Author's Note

Its laaaaate I know, but I still got it out so I hope you enjoy
Stay frosty, later

Chapter 13: Welcome To The Crystal Empire! Part 1

7:00 a.m., Five Month's After The Invasion Of Canterlot, P.o.v- Jackson

"Must you sleep naked Mr. Castle?" Celestia groaned, shielding her eyes as I rose out of bed nude. "Cant you at least wear some shorts or boxers?"

"It's not as comfortable, but it's your fault for waking me up so early in the morning on my day off" I said whilst walking to the closet and threw on some boxers and shorts. "What do you need Tia?" I asked the woman who slowly uncovered her eyes then sighed.

"Can you please help me with Luna, after Cadance left for the Crystal Empire a month ago she hasn't so much as said a word to anyone... I'm worried" Celestia said and to be honest, I was also worried for the girl too. It's been five months since Thomas vanished and so far it seems like everyone has given up hope that he would ever come back, even Luna. "Would you please come and talk to her with me?" She requested and I nodded.

"Let me grab a shirt an we can go, don't need you ogling me while you talk with your sister" I said, to which elicited a fiery blush from Celestia. I caught her staring at me a few times when we would train together, speaking of, I seem to have gotten better at using my lightning abilities and even learned quite a few new fighting techniques with and without weapons. I even slimmed down a tad bit too, Celestia said that big muscles would only slow me down, so she came up with a way for me to debulk myself a bit while still keeping the hardened muscles I gained.

"I do not ogle at you, girl's ogle, a grown woman such as myself inspects to see where improvements can be made if necessary!" Celestia shot back, though I was used to these responses, hell, I even found them adorable at times.

"Is that why you were drooling at yesterday's training session?" I asked, putting on a red and white shirt. Celestia went to reply, but nothing came out, her mouth just opened and closed for a bit. "It's okay Tia, I don't mind the ogling, but try to make it a little less discrete next time" I said, chuckling at her shocked and embarrassed reaction.

"Just.... follow me damn it!" She exclaimed with a small growl before storming out of my room with me in tow. As we walked down the halls of the castle, I couldn't help but still be surprised at how good it looks after being rebuilt in such a short amount of time. When Applejack's family finished rebuilding the city, Celestia wanted to pay each and every one of them for working as hard as they did, but they all declined the payment no matter how many times Celestia insisted.

"Have you gotten the Apple family to budge on their payment?" I asked to which she groaned.

"No matter what I say they won't accept it, they just told me they were happy to help and no payment was required... I understand that they are good people and wanted to help, but let me at least show my gratitude in some way" Celestia said, and I chuckled at this little reaction. "I'll deal with it another time I suppose...... is it me..... or does it feel like the days are starting to become longer than they were before" She said with a hint of sadness.

"I know what you mean, feels like something is missing" I said, looking out the windows we passed. "It's a lonely feeling... isn't?" I muttered, though my question was left without an answer. I guess I already knew her answer since we're both one in the same in many ways, I just wanted to hear her say it.

"My mother would use to tell Luna and I that everyday was a new beginning, so we must take a deep breath and... start again... but it's also hard to forget someone who's given you so much to remember" Celestia said, her voice becoming slightly uneven as she spoke, but she choked down whatever feeling she had and gave out a sorrowful sigh. "He was a nice boy... never failed to bring a smile to other's face's... even risked his life to save people who knew very little about him... it's always the good one's... isn't" She asked this time, and like before, no answer came out because she also knew my answer.

We continued our walk in silence for a while until we reached the hall towards Luna's room. As we moved closer to the door, I saw two familiar faces standing guard outside of her door.

"Silver, Blazing, how have you two been?" I asked the two.

"We've been hanging in their, been listening to Princess Luna play this strange music on Thomas' phone, gotta say its pretty good" Blazing said. "Did you two want to come in and talk with her?" She asked, we nodded and she reached for the knob then turned it. When she cracked the door slightly we heard the sounds of the music Blazing was talking about. "Princess, your sister and Jackson are here to speak with you"

"Go away!" Luna demanded though it was muffled by a pillow, and turned up the song she was listening too to full blast.

Although I loved her music selection, we gestured both Silver and Blazing to stay outside and we went inside Luna's room. Her room was completely pitch black save for the glowing light of Thomas' phone on Luna's bed, we slowly walked over to her bedside and sat on the edge.

