flurry Heart nodded as if she understood, but when she lifted herself from Twilight’s hold, she grabbed her aunt’s hoof and started tugging as if to have her follow. Twilight reached up and scooped Flurry into her legs again and nuzzled her cheek. “I can’t come.” She raised her gaze to see Flurry’s large eyes blink at her in confusion. “You need to leave on your own. Can you do that?”

Her niece only responded with a whimper and leaned forward to tightly hug Twilight again. Twilight grit her teeth and tugged her niece away, giving her a stern look, but at the sad frown that Flurry gave her, Twilight’s expression softened. “I’m sorry, Flurry. How about we play a game instead?”

Her ears quickly perking with interest, Flurry Heart clapped her hooves expectantly.

“There are a group of young ponies in the woods, and you need to find them.” Twilight smiled softly, nuzzling her nose against Flurry’s and drawing a happy gurgle from her niece. “You have to hide with them, and I’ll come looking for you later, alright? Ready? 1… 2… 3...”

At her count, Flurry Heart jumped into the air with a giggle, flapping her wings to fly out of the garden as fast as she could move. The small animals that had been hiding in the bushes slowly revealed themselves and followed after her, warily glancing back at Twilight as she watched with a somber expression. Once Flurry Heart was gone from her sight, Twilight jumped up and started to gallop back to the castle.

As she ran toward an archway that led inside, two guards standing attention to either side looked at her in alarm. “My Queen, is everything all—”

“Perfectly fine!” Twilight shouted when she sprinted by.

“But what about—” one of the guards started to ask, but she disappeared down a hallway without sticking around to listen. She didn’t really know where she was going, but she was certain she would find out something if she explored the castle. She needed to find Spike and Sombra, and there were only two more important roles that she could recall: the prince that finds Snow White, and the—

As she galloped around a corner, she slammed head-first into another pony, her ears ringing from the sound of metal. Twilight’s crown toppled from her head and clattered to the floor, and she might have fallen with it had a strong leg not wrapped around her middle to catch her.

“It has been far too long since we’ve started in the same place,” a deep voice rumbled in her ear, and Twilight’s gaze shot up to see Sombra’s fangs glistening at her in a quiet smirk. “I didn’t expect to run into you so soon.”

“Ab… ah… I uh…” Twilight stammered while Sombra helped her back to her hooves, using his magic to pick her tiara off of the floor and return it to her. After placing it on her mane, his eyes briefly lingered on the crown atop her head, and he grinned mischievously before reaching out to grasp her leg.

“Your Highness.” He bowed and pulled her hoof to his lips, and Twilight’s heart fluttered wildly.

She could feel a blush blooming over her cheeks already, her worry about the story consumed by returning thoughts of their earlier kiss. With a shake of her head, Twilight yanked her hoof out of his and stomped it against the floor with a shout. “Stop distracting me!”

“Oh? Am I really…” Sombra began with a teasing tone, but the expression she gave him must have looked grim, because his grin quickly faded. “What’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” Twilight asked, thumping a hoof against her chest. “What’s wrong is that I’m the Wicked Queen!” She began to pace along the hall, her wings fluttering in her mounting panic. “The main antagonist! One of the most famous villains in the history of fairy tales! And Flurry Heart is the Princess!”

Sombra was silent at this, staring at her with a baffled look before he snorted out a laugh. “I didn’t take you for the jealous type.”

Twilight balked and gaped at him. “Jealous!? I’m worried about her!” Her feathers ruffled as she moved to stomp down the corridor, and Sombra jumped to his hooves to quickly fall into step beside her.

“Personally, I think the title of Queen suits you better.” Sombra chuckled with a soft smile, something warm and different from his usual expression.

Twilight frowned at him, but lowered her ears with a tired look. “Not this queen. We’re in ‘Snow White,’ and in this fairy tale, she does terrible things to the Princess just because a magic mirror told her she’s not ‘fairest of them all.’” Twilight stopped and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to do anything that will hurt Flurry.”

“I doubt you would allow her to come to harm,” Sombra reassured her with a stern snort. “Where is your niece now?”

“I… I told her to find the ponies from the story and hide with them.” Twilight fidgeted uncomfortably while staring at her hooves. Now that she had said it out loud… she wasn’t certain it had been such a good idea. Maybe the storybook would guide her, but didn’t Snow White get lost in the dark woods? She had been alone and afraid before meeting up with the seven other foals... “It’s where the storybook would have led her after the Queen… tries to have her killed.”

Sombra wrinkled his snout with a frown. “You didn’t… try anything, did you?”

“No!” Twilight shouted and lifted her head in shock. “No, I… When I realized what fairy tale we were in, I had her leave the castle.” She lowered her ears and rubbed her hooves together, a concerned look crossing her face. “I didn’t even think about whether or not it would allow that…”

“If your niece was supposed to flee the castle and meet with these ponies, it may have taken that as a step in your nefarious scheme.” At the cross look she gave him, Sombra chuckled softly. “Is it not a welcome change to the original? What happens after the Princess leaves?”

“I… the Queen finds where she’s hiding, disguises herself as an old mare… and poisons her with an apple.” Twilight paused, feeling as if she were forgetting something more important, but she only summed it up to her worry about Flurry’s safety. Some versions of Snow White included other 'nefarious schemes' than just poison. “But a prince finds her and awakens her with a kiss.”

“It doesn’t sound so terrible, then.” Sombra’s expression soured as he looked down at himself. “I'm not the Prince again, am I?”

“No…” She eyed his armor, which was not unlike the neck plate he had worn back in the Empire. There was even a silver circlet beneath his horn, similar to his crown, but with the addition of leather cuffs on his legs and a shorter, less regal-looking cape over his shoulders. “I think you’re the hunter…” Twilight tilted her head while tapping her chin in thought. “But I don’t know if you have a role now since I already sent Flurry Heart away.”

“Good.” Sombra suddenly smirked and stepped closer to her. “Because I would rather continue where we left off,” he said with a low growl in his throat.

“W-what do you—” Twilight’s heart jolted when he quickly leaned in, cutting off her words by covering her mouth in a kiss. She tried to jerk away, but immediately found her back pressed against the wall. Twilight had half a mind to push him off, but the other half was too busy melting from the feeling of electricity rushing along her spine.

All too quickly, Sombra lifted his head, and she almost felt disappointed when she thought he was done, so she was surprised when his warm breath began sliding down her neck. He left a slow, teasing trail of kisses in his wake, and Twilight gasped softly at the sensation, burying her muzzle against his shoulder and mumbling into his fur, “We s-should really—AAHH!!!”

Twilight actually squeaked in surprise when she felt the sharp point of his fang graze the shoulder of her wing, followed by a ticklish tug against her feathers. It sent a shiver rippling through her, and Twilight immediately pushed against his chest and held him out at leg length. “W-what are you doing!?” Her face felt like it was on fire, and she was certain that he could see the glow of it, even in the bright corridor.

“I said I was continuing,” Sombra rumbled with an annoyed tone, his mouth set in a straight frown while he glared down at her legs. His teasing grin quickly returned, however, when he leaned over as far as he could. “It appears that you have the same weakness as a pegasus when it comes to their wings.”

“T-that’s not the point!” Twilight let out a panicked shout, feeling herself grow more embarrassed by her own thoughts. How in Equestria did he know something so… so... “I-I need to figure out how to save Flurry! A-and besides... don't you... feel like you’re m-moving too fast?”

“How so?” Sombra grumbled, giving her an impatient look. His eyes slowly roved over her, and Twilight felt a nervous twinge in her gut, even though he was just taking in the dress that she was wearing… probably.

“I… It’s just... it's obvious that this feeling is... more than friendship.” Twilight spoke slowly and lowered her gaze, her pulse pounding so heavily that she thought Sombra might feel it through his armor. “And I’m n-not very experienced with this kind of thing,” she mumbled before lifting her eyes to see him blinking at her in surprise. “For me it’s… very new and exciting, b-but terrifying at the same time—n-not because of you!” she quickly added. “It’s just… a little overwhelming, if I’m honest and I—I don’t know what that... makes us.”

Sombra’s expression softened, and without hesitation, he lifted his hoof to her cheek and brushed it gently. “You are important to me.”

Twilight’s heart gave a heavy thump, and her eyelids lowered when she tilted her head into the touch of his hoof. Important. Hearing him say that kind of word out loud gave her a warm feeling in her chest.

“Does this mean I was your first kiss?” Sombra teasingly asked while his expression morphed into a wide grin.

Twilight’s snout wrinkled when her eyes fluttered open. “Really? That’s your concern?”

Sombra chuckled and lifted his front legs to curl around hers. “It is a matter of interest. If you really are so inexperienced, then it’s left to me to teach you.”

Twilight’s ears perked at the word “teach,” but she gave him a stern frown. “I'm not that inexperienced.”

“Whatever you call that moment with your bug-prince doesn’t count.” Sombra snorted. “And you were practically unconscious for our first.”

“Thorax is a changeling,” Twilight grumbled. “And I was awake for our... f-first kiss. It’s not so complicated that I need a lesson about it.”

“Naive princess,” Sombra rumbled and folded her legs so that he could slide closer. “It is so much more than you know.” He then straightened up, planting his hooves on the floor while smirking at her. “But if you think yourself so knowledgeable, then show me.”

“W-what?” Twilight blushed when she understood what he meant—what he wanted… and her heart jumped at the idea of it. Sure, they had kissed a couple of times already, and again just a moment ago. But she hadn’t actually… herself...

“Kiss me,” Sombra commanded in a deep tone, leaning over and looking at her expectantly.

“Ah...” Twilight’s wings rustled along her back, and she took in a sharp breath. “Uh… a-alright…” Twilight tried to settle her nerves, carefully inching closer until there were only a few centimeters between them. Slowly lifting her hooves, she touched his muzzle lightly and, even though her legs shook, managed to lower his head and pull him closer.

His breath warmed against her face, and she felt the rumble of a low chuckle in his throat when she paused to calm her racing pulse. Her feathers ruffled up and her fur stood on end, but she gulped loudly, trying to combat the anxious feeling weighing in her stomach before managing to tilt her own body forward. Instead of kissing him on the mouth, however, Twilight lowered his head further and softly touched her lips to the bridge of his snout. Their horns lightly grazed one another, and Twilight felt a weak zap of magic pass between them, like the sting of a static shock.

Sombra grunted deeply against her, but he did not make a move to press further, so Twilight closed her eyes, enjoying the gentle contact. She didn’t know if Sombra had the same feelings, but for Twilight… oh, for Twilight, this definitely counted as something. From the quivering of her wings, to the weakness in her knees, she could not deny that Sombra had become somepony special to her.

Sombra suddenly lifted his head, breaking away with a snort and startling Twilight out of her blissful moment. “I can’t stand this...”

Twilight didn’t get a chance to wonder what she had done wrong when Sombra suddenly pounced on her, knocking her to the floor while his legs slipped beneath her wings and trapped her in his embrace. “I will not let you interrupt me again,” Sombra breathed out in a low growl before crushing his lips against hers.

Twilight’s heart thudded rapidly in her chest, her shocked yelp smothered before it had a chance to escape. With his heavy weight lowering over her, she felt his heartbeat thumping in a rhythm that matched hers, and every muscle seemed tense, shaking with an excitement and longing that buzzed through her own nerves. His fangs grazed her fur, and Twilight shivered beneath him, her mind fogging over in a feeling of euphoria.

“Your Majesty?”

A shock of cold shot through Twilight, and her heart practically jumped into her throat at the sound of another pony’s voice. She reacted instinctively by trying to pull magic into her horn—only to be surprised when a familiar bang deafened her ears. The world immediately disappeared behind the light of a brilliant flash.

The next thing Twilight knew, she found herself hugging a wooden beam on the ceiling rather than the warmth of Sombra’s fur. Her gaze shot down to see him blinking up at her in shock, leaving him in an awkward position that made it appear as if he had been trying to make out with the floor.

“Ah… pardon me, Highness,” the guard continued on, looking only slightly perturbed by what he might have seen. “But there is urgent news I need to report.”

“Right!” Twilight’s high-pitched voice squeaked out, and she fluttered her wings in embarrassment while clearing her throat and trying again with a normal tone. “Right… I mean. Uhm…” She lifted away from the rafters and drifted back toward the floor, wobbling unsteadily from the jittery sensation rushing along her body.

She tried to look composed when she landed, rather than the completely flustered way that she actually felt. Her wings wouldn’t settle straight against her sides, and she was certain that there were several hairs out of place in her mane. “Please report.”

The guard bowed before speaking. “Soldiers stationed by the garden entrance have reported that Princess Flurry Heart has gone missing. We have already begun searching the castle, but so far none of us have found any signs of her.”

Twilight’s wings wilted when she let out a relieved sigh. “That’s what this is about? Everything is fine.”

“But, we can’t find her on the castle grounds—”

“We were playing hide and seek,” Twilight interjected before he could finish. “She’s just hiding. Let the other soldiers know that Flurry Heart is perfectly safe where she is.”

“O-oh.” The guard blinked in confusion before nodding with uncertainty. “I’ll go… inform them then.”

“Wait!” Twilight cried out before he could leave and he turned back around at attention. “Have you seen a small purple dragon anywhere?”

“A dragon?” The guard gave her a confused look before shaking his head. “I can’t say that I have. Should I alert the other guards to the threat, Your Highness?”

“No!” Twilight shouted, then cleared her throat and managed to collect herself. “No, no. Please make sure to tell them that the dragon is a friend, and not to hurt him,” she stressed with a worried look. “And let me know when you find him.”

The guard nodded and turned again to leave. Once he had marched out of view around the corner, Sombra finally spoke up, staring at her with a bewildered expression. “How were you able to teleport?”

“Maybe it’s the Queen’s role?” Twilight looked back at Sombra with wide eyes. “She’s known for being a powerful sorceress. It’s how she was able to curse Snow White.”

“Do you think it is strong enough to free us from the storybook?” Sombra looked at her with a glint in his eye.

“I can try…” Twilight closed her eyes, trying to get a better feel of her own magic. She’d been too worried about Flurry Heart to think about checking—not to mention too distracted by her thoughts of a certain somepony when she had first arrived.

Having been limited by the storybook for so long, it was almost alien to feel that extensive source of magic respond to her once again. She felt a sense of familiarity at the reaction she got, as if greeting an old friend.

If it wasn’t enough to release them from the storybook, she didn’t want to waste any with small experiments. So as she directed the magic toward her horn, she could feel the familiar tingle flow through her, and she heard Sombra’s sudden inhalation of breath when her horn lit up with a glow. Now she just had to figure out the best spell.

A teleportation spell perhaps, if it was a location? But now that she was delving into her magic again, feeling out the wisps of power around her, Twilight could sense an ominous wall blocking her at a distance. Anything she tried to target beyond that area refused to cast.

So teleporting was immediately out. She instead focused on the storybook itself, weaving a spell in her mind that would dismiss the enchantment altogether. The power didn’t refuse and quickly bent to her will, constructing an unseen force that would breathe life into her unspoken commands. Once the intricate details had been laid out, she took a deep breath and released her magic.

There was a quiet pause before everything horribly backfired. Twilight felt a crackle of energy shoot along her horn, straight through her body. The world spun in her vision, and she couldn’t hear anything past the explosion in her ears.

The force of the blast must have knocked her over, because the next thing Twilight knew, she was on the floor, looking up at Sombra and blinking her eyes in confusion as a wisp of arcane smoke trailed off of her horn.

“Twilight!? Are you alright?” Sombra’s expression was frantic as he cradled her gently. In the midst of her disorientation, she briefly thought it was sweet of him to do before the numbness faded from her limbs and she groaned from the ache radiating across her body.

“I… the darkness…” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, trying to fight off her dizziness. “I tried to dispel the enchantment on the storybook, but I think the dark magic stopped me.”

“It was a rather strong spell,” Sombra grumbled while wrinkling his nose in disgust. “We will simply have to allow the fairy tale to play out as it does traditionally.”

“We can’t do that!” Twilight shouted, wincing when a sharp pain shot through her. She fell back against Sombra’s legs, cradling her head.

“Why?” Sombra rumbled, lifting his hoof to nudge her own aside and gently massage her temples. Twilight quieted down, but only because it actually made her feel better. “Your niece’s life is not in any danger. The prince you spoke of will revive her at the end of the tale.”

“But she’s only a baby.” Twilight looked at him with a worried expression. “She has a more impressionable mind. Maybe you can just shake off a near-death experience, but something like that could scar her, not to mention how it might affect her thoughts toward me.”

“If she is strong, she will persevere.” He leaned closer, nuzzling her in a way that briefly distracted her from the dull ache in her body. “As long as you are safe, where the story leads otherwise is none of my concern.”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue more when her voice suddenly caught in her throat, Sombra’s words triggering a thought in her mind. She had been so preoccupied worrying about Flurry’s fate that she had completely forgotten to be concerned about her own.

Sombra must have noticed her discomfort, because he quickly narrowed his eyes. “You’re making a face again.”

“I… I remembered… something important,” Twilight mumbled, her brows knit as she scrambled to sit up despite the noise that Sombra made in protest. “At the end of the fairy tale... the Queen is… defeated.”

“Defeated?” Sombra leaned closer, his tone sounding strained. She was quiet for a moment while she tried to run through the story in her own head. “Twilight. What happens to the Queen?”

Twilight’s breath came out rapidly, slightly distracted as she mentally dug through all of her knowledge of the Snow White variations. “In every version of the story I’ve ever read, the Queen is… is repaid for her wicked deeds… with death.”

“What!?” Sombra snapped, jumping up to his hooves and standing over her, as if something would try to strike her down that very moment. “How? When?” He lowered his head and pushed his muzzle against hers. “Why didn’t you mention this sooner!?”

“I was worried about Flurry Heart!”

“Your niece will revive!” He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, the anger in his expression sending a terrified chill through her. “You—!!” Sombra suddenly closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his grit teeth before pulling her into a tight embrace. “You… worry too much about others for your own good…”

Twilight hesitantly lifted her hooves in response, a bit stunned at how quickly he had shifted his mood, but she eventually reached up to wrap her legs around him, feeling the strong muscles beneath his fur tense with agitation. She could have sworn he relaxed slightly beneath her touch as she rested her head against his chest. “We’ll have to find a way to delay the story… I can try to break the spell over the storybook again.”

Sombra pushed away to look her in the eye with a quick shake of his head. “We will change this fairy tale. We can reach an ending where you don’t perish.”

“I…” Twilight’s voice broke as her ears flattened. “I don’t know if it will work. The Queen always meets some terrible fate… there’s nothing that can help her like the little mermare…”

“The little mermare did not die, because I kissed you.” Sombra leaned closer and rested his chin atop her mane. “Maybe there is something I can do to change your fate,” he mumbled before he snorted softly with a sad laugh. “I will kiss you as many times as it takes.”

Twilight couldn’t help the small blush that rose to her face. “I don’t think any amount of kissing will save the Queen. It… it’s more often some… terrible punishment befitting of her crimes.” She nuzzled deeper into his fur, finding comfort in their embrace to combat the disturbing images that flashed through her mind. “Like being forced to wear hot-iron horseshoes… or cracking her magic mirror and turning into dust...”

“What do these authors have against the Queen?” Sombra grumbled angrily, bearing his fangs in a growl and squeezing Twilight tighter against him.

“I think they liked the idea of her getting her comeuppance,” Twilight said with a sigh, moving her head to the crook of his neck. “Older times were a little darker…”

“We will find a way,” Sombra assured her, giving her a little bit of hope with the determination in his voice. “This story does not need you as its villain.”

“But it needs me to move forward. How can it continue without the Queen?” Twilight asked quietly. It wasn’t as if she wanted it to be true, but going through the options in her head, she saw no other way. There was no salvation for the Queen in any retelling of Snow White she had encountered.

“How are you feeling now?” Sombra suddenly asked, leaning back with an odd look crossing his face as he scrutinized her. “Your eyes look bloodshot.”

“Umm… better.” Twilight arched an eyebrow at him. “My headache is gone. Why?”

“Because I have an idea,” Sombra responded while suddenly releasing her. Without warning, he jumped up and shoved his head beneath her stomach to scoop her over his neck.

Twilight bounced onto his back with a breathless grunt, finding her voice after a moment and yelling in surprise when he bolted down the hallway. “S-Sombra!? What are you doing!?”

Sombra afforded her a quick sideways smirk when he glanced back. “Retelling this story!” He swiftly galloped past the guards at the entrance of the castle, and they cried out in alarm, but they were too late to stop Sombra as he left them in his dust. With a sinister laugh, Sombra shouted back, as if he were taunting them. “I'm kidnapping the Queen!”

“This is the worst possible outcome… it has to be,” Twilight groaned, staring at a wanted poster fluttering in the breeze against the notice board before her. A crude image of her face glared back at her while the castle they had recently escaped from rose up menacingly in the distance. Behind her, a sparse crowd of ponies murmured softly as they went about their business in the small town square.

“They put these up fast,” Sombra grumbled, narrowing his eyes at another leaflet with his own picture sketched on it.

“This is your fault…” Twilight turned to frown at him. “The guards think I have something to do with Flurry Heart’s disappearance, so you ‘kidnapping’ me only made it look as if we were running away!”

“You do have something to do with it, though.” Sombra grinned mischievously. “Everything to do with it, actually.”