"I told you to go away," Luna said through the pillow that was covering her face, Celestia gently removed the pillow and frowned seeing her sister's raw cheeks. "Leave me alone…"

"You can't stay cooped up in your room all day Luna, you need some sun and a decent meal" Celestia said, but Luna just stared blankly at the wall opposite of us. "It's been five month's Luna, you're gonna have to let this thing go"

"And what is this thing you are implying sister?" Luna asked, her voice a little lower than normal.

"Look, Luna.... it's been five month's, we understand that you're going through a rough time right now, but you have to realize that.... Thomas might never come back" I said, slightly reluctant for the words to come out of my mouth. Luna stayed quiet for a while, but she ended up turning off the music.

"Get out" Luna said coldly, not even looking at us.

"Luna please-"

"I said LEAVE!!!" She screamed out, making both of us jump back in fright. "GET OUT!!!" She demanded and we Immediately ran out the room, slamming it closed, scaring Blazing and Silver.

"What happened?" Silver asked us, looking at us with concern. "Did she have a Nightmare outburst?"

"A WHAT!?" Celestia and I exclaimed.

"Yeah, princess Luna has small outbursts of where she goes into a small state of her Nightmare form... happens every now and again" Blazing said calmly, she acted like it was no big deal when clearly that was NOT the case.

"And you didn't think to inform us of this happening!?" Celestia asked, outraged by their negligence. "How long has this been going on," Celestia demanded to know.

"Uh... four months, Princess Cadance told us how to handle it so there's really nothing to be worried about," Silver answered, still unbothered by the angry sun princess.

"Honestly it's not as bad as you think, I would say it's a defense mechanism that doesn't really cause harm to the mental or physical health" Blazing explained.

"It's basically a more hardcore version of a mood swing" Silver said then a muffled beep went off inside Luna's room. "Oh, guess it's time for her daily snack"

"No, no, that's at twelve, we usually go in and set up her bath and change her music at eight" Blazing said and opened the door. "Princess, give us a moment please, we'll be right with you in a bit" she announced then softly closed the door.

"Dont worry your majesty, we understand what Princess Luna is going through since we were in the same position as her, she just has a harder time accepting it so please give her time to recover a bit more" Silver said, while the Nightmare outburst were a bit of a concern, it seemed like these two had everything under control. I looked to Celestia to see what she thought of it.

"*sigh*... Thank you for taking care of my sister you two, this means the world to me... just be careful, understand?" Celestia queried and the two saluted before heading inside Luna's room. "Walk with me Mr. Castle" she ordered and started towards a random direction.

We walked in total silence for what felt like eternity. While walking down the massive halls of the castle, I still find it hard to believe that everything, including
the city had been rebuilt in such a short amount of time. This world ceases to amaze me, first the kindness it's shown us, then the friendships we've created, then these new powers that were thrusted upon us... feelings we've acquired for a certain person. This place was everything I needed to be happy, and yet, I feel so... empty in some strange way. I've finally accepted the fact that I could never go home and honestly, I didn't want to... but I just don't understand why I have this feeling of emptiness.

"Jackson?" Celestia called, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Didn't you hear me?"

"O-Oh, sorry about that Tia... was lost in thought for a little bit" I apologized. "What were you saying?" I asked, finally taking notice of the frown presenting itself on her face. "Whats the matter Tia?"

"Am I a horrible person Jackson?" She asked, taking me aback a bit by the question, but then I remembered how she handled Luna when she was in her Nightmare form.

"Why do you think you're a horrible person Tia?" I asked and a heavy sigh went past her lips.

"Did you see how much of a handle those two have on Luna?" She asked though I didn't answer. "They knew exactly what was wrong, how to handle it, took measures of how to help her through everyday life, hell, they even know how she's feeling... for four months she's been having these 'Nightmare' outbursts and I didn't even know. I thought my relationship with my sister had finally been fixed, but all Im doing is repeating the same dumb mistakes I've made back when she felt exactly like this... I didn't take the time to consider her feelings so she turned into that monster, and now it could happen again and I still failed to help her. Silver and Blazing are doing everything they can to help her get back on her feet while I was busy preparing Cadance for the trip to The Crystal Empire... I'm a terrible sister and person for neglecting someone who needed me" Celestia said and wiped away a few tears, I could tell she wanted to completely bawl her eyes out right at this moment, but if she did then her image as a ruler would be ruined.