“I know!” Twilight cried out and rubbed her head in frustration, messing up her mane in the process. “But I would never hurt her! I just need time to come up with a way for us to finish this story in one piece!”

“And avoid your death?” Sombra added with a displeased frown. “Perhaps you should think of that once we've found a place to lie low.” He stared across the road with a suspicious look, his gaze following after a guard that whistled while he trotted past.

“They won't bother us,” Twilight assured him, even though she watched the pony warily when he stopped at a fruit stand and took out another wanted poster to show to the vendor. “With the storybook giving me a little more magic as the Queen, my ‘leave it, ignore it’ spell will protect us.”

“It is only a temporary solution.” Sombra gave her a stern frown. “We should travel farther, outside of the kingdom—” Twilight’s stomach chose that moment to gurgle loudly, enough so that Sombra’s ears perked at the noise. “—After we get a bite to eat.”

“We don't need to eat.” Twilight rubbed her belly with a frown. For something that was supposed to be an illusion, it didn’t feel all that fake. “We need to find a better ending for this story.”

“We will be more productive on full stomachs, even if the food isn’t real.” He lifted his head and looked around, his nose twitching before an eager grin spread over his face. Without a word, he trotted around her and made a beeline for one of the nearby buildings.

“Fine,” Twilight grumbled, following after him toward what appeared to be a local tavern, where the scent of food drifted her way and teased her hunger as she moved closer. “But only so I don't have to keep hearing my stomach.”

Sombra held the door open for her when they reached the entrance, and despite his earlier concerns, not a single pony looked up when they stepped through. The place was busy, bustling with activity during the evening meal-time, and they weren’t even given a quick “hello,” when they sat down at an empty table near the front.

Twilight raised her hoof as a server neared them, but he trotted past without so much as a glance at them.

“Guess we won't be getting food,” Twilight grumbled.

“Wait here,” Sombra said before quickly ducking away. Twilight didn’t even get a chance to object when he practically disappeared into the shadows.

She stared out into the tavern with a blank look before settling against the table and rubbing her hooves together nervously. He would be safe… hopefully. It wasn’t as if somepony would be able to see him past the glamour of the spell… if it was strong enough. So far it had worked in evading the guards that had chased them from the castle, and none of the ponies in town had shown any interest in them despite all the wanted signs.

While waiting for him to return, Twilight’s thoughts drifted to the storybook, trying to be productive and come up with alternate ideas that might lead them to a happier ending. So far, the story was definitely turning out much differently from the versions she was used to. Had they managed to change their roles? Or was this simply a divergent path on route to a script the story traditionally followed?

“Bon appetit!” Sombra’s deep voice startled her out of her thoughts right before a platter levitated into her vision. He laid the plate before her, and Twilight blinked at the contents while Sombra settled in across from her with a similar meal.

“You ordered this?” Twilight pointed at the dish, uncertain about the slab of pink sitting in the middle of the plate, even if it had been garnished with leaves of parsley and a small daisy.

“I couldn’t get a server’s attention, but I didn’t think they would miss an extra entrée or two.” Sombra chuckled before picking up a fork in his magic and tucking a cloth napkin over his armor piece. “Thanks to your spell, I was able to walk right into the kitchen. In all the ruckus, they didn’t even notice me or two missing meals.”

“What is it?” Twilight wrinkled her nose at the scent. There was something salty and… heavy to it. Like the stink of something... dead. She shivered from the chill that ran down her spine.

“Baked salmon.” Sombra grinned and scooped a portion of it into his mouth, sighing through his lips as he chewed. He pointed his empty fork at her and swallowed quickly. “I think you’ll enjoy it if you give it a try.”

“I don’t eat fish.” Twilight stuck out her tongue and turned her head away, a slight feeling of nausea rising through her stomach; the stench was impossible to ignore.

“It’s not that uncommon, you know,” Sombra said before taking another bite, mumbling around his mouthful of food. “Plenty of denizens in the Crystal Empire are used to it. Fruits and vegetables can become scarce when you live in the center of a perpetual blizzard.”

With her nose still wrinkled, Twilight gave the salmon another glance, apprehensive about letting it anywhere near her taste buds, but for some reason, her stomach gurgled loudly when the smell invaded her nose. Even if the stink was enough to curl her insides, it still recognized the scent of food.

“We are still trapped in the storybook,” Sombra pointed out with a grin. “It may have the same taste, but it was never actually a living being.”

“Fffffine.” Twilight finally gave in with a huff and hesitantly picked up her own fork.

It took her a full five minutes to actually spear some on her cutlery, because the fish kept flaking and falling apart when she tried to lift it, which only grossed her out even more. When she finally managed to catch a portion of it, she left it hovering in front of her mouth, moving it slowly back and forth while she switched between hunger and repulsion.

“Would you try it already before I shove it in your mouth?” Sombra growled impatiently, already having finished his own meal. His plate was completely clean; even the parsley hadn’t been spared.

With a nervous gulp, Twilight quickly took the bite off of the fork, not wanting him to make good with the threat. She squeezed her eyes shut at the offending flavor... and immediately froze from shock. It didn’t actually taste the same way it smelled, and Twilight was surprised by a sweet sauce that added a citrusy zest.

Twilight swallowed the first bite and stared at the dish for a moment, glancing up at Sombra before taking another. The corners of his mouth turned up in a triumphant smirk. “I knew you would enjoy it.”

Twilight lifted her hoof to point at him with a stern look. “When you meet my friends, you will never—EVER mention this... especially not to Fluttershy.” She roughly stabbed another piece of fish onto her fork. “Otherwise, I’ll throw you into ice for another thousand years myself.”

Sombra nodded with a chuckle, raising his front legs in surrender. “Fair enough.”

He gave her some time to finish her meal in peace, while outside the windows of the tavern, the sun set quickly below the horizon. Night had fallen by the time Twilight finished eating, and she was disturbed by the fact that she had enjoyed it enough to wonder about trying the real thing when they eventually escaped… if she escaped her fairy tale fate.

“We can’t just leave the kingdom and run away from all of this,” Twilight said when she finally pushed her plate aside, using her napkin to wipe away the remnant of sauce. “Flurry Heart is stuck in the forest with those ponies, and Spike is still out there somewhere.”

“We should leave quickly and keep our distance until everything at least settles down.” Sombra motioned his head toward the back, and Twilight moved her gaze behind him to see a trio of soldiers at the bar, quietly discussing something with what looked like the owner of the tavern. “We don’t know how long your spell will conceal us, or if the storybook will even allow it to continue. Leaving here will give us time to come up with another plan.”

“Maybe we could go back to the castle and talk to the magic mirror?” Twilight asked, and at Sombra’s blank look, she quickly explained, “It’s enchanted to answer questions. Maybe it knows something that we don’t… like an alternate path to a happy ending?”

“It sounds like a long shot…” Sombra lifted a pair of drinks from the tray of a server as they quickly trotted by. “Would it not simply behave like the other characters in all of these tales?”

“It would be worth a try—”

“If the castle was not filled with soldiers still looking for us,” Sombra interjected, taking a long sip from one of the mugs while setting the other in front of Twilight. “We wait for an opportunity, one that won’t risk your capture… or worse.”

A sudden commotion across the tavern drew their attention, and Twilight noticed it was coming from the server with the tray of drinks as the poor pony appeared panicked. She gave Sombra a cross look before he slipped from his chair and grabbed her leg to quickly pull her outside.

They were both silent as they trotted down the road, putting as much distance between themselves and the town as possible. They moved along a low ridge where the dark trees of a forest turned the area below them into a dark swath of land, the crescent moon giving off little light as the stars winked above them.

“Where are we going?” Twilight finally whispered to him, even though there was nopony else to be seen along the road with them. “We can’t just wander around without a destination. I don’t even know if there are any other places to go in this story...”

“There has to be another kingdom nearby. We’ll go there and try—” Sombra suddenly slammed to a stop, his words cutting off with a pained grunt. With a shake of his head, he jumped back with a snarl, snapping his eyes around as if he were expecting somepony to jump out at them.

“What's wrong?” Twilight moved up next to him and tentatively reached out a hoof. Even though she could clearly see the road continuing on, her leg met a solid, invisible barrier. She turned to him with her brows knit in worry. “There's a wall here…”

“An ambush?” Sombra grit his teeth as his eyes searched the landscape behind them and growled when his gaze flicked down the road. While there were no guards in sight, there was a small, rickety-looking cart headed their way, with a lantern swaying as it bobbed toward them.

The wagon slowly rattled closer, pulled by an older stallion that nodded in friendly greeting as he drew nearer. “Evening folks. Beautiful night, isn’t it?”

“Oh… umm, yes.” Twilight flicked an ear flat while exchanging a confused look with Sombra, turning back only when she realized the pony was headed straight for the invisible wall. “Wait! There's a—” As Twilight tried to warn him, the pony stepped through without any problems before his form slowly started to fade. The cart followed along after him, as if he were still pulling it, until the entire wagon and old stallion were gone: vanished as though they had never been there.

“It… it's a boundary…” Twilight whispered while lifting her hoof again just to check that the wall was still there.

“What?!” Sombra turned to her with a furious-looking sneer, though she had a feeling it wasn’t directed at her. “Nothing like this has ever occurred before!”

“We've never tried to leave the area,” Twilight mused as she rubbed her chin. “There was something blocking me when I tried to teleport… maybe this is what I felt. The storybook can only create the settings in the fairy tale. Everything beyond that… doesn’t exist.”

“Which means…” Sombra's voice sank along with her own hopes.

“We can't leave.” Twilight's ears flattened. “We have to finish the story.”

“NO!!” Sombra shouted with a growl, stomping back up to the barrier again. His horn flickered, and he managed to light it with a spark of darkness. The thin beam of magic hit the border, and Twilight saw the air shimmer, spreading outward like ripples over a pond. When Sombra’s magic reserve eventually fizzled out, the barrier returned to normal as if nothing was there.

Sombra let out an enraged snarl, lowering his head before suddenly charging right at the wall. Twilight flared her wings in surprise, but couldn’t stop him before he slammed against it, stabbing it with his wicked horn and stomping at the dirt. “I will not allow this cowardly—manipulative—thing to bar our way!”

Naturally, the barrier held strong against him, so Sombra pulled away and started beating at it with his hooves, grunting with each furious kick.

“Why!?” Sombra’s shouts grew desperate in the quiet of the night, his enraged swings growing less aggressive as he appeared to wear down. “Why can’t I have this!?”

He turned his head and rammed the barrier with his shoulder, his hooves digging into the soil and gouging deep grooves into the dirt, as if he might be able to simply push it out of the way. But the spell did not budge against his physical assaults, and Sombra’s body slowly slipped along the invisible surface as his sides heaved. “Why can’t I have… this one thing...”

Twilight watched him warily as he huffed and panted on the ground, eventually moving toward him once it looked as if he had spent himself. She slid her front legs around his neck in a gentle hug without saying a word. With everything seemingly stacked against them in this story, she didn’t want to tell him that they would find another way when she didn’t believe it herself.

They were both tired and worn, even though their night hadn’t been filled with as much excitement as the other fairy tales. Twilight had to pull Sombra up from the middle of the road, supporting him as he slumped against her and finding another path that led down the sloping ridge and into the nearby forest. Even if it was the dead of night, they still had the guards to avoid.

Trudging through the trees, Twilight warded off the shadows with the soft glow of her horn, eventually coming upon a place beneath a fallen trunk, where the roots arched above a small cave in the ground to create a reasonable shelter. She slipped inside, and with a low grumble, Sombra soon followed.

The night was cold, but despite this, Twilight didn’t make a fire, as the smoke might draw any guards still searching for them. Instead, she created a softly glowing orb that at least gave them a little light to see by. Unfortunately, it didn’t emit any heat.

“I’m really, really tired of being cold,” Twilight complained while she settled against the hard ground beneath her and fluffed her wings, shivering lightly in the chill. “First ‘The Snow Queen,’ then the blizzard from the windigo… why do so many fairy tales center around ice and snow?”

“It is a chilling element to set a story around,” Sombra suggested with a snort, easing himself to the dirt across from her.

“I’d love a blanket… or my bed.” Twilight closed her eyes, unable to help imagining her soft, comfy sheets. “At least the Beast’s castle had beds.”

Sombra cleared his throat, and Twilight opened her eyes to see him patting the soil beside him. “You don’t need a blanket to keep warm; you have a perfectly good spot here.”

Twilight flushed lightly, but she didn’t make a move.

“Twilight.” She twitched when he spoke her name in a deep tone. “Come here.”

A tremble rippled up her spine before she took a tentative step forward, approaching him with extreme caution... as if he were a predator—which, quite frankly, he might as well have been with those vicious fangs of his. She slowly stepped up, but Sombra didn’t make any sudden moves or say anything more, as if he could possibly scare her away. He simply smiled at her as she moved around to settle against him.

His warmth quickly spread to her as their fur meshed together, and she stiffened when his front leg curled around her chest to pull her closer. She no longer had any problem with the cold air thanks to the heat rising to her ears and face.

“Comfortable, Princess?” Sombra teased.

“You’re enjoying this too much,” Twilight mumbled.

“Of course I am.” He chuckled and pressed his head against her neck, kissing her softly beneath the chin. “The expression you're making is adorable.”

As he nuzzled her gently, Twilight carefully laid her head down, supported by Sombra’s firm muscles beneath her. His tail flicked up over her flank, and she flinched in surprise only once before settling down again, finally relaxing beside him.

With so many different thoughts racing through her mind, it was a wonder she was even able to fall asleep.

Chapter 18: The Wicked Queen (Part 2)

Twilight’s eyes slowly fluttered open as the rumble of a distant storm roused her from her peaceful dreams. The dull morning of a clouded sky peeked between the roots of her shelter, and even though the day looked like it would be a dreary one, the sun still managed to shine through a break over the horizon, throwing up a splash of color amid the monotonous grey.

Slowly slogging through the haze of sleep, Twilight jolted in surprise when something tightened around her chest—only for her to settle down when she recalled exactly how she had fallen asleep the night before. Her heart pounded lightly as she looked down to find Sombra’s legs linked with hers and his body curled around her to protect her from the chill in the air.

Much like the sun rising up through the brightening sky, a light blush bloomed along her face at the position she found herself in, which only deepened when Twilight realized that she had unconsciously spread one of her wings over his shoulders at some point during the night.

Possibly from her movement against him, Sombra soon began to awaken. He opened his mouth with a loud yawn, clicking his tongue in some odd morning routine before stretching his neck until it let out a soft pop. “Maybe blankets are not necessary, but I suppose a bed would have been nice,” he said with a groggy voice. “How did you—”

Sombra’s words died in his throat when he turned to look at her, his face tightening with an odd expression.

“W-what’s wrong?” Twilight tried to calm herself down while blinking back at him in confusion, a bit disturbed by his reaction. He almost seemed… afraid?

“You just look... particularly beautiful in the morning,” Sombra said in a tone that was obviously strained. “And nothing is wrong,” he quickly added.

Twilight wrinkled her nose, suddenly skeptical of his dodgy answer. He was staring at her face as if it had turned into cheese.

“For a pony that hides so many secrets, you’re not very good at lying.” Her gaze moved down to his armor, and she immediately caught him with her magic before he could jump away. While Sombra struggled to escape, she managed to rub her leg across the metal to give it a quick polish before leaning closer.

Large, red pupils reflected back at her, and her spell suddenly flickered out at the shock of what she was seeing. Sombra stumbled to the ground with a grunt while Twilight stood completely frozen, her ears flattening at her discovery. “My… my eyes…”

She whipped around and paced along the short length of their shelter, her breath coming out in panicked gasps. “My eyes aren’t red! I-I mean, they are right now, but—how did they—why are—they’re not supposed to—OWW!!” Twilight quickly sat back and lifted her hooves to her muzzle, covering her snout at the feeling of a sharp pain.

“Did you honestly just bite your tongue?” Sombra gave her an annoyed frown before getting up. Twilight was too surprised to move and kept her face covered, even as Sombra stepped closer with a stern look, obviously suspicious of her actions. “Let me see,” he commanded.

Twilight shook her head, but Sombra simply pulled her legs away and tapped at her jaw. With a loud gulp, she opened her mouth, unable to help her own curiosity when she moved her tongue over one of the strange points that had formed in her teeth.

“Fangs.” Sombra blinked at her with a sharp intake of breath. “You’ve grown fangs.”

“H-how!?” Twilight flared her wings with a shout. “I haven't used dark magic to that extent!” Her voice caught in her throat when she had a sudden thought. “Could… could the storybook be turning me into the Wicked Queen?”

“If that were the case, you would have started out like this at the beginning of the story.” Sombra lifted her chin and leaned close, scrutinizing her new alterations. “No… this is corruption from dark magic—although it's moving at a snail's pace. You most likely incurred this when you tried to break through the barrier. Do you feel any different?” Sombra asked.

“Not really.” She rubbed her hooves together before stomping them against the ground. “Aside from the fact that my eyes have turned red and I’m growing a pair of fangs!”

“They aren’t such a terrible thing.” Sombra grinned, showing off his own before his smile swiftly faded. “But aside from that, do you feel the same? No urges to take over any kingdoms... or poison your niece?”

Twilight gave him an annoyed look before answering with a huff. “No… the changes are just physical… for now.”

“Just don't think of anything negative,” Sombra urged. “It could allow the darkness to slip inside your thoughts. It's hard to resist the allure once it's taken hold.”

“How exactly am I supposed to do that?” Twilight grumbled.

“Think… happy thoughts?” Sombra wrinkled his snout with uncertainty and rubbed his chin. “It would be best if we avoid this altogether by finishing the story. What predicament does the Queen face that results in her survival?”

“I… I’m not really certain.” Twilight rubbed her hooves together nervously, riffling through her memories for anything worthwhile. “We don’t know how this particular story goes, so it will be difficult to determine which way the Queen dies.”

“There has to be some way we can find out.” Sombra stomped to the entrance of their shelter, staring out at the gloomy sky with an intense look as he mulled over a possible answer. “We can find a library somewhere… maybe gather up the right books and find a solution; like the ending you mapped out in ‘Robin Hood.’”

“Maybe...” Twilight’s ears drooped. “Most Snow White stories follow a similar path, except for the more recent ones. Since this book is a classic edition, it will probably go with an older version that ends with the Queen’s death.” Twilight gulped. “One that winds up with me being maimed, struck by lighting, or thrown off a cliff...”

Sombra’s eyes suddenly lit up as he turned around. “The last one sounds survivable.”

“It might be possible to reenact if we could figure out how to do that… there’s just too many ways.” Twilight rubbed her head and wrinkled her snout. As Sombra moved to return to her side, the faint sun reflected off of his armor and reminded her of another idea.

“We can ask the magic mirror!” Twilight suddenly cried out.

“Are you certain?” Sombra asked with a doubtful look. “That thing is still a character. Does it not behave like the rest of them?”

“It did seem strange when I spoke with it the first time… but even if it doesn’t know a way out, it may know something about this version of the story.” Twilight tapped at her chin. “We can ask it about this place. If it has an answer… any answer, it’s worth a try.”

Sombra set his mouth into a thin frown, but finally relented with a heavy sigh. “Alright. We ask the mirror what it may know.”

“It feels as if we only just escaped this place,” Sombra rumbled in complaint, peering through the bushes they were hiding in while crouching next to one another. Twilight carefully watched the guards that stood in the doorway, standing at attention beneath the shadow of the looming castle.

“It doesn’t look like there are a lot of soldiers though,” Twilight whispered quietly, her voice sounding garbled as she ran her tongue over her fangs again. She could have sworn they were growing longer. “They must have split their numbers looking for us and Flurry Heart.”

“Stop that,” Sombra hissed, suddenly turning to her with a glare.

“I’m not used to them!” Twilight wrinkled her snout at him, even though she quickly pulled her tongue back in. “It’s like losing a tooth… except in reverse… and I have a feeling that a breezy won’t be leaving a bit underneath my pillow.”

“They’re easier to accept when you realize how valuable they can be.” Sombra flashed his fangs at her with a grin. “If we have to fight our way in, you have a weapon apart from your magic to rely on.”

“I’m not biting the guards!” Twilight nearly shouted, flattening her ears and shoving her nose against his. “What do you expect me to do with them? Drink their blood!?”

“That’s ridiculous.” Sombra pulled away and turned with a huff. “You use them to tear the flesh of your enemies.”

Twilight’s face twisted into a grimace at the picture that formed in her mind; meanwhile, Sombra suddenly lowered himself closer, whispering urgently, “The guard is changing… now!”

He dashed out of the bushes and Twilight scrambled to follow along behind him, sticking to the garden wall and hiding beneath the shadows. While sneaking past the guards seemed like a terrible decision during the middle of the day, the thick clouds that had quickly overtaken the sky made it look more like the darkness of late evening. With careful planning, the guards didn’t even notice them as they slipped through the gate.

Twilight sprinted ahead of Sombra after they had moved inside, guiding him through the garden and finding where her balcony was located high up on the wall. She fluttered silently into the air and hugged the stone while Sombra climbed up more slowly behind her using the vine-covered lattice. After she had landed, she helped him up over the railing, and they both stepped quietly into the room.

It was as Twilight had left it, with the mirror standing on a raised dais, placed against the far wall near her canopied bed. She trotted over to it, peering into the dark glass that only revealed her reflection.

At first, she thought the mirror was waking up when she noticed something off about her appearance, but when she leaned closer, she realized that it was her own image that was different. Her horn’s shape had shifted slightly, giving it a sharpened point at the tip with a tint of red flowing along the spiraling grooves.

“It's getting worse,” Twilight groaned, feeling her stomach flip-flop with a sickening twist. How much more was she going to change if they couldn’t escape?

“Mirror.” Sombra stepped up and demanded of the dark object, “Tell us how the Queen survives.”

Nothing formed within the dark depths of the glass, and the voice within remained silent.

“Just perfect,” Sombra growled. “A wasted trip. Perhaps it’s gone to sleep since its role in the story is done.”

“You just have to know how to wake it up. Otherwise, it only responds to questions.” Twilight’s ears perked as she recalled the lines from the book. Adjusting the clasp at her neck, she cleared her throat before reciting, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, answer to my beck and call.”

At her words, the surface began to swirl with dark clouds, and she could see the familiar shape forming before it spoke. “I thought you were caught in a nasty spell, but it is good to see that you are alive and well.”

“It speaks in rhyme?” Sombra groaned.

“Mirror,” Twilight addressed it, ignoring Sombra’s complaint. “Does this story end happily for the Queen? Is there a way that I can survive?”

“You should ask it how to escape the storybook altogether,” Sombra whispered urgently into her ear, but she shook her head, giving the mirror a moment to process her question. The clouds within swirled silently. It was either taking its time to come up with an answer or it had nothing for them at all. Twilight’s hope waned as the silence dragged on.

“There is a path that you can find,” the mirror’s voice suddenly came out in a strange, ominous tone that startled Twilight. She jumped against Sombra’s side when the frame began to rattle and pulsed with a soft orange glow. “It will help you escape this story’s bind.”

Twilight exchanged a surprised look with Sombra before turning back to the glossy surface, its insides churning and roiling with clouds as if a miniature storm were brewing within. As she squinted into the darkness, she spotted a tiny light at the end of it all, pulsing softly in a rainbow of colors while the mirror continued, “Down the poison to take your breath; as the Queen, you must boldly face your death.”

“That is not an answer!” Sombra shouted in rage, rearing back on his hooves and aiming for the mirror. Before Twilight could stop him, he stomped down against the glass, slamming the object into the wall. A sharp crack pierced the room, and the surface shattered into a splintery web of fractures, with small particles tinkling as they dropped to the floor. The clouds within immediately faded, and the mirror fell into silence.

Twilight’s blood ran cold, staring at Sombra in silent terror while he turned to her with his face still twisted in fury. When he noticed her expression, he appeared to try and compose himself, grumbling out a heated, “What?”

“The-the mirror…” Twilight stammered, stumbling over her words as she lifted a leg to her cheek, checking to make sure that she wasn’t transforming again. “You don’t... remember one of the endings? When the Queen smashed it in anger… she turned into dust…”

Sombra’s face fell into an expression of horror, and he immediately stomped over to her, grasping her head in his hooves while his eyes shot over her body. “I wasn't thinking!” When it was clear that Twilight wasn’t showing signs of any immediate change, he calmed down a little, but didn’t release her. “I… did not wish to harm you,” he said softly, his strained voice wavering with the shock of what he’d almost caused.

“I-I know…” Twilight lowered her ears and laid her hooves over his to steady her trembling legs. “It wasn’t exactly the answer I wanted to hear either...”

“Your death is not an option,” Sombra rumbled, nuzzling his nose against hers gently. Twilight started to lean into his touch when her ears perked at the low sound of hooves thundering down the hall.

“The guards!” Twilight straightened up in a panic. The noise grew louder in the hallway, but when she concentrated, she could hear the muted thud of more mobilizing outside in the garden. She turned to the doorway just as a pair of armor-clad ponies barged in.

“Halt! You are under—” the guard started to say before Sombra jumped away from her and charged at him. With a flip of his head, Sombra caught the pony with his horn and tossed him over his shoulder. The other guard tried to jab at him with his spear, but Sombra stepped to the side and chomped down on the pole, swinging it out of the other stallion’s grip and bashing it against his helmet with a loud clang. While the first rolled into the bed frame, the other dropped like a rock onto the floor.

“Stay behind me!” Sombra yelled back at her, and she quickly followed him through the doorway, only to meet another trio of guards running toward them down the hall. Rather than retreat in the opposite direction, Sombra rushed at them with a roar, their weapons sending up sparks as they bounced off of his armor. Another guard swung a sword down that sliced through his fur, but Sombra only grunted while he spun around kicked out his hind legs, smashing two of the smaller stallions into the wall.

The third tried to move around and flank him from the side, but a quick aimed spell from Twilight immediately threw him off his hooves. Without waiting to see if he was even down for the count, she took off after Sombra when he barged down the hallway once the opening had been made.

“If it comes to it, you escape without me!” Sombra grunted as they galloped around a corner. The low sound that echoed throughout the castle was either the rumble of distant thunder or the stomping of many hooves mobilizing against them.

“I’m not leaving you behind!” Twilight yelled back, stopping short when they came out into the garden to find a large assembly of guards blocking their escape. She spun around to flee, but a group of pegasi flew in from above to cut off their retreat.

“Surrender!” a familiar voice shouted as a tall stallion stepped out from the crowd. Twilight felt her heart sink at the sight of her own brother glowering angrily at her, wearing his signature armor as captain of the guard. “Show us where you’ve hidden Princess Flurry Heart!” Shining Armor commanded.

“Your life is the one in danger! Use your magic to get away,” Sombra hissed at her, ignoring the demands of her storybook brother.

“I’m not just leaving you here!” Twilight flared her wings and pressed closer to Sombra, standing shoulder to shoulder with him while she lit her horn with a flash. She had intended to teleport the both of them away to safety, but several flares of magic shot out from the unicorns in the crowd and wrapped around her horn, suppressing her spell.

“There’s no escape! And if you remain silent, we have no choice but to arrest you!” Shining Armor shouted, appearing to have run out of patience while they argued with one another. He swung a hoof toward them, and the circle of guards began to close in.

“Stay back!” Twilight yelled, trying to light her horn again, but the pressure of several auras fighting against her own only gave her a headache.

“Even if you are the Queen, you are not immune to the punishment of your crimes,” Shining Armor said with less volume, but the anger behind his words was unmistakable, and Twilight felt herself wilting beneath his furious glare. He had only given her that particular look once in her life... and even though she knew it wasn’t her real brother, the identical sound of his voice and appearance made it difficult to simply shrug off. “Tell us what you’ve done with the Princess.”

“I haven’t done anything to her!” Twilight shouted, feeling Sombra slip his front leg around her own in a gesture of support—or of preparation to escape with her once he saw an opportunity to do so. “I… I sent her away to protect her! She’s safe!”

“Then cooperate with us,” Shining Armor responded with a snort, waving his hoof to signal for his guards to move in again. This time, several unicorns shifted to the front, their horns already aglow with the magic wrapped around her own. “If there is something threatening the Princess, tell us where she is so that we can help. If not, then you will be charged with conspiracy against the crown and the kidnapping of Princess Flurry Heart!”

Maybe it was the accusatory implication that she could ever do anything to harm Flurry, or the stress of dealing with old, painful memories dredged up by the illusion pretending to be her brother—whatever the reason, something inside of Twilight finally snapped. She ground her teeth together and let out a low growl, even as a sense of calmness slipped over her. The magic around her horn burst into an intense aura and dispelled the others surrounding it, bubbling with chaotic pops and exploding outward as it slammed into the mass of guards.

Beneath the dark shroud of her spell, the surrounding ponies shouted in surprise and anger—only to quickly be replaced with cries of pain and agony. In a flash, the darkness dissipated, and strands of inky smoke coiled up over the crowd of fallen soldiers. Those that had managed to remain conscious writhed and twitched on the ground, but none of them were in any condition to demand anything of her.

Twilight slowly moved her gaze over them all. As if she were looking out at the defeated guards through the eyes of another, a cruel smile briefly twisted onto her muzzle.

But then Twilight’s ear twitched at the sound of a pained groan by her hooves, and she turned her head to see Sombra splayed out beside her. Her eyes widened as her heart thudded in a panic, and she dropped down to his side when she noticed the dark splotch of blood trailing from his forehead and pooling along his neck.

“S-Sombra?” Twilight’s voice trembled in a weak whisper as her ears fell. “D-did I… why did I…?” The sting of tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she looked over him, checking to make sure she hadn’t done anything worse. How could she have lost control over herself like that?

Sombra’s eyelids fluttered feebly, but he didn’t appear to be awake, knocked out by the same spell that she had attacked the guards with. She sat down next to him and cradled his head gently, rocking back and forth before lighting her horn. With a flash and a bang, the castle vanished, replaced by tall trees, their leaves darkened by the grey sky above that rumbled from the threat of a brewing storm.

“Sombra?” she called to him softly, hoping he might somehow hear her through his daze. “Please… wake up… I-I didn’t mean to—this wasn’t what I…” Her voice choked from a sob as the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Sombra remained silent and limp in her embrace. He was still breathing, but what little she could hear was shallow and strained. If he ever regained consciousness, she imagined that he would probably be in a lot of pain.

She had done this to him. She had allowed the darkness to take hold of her.

Twilight set his head down carefully to view the damage she had done. The fur along his neck was matted with a dark blot of blood that dripped down through his mane where he had been struck with her spell.

Without wasting any time, she pulled her dress forward and tugged the material in her teeth, easily ripping it into a large strip with her new fangs. As carefully as she could, she wrapped it tightly around Sombra’s wound to staunch the flow of blood. He groaned softly when she tied it around his head, but he didn’t make any further movements.

While Twilight tried not to panic, in the quiet of the woods, the trickling of a nearby stream quickly caught her attention. Whether to clean his wound or help to revive him, fresh water sounded like a good idea. She started toward the sound, soon finding a small waterfall flowing over a hill of rocks. The water fed into a quaint little pond not far from where her spell had landed them.

Twilight tugged at her cape, intending to use it to soak up the liquid before she caught her reflection in the sandbank and stopped cold. In the calm area of the pooling water, the whites of her eyes glowed back at her with an eerie green, while a dark purple mist billowed along either side of her face. She spread her wings in alarm, only to notice that beneath the layer of feathers, a thin membrane, like the wings of a bat, had begun to show along the edge.

“This… this is bad…” Twilight reached up to touch her own face, horrified when the reflection mimicked her movement—it only cemented the fact that this really was happening. The darkness was consuming her, and without Sombra around for guidance...

Twilight tried to calm herself down, getting through her twenty-third repetition of Cadence’s breathing technique before her ears perked at a soft noise. At first, she thought that the guards might have followed her already, but she soon recognized the notes of a gentle song. With all of the chaos that her mind was in, the sound was pleasant... and almost… alluring.

She sat and listened for a moment, finding the tune far more effective at soothing her nerves than her own exercise. After a while, her mind seemed to blank, and without even thinking about it, she stepped out across the stream, not caring that the remainder of her dress became soaked when it trailed through the water.

Almost as if in a dream, Twilight stumbled through the trees, low whispers seeping into her thoughts, telling her that she had to find the source of the singing. The whimsical words that swam through her head almost seemed to form the essence of a familiar story… but Twilight couldn’t focus on them long enough to place her hoof on it.

She didn’t quite understand, but something didn’t feel right about her body or the way it moved—yet she couldn’t bring herself to be concerned about it at all. The music soothed any alarming thoughts that bubbled to the surface, while the voices reassured her that she was on the right path. Her legs wobbled unsteadily, but she kept on toward the singing, all the while she felt as if she were floating on air and moving through a thick haze of smoke.

The song grew louder in her ears until Twilight finally came upon a clearing where a quaint cottage sat next to a small river. An alarm went off in her head, but Twilight was unable to stop herself as she moved down the slope of the hill and stepped onto a cobbled path. Thunder rumbled in the distance, but her body paid it no mind, an unseen force propelling her forward to eventually pull Twilight right up to the door.

She didn’t even think to move, but her hoof seemed to lift on its own and rapped softly against the wood. The singing stopped, and after a short moment, the top half of the door squeaked open to reveal Flurry Heart peeking curiously at her from inside.

Twilight’s throat tightened, and she felt one of the voices in her head slide out past her lips, speaking with words she hadn’t formed. “Hello, Flurry Heart.”

Flurry ducked behind the door, but kept one of her large, curious eyes on Twilight. While she appeared uncertain about the pony that stood before her, Twilight could see the recognition in her eyes—as well as the fear of something unknown.

“Don’t be afraid,” the voice reassured her. “We were playing a game, remember? Now I’ve found you.”

Flurry Heart nodded and came out from behind the door, tilting her head curiously with a soft babble of noise.

No… no, this isn’t right… Run away, Flurry! Twilight tried to shout, but her own body wouldn’t respond. Instead, her horn lit up with a glow, and an apple formed itself out of thin air before plopping down into Twilight’s outstretched hoof.

“Have you been having fun with your friends? I just wanted to bring you something special.” Twilight’s hoof raised the bright red apple, its flesh glowing in a soft, ruby-colored light. Flurry Heart giggled with delight. “Doesn’t it look good? Aren’t you hungry?” the oozing voice urged.

Flurry Heart nodded with a gurgle, taking the apple in her hooves. Something squirmed deep within Twilight, and she tried to scream out a warning, but her mouth refused to move apart from the sickly-sweet smile it was giving her niece.

Without the ability to stop her, Flurry Heart didn’t hesitate to take a bite of the apple she held; she had no reason to distrust her loving aunt. Twilight could hear the audible crunch as Flurry bit into it, and Twilight’s chest tightened when she shook her head, clearing away the fading fog in her mind to see Flurry’s wings slow as she began to drift softly to the ground.

“NO!!!” Twilight bolted forward, suddenly finding herself able to move again. She nearly toppled over, but managed to correct her footing and catch Flurry right before she could fall against the hard floor.

“Flurry…? Flurry, please…” Twilight choked past the lump forming in her throat as she rubbed her niece’s cheek, already feeling the warmth of her life slipping away. Flurry’s head limply fell against Twilight’s legs, and she hugged her in a tight embrace.

“No…” Twilight sobbed softly as she sank to the floor. “No… no… please, no…” Tears slid from her eyes and dripped down her snout onto Flurry’s forehead as her niece closed her eyes. Her breath became shallow, and Twilight couldn’t even feel her pulse when she pulled Flurry close and nuzzled against her.

“Flurry Heart! We’re back!” a young, squeaky voice suddenly cut through Twilight’s grief and her head jolted up in surprise, spinning around to see the dark shapes of a group of ponies arriving over the hill.

“Hey! Who’s that in the house?”

Twilight gasped in a panic, scurrying to wrap Flurry Heart into the warmth of her cape. She pulled a protective leg around her as she turned and quickly bolted out the door.

“What in—that’s the Queen!”

Twilight scrambled around the corner of the building, darting into the woods as seven small forms barreled after her, their faces shrouded in the darkness of the growing storm. In the midst of her plight, Twilight didn’t even want to bother trying to figure out who they were—she was certain that none of them would listen to her excuses.

“She’s got Flurry Heart!”

“Don’t let her escape!”

“NO!!!” Twilight cried out as she hugged Flurry close to her chest. Thunder echoed across the sky as she tore through the forest without any sense or reason. She couldn’t pull her thoughts together, couldn’t focus on forming a plan or picking a sensible solution. She was too distracted by the fear of which grisly ending would come to pass if she were caught.

The dense trees soon grew sparse, bringing her to an open field, across which lead to a path that ran up the craggy cliffs of a nearby mountainside. Twilight skidded to a halt to catch her breath, her eyes searching for any place that she might possibly hide. Her strides were longer than the foals chasing her, but could she really out-run them if the storybook didn’t intervene?

Remembering that she had her magic to rely on once again, Twilight grit her teeth and quickly formed a spell, her ears twitching back at the approaching shouts of the foals. A split second after she released her magic, the world lit up in a bright flash, but not from the teleportation spell that she had called up to take her and Flurry to safety.

The explosion of thunder in her ears rocked through her body, and her muscles spasmed from a searing pain. Twilight toppled to the hard ground, feeling as if her head had caught fire from the agony burning through her horn, a trail of dark smoke rising up from the scorched tip. Her vision was blotchy and speckled, but she could see enough to know that her spell had at least taken them across the field.

Though she groaned and flinched at the pain in her limbs and the pounding of her head, Twilight was thankful just to be alive. From the electrifying pain she had just experienced, she guessed that the gathering energies of her spell had most likely saved her life from the devastating strike of a lightning bolt.

Through the ringing in her ears, Twilight could still hear the distant shouting of the foals, which meant that narrowly escaping a tragic death didn’t mean that the story was over. Picking up Flurry’s limp body with her leg again, she started up the mountain path. She already knew that the storybook wouldn’t make anything easier for her, so it was no surprise when a torrent of rain suddenly unleashed from the clouds, making the rocky terrain even more treacherous than it already was.

Shaking off the sore ache screaming through her body, Twilight tried to draw a new spell to her horn again, managing to create a thin shadow of what appeared to be a shield over her head. It was a decision that was well-timed, because the sky let loose another brilliant bolt that sprayed the ground with heated sparks as the shield deflected the lightning strike.

Smoking and cracking after only one hit, her weakened shield flickered in and out while she trudged up the mountainside as quickly as she could. The ponies from the story had worked in a mine, and she had caught a glimpse of them waving pickaxes at her, so it only seemed reasonable that the path led to their quarries. If she could get to the cave, maybe she could be safe… and try to convince them not to kill her in some horrible way.

“Get her!” one of the foals yelled out very loudly over the noise of the storm, and Twilight gasped, turning her head to catch a glimpse of their small forms down the path.

The torrential rain only seemed to increase as she tried to sprint up the rocks, water drenching every inch of her and dragging her down with the weight of her ragged dress. Her clothes had become a hindrance as the darkness pressed around her and the rainfall pounded against her.

Though the young ponies appeared to be having an equally hard time pursuing her, they still kept after her, seemingly determined to “rescue” Flurry Heart, who still lay limp in her grasp.

The sky lit up again in another blast of lightning, and Twilight cried out when it struck her shield and shattered it like glass. The force of the blow threw her against the rocks near the cliff’s edge, and she fluttered her wings wildly, managing to stop herself and Flurry Heart from sailing into the dark treetops below.

With her sides heaving and her weary body at its limits, Twilight hugged Flurry Heart close, overall worn out from fighting what seemed to be a losing battle. Getting up on her trembling legs and stumbling away from the cliff, Twilight managed to drag herself and Flurry Heart closer to a safe part of the path, leaning against a rock face and hesitating on whether or not she should leave Flurry behind.

Her horn flickered weakly when she tried to use it, no longer having enough magic to pull up another shield. The next lightning bolt would surely kill her… and she didn’t want to drag Flurry into the danger of it. Even if Twilight couldn’t escape her own fate, at least her niece would be able to awaken safely before the end of the tale.

Twilight choked back a sob at the thought and hugged her niece tighter against her chest. In the dim light, she could barely make out Flurry’s face, tracing her hoof along the relaxed and peaceful expression she made. Even as Twilight held Flurry against her chest, she couldn’t feel any warmth of life.

“I’m so… so sorry, Flurry…” Twilight’s voice cracked as an onslaught of tears rolled from her eyes when she squeezed them shut. She nuzzled Flurry Heart gently and rocked her as if to comfort her.

“Give back the Princess!”

Twilight opened her eyes to the nearby shout, turning her head to glance back at the small forms still making their way towards her. If she didn’t press on, they would reach her in a few short moments.

With a gasp, Twilight huddled against the rock face and squeezed Flurry tightly before setting her down, spreading her wings above them both to shield her niece from the storm. As she released the bundle from her hold, her cape loosened, and the poisoned apple rolled out of the folds.

She stared at it with wide eyes, surprised at its appearance, but quickly realizing that she must have scooped it up in her hurry to escape before. Twilight reached out a hesitant hoof to pick it up and lifted it closer. Even in the darkness of the storm, the red skin glowed brightly.

“TWILIGHT!!!”

A deep voice rang out over the chaos of the storm, and Twilight jolted around to spot Sombra sprinting up the path at the bottom of the mountain. In the darkness, he had his horn lit with a faint, purple light, but it was enough to see him galloping toward her through the rain. A few of the young ponies paused in confusion to look back at him.

“Sombra…” Twilight whispered quietly to herself, clutching the apple to her chest as the words of the mirror drifted through her thoughts. ‘Down the poison to take your breath, as the Queen, you must boldly face your death.’

“FINE!!!” Twilight suddenly shouted at the closest foals as they drew near, startling them into backing away. She could finally see them in the dim light, recognizing several young students, including her friends’ younger sisters, from Cherilee’s class. “If this is how it has to be…” She squeezed her eyes shut and yelled out into the storm at the top of her lungs, “THEN AT LEAST LET ME CHOOSE MY ENDING!!!”

The clouds rumbled deeply, even though no bolt of lightning crashed down to strike her, and the young foals that had gathered nearby even appeared to hesitate at her behavior. They watched with morbid curiosity when Twilight brought the apple up to her lips, catching the fresh scent even through the onslaught of rain. Her legs shook fiercely, but she steeled herself and took a deep breath before biting into the crisp flesh and gulping down a generous portion.