Knowing that she needed help, I took Celestia's hand and quickly led us down the endless halls of the castle until we reached her room. I moved her inside and shut the door behind me, leaving only us two in the privacy of her room. I walked over and immediately brought her into an embrace.

"Jackson what are you-"

"You're not a horrible person person Tia, you're only one person and you are doing everything you can" I stated firmly, much to her surprise. "Luna is just going through a hard time since Thomas disappeared, but I know she loves you and understands that you're trying to help, you aren't repeating what you did a thousand years ago... all of us can see you're trying to be a better sister and it's slowly coming into fruition, of course you'll make mistakes time from time but hey, you're only human, there is only so much you can do" I said as calmly as I possibly could, all while keeping her in a tight embrace. "You've helped me through so much when I first came here, I can never thank you enough for that, but maybe it's time for me to be your shoulder to cry on" I said and I heard her sniffle a bit, then give out a little whimper.

"Thank you" She whispered and began crying her eyes out, slowly wrapping her arms around me, Celestia was holding me so tightly that I felt my entire back pop. Though at this moment, I didn't mind a little pain if it meant making her feel better. "Thank you" she whispered again, though it was hard to hear since she was now burying her face in my chest.

"Just let it all out Tia, I'm not going anywhere, not now, not ever" I said, stroking her hair gently. I used to do this to calm down my sister's when they were crying or upset, it always worked so I might as well give it a try with Celestia. "You'll never be a horrible person, you're sweet, beautiful, strong, caring and can make a mean chocolate cake.... Celestia, in my eyes, you're the most amazing person I've ever met or will ever meet" I said, she raised her head up to me with streams of tears running down her cheeks. I gently wiped her tears away and gave her a warm smile, and that very smile was exchanged for a very passionate kiss from Celestia. I immediately froze feeling the soft lips press against mine for the second time, I was expecting her to hug me tighter and cry a little more. Fortunately, I was wrong.

"I-I'm sorry... you were saying all those nice things a-and I thought..." Celestia said once she pulled away from me, her cheeks turning to a bright red. I blinked a couple times as I processed what had just happened, once I did I grew my own blush. "I-I think I might've jumped the gun on this, I was to forward, I should've waited to see if you-hmph!" I cut her off by cupping her cheeks and bringing her lips back to mine, she immediately melted into the kiss and slowly wrapped her arms around my head.

"Still as heavenly as I remember" I muttered, parting from the woman who had a look that begged for more. "You know, I feel the same way Tia... I've felt like this after we started training together, I even liked it when you ogled me during breaks" I said, chuckling at the red faced women.

"I-I told you... a woman like me inspects... and I liked what I saw" She said then pulled me back to her lips, while she distracted me with her lips, Celestia turned us until my back faced the bed then pushed herself against me. Unable to balance myself, I fell on the bed with Celestia on top of me as she continued to relentlessly attack my mouth. "Do you mind?" She asked, pulling away and tugging her dress with a sultry smile.

"U-Uh... s-sure" I said and she straddled me, I leaned up and took hold of the edges of her dress. I was confused about how to take it off, but Tia softly snorted before taking my hands and lifted them up along with her dress. Doing as instructed, I pulled off her pure white dress then tossed it aside, when I turned my attention back to Celestia, I was now face to face with her bare chest. "W-Whoa, just... whoa" I said in awe, Celestia giggled at my reaction and quickly removed my shirt in less than ten seconds.

"You're not so bad yourself Mr. Castle" Celestia said in a flirty tone, brushing her fingers across my well earned body that she molded for me. "I'll be honest Jackson, I've wanted to have you since the moment I met you, now that I have a chance... I won't let you go" she said, whispering that last part to me while pressing her extremely soft breasts against me, I couldn't stop staring at them. "Interested in my breasts I see, wanna know the size?"

"That would be... very useful information," I answered nervously.

"Last time I checked, I believe it clocked in around forty four double D's" Celestia said proudly while my jaw was officially nonexistent hearing that answer. I wanted to say something witty, but all that came out was small cracks in my voice, Celestia smiled seductively and leaned over to my ear. "And the best part... they're all your's" she said.

Hearing that statement finally triggered something inside of me. I don't know where I gained the strength to do what I did, but I quickly pulled Celestia down to replace me at the bottom while I stood above her and immediately attacked her left breast with my mouth and then her right breast with my left hand. The sun princess gave out a muffled moan as I played with her chest, Celestia bit her finger to trap the moans that were trying to slip past her lip, her chest heaved as I continued to play with her and for some reason I smelt something fill my senses. After a few minutes of playing with her tits, I pulled back and panted heavily in an attempt to catch my breath.