The dark scenery before her vision immediately wavered, and she felt a dizziness slam over her. Her hooves lowered and released the apple, letting it fall uselessly over the edge of the path to tumble down the rocky mountainside.

Twilight was surprised at how easily her mind began to drift into the same death-like sleep as her niece, finding it a relief that she wouldn’t have to face any of the Queen’s gruesome fates. She would simply fall asleep… and the storybook would get its villain’s death. The fairy tale was free to move on, and Flurry Heart would escape once it reached its happy ending.

The rumbling of the storm and the heavy rain faded to a muted hush as her ears seemed to fill with cotton, but a voice still appeared to try and reach her through the growing fog. Nearly lost beneath the haze, she was surprised when it shouted out like a clash of thunder, calling her name loudly and momentarily breaking through her confusion.

Twilight’s heavy eyelids fluttered open for a moment longer, and she turned to see a shadow rise above the ridge, leaping over the tiny ponies in his way as he charged toward her.

“Som… bra…” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she teetered in place, the rocks beneath her hooves slipping away while she stumbled dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. She tried to right herself, but her vision tilted, falling away and catching one last glimpse of Sombra outlined in the grey of the sky before the heavy darkness fell over her.

Cold…

Twilight’s mind floated through a void of nothingness… unaware of any passage of time while a deep feeling of darkness gripped her body like ice.

And the only thing that she could think was that she was really, really tired of being cold.

In the midst of her irritation, something began to stir within her. An odd sensation that was not a thread of thought… but more like a… a glow—one that began to spread and tingle through limbs she didn’t realize she still had.

The soft touch of something warm pressed against her mouth, and another’s breath mixed with her own when she took in a choking gasp of air. Her lungs burned painfully, but she gulped deeply at the return of the life-giving oxygen.

Twilight’s eyelids fluttered open, and she was greeted with the hazy sight of a shadow filling her vision. Weakly exhaling against the warmth, she murmured something unintelligible, even to her own ears. The soft babble must have been loud enough though, because the dark figure above her suddenly broke away.

“Twilight?” Sombra’s deep voice rumbled with concern.

“Wha… t…” Her voice was weak and quiet from the strain of even speaking. The grey sky beyond his head was fuzzy to her eyes, but it didn’t look as dark as before, and enough time seemed to have passed for the rain to stop.

“Don’t talk.” She felt his hoof press against her cheek. “Just rest.”

Twilight huffed quietly and simply nodded in answer, and Sombra let out a relieved sigh before stomping his hoof heavily against the dirt. “There!” he yelled out to somepony that Twilight could not see from her position on the ground. “This is the solution to save your princess!”

Twilight heard the light shuffle of hooves scrambling back as Sombra snorted angrily, and she turned her head to see all the young foals standing around her, staring at her with wide eyes. “Go do what you need to do! Have your funeral! Lay her in the forest for all to gaze upon her beauty! Whatever it is!” Sombra practically roared at them with little patience. “Maybe then one brave soul may fall in love with her and be enticed to save her with a kiss!”

“Umm… w-will that really—” one of the foals hesitantly spoke up, and Twilight watched with curiosity as she recognized Apple Bloom among the bunch.

“WORM!!!” Sombra’s bark of fury interrupted her. “I am the hero that saved the Princess’ life! Now hurry! Or do you wish for her to lie forever in a sleep of death?”

The young ponies all jumped to attention and scattered over the ground as they scrambled toward the nearby forest. Sombra must have carried her down from the mountainside, because the soft grass of the field cushioned her tired body.

Twilight’s gaze moved over them as the foals scurried into the trees, and she blinked in surprise when she noticed a pair of them carrying a bundle between them with a limp form. Her heart skipped a beat, and she placed a leg against the ground, slipping over the wet grass as she failed at the simple task of trying to get to her hooves.

“You shouldn’t try to stand.” Sombra was there next to her as the dizziness returned, bumping up against her shoulder to ensure that she wouldn’t fall.

“What… happened?” she asked faintly, leaning into him and gratefully accepting the support.

“You almost fell off the cliff,” Sombra explained, frowning sternly as he puffed out his chest. “Well, you actually did, but I managed to catch you in a daring feat that I can reveal after you’ve had a chance to recover.” He took in a deep breath and let it out as a lengthy sigh before nuzzling her. “I didn’t let them touch you. I told those foals that your niece’s curse could be broken… and proceeded to show them by example.”

Twilight felt a warm blush rise to her cheeks at the memory of waking up to his kiss. “The mirror was right. I had to face my ‘death’ as the Queen.”

“I suppose I owe it an apology,” Sombra grumbled with a grimace. “But how was I to know that I could awaken you when it spoke in riddles?”

“But you figured it out,” Twilight said with a shy smile, the heat on her face intensifying when she lifted her head to give him a soft peck on his cheek, earning her a surprised look from Sombra. “Y-you were able to wake me up… b-because…” her voice trailed off softly, unable to say the words in her head out loud.

Sombra let out a quick snort and chuckled deeply. “Because I’m your prince?”

Twilight nodded, feeling as if her ears might catch on fire while she tried to hide her face beneath her hooves.

“Of course I am.” Sombra gently pulled one of her hooves away and smirked at her. “And you… appear to be a princess again.”

Twilight lowered her legs while her wings unfurled in surprise. “What? What do you—” As her feathers stretched along the corners of her vision, Twilight jerked one of her wings forward to look closer, noticing that the webbing of flesh was gone.

Grabbing a hold of his armor to steady herself, Twilight used it to look at her reflection, practically fainting in relief when her normal eye color peered back at her. There were no billowing plumes of mist coming off of them, and her horn had even changed back. “H-how? The corruption of dark magic wasn’t something that the kiss of a fairy tale could fix!”

“Though it may not have looked like it, that wasn’t a complete transformation,” Sombra explained while linking his leg with hers. “The dark magic wasn’t strong enough to keep up the connection when you were at—what seemed to be—the cusp of death. Now.” He stepped around her carefully and eased her into a standing position. “Come. Those foals will likely be following my directions, I assume.”

Twilight nodded slowly, walking alongside Sombra while he moved with a patience that she hadn’t known him to have. He helped her into the forest where the young ponies were most likely enacting the next part of the story.

The scenery was exactly as a proper fairy tale should have been and just as Twilight had imagined the ending of Snow White to look like. The dark storm from before was only a distant memory while the forest appeared to glow and pretty pastel petals floated slowly through the gentle beams of sunlight that filtered through the trees.

It was a beautiful display in contrast to the sad and slumped forms of the foals as they gathered around a glass coffin. It sparkled in the radiant sun where it displayed the serene form of Flurry Heart as she lay trapped in her sleep of death.

Twilight couldn’t stand the sight any longer and buried her face against Sombra’s shoulder to hide her fresh stream of tears.

“Why are you crying?” Sombra frowned. “Again?” Despite the gruff annoyance in his voice, he leaned over her and she felt his hoof slide around her own. “You know how the story ends.”

“I can’t—” Twilight sobbed quietly, interrupted by a soft hiccup. “I can’t stand to-to see her like that… because of me...”

“You didn’t do this,” Sombra stated, matter-of-factly. “This is because of the storybook.” He paused to lightly brush his hoof through her bangs. “And possibly the sadistic mind of a deranged author.”

While Twilight took comfort in his touch, one of the young ponies broke away from the group, bouncing over the ground toward them and catching her attention when he stepped up in front of her with a quick salute.

“We’re really sorry for scaring you before, Miss Queen.” The splotched foal bent his stubby legs in a quick bow. “But we didn’t know you was under a dark curse like that.” He lifted his head and smiled apologetically, directing his attention to Sombra. “Thanks to you, Ser, the spell was broken! We may be sad at the Princess’ poor state, but at least we have some hope now.” With that, he trotted back to his friends, looking a bit more cheerful than before.

Twilight glanced at Sombra in confusion and raised a curious eyebrow, not having received much detail about the time when she was unconscious. It had troubled her a bit that the foals hadn’t tried to chase her away or do any of the other things they had in iterations of the stories she knew.

Sombra shrugged with a nonchalant expression. “I’ve lived enough of these wretched tales to spin my own, it seems. As they understand it, you were cursed into attacking your own niece against your will, which isn’t too far from the truth. You sent her into the forest in the first place to keep her safe.”

Twilight blinked at him for a moment before snorting out a soft, breathy laugh and resting her head against his shoulder.

The growing sound of hoof steps in the distance caused Twilight’s ears to perk, and she quickly came to the conclusion that it could only be the prince from the story arriving at last. The foals all raised their heads, and Twilight was surprised to see Rainbow Dash stroll into view with her wings raised and her multicolored mane shining in the beams of sunlight.

“What goes on here?” Rainbow asked with an air of importance.

“The Princess is cursed and will not wake,” one of the small foals stepped forward and explained with a bow. “She sleeps as if dead, but a kiss may return her to life.”

“A kiss?” a muffled-sounding voice spoke up from behind Rainbow’s wings. “Yuck! I don’t have to kiss her for real, do I?”

“Spike!?” Twilight yelled out as soon as she recognized his voice.

“Twilight?” He poked his head out from behind Rainbow Dash’s wing from where he sat on her shoulders and lifted the metal visor of his helmet. In an instant, he jumped down and ran across the clearing to catch her in a tight hug. She quickly wrapped her legs around him, not caring that the sharp edges of the armor he wore over his chest and shoulders dug into her fur. “Where have you been?”

“I was…” Twilight hesitantly breathed. “Kind of the Evil Queen.”

“Yow…” Spike blinked and pulled away in surprise. “So, uh... how’d that go for you guys?”

Twilight let out a heavy sigh. “It’s a long story—and not one I’m ready to tell yet. Besides, you have a princess to awaken.”

The deep blush that appeared over Spike’s cheeks was visible for all of a single second before the helmet’s guard clanged over his face when he jerked back in surprise. “R-Rarity’s here!?”

Twilight lifted her hoof over her mouth, but failed to stifle the giggle. “No, but it’s up to you to finish the story.”

Spike nodded with his head hidden beneath the helmet, puffing out his chest and pivoting on his heel towards the glass coffin. As he marched back through the foals in the clearing, Twilight felt Sombra’s leg slide around her shoulders, and the warmth of his body press closer to her. Before she could wonder at his actions, she felt him bury his face against her mane and breathe deeply into her hair. Her cheeks heated up at the unusual sensation. “S-Sombra…?”

“Shhh,” he hushed her with an airy sigh. “Enjoy the moment.”

“W-what are you doing?” Twilight tried to tilt her head back to look at him.

“Before the story ends,” he mused, “I thought I might give you your own ‘happily ever after.’”

If it was possible, Twilight felt as if her face might glow from the heat radiating from her. “We’ve already… k-kissed…”

Sombra’s deep chuckle vibrated against the back of her head. “We could do it again.” He lifted her hoof slowly as if to appreciate it before leaning in and lightly touching his lips against it. “I know it is only a role the storybook has given you, but I am sincerely entertaining the idea of making you a real queen.”

He simply smirked when she jerked back in surprise and gaped up at him, her mouth twitching as though she seemed to have lost the ability to form words. Meanwhile, the happy cheers of the foals were only faint noises in the background of Twilight’s astonishment. She was too bewildered to understand that Spike had already woken Flurry Heart with a kiss on her forehead, and only realized too late what was happening when the world around them began to disappear.

As her vision faded, Twilight heard Sombra’s voice curse through the darkness before the magic took them once again.

Author's Note

One more to go! :fluttercry:

Chapter 19: Happily Ever After?

Twilight could tell that something was different.

Of course, with each new fairy tale, something was always different. The storybook would drop her into another location, and she might be able to determine where she was based on the area or what clothes she’d been given. But when Twilight opened her eyes after that plunge into darkness, she saw, not the lonely trees of a decrepit forest or the quaint homes of a village square… no, it was something that she had experienced only once before.

Brilliant colors swirled around her as she tumbled through a long tunnel, buffeted and tossed about by a torrent of wind. Flapping her wings proved fruitless, as they weren’t strong enough to fight the current that pulled her along. Eventually, she spotted a bright glow at what appeared to be an exit.

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut as the light grew, forcing her to cover her face against the searing glare. The wind carried her forward until she met something that felt like the thin film of a bubble, her fur tingling and standing on end as a gust pushed her through and tossed her into the open air. Twilight cried out in surprise, flailing her limbs before landing heavily against a solid surface, too dazed to see where she had wound up.

“Princess Twilight!” a voice called out to her, and she looked up to see a blurry orange and blue figure standing close by. She didn’t even have a chance to wonder if it was just another fairy tale character when there was an odd sound from behind her—right before Sombra landed on top of her.

Twilight wheezed in pain as Sombra jumped away, appearing to be just as disoriented by their trip as he lurched to the side. “Where… are we?”

“A-and... King Sombra…?” the voice nervously asked while the room slowly came into focus. A blue crystal floor stretched out beneath her while tall bookshelves rose up around them. And standing in front of them, staring with uncertainty at Sombra, was Sunburst.

Two more sounds came from behind her, like short bursts of wind, shortly before Spike landed beside her on the floor. Seconds later, Twilight felt the light thump of Flurry Heart landing on her back and letting out a loud giggle as she rolled over her shoulders and flopped against her mane.

“You did it!” Sunburst skipped over and helped Flurry off of Twilight’s head while she staggered to her hooves. “You made it to the end of the storybook and escaped!”

“W-wait…” Twilight blinked woozily at Sunburst while rubbing her forehead. “We’re… home?” She pointed her hoof at him and scrutinized the bookshelves around her. Now that she could see them properly, everything did look like it belonged to one of the rooms in the Empire’s castle. “You’re the real Sunburst? This isn’t just another fairy tale?”

Sunburst nodded as Flurry Heart stole the spectacles off his nose, gurgling when she looked through the cracked glass that distorted her large eyes. “You’re back in the Crystal Empire. This isn’t an illusion.”

“Wait, for real!?” Spike spun around to look behind them, and Twilight followed his gaze to see the storybook sitting wide open on top of a pedestal, with its pages flipped to the very last one. Letting out a sudden yelp, Spike jumped up and sprinted over to it, pulling it off the stand to slam it shut onto the floor before plopping down on top of it. “Don’t wanna do that again.”

“Then… we’re home,” Twilight said in a mystified tone before staring awkwardly at Sunburst, her gaze quickly switching back to Sombra standing close behind her. “A-about this!” Twilight shouted when she moved to put herself between them, flaring her wings as if to hide Sombra. “He isn’t a threat!”

“Excuse me,” Sombra’s voice grumbled sharply in her ear. “But I am plenty ‘a threat.’”

“It-It’s okay, Twilight!” Even though Sunburst appeared to be trying to reassure her, his gaze flitted nervously over her head to where Sombra stood. “I ah... I know everything that’s happened while you were in the storybook.”

“You... do?” Twilight lowered her wings in surprise while Sunburst simply nodded, using his magic to pull his glasses out of Flurry’s grip before she could put them in her mouth. He adjusted them back onto the bridge of his nose, and Twilight noticed that they were not only cracked, but slightly warped as well.

“After you disappeared, it didn’t take long to understand where you had gone. The stories in the book kept changing to include all of you, so I started reading it to try and find something that might help while the others arrived.” Sunburst then ducked his head and appeared to look uncomfortable, his face flushing with a hint of color. “And, ah… I just kind of… kept reading...”

Twilight tilted her head at his odd behavior before she took in a sharp breath, her own face growing hot when she realized what had him so flustered. “E-everything?” she stammered while she felt Sombra stiffen behind her.

Sunburst slowly nodded and mumbled, “I... I was just looking for anything useful…” He then straightened up and cleared his throat. “I-I did manage to break through the storybook’s barrier and use the mirror as a medium. Based on what you had discovered with The Little Mermare, I thought that the storybook might accept the poisoned apple for the Queen’s ‘death,’ ah, rather than any of the possible alternatives...”

“Wait…” Twilight’s expression scrunched up in confusion. “You were the mirror?”

“Only for the second half.” Sunburst smiled awkwardly. “I was able to work a small communication spell through, but I don’t think it translated to the storybook very effectively. And… well, when Sombra broke the mirror…” He lifted his shattered glasses before placing them back on his nose. “I couldn’t get through again.”

“Ah…” Twilight was glad that Sunburst had managed to provide them with some help, but she still couldn’t get it out of her thoughts that he had seen… or read… everything that they’d done in the storybook. She shook her head roughly, trying to focus on more important matters. She could be embarrassed later. “W-what about the others? My brother? My friends? It’s been weeks since we were pulled in there! Where is everypony?”

“Nopony else has arrived yet.” Sunburst glanced down and adjusted his leg when Flurry Heart let out a sneeze and sniffled softly. “I contacted your brother and Princess Cadence as soon as I could, but they’re still on their way back. Everypony else from Ponyville will be arriving soon too, but they’re still on the train. Twilight… out here, it hasn’t even been a full day since you were trapped.”

“What?” Twilight’s ears dropped in disbelief. “H-how is that possible?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sombra spoke up as he moved around to stand beside her. Even though Sunburst said he knew of everything that had taken place, he appeared to shrink away as Sombra easily dwarfed him. “Corrupted as it might be, it is still a storybook. What felt like days to our minds were only a few hours in the real world.”

“Just like reading an actual book,” Twilight said softly.

“It seems to be the case.” Sunburst nodded, jumping with a startled look when there was a sudden knock at the door.

“Sunburst? Are you alright in there? We thought we heard—” A pair of crystal guards opened the door before anypony could stop them, and Twilight froze the same instance they did when their sights shot right to Sombra.

“King Sombra!” one of the soldiers shouted as he turned and sprinted back out into the hallway, sounding the alarm while the other stomped forward.

Twilight jumped in front of him to block his way and flared her wings. “Wait!”

“Step aside, Princess Twilight!” The guard balked and tried to maneuver around her, only seeming to appear slightly surprised that she was no longer missing. “We’ll take care of him!”

“That’s not what I—” Twilight started to explain when she tried to light her horn and pull up a shield around Sombra. Her magic faltered and sputtered, and she scrunched her face up in confusion as her vision turned into a wobbling mess.

“Twilight!?” She thought she heard Sombra’s concerned yell, but the sounds around her grew distant and faint, as if she were standing miles away and not right next to them.

“Sonm… buh…” she tried to respond, but her words slurred as her legs gave out beneath her and she toppled to the floor.

Flurry Heart let out a feeble whine from somewhere closeby, but Twilight couldn’t lift herself to even check on her niece. An ache spread through her suddenly exhausted body, and Twilight could barely move as it dragged her down, making every limb feel as if she were trying to wade through a heavy sludge.

Twilight was vaguely aware of somepony shaking her shoulder as her mind began to drift, the room spinning around her in a jumble of colors and sound. She only heard muffled voices, unable to understand the garbled words like trying to listen to them through the walls of another room.

At some point through the painful haze, she could feel her body being lifted and set onto a soft surface, and her eyelids fluttered open to catch blurry glimpses of other ponies standing around her—some arguing, maybe even trying to ask her questions, but Twilight couldn’t comprehend any of it. She couldn’t even be certain if the ponies were familiar to her or not as her confusion only deepened, while the world faded beneath a heavy fog.

It was some time later when Twilight’s eyelids finally fluttered open, still slightly muddled by what had happened, but at least the haze was no longer obscuring her thoughts. At least… she assumed a fair amount of time had passed considering her new location. It was obvious from her surroundings that she was no longer in the castle.

Twilight found herself tucked into a pristine bed. The clean tile floors in the room reflected back a soft light, while the walls were decorated with generic photos of pleasant scenery. Outside the window, through partially drawn blinds, she could see the buildings of the Crystal Empire, while the castle rose up through the center of them all in the distance.

When she shifted to lift herself, Twilight immediately froze at the soreness in her muscles, feeling small twinges of pain all throughout her body. She was shocked to find a multitude of bandages wrapped around her limbs, as well as an IV drip that had been attached to her front leg.

Massaging her forehead gently against the headache she felt coming on, Twilight finally noticed a warm lump resting near her stomach, and she looked down to see Spike sleeping beside her on top of the covers.

“Spike…?”

Twilight's groggy voice was soft, but he quickly stirred and rubbed at his eyes before grinning when he noticed her blinking at him. “Twilight! You're awake!”

“What in Equestria happened to me?” Twilight grunted, turning her gaze slowly before squinting at him. “Are we in a hospital?”

“Uh... well, a lot of things... and yes.” Spike scratched at his head fins with a hesitant grin, and Twilight noticed a few bandages of his own stuck to his scales. “First—don't panic, but you've been asleep for the past two days.”

“WH—ah…” Twilight’s mouth dropped open in shock, but she immediately cut off her own yelp with a strangled noise that quickly turned into a soft hiccup. “Right… okay. Seeing as I’m in a hospital bed, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to panic.”

“Definitely not.” Spike waggled a claw at her. “The doctor said that because of the uh… compacted time in the storybook, everything that we experienced in there came back and hit us all at once when we got out. It just took it all a minute to kick in.”

“I do feel like I've been kicked,” Twilight mumbled. “And maybe hit by a train.”

“Well, that's cause…” Spike looked over his shoulder before walking to the end of the bed and picking up a clipboard hanging on the safety railings. “You had a bad fever from catching—” He squinted at the paper before snickering. “Walking Poo-nomia.”