"I-I guess asking if you like my breast's is no longer necessary," Celestia said with a heavy blush going across her face, but at this moment I couldn't hear nothing other than my own racing heart thumping in my ears. "Is something wrong Jackso-eep!" I cut her off by gently nipping her neck, "J-Jackson!" She gasped.

"You said if you had the chance you wouldn't let me go... the same goes for you, your majesty" I said, pulling my mouth off her neck, I smiled seeing the little teeth marks I left. "If I am yours... then you are mine" I said with a lustful grin, this made Celestia's blush darken even more.

Medical Wing, 8:53 a.m., P.o.v- Jay

"So tell me what occurred again so I can fully understand how this happened" Violet said as she healed my arm with her magic, I myself don't really understand what happened either.

"I'm telling you that while I was practicing my swordplay, I heard Thomas call my name, so being excited to hear my bestfriends voice again after so many months, I turned my body a little too quickly and didn't see the blade get close to my arm" I said, which admittedly made me sound like a nut job. I know I heard that voice as clear as day, it was definitely Thomas' voice, no doubt about it... but why did I hear it. "I swear to you that I heard him"

"Jay, I'm telling you this because I love you, but you sound bat shit insane" Violet said bluntly getting a look from me. "I think you need a little break from these long training sessions, yes they make you stronger but if you dont listen to your body then you'll collapse from exhaustion"

"But I-"

"Nope, either you take a break, or I make you" Violet threatened, her glare boring holes into my head. I knew better than to argue with Violet, mainly because she would quite literally kill me, but I also knew that she was right. Ever since Shining left for the Crystal Empire with Princess Cadance, I've trained twice as hard to keep myself from slacking.

"*Sigh*... Okay... maybe you're right, in all honesty I could definitely use a break from training" I said and Violet gave a sigh of relief hearing this. "Thanks for looking out for me hun"

"It not a problem, it's been my job to take care of and look after you since day one" Violet said, kissing my cheek. "Now I need you to take off your shirt, I want to check if there are any bruises or other injuries that I missed" Violet ordered and I followed said orders. I stood up from the stool I was sitting on and took off my shirt, being careful not to strain my tender arm. Once my shirt was off I tossed it aside and turned towards Violet, her face was emitted a bright pink blush across her cheeks and her eyes stayed glued to me. I chuckled seeing her reaction, I knew exactly why she was blushing and looking so intently.

"Guess you like the results huh, better thank Shining for helping me slim down a bit, honestly I look a lot better than before" I said to my girlfriend, but she was too entranced by my well hardened body to respond. "Love, you okay?" I asked, snapping my fingers to get her back to the real world.

"Huh? O-Oh, right uh... w-what were we doing?" Violet asked in a daze, I held down my laughter and pointed to my arm to remind her. "Yes! That's right, checking your body for injuries... I uh, better take my time and feel around.... f-for a more thorough analysis" Vie said, swallowing hard before reaching forward and placed her hands on my abdomen, shuddering and blushing like crazy now.

"Hello? I'm here to see Nurse Violet for a physi- oh..." We heard someone say, we snapped our heads towards the voice and immediately saw Princess Emerald standing at the doors staring directly at us, we both felt like a couple deers in headlights. "Should I uh.... come back later or...?" She suggested and we quickly remembered what type of position we were in and we fumbled to make ourselves presentable.

"I-I apologize Princess, I uh, forgot you were stopping by today... please come in" Violet said as I finally put my shirt back on, I turned back with a nervous smile and chuckled softly. "Excuse us for what you saw, I was just making sure Mr. Adonis didnt sustain anymore injuries like the one on his arm" Vie said, trying to sound professional about the whole thing, but the bright pink blush killed all professionalism.

"Please calm yourselves you two, I'm a thousand and twenty for goddess sakes" Princess Emerald said, walking over and sitting on the bed across from us. "It's gonna take more than walking in on a couple being intimate to bother me, it also seemed like you were enjoying yourself quite a lot Ms. Violet" The Princess said, and I swear I could boil water on Violets head with how heated she was getting.

"P-Please dont tease me Princess, I'm embarrassed enough as is" Violet admitted, her true reaction cracking through, she even tried to hide her face with her hands.