“That's ‘pneumonia,’ Spike.” Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Oh, well that probably didn't help with everything else.” He lifted the sheet and moved his gaze along the page. “It says here you had a lot of contusions… and a sprained leg. Plus external burns, internal electrical burns, a concussion and—” Spike lowered the clipboard and pointed at her forehead. “A stress fracture in your horn.”

Twilight blinked at him with wide eyes, dragging a hoof down her face slowly. “No wonder I passed out. Is everypony else alright?” She bunched up the blanket in her hooves with a worried expression. “What about Sombra? Where is he?”

“Everypony else is fine, Twilight. See?” He pointed to his own bandages, which were minuscule compared to her own. “Just a little scuffed up. Although Flurry Heart had a cold, and uh… Sombra, well…” Spike shrugged with a defeated look. “He's... gone.”

Twilight blinked at him while dropping an ear. “When you say ‘gone’...?”

“I think he's okay.” He grinned at her with uncertainty. “But after you fainted, everything went crazy.” Spike walked to the edge of the bed and flung his arms up. “The guards tried to arrest him, and he threw everything around the room when they kept coming. Then when Sunburst yelled that you needed help, he turned into a shadow and disappeared before they could do anything.”

“So he just… ran away?” Twilight’s ears lowered as she felt a hollow pang in her chest. She was glad that the guards hadn’t tossed him into a cell somewhere, but she had thought that he would have stuck around… maybe even face the Crystal Empire as a changed pony.

Spike shrugged. “Everypony else is here though, that’s the good part about being asleep for so long.” He moved to the edge of the bed and hopped onto the floor. “They’ll be super happy to see you!” And with that, Spike opened the door and slipped out into the hallway, leaving her to stew over that information quietly.

She didn’t know what she had expected would happen, but she had hoped… even believed that Sombra might have been willing to stay and explain everything. Granted, it probably wouldn’t have gone so awry if she’d been conscious and there to help… but… if he didn’t want to conquer the Crystal Empire anymore, what exactly did Sombra want?

Maybe it had only been wishful thinking to assume that he had wanted her.

Twilight jumped at the sound of a commotion in the hallway, and before she could wonder about it, two streaks of color—one pink, the other blue—burst in through the doorway and suddenly grabbed her in a pair of hugs that crushed her against the pillows propping her up.

“Twilight! Oh my gosh, we were so worried!” Pinkie squealed into her ear while Rainbow Dash simply hugged her tightly.

“Oww, oww, oww!” Twilight groaned softly, but couldn’t help the wide grin that grew over her face while she lifted her legs to return the embrace of her friends… her real friends!

“Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash! Get down, right now!” Twilight’s gaze lifted when Applejack stomped up to the bed wearing a heated expression. “She’s still recovering, and you two squashin’ her like that ain’t gonna help!”

“Girls…” Twilight’s eyes blurred with tears as more of her friends piled into the room behind Applejack. Fluttershy had a saddlebag filled to the brim with what looked like medications and care items, while Rarity levitated a bouquet of flowers onto the bedside table. Starlight stepped in beside Sunburst and Spike, and Twilight’s tears were freely flowing over her cheeks by the time Princess Celestia moved into the room before Shining Armor and Cadence, carrying a happily giggling Flurry Heart in her hooves.

“Twilight!” Celestia stepped up to her bedside, and Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash shuffled to the side when she leaned in and nuzzled Twilight gently behind her ear, careful to avoid her bandaged horn. “We’re so glad that you’re okay.”

“Well, ‘okay,’ in a sense,” Starlight pointed out with a hesitant laugh. “That was a lot for one pony to deal with.”

“Considering what you’ve been through, it’s a relief to see you awake, Twilight.” Rarity smiled warmly, using her magic to arrange the flowers into a vase.

“S-speaking of,” Twilight quickly tried to wipe her tears away before Pinkie offered her a tissue. After drying her eyes, her gaze slowly moved over her friends, overjoyed to finally see them again—but also feeling slightly uneasy. “How much do you know... about what happened?”

Starlight frowned and pointed a hoof at Sunburst, who immediately gave her an awkward grin. “Sunburst filled us in on the basics, but he only gave us a small summary of your ‘adventures’ inside the storybook,” she explained. “Just that you got trapped inside, became the characters in a bunch of different fairy tales and dealt with some, uh... literal storybook villains. Oh! And that King Sombra is supposedly good now, and you all made it out in one piece… obviously.”

“I didn’t go into any other details…” Sunburst laughed, his eyes nervously flicking around at her friends. “None at all.”

“You didn’t read the book?” Twilight asked, turning to Princess Celestia with a curious look.

“We didn’t want to take any chances,” Princess Celestia said with a nod. “The magical spells you and King Sombra cast are still affecting it, and could activate again if meddled with. For now, it has been sealed away in a protected area.”

“Twilight…” Fluttershy's soft voice reached her as her friend rested her front hooves on the bed and gave her a wary look. “Has King Sombra really reformed?”

“Uh... about that…” Twilight gave an uneasy laugh while scratching the back of her neck. “He’s… well, I don’t think he would hurt anypony after everything we went through. He even said that he wouldn’t try to take over the Crystal Empire again.”

“Twily…” Shining Armor spoke up with a doubtful look. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but… this is King Sombra we’re talking about. I can’t imagine that a cold, unfeeling monster like that could suddenly change his mind.”

Twilight visibly winced at her brother’s words, lowering her gaze with a sad frown. “It… wasn’t all that sudden for us. The situations we were put in, I think it helped him to realize—and we couldn’t use magic to solve anything, so it kind of forced us to…” Twilight quieted down before taking a deep breath, deciding to start with the very moment that the guards in the castle had found Sombra’s horn.

Her friends and family formed a small circle around her as she launched into her tale, moving on through details of the story and explaining to them how she and Sombra had first formed their shaky alliance in order to get through the book. Everypony listened quietly, giving mixed looks of confusion and astonishment when she made sure to include all the times that Sombra had helped her. While she had no problems telling them about her offer of friendship… she found herself hesitating when she all too quickly reached the events of The Little Mermare.

She managed to soldier through it though, even at the surprised exclamations of her friends. Her face reddened with embarrassment, but she didn’t stop, determined to tell them everything that had happened… and try to make them understand for themselves that Sombra had changed.

She did, however, leave out the tiny detail of him being a lost prince of the Crystal Empire, and even though Sunburst knew of this, she only saw him raise his eyebrows in surprise at her omission. Sombra had been so averse to finally reveal it to her that Twilight didn’t feel that it was hers to divulge.

Her brother, meanwhile, stood stock still with his jaw hanging open when she mentioned the kiss, but she continued on without anypony stopping her.

The rest of the tale went by quickly, as she omitted the more extreme details of her and Sombra… getting to know one another... in Snow White. She only included the meaningful, life-saving kiss, and ended it with Sombra saving her from the poisoned apple. Her eyes moved to her brother as her voice faded in the quiet room, but he wasn’t looking at her, only shaking while staring at the floor.

“Shining?” Twilight weakly called to him.

“How…” Shining Armor muttered darkly before jolting upright, a grimace on his face while his eyes were full of tears. “How could that villain kiss my little Twily!?!”

Before she could get out any sound, Rainbow Dash zoomed up to hover in front of her. “I can’t believe you lead an army of dragons against Chrysalis! That sounds so awesome!”

“Technically, it was the Snow Queen… but yes,” Twilight said hesitantly.

“Oh my…” Rarity had a hoof over her chest as she swayed lightly. “I-I can’t believe King Sombra actually kissed you! I mean… despite his complete lack of manners, he appears to have some redemptive qualities in his brooding charm—”

“Well, he can’t be too good,” Applejack interjected. “Considerin’ he ran away before anypony could question him.”

“Ooooh!” Pinkie bounced up and down at the end of the bed with excitement. “Maybe he wants to throw a surprise party for everypony! It’s not everyday you go from bad to good, after all!”

“I doubt that’s what he’s plannin’, Pinkie,” Applejack said while rolling her eyes.

“It is… slightly concerning—not the party, I mean...” Twilight rubbed her hooves together and pursed her lips, her gaze searching the room absentmindedly when she noticed her shadow projected on the wall. Her friends’ silhouettes were there as well, but there was something different about hers that she couldn’t place… until her ears perked at a realization.

“Sombra…” Twilight called out to the room. Her friends straightened up and looked around in surprise. “You can come out… my friends won’t hurt you.”

There was a moment of silence before her shadow darkened and stirred, peeling away from the wall and growing out as it circled toward the bed. The pitch blackness formed into a face when two white eyes opened up, and shortly, Sombra stared down at her with a soft frown.

“Whether or not they would harm me was not of my concern,” Sombra mumbled softly.

“He won’t hurt anypony,” Twilight reassured her friends as they all appeared to tense up in preparation of a battle. Shining was glaring at him with daggers in his eyes. “Right?” Twilight turned to Sombra, and he slowly nodded.

“I am not here to fight.” His tone was soft, almost subdued. “When I fled from the guards, I only wanted to ensure that Twilight would get the help she needed. Without me around for the guards to focus on, they were able to get you to this place sooner.”

“How considerate!” Rarity softly swooned while Applejack gave her an uncertain look.

“Is it true?” Cadence asked with a firm tone. “Did you really promise to leave the Crystal Empire alone?”

“I no longer have any desire to conquer it.” Sombra gave her a soft nod. “I do not wish to lose what I have gained with my time in the storybook; be it friendship… or something more. Though it may not hold much meaning to you, I give you my word that I will no longer threaten the peace of the Empire.”

“Seein’ as how we’ve been through this before, it feels like it could be true,” Applejack said with a skeptical look. “But the last time we all met, he was still tryin’ to enslave the crystal ponies. No offense, Twi, but I find this a bit hard to swallow.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash echoed her sentiments, flying up and giving Sombra a narrow glare. “How do we know you’re not just taking advantage of her?”

“I think… I believe what Twilight says about him,” Fluttershy announced softly, earning her a surprised look from everypony. “He may look big and… and really, really scary, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take an offer of friendship to heart. Maybe he’s just... misunderstood.”

Sombra lifted himself from beside Twilight and hovered closer, stopping when Fluttershy appeared to shrink in on herself. “You are… Fluttershy?”

With his attention on her, Fluttershy only managed to squeak out a faint, “Yes!” while she hid behind her wings.

Sombra lowered himself back onto the bed before the shadows sank around him with a flurry of haze, solidifying itself into the shape of his body. When he sat down on the covers with a frown, he grunted softly, “Is this… better?”

“Oh!” Fluttershy gasped quietly before nodding.

“I am inclined to agree with Fluttershy,” Rarity said with a confident toss of her mane. “Though he may have started out as a villain, it does appear that he’s grown into a bit of a gentlecolt.” Rarity then winked at Twilight. “Somepony—or mare, must have inspired him greatly to get him to change his ways.”

Twilight’s face burned with embarrassment while she tried to sink beneath the covers, but she froze when her attention was drawn to Princess Celestia as her mentor stepped closer to the bed.

“Though his actions in the past have been deplorable,” Celestia began with a neutral frown, “That he hasn’t tried to harm us or the Empire during our time of distress over Twilight’s condition leads me to strongly consider that he has changed.” A warm smile formed on Celestia’s muzzle as she directed it at Twilight. “If Twilight says that King Sombra has grown out of his evil ways, then I believe her. After all, it is not the first time we have witnessed a former foe learn the value of friendship.”

“Thank you,” Sombra answered quietly, and Twilight whipped her head around in surprise. The rest of her friends blinked at him in silence.

“Well, I’m not convinced!” Shining broke through the quiet from the foot of her bed, giving Sombra such a heated glare that Twilight thought he might burst into flames. “Even if you have changed your ways, that doesn’t fix what you did to the ponies of the Crystal Empire. You tortured them to the point that they’re too afraid to remember what happened! They aren’t going to be as forgiving of what you did to them.”

Twilight glanced at Sombra, her brow furrowing in concern when she saw the pained look on his face. “Shining…”

“And let’s not forget your biggest crime…” Shining closed his eyes and took in a sharp breath through his nose before pointing an accusatory hoof at Sombra. “You kissed my little sister!”

“SHINING!!!” Twilight yelled while a hue of crimson burst across her face. “That’s none of your business!!”

“Shiny…” Cadence set a hoof on her husband’s shoulder and pulled him back with a concerned expression. “I know you want to protect Twilight, but your forcefulness is hurting her too.”

Shining Armor appeared to falter at her words, and confusion crossed his features as he looked between his wife, Twilight and Sombra. “But… but—he’s King Sombra! And he—”

“I know, dear.” Cadence interrupted him with a comforting tone. “But let’s try to keep a level head... for Twilight’s sake?” She raised Flurry Heart in her hooves and encouraged her to hug her father’s muzzle. “How about setting a good example for your daughter?”

Shining Armor wrinkled his snout, but finally relented with a quick snort. “Alright…” He then turned to Sombra with a stern look, but it didn’t hold as much anger as it had before. “I don’t exactly support this, but I’m willing to see... a different side for my sister’s sake. But—” He leaned closer to Cadence and whispered at a volume that was not quiet at all. “We schedule a patrol for the Crystal Heart, and triple security around the Empire… just in case.”

“It is wise to take caution around those you don’t trust,” Sombra said softly and nodded toward Shining Armor, and Twilight’s brother blinked in surprise before clearing his throat.

“Regardless of your intentions, I meant what I said about the ponies of the Crystal Empire,” Shining began again with an irritated expression, but his voice sounded a tad bit softer. “They’ll be confused—probably terrified. We can explain everything to them, but they may not be able to understand why.”

“We can work something out,” Cadence said with a gentle smile. “With Twilight’s word to support him, I think it’s a step in the right direction.” She then looked to Spike, who quietly sat on the edge of the bed. “What about you, Spike? I believe the citizens of the Crystal Empire might feel more at ease hearing what their hero thinks.”

“Hmm…” Spike made a show of rubbing his chin before a wide grin spread over his snout. “Sombra’s alright. He did save Twilight after all, and that’s good in my storybook.”

“You see?” Cadence nuzzled her husband gently, and he seemed to soften his hard expression. “With the right words, we can help them understand.” She turned to include Sombra. “If you really are open to peace, I think if you speak with them genuinely—” she started, but Sombra’s expression suddenly shifted as wisps of darkness floated away from his body.

“No,” Sombra growled darkly.

“Wha—but—what do you mean?” Cadence stammered as the shadows deepened, and Sombra rose above the bed menacingly. Shining quickly hugged his wife close while the light in the room dimmed as if it were being sucked away.

“I may have relinquished my claims on the Empire, but I will not console them like some mewling foals!” Sombra bellowed loudly.

“Woah! Hey!” Rainbow Dash flipped around and zipped up to Twilight’s side. “Lighten up! She was only—”

“I don’t care!” Sombra snapped, bearing his fangs as Starlight and Celestia lit their horns, even though they didn’t fire off any spells.

“Sombra!? What are you doing?” Twilight called up to him with a pained cry, and she noticed him wince, but he didn’t turn to look at her.

“I will leave the Empire alone,” Sombra’s voice rumbled loudly, but without the edge of anger it had held only seconds before. “The crystal ponies will have their peace, but I refuse to stand before them as a ‘friend.’” He lowered his head and let out a deep growl as he turned to the window before anypony could react. “I will always—always, be King Sombra.” And with that, he turned into a complete mass of shadows and rushed out the window.

“Wait! Sombra?!” Twilight cried out sharply, throwing off the covers and stumbling over the bed. The IV in her leg pulled taut, but she fluttered her wings and jumped into the air, not caring when the tube popped out. She only managed to get to the windowsill, drifting slowly to the floor as the dizziness in her head returned. Her vision blurred from the tears in her eyes while she watched Sombra’s dark form trail off through the sky.

“Why…” Twilight’s voice croaked out as her friends and family quickly gathered around her, lifting her and helping her back into the bed.

“I knew he hadn’t changed!” Twilight heard Shining Armor shout as he belted out a few orders to a pair of guards that were suddenly with them in the room. She tried to listen, but she was unable to focus as the weariness from her ailments tugged at her once more.

“We may have overdone it, she still needs time to recover,” Princess Celestia said from close by as somepony lowered her body onto the bed, pulling the covers back over her. She squeezed her eyelids shut before blinking back at her friends, watching as they quietly filed out of the room. Before her mentor could leave, however, Twilight reached out and called to her softly.

Celestia returned and looked down at Twilight with her brow knit, and Twilight managed to speak loudly enough for her to hear. “I know he’s good,” she said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

A sad frown pulled at Celestia's mouth before she leaned her head closer to give Twilight a soft peck on her forehead. “We will sort this out when you recover. In the meantime, you still need rest, Twilight.”

Twilight sniffed softly before letting out a sigh and laying back against the pillow, nodding her head slowly as her mentor turned and followed the others out of the room. But she didn’t fall asleep, at least not right away. She couldn’t stop thinking about Sombra and why he had reacted the way he did.

For a while there, it had felt like things were going perfectly. Her friends were skeptical of him, but they’d been willing to give Sombra a chance. Why, then, had he just thrown it all away?

Despite all the troubling thoughts rushing through her mind, Twilight eventually managed to drift off, too worn out from all the excitement.

When she woke up sometime later, the sun outside her window had already set, covering the Crystal Empire in a wash of blue moonlight while the buildings twinkled with the distorted reflection of the stars above. Twilight no longer felt exhausted after so much sleep, but her limbs felt weak from something else... an angry gnawing in her stomach.

Sniffing the air, Twilight caught the crisp scent of food and was quick to notice a basket had been left by the flowers on her bedside table. She shifted closer and spotted a note tucked beneath it. She picked it up and unfolded it, silently reading over the words of her friends that basically wished her to get well soon.

In the basket itself, there was an assortment of peaches, pears and what looked like apples from the Apple family’s own orchard. Twilight grimaced and avoided all of the apples, silently apologizing to Applejack as she ate. It would probably be a while before she could stomach the taste of them again—even if they weren’t poisoned.

As she reached into the basket for her fourth fruit, Twilight tilted over the bed a little further than she had intended and spotted what looked like a quick movement in the shadows below.

She sharply gasped when she nearly toppled off the bed and called out, “Sombra!?”

There was a pause before the shadows slid over the covers and gathered behind her. By the time Twilight had turned around, Sombra had already reformed himself, pressing one of his hooves to his lips as he whispered, “Your brother posted a pair of guards outside your room.”

“Shining did that?” Twilight said softly while her ears flattened. “Ugh… of course he did.”

Sombra sidled up to her and hesitated before laying his hoof over her legs. “I hope my actions… didn’t upset you earlier.”

“Of course I’m upset!” Twilight hissed at him, but inwardly she was just relieved that he hadn’t disappeared for good. “Why did you run away? Everypony might not trust you completely, but can’t you see how they’re willing to give you a chance? My brother can be a little protective of me—”

Sombra snorted and interrupted her. “He wanted to strangle me. It was very clear in his expression.”

Twilight sighed. “He wouldn’t actually—I mean, we did kind of spring this on him considering the time fluctuation of the storybook, but I know that’s not what you’re worried about. This is about the ponies of the Crystal Empire...” Twilight’s voice faded when she noticed him flinch. “Why are you so afraid of them?”

“It’s not that I… fear them exactly.” Sombra lowered his head and appeared to sulk as he explained. “Dark magic can be very persuasive. For years I was content to simply let it rule my actions as I hid behind it. But after the events of the storybook… I am just… I haven’t felt this clear-headed in many, many years, Twilight. Darkness tends to do that to one’s mind.”

“I… understand a little...” Twilight murmured, rubbing a hoof gently against her head. “I couldn’t control myself when I went after Flurry Heart…”

“It can be just a tiny thought… and the darkness uses that one thing, whether it is the fear of hurting your innocent niece…” He moved around to face her. “Or destroying the happiness of an entire Empire.” Sombra’s frown deepened when he sighed. “As wretched as the storybook was… I think it was an enlightening experience. It took away the dark thoughts that clouded my mind… and gave me a chance to listen to you.”

Twilight felt her face warm as they both fell into silence. It took her a moment to finally ask, “Why won’t you tell them who you are? The fact that you are King Sombra, and everything you did in the past… it complicates things, but if they knew who you were before… they wouldn’t be so afraid of you now.”

“Maybe…” Sombra mumbled, his eyes turned away from her, seeming to be distracted by his own thoughts and concerns. “But if I reveal who I am… if they know, then their fear will simply be replaced with something else… something that I don’t want to face.” Sombra lifted her front leg, wrinkling his snout at the bandages still wrapped around it. “Telling them that I’m their lost prince won’t change anything for me. If anything, they’ll only hate me more for it.”

“You never know until you try…” Twilight whispered with a hopeful smile. “Just look at what happened with us.”

Sombra grunted and gently tugged without saying anything more, guiding Twilight over the side of the bed and onto the floor. She followed him to the window, and he opened up the latch to slide it up an inch. “Don’t be afraid,” his deep voice rumbled.

“I’m not,” Twilight answered before his form billowed out and absolute darkness fell over her. It felt like she was suddenly floating in a void, but unlike what she expected of the nothingness, it wasn’t cold—it was warm… as if Sombra were all around her, keeping the chill away… protecting her.

When her vision returned after a short time, Twilight found herself in a cold, dark place with a marble floor beneath her hooves.

“Sombra?” Her voice echoed in the hollow space before she shivered and let out a loud sneeze.

“Here.” His voice came from above, and Twilight looked up—only to have a heavy blanket dropped over her head, followed by the soft thud of other objects bouncing away as they rained down nearby. When they stopped falling, Twilight could see the darkness of Sombra’s form as he moved to the floor, gathering up some of the items and creating a spark with his magic.

As the embers grew into a flame, the area lit up in a soft glow, and Twilight looked around to see… an empty dome above them, like the roof of a closed observatory without a telescope.

“Where are we?” Twilight asked, pulling the blanket he had given her tighter around her body and scooting closer to the fire.

“An old observation dome,” Sombra explained while he moved to the opposite end of the room and set another pile of wood aflame. The logs had been stacked into a pit against the wall, and Twilight’s gaze followed a series of pipes that led up to the ceiling and circled around the dome like a metal barrier. “This place is far enough from the Empire on one of the nearby mountain ranges. It has been abandoned and forgotten, but many of the denizens used it to watch the northern auroras. It’s not the right time of year, of course, but if activated correctly…”

Sombra used his magic to stoke the flames, sending up a burst of heat and light through the pipes circling the walls. The copper glowed a brilliant orange, and the dome above them began to clear, revealing the glow of the night sky as chunks of snow melted away from the thick glass.

“The enchantment will help keep the ceiling clear, as well as keep us warm.” He floated over to her side before settling down against her in his solid form.

“It’s beautiful…” Twilight marveled as she stared up at a clear view of the stars. She could easily pick out several constellations above them, and had started to do so when she suddenly lowered her head to belt out another sneeze.

“Here,” Sombra said as he lifted a small mug into her sight.

When Twilight accepted it and brought it up to her face, she could feel the heat of the steam gently tickle her nose, and she took a breath to appreciate the sweet scent of cinnamon and spice. Just the smell of it made the ache in her limbs fade. “Where did you get this?”

“I found your pink friend in the hospital’s kitchen shortly before I came to you.” Sombra’s face tightened in a curious expression. “She was talking very loudly to herself, practically yelling that she made a tea that would be better for somepony recovering from sickness and extreme injury… she then proceeded to exclaim that she would be leaving it unattended and probably forget about it.”

Twilight blinked as she looked down at the steaming cup before laughing quietly. “You shouldn’t try too hard to figure her out. It’s something that both magic and science can’t accomplish.”

Sombra grunted and lifted a flap of the blanket, letting in the chilly air briefly before pulling it around the both of them and snuggling closer. “I am not concerned about figuring out your friends anyway. It should be obvious by now that you are my sole interest.”

Twilight blushed as she took a sip of the tea, letting out a puff of steam when it proved to be too hot to drink. “So… what are you going to do now?” she asked softly.

Sombra’s expression darkened in the glow of the fire. She imagined that there were a thousand things on his mind, just as there were a thousand more concerns in her own. “I am… uncertain. To the Empire, I am a threat… not their prince. I can’t return to the kingdom I once called home… not that I wish to do so… not after I nearly destroyed it.”

“That’s not true.” Twilight leaned away from him and turned her head to look him in the eye. “There’s always a choice of going back. What you did in the past… and what you did tonight doesn’t mean there’s no chance to change things.”

Sombra growled deeply with a grimace, but he didn’t appear to be angry at her. “What if they don’t want to know? Do you think they would be happy to learn what their prince did to the royal family? How I cursed them all for a thousand years?”

“It won’t fix everything,” Twilight said with a frown while rubbing her hooves against the heat of the mug. “But it will give you a chance at happiness.” Twilight’s ears flattened against her head as she fidgeted with the mug in her hooves. “I just want o-others to know that you’re not as horrible as they think. Some ponies may not agree, b-but maybe others will be more understanding for your honesty… and I-I just wanted you to… be happy.”

Sombra stared at her for a moment before leaning in to give her a gentle kiss on her cheek. When he lifted his head, he simply laid his chin against Twilight’s mane and pulled her closer. “I don’t care what other ponies think of me. Simply being with you here, like this... you have given me more happiness than the Crystal Empire ever could.”

Twilight blushed softly and clasped her hooves tighter around her cup at his words.

“You may want to put that down,” Sombra growled with a grin. “I don’t know if I can restrain myself.”

“W-what?” Twilight jolted and nearly dropped the cup as her gaze shot up and caught his expression.

“I want to kiss you,” he rumbled.

“D-don't try to change the subject.” Twilight quickly pulled the mug to her lips to take another sip, but the warm tea only added to the sudden heat coursing through her. “We’ve already k-kissed… a few times now, in fact.”

“I disagree.” Sombra teased her with a playful smirk while shifting closer. “All of our previous moments were a part of the fairy tales. I want to kiss you.” He leaned in with a low growl. “I want to know the Twilight Sparkle that is not trapped in some storybook and forced to follow a script.” Sombra’s horn darkened from the aura of his magic, and he levitated the cup of tea out of her hooves to set it aside on the floor. Before she could ask what he was doing, he was already pushing her gently into the soft warmth of the blankets.

“I want a kiss unmarred by a sense of urgency or the threat of death. We have the night to ourselves, Twilight, and there are no fairy tale endings to stop us.”

Twilight had felt the touch of his lips a few times already, but as he settled against her and kissed her, a feeling of electricity shot along her spine and her wings fluttered weakly in response. His warm breath mixing with hers still excited and energized her nerves as if it were the first time all over again.

Twilight closed her eyes at his touch, allowing him to pull her into his strong embrace. His front legs settled around her back and held her as she responded by reaching up and wrapping her own limbs behind his neck to drag herself closer, wanting more of his—

A small ache twinged in her side, and Twilight tensed up while letting out a muffled gasp, having nearly forgotten that she was still injured. Feeling her sudden stiffness against him, Sombra lifted his head, giving her a baffled look before his eyes moved over her bandages. It appeared that she hadn’t been the only pony to forget.

“I suppose I will have to be more gentle,” Sombra said softly as he lowered his body beside her and nuzzled her cheek.

“S-sorry…” Twilight’s face felt hot, and she imagined it must have been as bright as the nearby fire that warmed them.

“Don’t apologize for something out of your control.” Sombra chuckled before shifting closer and carefully laying his legs over her shoulders, wriggling himself into a more comfortable position as he lay his head above hers. His large frame curled around her protectively.

“You are enough…” Sombra mumbled against her mane, appearing to be distracted as he moved his head down and buried his face into her neck. Twilight gasped sharply when she felt his fangs graze the skin below her fur. “Not Equestria, not the Crystal Empire…”

With her snout pressed deeply against his fur, Twilight couldn’t help but notice a scent about him, something that she hadn’t paid enough attention to before. It sounded silly to her own thoughts, but her mind pictured a warm summer breeze when trying to compare it to something she knew. The faint smell of woodsmoke about him had probably given her that impression.

“You are everything…” Sombra rambled on, almost seeming unaware of his own words. “And you are mine.”

“Stay with me.” Twilight felt the words from her own mouth more than heard them. She had meant for it to be an invitation to stay in her castle back in Ponyville, since he was so averse to returning to the Crystal Empire for the time being. Combined with the soft whimper that had managed to escape, however, it had sounded more like a plea than a proposition… as if she were afraid he would leave again.

Sombra only growled in response before pulling his head back and covering her mouth with his own to stifle her concerns.

And there they remained in the glow of the fire pit, beneath the twinkling stars that was their only audience. Twilight had no worries about some unforeseen plot that might suddenly drag them into danger. It would be their decision when they finally drifted off to sleep in one another’s embrace or returned Twilight to the hospital before anypony could notice she was missing.

His hooves buried in her fur, and his breath gentle but electrifying every spot he kissed her, that was all that mattered. Without the threat of the storybook looming over them, Sombra’s affections felt more real than ever before, and she knew it would last until they decided otherwise.

Because her story wasn’t going to end with a happily ever after.

Her fairy tale was just beginning.

Author's Note

Well, well, there it is! After a full year, it's exciting to finally publish the ending to 'The Fairy Tale Fiasco,' but I am also sad to see it go. (What am I supposed to daydream about now? Oh wait, I suppose my next story ideas...) I hope it has entertained and delighted, and that you all have enjoyed my first fanciful tale.

A big thanks to AlicornPriest for proofreading everything, as some parts of the story wouldn't be the same without their feedback.

While this chapter aimed to conclude everything, there are obviously some aspects of it that can still be explored. Does this mean a sequel? Edit: Yes! ~~I've toyed with the idea, even though I originally wrote this story as a stand-alone. If I do make one though,~~ it will be after a few other projects I have in mind. As much as I love them, I need a break from fairy tales for a bit. :twilightsmile:

If you enjoyed my writing, stick around! I've got a couple of stories planned for the year ahead and many more ideas I hope to get out in the future.

Prologue: Getting Into a Good Book

“Just a bit of a tweak there, and…” Twilight stuck her tongue out in concentration and mentally nudged a bit more magic through her horn. A beam of it was already connected to an object that floated over the crystal floor, surrounded in a swirling flow of light. After a smaller pulse shot along the connection, the storybook floating in the center shivered and flipped open on its own. “Aha!” Twilight exclaimed in triumph when it began turning through the pages. With a rustle of paper, it stopped at a random chapter, displaying paragraphs of text surrounded by a delicately sketched setting.

“And then you just open it to the story you want!” Twilight demonstrated to her small audience of Shining Armour, Cadence and Flurry Heart while they watched her reach out with her aura and switch the levitating novel to a tale of her choosing. Flurry Heart squealed and squirmed with excitement. She might have been too young to understand exactly what was going on, but Twilight had seen her perk up earlier when her name and the word “gift” had been spoken in the same sentence.

When the pages of the book were facing the floor, the light mist of magic surrounding it fell away like a faint sprinkle of rain. It created a translucent image of a mystical forest with emerald leaves that shimmered in an artificial moonlight. Twilight gave her audience a quick smile before tossing her mane and trotting into the scene. As her frame disturbed the magical depiction, it re-materialized around her and settled along her fur, forming the illusion of wearing a rich gown fit for a gala.

“The spell will detect anypony that disturbs the magic field and dress them up as a character from the story. They can act out their favorite parts!” Twilight proclaimed with a giddy grin, ecstatic even though there was a small quirk where ponies couldn’t actually choose the roles they were cast as. The magic appeared to randomly give her the main role in the depicted story, but the illusion had performed without issue, and for now, that was the important part. Under normal circumstances, she would have been more diligent, but she had to finish in time to make the train.

Flurry Heart, unable to contain her delight any longer, launched herself from her mother’s hold and flew above Twilight’s head with a giggle. Upon entering the shimmering light, it swirled around her tiny body and gave her wings a sparkling, crystalline look. She was also dressed in a crumpled skirt and given a magic wand with a pointed star at the end. Flurry’s eyes glittered, and she waved it about.

“Why, hello, Flurry Heart Fairy!” Twilight greeted her niece with whimsy in her tone. “Have you come to grant my wish?”

Flurry Heart clapped her hooves together in happy applause before tapping Twilight lightly on the head with her wand. The tip shot out silver confetti and floating sparkles, much to Flurry’s delight.

“It’s wonderful, Twilight,” Cadence said with a laugh while Flurry Heart fluttered back into her embrace to show her. The fairy outfit disappeared in a cloud of shimmering dust when she left the scene. “And reassuring. Flurry Heart will be having too much fun to even notice we’re gone.”

“She definitely loves it.” Shining Armor strode over to Twilight to give her an affectionate hug. The dress she had on dispersed when she stepped out of the magical forest to return his affection. “Excellent job, sis.”

“Thanks.” Twilight rubbed her leg with a hesitant smile. “I just wanted this weekend to be extra special, since I’ll be spending the entirety of it with my favorite niece.”

“Only niece,” Shining corrected her with a confident smirk.

“For now,” Cadence smiled coyly as Shining straightened up with a choked snort. Twilight and Cadence exchanged a playful look before bursting into a fit of giggles.

“Awaah!” Flurry Heart wiggled against her mother’s leg and drew their attention when she popped free. She flew back over to the storybook and hugged it where it was still floating. At her touch, it instantly snapped shut, and the fairy tale scene quickly faded out of sight, leaving Flurry to flutter to the floor with the book. She babbled something in baby talk while tapping against the cover, trying to get the magic to create its illusion again.

“I guess we should go soon. Flurry looks ready to dive back into that book again,” Cadence said with an excited smile.

“Literally! Thanks to Twily.” Shining Armor grinned.

Cadence rolled her eyes before turning to Twilight. “I really appreciate you doing this for us. It’s been so long since Shining and I have had some time off, especially to ourselves. Are you sure you don’t mind watching Flurry Heart for the entire weekend? I could always ask Sunburst...”

Twilight was already shaking her head with a grin. “Are you kidding? I don’t mind at all! I only did double the work so I could specifically have this weekend off just to watch Flurry!”

“Huh, ‘only’...” Spike’s voice scoffed as he spoke up from his corner, laying atop a sofa along the wall. Once Twilight had started going over her special surprise for Flurry, he had settled down to read his comic book instead. Since he was Twilight’s test audience back in Ponyville, he had already gotten the run-through of her magical gift.

Twilight hesitantly laughed and laid a reassuring hoof on Cadence’s shoulder, clearing her throat with a soft noise. “I’ll enjoy spending the weekend with her as much as she will with me. Don’t worry! Just go and enjoy your trip. I have everything under control.”

“Alright,” Cadence finally conceded with a quiet sigh. “Have fun with Flurry, then. I know you'll take good care of her.” She returned a confident smile and gave Twilight a quick hug before stepping over to her daughter. Flurry Heart was still distracted by the non-functioning storybook, but Cadence scooped her up in an embrace and received a hug back in return, with Flurry giggling as she squeezed Cadence’s muzzle. Shining Armor leaned in and nuzzled her mane before lifting his daughter and setting her on Twilight’s back. The pair said their final goodbyes and left through the open doorway.

After Shining and Cadence had disappeared through the archway, one of the guards standing watch approached with a practiced march, saluting Twilight when he stopped before her. With a bow, the guard cleared his throat. “Princess Twilight, I was told to inform you that while the Prince and Princess are away, the crystal guard will report to you should we need royal council.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “Of course.”

“Is there anything you have need of at the moment?” he asked.

“Nothing at this time. Feel free to carry on with your normal duties.” Twilight looked back at Flurry Heart with a grin. “I’ll get this weekend started by spending time with my niece!”

The guard blinked quickly but nodded with a polite bow.

“Let me in, or I’ll conjure up a wind that will blow your house in!” Twilight grinned as she menacingly stood over the small crystal house no bigger than her own body. Coming from inside the home was a happy babble of giggling from Flurry Heart while she hid from her “big, bad aunt.”

Twilight was about to recite the next line of the story when there was a sudden knock at the door that made her pause. In her moment of confusion, she heard a soft click from the tiny building, and Flurry Heart tottered through the door with a big smile on her face.

“No, Flurry! You’re not supposed to actually open the door—wait, I didn’t knock.” She looked up at the actual entrance to Flurry Heart’s playroom before the sound came again. This time the pounding sounded a bit more frantic. “Come in!”

The handle clicked and the door swung in immediately while an out-of-breath guard stepped inside to quickly bow. He opened his mouth to report, but his words seemed to become lost when he fully took in the fairytale scene laid out before him. Twilight could see the distracted look cross his face when he noticed her dressed as a timberwolf from one of the tales.

She dispelled the magic with a slight blush and stepped closer to the guard. “Yes?”

“Well, uh…” His eyes glanced at the floor, looking uncertain. “We’ve… found something that you might want to look at.”

“What is it?” Twilight adjusted her footing, getting nervous from the guard’s tone.

“It’s…” He began with a quick glance over his shoulder. “We’ve found Sombra’s horn.”

Twilight reared back the same instant Spike’s gaze shot up from the comic he had been immersed in. He neatly ripped the issue in half when he jumped up with a shout, “Sombra!?”

Meanwhile, Flurry was oblivious to the shocking news and innocently pawed at the storybook, trying to work the magic herself.

“Where is it? Has anypony touched it or gone near it?” Twilight asked quickly.

He nodded slowly. “It was found by a filly in the snow, outside of the city. Once the parents understood what it was, they brought it straight to the palace. We’ve locked it in a room with guards posted, and I came to tell you as soon as it was secure. It doesn’t appear to be doing anything, but we knew that wouldn’t matter.”

Twilight turned her gaze to the ground, rubbing her chin with worry as she hurried to organize her jumbled thoughts into an urgent list. Even if Sombra’s horn was no longer a threat, they couldn’t take any chances. She pointed a hoof at Spike and called to him, “Stay here and watch Flurry while I go check this out.”

“But, Twilight—” he started to protest.

“I need you to stay and make sure she doesn’t leave this room.” Twilight trotted over and gave him a quick squeeze, a comfort to herself as well as a reassurance for him. “It could be dangerous, and I don’t want her getting hurt.” Or you, she added to herself.

Even though her words caused him to frown, Spike nodded reluctantly.

A babbling of baby giggles reached her ears and the storybook suddenly bumped against her horn. Twilight looked above to see Flurry Heart holding the novel while making a pouty face that pleaded for attention. Despite the pang of regret she felt upon seeing the heart-wrenching expression, she wasn’t going to make any exceptions. There was no way she would put her niece in harm’s way.

“I’m sorry, Flurry, but I’ll be back soon.” She added a mental “hopefully” to that while catching Flurry in a field of magic and floating her down for Spike to hold. “There’s something I have to take care of first. Then we can have fun all weekend long together.”

“I’ll make sure she’s safe, Twilight.” Spike saluted, while Flurry simply whimpered and hugged the storybook closer. Her eyes wavered, and she looked to be on the verge of tears. Twilight had to tear herself away from the sight and quickly followed after the guard, letting him lead her down to another wing of the castle. It was a short trip, and she knew they were close when she saw the squad of guards standing attention outside of tightly sealed doors.

When they approached, the others bowed and let her through, bringing her to a wide room with a single pedestal set up in the very center. What rested on top made her blood run cold.

The wicked object appeared to shine brightly in the magic spotlights trained upon it. In contrast, the shadows glimmered darkly along the base as it seemed to suck in most of the surrounding light. The curved horn was unmistakable for what it was and with the dark sheen of crimson spread along the tip, there was no denying who it belonged to. Despite the evil aura it appeared to emanate, it rested quietly on its pedestal, encased in a box of protective crystal.

The guards that had gathered to defend against the possibility of attack surrounded the horn in a wide circle and stood at a cautious distance. The only pony daring to get close was so engrossed in his observation that he was oblivious to Twilight’s entrance as he examined it. Sunburst mumbled while he flipped through a spellbook, shifting his gaze from the paper to the display case and back.

“Sunburst!” Twilight called out as she skidded to a halt, her sides heaving a little from the effort of galloping the entire way. His head perked up at the sound of her voice.

“Oh! Twilight! I was just going to look for you myself,” he said with a bit of hesitation in his voice. “I’m not sure that container will hold if Sombra is able to re-form.”

“Is that even possible!?” Twilight glanced at the horn with an unnerved expression.

Sunburst shook his head with uncertainty. “I don’t know much about him aside from what I’ve read from the books I found. While his actions are well documented, his magic is an absolute mystery. But from what the guards tell me about his previous return, it may be possible. He was able to re-form himself from shadow after being trapped in ice for a thousand years.” Sunburst tapped his hoof against a passage in the book that floated before him. “I wouldn’t put it past him to be able to return from defeat. We can’t be certain the Crystal Heart truly destroyed him.”

While Sunburst began to drone on about the implications suggested from the Empire’s archives, Twilight noticed a sudden change in the faces of the surrounding guards, and her eyes were drawn back to the pedestal. She gasped and interrupted Sunburst’s theory, watching as Sombra’s horn shivered with a ghostly vibration. The rattling sound quickly escalated when the casing around it began to shake as well. Spindly fissures and hairline fractures spread along every side of the box.

With all eyes focused on the pedestal, Twilight didn’t even notice the commotion going on by the doorway until she heard a shout.

“Wait! Flurry Heart!”

Twilight spun herself to face the entrance, where Flurry flew over the heads of the readied guard. She giggled innocently while carrying the fairytale book, and Spike was frantic to catch up with her, jumping into the air to try and reach her.

“Flurry!” Twilight’s eyes went wide, and her wings flared open in surprise. Without a second thought, her hooves scrambled over the hard floor, and she leaped above the guards’ heads. Her legs reached out to grab Flurry briefly before a deep tone loudly hissed from behind her.

“Crystallssssss…” Sombra’s voice echoed around the room with no definitive source. There was a shrill snap, and the crystal case holding his horn was clouded by numerous tiny cracks covering the entire surface. There was a brief pause, as if time itself held its breath, before the case exploded into hundreds of shards that sliced through the air and filled the room with a sound like a heavy blizzard of sleet raining down over the crystal floors.

Fragments showered the armored guards and bounced harmlessly against the defense spell that Twilight had quickly pulled around herself and her niece. Flurry Heart simply clapped her hooves, entertained by something she didn’t understand the dangers of.

The guards raised their weapons as one, when a black, dense fog poured around the pedestal like a dark and hazy waterfall. It collected and billowed into a growing shape, picking up Sombra’s horn and settling it atop a tall form created out of the darkness. The silhouette of a head emerged while two large, white eyes snapped open, only to narrow at the sight of the armored ponies circled around him. The guards stood in rigid stances, ready to counter anything thrown at them. They held their ground, even if most were uncertain if their attacks would even be effective against the king of shadows.

Those unreadable eyes shifted around the room and eventually slid over Twilight. She visibly shivered and squeezed Flurry Heart closer within the confines of her protective shield. After Sombra’s gaze swept away, she heard a deep growl rise from the king’s form, and his head suddenly solidified to reveal his maddening scowl. Dark pupils narrowed into thin slits as they landed on something behind her. Wondering what had triggered the reaction, Twilight turned her head and saw Spike frozen by the doorway.

Realizing that Sombra was targeting Spike, she didn’t hesitate and tightened her grip on Flurry while jumping into a sprint over the floor. Pulling her shield with her through the crowd of guards, she dove towards Spike when she heard the powerful roar that shook the room.

Sombra immediately lunged while Twilight screamed Spike’s name, feeling a rush of something cold sweep by and ram her and her shield into the ground. She slammed against the floor and slid over the tiles, but cradled Flurry in her forelegs with Spike safely behind her. She could feel his claws gently press into her back, and his concerned voice reached her ears. Whatever he was trying to convey to her was lost in the chaos unleashed around them.

Sombra’s large form battered against the protective spell, and everything appeared to shake from the force. The guards’ voices were shrill cries, and Sombra’s furious howling drowned out the shouts for orders to defend, all while he tried to shatter Twilight’s shield in order to get at them.

The guards could not reach their princesses or their hero. The dark haze spilling out from Sombra’s body filled the room and pushed them away with a terrible force. Others were simply trapped in billowing masses of hazy darkness that they could not escape.

Dark bubbles of magic festered along his horn while Sombra summoned a spell. Black streaks of lightning lanced through the air and exploded when they connected with the magic of Twilight’s shield. With each hit, she could feel it slowly breaking apart, but there wasn’t much she could do to repair it. Beneath the assault, it took an enormous amount of concentration just to keep it held together. Flurry Heart’s small form cradled in her legs made her all the more determined to defend against him.

Twilight’s eyes popped open when a large crack shot through the pink glow. Bright sparks exploded around them, and Spike yelled something unintelligible while Flurry began to wail.

There was another flash, and something that crackled with searing energy struck the tiles nearby. The force of it knocked Twilight back into the wall of her own safeguard, and Flurry Heart’s cries turned into a gasp as the storybook flew out of her hooves. It hit the ground and bounced along the floor while surrounded in an arcane glow, swirling with a trail of darkness that fought to overtake the innocent light. It landed with its pages open, flipping about in the torrent of Sombra’s unforgiving onslaught.

It felt as if Twilight’s heart froze in her chest when her bubble, riddled with fractures, suddenly shattered and fell away. She tried to light her horn again, but the sneering face leering down at them was much quicker to the draw. Another bolt of magic shot away from his temples—and to his surprise, the attack suddenly veered away. It did not strike its intended target.

The dark spell flowed into the rapidly fluttering pages of the storybook. A storm of magic appeared to be brewing as clouds of light and dark rumbled above the elegant words. The paper rattled loudly, drowning out the other sounds of turmoil in the room as a roar of rushing wind grew louder from its depths. Twilight’s hooves shifted along the tiles when she felt a sudden pull at her body.

Flurry Heart was sobbing and reaching out towards the book, but it wasn’t her that was dragging them in. Spike, Twilight and Flurry found themselves slowly sliding along the floor. Beneath the crackle of electricity and magical fog, Twilight could see the words glittering as they moved and shifted across its surface. Their bodies began to stretch, and she tried to cry out, but the howling wind only ripped her voice away. They could do nothing against the vortex as it jerked their forms into the emitted glow. Both princesses and Spike shouted and yelled, a futile effort to escape before they disappeared into the pages.

With a deafening crack, the storybook slammed shut and dropped to the floor with a heavy thud. Silence instantly fell over the room when the darkness and chaos of before simply disappeared. Guards began looking quickly around the place for signs of Sombra, but like the princesses and Spike, he had simply vanished.

“Princess Twilight!” Sunburst was disheveled as he lay upside down with his rear propped up against the wall. He adjusted his glasses and watched the guards begin to search, looking around for signs of any of them, friend or enemy. “Spike!” He grunted and flailed his hind legs, righting himself into a standing position. He shook out his mane before galloping past the pedestal to the spot on the floor where the abandoned book lay. “Flurry Heart!”

Sunburst’s breathing came out in quick, shaking breaths. He poked cautiously at the book on the floor, but it didn’t react. Whether or not it was safe, he picked it up anyway before turning to look incredulously at the guards. “Does anypony know what happened?” Sunburst spun in a circle, seeing nothing but horrified faces and shocked expressions. “Where are they!?”

His only answer was the hooves pointed directly at the unassuming object he held.

Chapter 9: A Frozen Heart (Part 5)

When Twilight woke, she was relieved to find herself in the same bed that she had fallen asleep in, rather than the den of another storybook villain. Her body felt warm, almost uncomfortably so, but it was understandable when she remembered the potion Sunburst had given her the night before.

But in her sleep-addled mind, it took her a moment to realize that the heat wasn’t completely from herself. Something heavy had been tucked around her that didn’t feel like a normal blanket. When she turned her head groggily and blinked away the sleep in her eyes, she came face-to-face with Sombra’s relaxed expression.

“AAAAAHH!!!” Twilight jumped up and stumbled over his legs, tangling her hooves in the sheets while trying to scramble away. With a yelp, she wobbled toward the edge before toppling over and pulling the blankets with her when she dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.

Twilight wrestled with the sheets and tugged them away to see Sombra’s head appear over the footboard, frowning down at her. “Do you have to be so loud?”

“LOUD!?” Twilight shouted while trying to untangle herself from the bedspread. “Why are you in my bed!? Where’s Flurry?”

“Your charge woke up earlier and flew into the hallway. And technically, it’s not just your bed,” Sombra explained with a yawn while Twilight blinked in confusion. “I realized I could push them together and fit on top. Of course, that meant sharing with you, but we are friends now.” He gave her a toothy grin. “I figured you wouldn’t mind sharing. You were like my own personal heater.”

“I am not your personal heater,” Twilight spat, kicking the sheet away before getting to her hooves. “And you don’t just huddle up to a pony while they’re sleeping.”

“You didn’t seem against it when riding through the blizzard,” Sombra teased. “Or when we were defrosting in front of the fire?”

With a wrinkling of her snout, Twilight’s face felt hot in a way that wasn’t related to the potion. She hurried out into the main room where Flurry dove for her with a happy squeal as soon as she entered. Twilight hugged her with a smile, eager to move her attention on to more important things.

“Good morning!” Sunburst cheerfully sang from the kitchen, piling a plate high with pancakes from the stove top. “Did you sleep well?”

Before she could answer, the raven dove down from the rafters with an excited caw. “You’re up! How are you feeling, princess?”

“Perfectly fine,” Twilight responded in answer to both questions. “Just a bit hot though.”

“That will help you in the cold,” Sunburst stated, floating the stack of pancakes her way when she sat down at the table. “You probably won’t even need that scarf while you’re out there.”

Twilight patted the scarf that Starlight had given her, forgetting that she had fallen asleep with it. While Flurry Heart crawled onto the table and nibbled at a pancake with baby-sized bites, Twilight unwound the scarf from her neck, an idea hitting her.

“Can you return this for me?” Twilight asked, and Sunburst looked her way while she neatly folded it on the table. “I borrowed it from a friend, and I don’t want to bring it where we’re going.”

“Of course.” Sunburst nodded. “Are they close by?”

“East through the fields, but you’ve probably met before. Starlight said you helped her with a spell.”

“Yes, I remember her!” Sunburst grinned and picked up the scarf up in his magic. “I’ll return this to her later.”

“And…” Twilight paused, giving him a hopeful smile. “I think you should stay for cocoa… or tea. Maybe some coffee?” Twilight suggested. “I think you and Starlight have a lot in common.”

“Oh, uh… alright.” Sunburst smiled hesitantly, but still tucked the scarf in his cloak for safe keeping.

Sombra finally sauntered into the room and made a beeline for the plate of pancakes. He didn’t wait for an invitation and simply sat himself in front of the stack, scarfing down the remainder without asking if anypony else even wanted some.

“Hey!” Twilight shouted as he practically inhaled the rest of the plate.

“I neef mff enerfuf,” Sombra said around a mouthful of pancake. He swallowed the entire chunk whole with a gulp. “If I am going to be carrying us to the castle, I’ll need all I can get.”

“Not this time,” Twilight said with a smug grin. “I can travel on my own.” She demonstrated this by waltzing out the door into the snow. The wind was nothing more than a gentle breeze with patches of blue sky poking through soft white clouds, but the landscape was still muted and white as it sparkled in the sun.

Sombra followed her outside with a frown while she stomped over mounds of snow, leaving a small trail of hoof holes in her wake. “I’m not even cold!”

“Good!” The raven dove through the air and landed on her back with a flutter of wings. “You’re in no danger of freezing,” he practically chirped.

“Flurry Heart,” Twilight called, and her niece flew through the doorway with a giggle, landing in the crook of Twilight’s elbow and giving her a big hug. “Be good for Sunburst, alright?” Twilight sighed, giving Flurry a quick peck on the nose. Though she dreaded leaving her behind, Flurry had fared well enough with the storybook Sunburst so far, and it was a safer place to stay than where Twilight was going.

“Are you leaving for the castle now?” Sunburst asked as he moved to the railing and Sombra strolled down the front steps.

“We shouldn’t stay any longer,” Twilight said and bowed her head. “Thank you for everything.”

As they parted, and Flurry fluttered away to sit atop Sunburst’s head, Twilight couldn’t help herself from turning back while Sombra stepped ahead of her over the white landscape. Flurry giggled and waved, and Twilight didn’t stop stealing quick glances until the sight of the comfortable cottage had completely disappeared over the distance.

It wasn’t long into their journey when the winds began to pick up, and Twilight found herself hunkered down near Sombra’s legs, using him as a shield to avoid getting thrown around by the blizzard. Even if the potion was protecting her from the cold, that didn’t stop the ice and frost from hitting her face and shoving her about.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Sombra shouted over the roar of the storm. “I can’t see anything through this mess!”

“I can’t tell!” Twilight stopped when she felt him come to a halt. She was tempted to bring out the map, but as she stared out through the thick fog of ice, she couldn’t make out any significant landmarks to compare.

“Keep moving!” the raven cried from her back. “This blizzard means we’re getting close! She uses it to protect the castle!”

Without much choice, Twilight trudged ahead, pushing on through the terrible winds and making her way carefully over the deep snow.

After a time, the storm felt like it was letting up, and Twilight thought she could almost see sunlight ahead. With her heart pounding in excitement, she hopped over the ground and bounced her way toward the lighter patches of sky.

Like breaking through a curtain, Twilight burst into a landscape drenched in sunlight. Snow-covered fields and hilly passes unraveled before her, with the castle they sought rising gloriously in the center of the calm. Spires of crystal blue sparkled in the afternoon glow, reaching higher than the mountains as it dominated the frozen expanse before them.

The thin spires and reflective surface of the ice, while much grander in scale, reminded Twilight of her own castle. Once, she had been terrified by the loneliness it had offered her, but thanks to her friends, the resemblance only made her ache to be back home with them.

“Why would the storm clear before reaching the castle?” Sombra complained after shaking off the icicles hanging from his antlers. “This only ensures that their enemies can easily find them.”

“Like us?” Twilight gave Sombra a playful smirk.

“If you make it through the blizzard, this just ensures that the Snow Queen can see you coming.” The raven fluffed out his feathers and tried to shake away the clumps of snow that stuck to him. “Her soldiers will descend upon us the moment we get close.”

“You seem awfully knowledgeable for a bird.” Sombra eyed the raven with a look of disdain.

Twilight gave Sombra an incredulous look and leaned closer with a soft whisper, “He’s the raven from the original story; he’s only helping.”

“He knows too much,” Sombra growled, not bothering to lower his voice. “Are you not the least bit suspicious?”

Twilight glanced at the raven, but he only watched them quietly with his head tilted, somehow not at all wary about the fact that they were discussing his character. “Without him, we wouldn’t have the dragons as reinforcement, and I couldn’t have gotten the key from Caballeron to free you. We only made it this far because of his help.”

“Exactly,” Sombra sneered. “How did he know all that plus the information about the castle? If you aren't careful, you're going to drag us both into the same situation as before. Do you want to be captured a third time?”

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, but couldn’t find the words to argue. She hadn’t really questioned the raven’s role; she’d simply been satisfied in believing that he had been a vital element of the original story to help them along. But that had also been the way she’d felt about Starlight’s part...

Twilight took a deep breath. “Okay… I’ll admit that it is a little strange...”

“A little?” Sombra darkly chuckled. “A creature that has no relation to the Snow Queen is able to offer ‘help’ by using something that would potentially freeze you if you aren’t careful and eliminating the threat you pose.”

Twilight blinked at him, surprised by his conclusion, but more so by the fact that the possibility hadn’t occurred to her. Sombra grinned at her expression. “Not used to plotting against your enemies?”

“I don’t plot…” Twilight huffed, deciding to give his concerns a chance. “So… what do we do?”

“We interrogate.” Sombra snorted with an amused look. “Bird!” he called to the raven, who obediently hopped over. Before Twilight could ask Sombra what he had planned, he jumped up and knocked the raven onto his back in the snow. While he flapped his wings in a panic, Sombra held him down with a hoof.

“What are you—!?” the raven squawked while Sombra leaned forward.

“We know you’re hiding something,” Sombra growled. Even though he had been turned into an animal known for being friendly, Sombra managed to make his fluffy exterior look darkly menacing. “You are not a normal bird.”

“I…” The raven trailed off with a look at Twilight, his eyes wide. She tried not to show her concern, but couldn’t help a worried glance at Sombra, hoping he wouldn’t take it too far.

“Can you tell us who you really are?” she gently questioned.

The raven’s feathers fluffed, a visible sign of his growing panic before he finally relented in a somber tone, “I… I would never betray you, honest! You saved my life, but I thought you wouldn’t trust me if I… if you knew… what I was.”

Twilight stared at him, understanding dawning over her. “You’re a changeling?”

“I was trapped in this form by the queen…” the raven continued. “She banished me and… distorted my memories so that I couldn’t find the castle. I wasn’t like one of her drones anymore, and I couldn’t ask for help. That’s… how I knew of a way to protect the dragons… that we could make it through the snow storm...” He looked up at her with sorrowful eyes. “Bits and pieces started to return after...” His voice trailed away, and he gazed at Twilight with a strange look. “It was after you saved me. I felt… something that I’ve never known before.”

“If you’re like the changelings I know, then it’s love.” Twilight leaned closer and pushed against Sombra’s hoof. To her surprise, he relented and pulled away, but looked down at the raven with a deep frown. “The affection of friendship; a compassion and concern for somepony—or creature—that you care for.”

“Bleh.” Sombra made a face. “Love breaks the spell? What an overused tripe.”

“T-the dungeons!” the raven suddenly blurted and flipped himself over on the snow. “We can sneak into the dungeons without being seen! There aren’t any soldiers guarding the passages!”

“Why would there be no guards patrolling? That seems inefficient… and suspicious,” Sombra muttered.

The raven opened his beak, but froze with a blank look before clicking it shut. “I… can’t remember, but it’s probably not good.”

“If it’s the best way to get in without being seen, we should use it,” Twilight urged. “Once we rescue Spike, he can burn the scale, and the dragons will be able to find the castle.”

“And what of us until then?” Sombra frowned at her. “Are we to be imprisoned as well? Or worse yet, executed in some way before they arrive?”

“That won’t happen.” Twilight tried to sound confident, but she couldn’t help the slight wavering in her voice. They were supposed to be fairytales aimed at children, but with all the twists and dark moments she had already experienced, she began to question what kind of storybook she had really picked up.

They waited until the sun had set and darkness had rolled over the land. The clouds drifted across the moon, and the world was blustery and dark as they set out over the frozen fields. Despite the lack of cover, the changelings in the castle didn’t show any signs of alarm while they snuck around the frozen hills. Soon enough, Twilight found herself wedged between Sombra and the base of the castle.

“This way,” the raven whispered, hopping over the ground toward a section of crystal wall. With a flurry of his wings, he dove into the snow and eventually unveiled a small window with slanted bars blocking the way. “The dungeon should be through here.”

Twilight wrapped her leg around one of the bars and tried to slip it out, recalling her previous break-in from Robin Hood, but it didn’t budge; they were frozen in place.

“Move,” Sombra commanded, pushing her with his hoof and rolling her out of the way. He stuck his antlers through and, with a twist of his head, the bars shattered into splintered fragments. “This is why you don’t build a castle out of ice.”

Twilight dusted herself off and stalked around him, sticking her head through to make sure the way was clear. As the raven had mentioned, there were no guards patrolling the hallways. Her eyes eventually adjusted to the dim light, and she saw that she was hanging over what looked to be a huge tunnel, with ice blue bricks arching over the enormous corridor. Spaced out along the floor were wide holes that led into deep pits of darkness.

“Will you hurry it up?” Twilight felt Sombra’s head push against her as he tried to cram in next to her.

“You stay outside,” Twilight whispered. “You won’t be able to fit.”

She heard Sombra grumble something as she squeezed herself inside, pulling her wings through to flare them open and catch herself as she popped through the hole. Twilight only managed to take a single step after she landed before there was a loud crash from behind. Jumping up in fright, she spun around to see Sombra’s dark shape fall to the floor. His hooves landed with a heavy thud and cracked the fragile ice beneath them.

“Sombra!?” Twilight hissed through clenched teeth.

“What are you riled up about?” Sombra shook out his ruff. “There are no guards around to hear.”

Twilight’s ears perked up to listen, but Sombra was right. There were no sounds of alarm and no hooves galloping over the hard floor. She didn’t even hear the distinct buzzing of changeling wings approaching. The castle was eerily quiet.

“See?” Sombra smirked as he passed her with a leisurely stroll.

Twilight rolled her eyes and followed, looking down into the pits built into the floor. “What kind of dungeon is this? There aren’t any cells.”

“There don’t have to be…” The raven landed on her shoulder and shrunk himself into the cranny behind her neck. “Now I remember why there are no guards. The pits are deep enough to keep her prisoners captive. It’s too cold to fly and too slippery to climb out.”

"Is Spike... trapped in one of these?” Twilight whispered urgently, jumping up and scurrying closer to the nearest pit to stare into it. When she saw nothing but a pile of bones lying at the bottom, Twilight squeaked from a terrible thought as she jumped to conclusions.

“Here he is,” Sombra announced a ways ahead, peering into another hole. Twilight immediately galloped over, her heart pounding in both excitement and fear. When she looked down, she flared her wings at the sorry sight huddled against the floor.

“Spike!” She tried to keep her voice down, but it carried loudly along the smooth walls. The tiny form at the bottom didn’t respond; he didn’t even move. Twilight didn’t care about the cold or the slick ice; her only concern was getting to Spike as soon as possible. Without hesitating, she spread her wings and launched herself so quickly off the edge that the raven squawked when the force threw him to the floor.

Twilight dove toward the smooth walls of the hole and pushed off against the ice, flapping her wings to slow her fall rather than simply glide down in an easy spiral; that method would have been too slow. With her heart racing in her chest, Twilight landed with a hop against the floor of the chamber and trotted toward the small form of scales curled up on the floor. “Spike! I’ve been so—”

His glossy eyes narrowed with a hiss, and Twilight’s voice faltered into a surprised gasp when a burst of blue flames engulfed her. Though it was pointless, she dropped to the floor with her hooves covering her head and her eyes squeezed shut, feeling the lick of flames like a breeze of cold air blowing over her.

When the chill died down, Twilight could hear a low growling in front of her. She peeked through her legs to see Spike standing on all fours with his spine arched, his lips pulled back in a snarl and tiny wisps of fire escaping between his fangs.

“S-Spike… what’s wrong?” Twilight breathed softly, crawling towards him cautiously along the floor. She had seen the change to his flames when Chrysalis had first taken him, but his unusual aggression? What had Chrysalis done to him in the time they were apart?

“RAH!!” Spike spit out another flare with a guttural bark, and Twilight flinched away from the cold fire even though it couldn’t hurt her.

“Spike…” Twilight pleaded, getting into a crouch and creeping closer. “You know me…”

Spike hissed at her and backed away, stepping his hind claws into a small pile of blue, frozen crystals she hadn’t noticed before. When she moved closer, his growling grew louder.

“I don’t want your treasure…” she tried, reaching slowly towards him with a careful hoof. “I want to help you.”

His low growl continued to drone on as she inched closer, the terrifying snarl frozen on his face. When Twilight was only a few inches away, he snapped and spit out another jet of flame. She lunged at him before the fire dissipated, and Spike let out a grating cry when she managed to catch him in a tight embrace.

“I just... have to get through…” Twilight nearly sobbed, feeling the sting of tears forming as Spike flailed against her, trying to swipe at her with his claws. “Just like the story, remember?” Spike only responded with a snarl. “Just like… the story...” Twilight’s voice broke as she searched her memory for the answer, but she found her thoughts too jumbled in her growing panic and concern. “You can’t… you can’t forget me like this…”

Spike suddenly twisted in her grip, and Twilight let out a strangled cry when his fangs dug into the base of her neck. She screamed when he wrenched his teeth with a shake of his head, and a burst of blue flared at the corner of her vision. A searing pain shot through her shoulder, but Twilight only curled her body around him protectively, gasping and squeezing her eyes shut. Tears rolled freely over her cheeks and down her snout to splash against Spike’s scales.

He pulled away with a grunt and batted at his eyes, but Twilight was in too much pain to notice the change in aggression. She could feel a familiar chill creep through her, as if her veins were slowly icing over. Whatever magic had been protecting her couldn’t stand up to the direct attack of an enchanted dragon’s frozen flame.

Spike’s movements had strangely become less erratic, and his arms waved more delicately to swipe at the tears. When she felt his claws gently squeeze her fur, Twilight managed to open her eyes and see Spike looking at her with a bewildered expression.

“T-Twilight?” He reached a hesitant claw out to her neck, but flinched and pulled it away with a horrified look. “I… I did that!?”

Twilight couldn’t find a voice to answer him with, but she simply cradled him gently against her and nuzzled his head in relief. He had been freed from the snow queen’s magic, and that was all that mattered to her. She shook her head while soundlessly trying to reassure him that this wasn’t his fault. She couldn’t see the damage, but the fur above her shoulder felt matted and sticky, and her neck throbbed painfully around the bite.

“I… I remember…” Spike pulled away and scrambled to his feet, looking at her with fear as tears formed in his eyes. “I hurt you, Twilight!”

“It w-wasn’t you,” Twilight tried to explain, but when she moved her legs to stand, her balance shifted, and she collapsed to the floor. Her body shook with terrible tremors, and through the pain she barely noticed when the raven crashed into the pile of gems nearby. His talons clicked furiously over the ice as he scrambled closer.

“The cold is spreading again!" the raven exclaimed. “The potion is no longer protecting you from the Snow Queen’s magic! What happened!?”

Twilight grunted with irritation, her hooves shaking while she dragged her saddlebags forward and thrust them at Spike, trying to dig out the scale buried somewhere inside. “Just b-b-burn this—” she started, but a clamor of noise turned their attentions above. The hum of changeling drones buzzed overhead, and the raven let out a shriek when several of them dove into the pit. Their shells, like Chrysalis’, had been changed by the story to be stark-white like snow.

“Spike! B-burn the s-s-scale!” Twilight yelled over the noise, but before she could pull it out, two pairs of legs reached out and wrapped around her barrel, while another grabbed her neck and unwittingly squeezed painfully against her wound. Twilight cried out as more drones dove at Spike and caught the raven, lifting them all up in a hum of noise.

When the changelings rose over the side of the pit, Twilight was shocked by the sight of soldiers splayed out all over the floor, groaning and struggling to stand while Sombra fought off a hoard of them further down the hallway. A cloud of drones surrounded him from all sides, taking turns to distract him while another dove in for an attack. Sombra was covered in what looked like patches of ice. Another drone lunged at him and spat, splattering his shoulder with a slick gel that sparkled when it quickly froze over.

“Is that… Sombra?” Spike choked out, clawing at the changeling’s leg that held him.

“Surrender!” one of the drones carrying Twilight shouted. “We have captured your friends!”

Sombra briefly paused to regard them before charging through the swarm of changelings and galloping towards them. The drones yelped and zipped over him, buzzing down the hallway and escaping into a tunnel that led up through the castle. Twilight could hear Sombra’s hooves pounding on the ice, the slick surface not appearing to slow him down as he bolted after them.

“Lead him through the castle,” one of the drones commanded as they ascended into a more decorated hallway with ice carved columns lining the walls. “We’ll take them all to the queen.”

Twilight would have shouted a warning to let Sombra know of their plan, but she only managed to get out a strangled rasp between the drone clinging to her neck and the freezing pain that throbbed at her shoulder. Whether it was the chill of the castle, or the low temperature of the drones, Twilight could feel a crackling and numbing sensation slowly spreading around her fur from the wound.

The drones carried them into a grand hallway that widened into an enormous chamber. When they passed beneath the huge archway, one of the changelings shouted, “We bring prisoners! And another is… uh… chasing us.” He bowed low to the figure sitting in the throne at the back of the room, and they brought Twilight closer to see Chrysalis giving them a bored look as she silently raised an eyebrow at their news.

Without any care, the drones tossed Twilight, Spike, and the raven to the floor. When she tried to shift her legs to stand, the ice beneath her appeared to warp on its own before tendrils of it wrapped around her hooves to harden into restraints. Twilight glanced beside her to see Spike and the raven stuck in the same way.

“And who dares—” Chrysalis started before Sombra’s hooves echoed in the hallway and he burst into the throne room, charging full force toward them with his head down and puffs of frost streaming from his nostrils.

“Ugh…” Chrysalis groaned and waved her hoof. Twilight could only watch as a pillar of ice jutted up right in Sombra’s path. He slammed his hooves against the slippery floor, but he only slid and rammed the structure head-on. The pillar splintered with cracks, but held strong as Sombra shouted out obscenities that were enough to make Twilight blush. While he thrashed and kicked, his antlers appeared to be completely stuck in the ice.

“Finally.” Chrysalis smirked, moving her gaze back to Twilight. “Now, just how did you all manage to wind up here, hmm?” Her eyes slid over to the raven, and he started shivering beneath her stare. “I know it couldn’t be this traitor, because I made sure he wouldn’t remember anything about this place.”

Twilight shifted her gaze over to Spike, who stood right next to her in their small line-up. She adjusted her wings ever-so-slightly, trying to nudge her saddlebags his way. If she could just get his attention without Chrysalis noticing...

“How did you do it?” Twilight heard Chrysalis hiss, and turned to see her stepping down from the throne. Once Chrysalis was close enough, she slid her hoof over Twilight’s shoulder. The touch was light, but Twilight flinched away, shivering at the shock of cold that seared through her. Crystals of frost crackled to life and spread along her back. The joints of her wings began to ache and stiffen.

Chrysalis peered closer with a triumphant smile. “I see you tried to trifle with my magic. Is that how you found my castle?” Her eyes shifted to the side, and Twilight saw them light up. “Or was it this?”

Chrysalis snatched up her saddlebags, and Twilight could see the map poking out from beneath the flaps. With a startled shout, she lunged forward and grabbed the bags in her mouth while crying out between her teeth, “Spffike!!!”

Spike acted quickly, as if they had planned it from the very start. When his green flame lit up her vision, Twilight leaned back and released the bags. Chrysalis leapt into the air with a hiss, and the fire consumed the saddlebags in a puff of emerald smoke. The charred ashes drifted to the cold floor, and Twilight watched a thin sliver of soot glitter when it rose up to the ceiling and disappeared.

“Was that aimed at me?” Chrysalis laughed, landing before Twilight again with her horn glowing. She heard Spike cry out and spun to see that Chrysalis had trapped his snout with a band of ice. “It’s a pity that you’ve saved him from a frozen heart...” Chrysalis stepped closer and forced Twilight’s gaze up as she scrutinized the wound on her neck. “But at what cost? You have no dragon fire in your core to keep the ice at bay.”

Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but Chrysalis drew her hoof away only to painfully slap it across her face. Twilight reeled back with a grunt, dropping her head and covering her cheek with her wings.

“That’s for stealing my dragon,” Chrysalis sneered. “I had hoped to trigger his greed and create a ferocious guard, but perhaps it is for the best, since he only tried to attack me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have needed to drop him into the dungeons.” She then slowly strolled over to the raven. “Now, as for you...” Chrysalis glared down at him with a menacing expression. “I should turn you into something worse for what you’ve done. Maybe you can join your princess as a statue.”

“W… wait!” Twilight winced from the movement of her jaw, and Chrysalis only gave her a sideways glance as she hesitated. Twilight wracked her brain for anything, trying to stall for time until the dragons might arrive, even though she knew they were too far away to help. “H-he’s one of you! How can you do that to him?”

Chrysalis hissed and lunged at Twilight, hovering above her with a fierce expression. “One of us!? This traitor abandoned his queen! If he wants friends so badly, whatever fate you meet, he will share!” As suddenly as her anger had reared itself, it seemed to dissipate when Chrysalis stepped away with a curious look in her eyes.

“Are you… stalling? You’re actually trying to save him, aren’t you?” Chrysalis jerked her hoof at the raven with each word she spoke. “That. Little. Cretin?” Chrysalis let out a cackling laugh and wiped at her eyes. “How noble of you, princess. But at least this makes things more fun.” Chrysalis stalked back up to her throne to smirk down at them. “I can just wait until you freeze. The expressions on their faces as you succumb to your fate...”

Twilight flinched when a shard of ice crackled and shot down her shoulder like a break appearing in a broken sheet of glass. Chrysalis smirked as she watched the growing frost inch along Twilight’s fur. “Once you’re completely frozen, I can smash you into a thousand pieces… or use you as a decoration in my courtyard.”

“My queen!” Chrysalis’ head whipped up as one of her drones flew through the open windows in the high ceiling above. “In the sky—something approaches—”

The drone didn’t get out anything else, because the base of the castle rumbled from a distant impact, and small particles of ice drifted from the roof.

“Formations!” Chrysalis screamed and the drones all buzzed to attention. “The castle is under attack!”

A thunderous roar of the many voices of dragons echoed through the sky, and the light from the windows darkened briefly when they started pouring through. To Twilight’s surprise, accompanying them were small groups of armored pegasi as they swooped in beside them.

“Attaaaaack!!!” Chrysalis shrieked at her army. Spires of ice jutted into the air, hitting both dragon and changeling alike, all the while more crashed in through the giant windows. “Stand against them and defend your queen!” Chrysalis screamed when some of the frostlings mobilized while others retreated from the heat of the flames, screeching in terror. They were already being overwhelmed by the combined number of dragons and ponies, and the air felt warm from the many breaths of dragon fire flickering across the ice.

“Princess Twilight!” Twilight turned to see Ember diving through the battle with Rainbow Dash soaring alongside her, but the pair didn’t get close before a beam of ice shot between them.

“How dare you filth enter my castle!” Chrysalis shrieked and threw herself into the air, her horn glowing in preparation for another strike. Ember countered by letting loose a burst of flame, and their attacks met with a billow of steam and shattering crystals.

“Get the queen!” Ember shouted, and directed a pair of dragons with her pointed claw. The two immediately dove at Chrysalis, and she darted away with a hiss, buzzing toward the ceiling to escape their combined fire. With Chrysalis busy, Ember soared toward Twilight while Rainbow Dash landed next to Spike and struggled to pull at the ice stuck around his snout.

“N-n-not that I’m not g-g-glad to see y-you,” Twilight stammered between her shivering while Ember dug at the ice around her hooves, “but h-how did you get here so f-f-fast?”

Ember let out a tiny flicker of flame, enough to heat up the ice but not burn Twilight. “Your brother gave us a visit and said you had been captured by bandits. We were up here looking for them when we got your signal.”

“Ember!?” Twilight heard Spike gasp with disbelief when his snout was freed.

“Introductions later!” Ember snapped and wrapped her claws around Twilight’s middle. With a quick tug, her legs popped out of the icy shackles and Ember gently shoved her in the right direction. “Run to an exit! We’ll keep you safe!”

Twilight had barely taken a step when the floor lurched violently. A pillar of ice formed beneath her hooves and shot high into the air while her friends cried out from below. She flared her wings to take off, but Chrysalis suddenly rammed against her, wrapping her legs around Twilight’s barrel before she could fall to the ground and lifted away through all the chaos and fighting.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash and Ember both launched after them at the same instant, but Rainbow was first to maneuver her way through the warring crowd and catch up as Chrysalis dove into another wing of the castle.

“Careful!” Chrysalis jeered when Rainbow lunged at them. “Or I might drop your precious princess and shatter her!”

While Chrysalis had said that more to mock them, she wasn’t far from the truth. Twilight held on with only one leg while the other hung uselessly at her side. She had wanted to retaliate from the get-go, but the ice spreading along her pinned wings made her all the more nervous as the floor sped by far below.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t as wary, and Chrysalis let out a startled shriek when she grabbed a hold of Chrysalis’ tail in her mouth. Brought to a jarring halt, the force tossed Twilight through the air, and she strained her stiff wings to steer herself to a safe landing. With a muted thump, she managed to crash into a tattered banner hanging from the wall and rolled down the billowing fabric until she dropped to the floor.

Twilight laid still for a moment and tried to orient herself while the world spun through her vision in a dizzying circle. She heard Rainbow call out to her when a blast of magic shattered the floor nearby, showering her with particles of ice. Twilight shook her head and narrowed her eyes, managing to focus on her friend as she dodged around Chrysalis’ attacks.

“I’ll turn you and your pathetic army into ice sculptures!” Chrysalis shouted, sending out another beam. The spell hit Rainbow’s leg, and she let out a cry as she tumbled into the wall, looking shocked at the layer of ice covering her hoof. Chrysalis’ expression morphed into a wicked grin, and she stalked toward Rainbow with her horn glowing menacingly.

“Rainbow…” Twilight croaked, managing to stumble to her hooves. She lurched forward, limping over the floor and gritting her teeth when her legs barely responded to her will. The frost continued to creep along her fur, inching up her neck and spreading across her flanks. Chrysalis’ horn flashed, and Rainbow let out a cry as the ice encased her shoulders.

Twilight put all her strength into one final charge, and Chrysalis only managed to turn her head right as Twilight swung her frozen leg up to punch her right in the jaw. Chrysalis shrieked as she tumbled away.

“That’s f-for kidnapping Spike,” Twilight spat.

“You wretched little—!” Chrysalis snarled before leaping up and snapping her fangs around Twilight’s neck. Twilight yelped, expecting pain, but only heard the crack of ice as Chrysalis’ fangs barely scratched her frozen fur. Chrysalis drew back with a furious shriek, her voice muffled while she stumbled away covering her mouth.

All at once, a large dragon dove from the air to land in front of Twilight and Rainbow, and a pillar of fire suddenly engulfed Chrysalis from the others that swooped overhead. The attack was brief, and when the flames cleared, Chrysalis’ shell had turned into a more familiar-looking charcoal black from all the soot. A trail of smoke lifted away from the tip of her horn while she coughed out a small cloud of cinders.

“Your army is no more, Snow Queen!” Ember landed before them, smoke streaming from her nostrils while Spike jumped down from her back and sprinted toward Twilight. He unexpectedly rammed against her nearly frozen form when he tried to grab her in a hug.

“Oww…” Spike rubbed his sore nose, staring at Twilight with wide eyes. “What… what’s happening to you, Twilight?”

“It s-should be f-f-fine…” Twilight reassured him, trying to lift her leg to lay over his shoulders only to find that it was completely frozen in place. “I… I think…”

“Inconceivable!” Chrysalis finally choked out with a wheeze. “An entire wing of dragons couldn’t bring down my soldiers!”

“They didn’t fight!” The raven’s voice echoed above them as he landed in a glow of magic. Shimmering particles of frost floated around him in a soft light, concealing his body when it lifted over his head in a burst of snowflakes. When it cleared, what stood in his place was the tall form of a changeling with large antlers that rose above his head. His white carapace held three pale stones that sparkled like diamonds.

“Thorax!?” Spike cried out as his storybook friend stepped closer with a frown. Several drones landed behind him, but they made no move to attack.

“Your soldiers surrendered,” Thorax announced, “once they had a moment away from you to listen to an offer of friendship instead of fearing the wrath of your anger.”

“You are nothing but a disgraceful traitor!” Chrysalis snapped at him before turning her fury on the few changelings that had followed him. “BANISHMENT! All of you!!!”

While some of the soldiers cowered away from her scowl, Thorax only looked at her with a sad grimace. “You... don’t have that authority anymore.”

“I’ll make sure of that,” Ember growled as she stomped up next to him and glared down her snout at Chrysalis.

“Finally.” Twilight looked up to see Sombra saunter into view, a large chunk of broken ice stuck between his antlers. “It feels as if this story is reaching a conclusion.”

“I th-think so.” Twilight cracked a small smile, but winced when a stab of pain shot through her. Spike clung to her side, but she could no longer feel his touch through the numbness of her body.

“HEY!!!” Rainbow shouted and drew the crowd’s attention, shoving away the dragon that clawed at the ice frozen over her leg. “Help her! Not me! We’ve got a bigger problem right now!”

“The ice is still persisting!?” Thorax exclaimed, rounding on Chrysalis with a panicked look. “Remove it!”

Chrysalis chuckled darkly. “You think I can? I’m not the one who put it there in the first place.” She grinned with wicked delight as she turned to watch Twilight. “That’s what you get for trying to play a hero.”

“Could we melt it?” Spike asked, small flames already flicking between his teeth, even though he seemed hesitant to point them directly at Twilight.

“That could delay it, but the cold is inside of her. It will just re-form,” Thorax explained, watching with a fearful expression as Twilight’s fur turned a paler shade of blue from the sparkling crystals of frost. The funny thing was, she wasn’t even shivering. Her limbs felt too stiff and numb to even register the chill anymore.

“When the shard got stuck in my eye!” Spike exclaimed, holding his claws to his head. “Isn’t that what happened to me?” He stepped in front of Twilight and cupped her face, directing her unfocused gaze at him. “How did you help me, Twilight!?”

Twilight opened her mouth and tried to form the words, but her whole body felt heavy, and her mind was too tired to pull up any thoughts through the fog that seemed to gather like the haze of the blizzard. A feeling of exhaustion settled over her, and Twilight was tempted to succumb to it.

“I think I know...” Thorax said softly. He stepped up and whispered when he leaned closer, “Please forgive me for this.”

Thorax ducked his head, and Twilight had no idea of what he was doing until she felt his lips pressed against hers. The moment they touched, a warmth slowly spread along her body, and cracks split through the ice encasing her. Twilight felt her wings jerk open too late in reaction, and when a deep red blush had risen to her cheeks, only then did Thorax pull away.

Twilight nearly collapsed as the frozen shell fell apart, but Spike’s claws against her shoulder reached out to support her. She didn’t harbor any special feelings for Thorax, but her heart pounded furiously against her chest at the sound of the dragons whooping and whistling in response. Before she covered her face with her hooves, her gaze quickly flitted to Sombra, glancing at him curiously while he watched with a frown.

“If… If only I c-could apologize, but I think that would be a lie,” Thorax stammered while he tentatively reached out to pull her hooves away from her face. “It was your bravery and k-kindness that thawed the queen’s curse over me, and in the time that I have traveled with you, you’ve shown me how strong and compassionate you are.” Thorax released her leg and put his own hoof over his chest. “I saw you save your friend with your love for him. He could have done the same, b-but... I wanted to see if these feelings I had were real. That is what melted the ice... l-love.”

Twilight could only choke out a strangled sounding squeak in response. Thorax didn’t seem to notice as he lowered himself to the floor and bowed his head. “And, if it’s… acceptable, I would ask for your hoof in marriage.” He gazed at her with a hopeful expression. “Together, we can ensure peace in the North, and throughout all the kingdoms!”

Twilight fumbled in an effort to simply straighten her thoughts when Spike’s laughter rang out beside her.

“PHAHA! That’s rich!” Spike practically rolled back as he slapped his legs. “You and Thorax?” He pointed to each of them before erupting into another fit.

“Spike…” Twilight managed to find her voice, and her face was still red when she rolled her eyes. When even Sombra made a gagging noise, she turned and wrinkled her snout at him.

“What kind of second-rate fairytale is this?” Sombra sneered in disgust. “We have been fighting through bandits, blizzards and psychotic witches—” Twilight shot him a furious glare “—for some lackluster romance?”

Twilight huffed angrily at their reactions. “The Snow Queen is one of literature’s greatest classics!”

“And terribly flawed by an undeveloped relationship,” Sombra grumbled.

“Is this really the time to be critiquing the story?” Twilight shouted, forgetting for a moment that she was still surrounded by characters of said tale. She glanced at Thorax with a surprised expression, but he simply blinked back at her innocently, appearing to be waiting for her answer.

Sombra mumbled something in response, but she ignored him. The characters were waiting for her. Just like when she was unable to abandon Sombra in the woods or fix the archery tournament, she couldn’t run away. She had to play her part, or the scene might never finish.

She nervously rubbed her leg against the other while looking at the ground with a blush. It wasn’t as if she had suddenly fallen for him, but that didn’t make it any easier for her to get out such a simple answer. “I… I accept…”

Sombra’s startled exclamation was drowned out by the ecstatic roar of the dragons when they cheered in celebration. Twilight felt Thorax’s embrace and shout of joy, even as the world around her began to fade. So she had been correct to assume the story was coming to a close.

Maybe Sombra had a point… the ending was a bit cheesy, but it had still been a compelling version of the story all the same.

Nevertheless, after what she had experienced, Twilight was certain it would be a very… very long time before she could bring herself to read this particular re-telling of The Snow Queen.

Author's Note

I feel like I need to add a little disclaimer that Thorax is not the reason for the Romance tag on this story, just in case anyone's worried about that; not that I have anything against Twirax. ;)

And any of Sombra's comments made do not reflect my views of Andersen's The Snow Queen. If you haven't read it, I recommend it if you enjoy fairytales in general. It is hilarious, charming, and tells a much more complex tale of the characters involved.

Now that The Snow Queen is done, we're half-way through! Onward to the next fairytale...