"Well now, I have more teasing material, but anyways, you said were here for a physical Princess?" I asked and the woman nodded before summoning a scroll addressed to her. I took the parchment and looked it over, seems Celestia is starting to see Emerald as a sister now rather than a villainess which is good since the girls at Ponyville became friends with her after a month or two, some even took little sessions with her to help with some issues they've had after the invasion. "Alrighty then, I leave you to it Violet, I'm gonna go shower and get us some food" I said, handing the scroll back to Emerald and headed for the door.

"Oh, before I forget... do you think you can ask Sunnybun if she would be interested to talk later, I just want to thank her for giving me a chance after what my Nightmare form did" Emerald requested, fiddling with her thumbs and looking away shyly. I was happy to oblige this request, plus I owe her for how we met last time.

"Of course, mine and Violets room is a little way's down from her room so I'll stop by there and tell her on the way" I said and I was quickly wrapped in a hug by the woman.

"Thank you so much, this means the world to me" Emerald thanked and kissed my cheek before letting go. "It was nice meeting you again Jay"

"Uh... yeah...... likewise" I said in a state of shock, I understood that it was supposed to be a friendly gesture, but it felt oddly different than just a quick peck on the cheek. I looked to Violet and she didn't seem to mind the gesture I was given which struck me as odd. "I should probably uh... head out now" I said, going for the door, the two waved me out and I started my way towards Celestia's room. On my way to her room I touch my cheek and tried to figure out why it felt so strange, it felt sensual in a way but also loving as well, it was like a kiss you give to your boyfriend or girlfriend.

"Im surprised Violet didn't say anything when Emerald kissed me, of course she could've just seen it as a friendly gesture of thanks, but the way she looked after was calm and knowing... is there something Violets not telling me, or am I just over thinking a little peck on the cheek?" I asked myself then groaned a little. "I think I really do need to cut back on the training, I can't think straight when I'm this exhausted. I'll go to Celestia's room, pop in an out then take a shower, easy" I muttered to myself, quickly planning ahead.

After a good ten minutes of walking through the corridors of the giant castle , I finally reached Celestia's room. I now stood in front of the massive door that held two suns painted on either sides as well as a gold trim that gave it that look of elegance, it wasn't as fancy as Luna's, but it was still pretty fancy in its own way.

"Hey princess, Emerald wanted to see if you would like to talk with her after her physi-" I cut myself off as I opened the door and stepped inside, I don't know what I was expecting really, but I do know I wasn't expecting to see my best friend ass naked going to town with an all powerful being who can control the sun. I was too shocked to move or even speak, I was totally frozen, I mean... who do you even respond to catching someone in the act.

"OH GODDESS ABOVE, YES!" Celestia screaming out as Jackson rutted her as hard he as could, and by the moans that Celestia was crying out, she was enjoying every second of it. "It's so deep... please... harder... fuck me harder!" Celestia begged as Jackson continued pistoning himself inside her. "T-That's an order- ah!- a-an order from your princess!"

"If that's what the princess want's-" He stopped and plunged himself inside of her as hard as could, causing Celestia to scream out in ecstasy with each thrust he rammed inside of her. "Then I'll happily oblige!" He finished saying and continued fucking Celestia, all while I was still behind them completely mortified. I had to get out of here somehow without them knowing, I have to be as quiet as I possibly can.

"Holy shit!" I shouted before running out of the room and slamming the door shut. Once the door had slammed closed I heard Jackson curse and a lot of shuffling followed suit, I stood there for a good few minutes until I saw both doors slowly open revealing a disheveled Celestia and Jackson.

"H-Hey Jay, w-what brings you by this early in the morning?" Jackson asked with a nervous smile.

"Y-Yes, shouldn't you be with Ms. V-Violet right now?" Celestia questioned, tugging at her dress a bit, especially in the lower area. They both had bright red blushes on their faces and small beads of sweat dripping down their brow as well, if this situation had anyone other than me, they would've been more embarrassed than they are now.

"I saw nothing, I heard nothing" I stated, they didn't show it, but they both looked beyond relieved hearing me say that. "I do however want me and Violet to have a week off from work starting next Monday, with pay of course" I said, making Celestia's jaw hang a little at the bold request.

"You're an evil man Jay Adonis" Jackson said, holding out his hand to which I shook.

"Oh what a mother can teach her son, now blackmail aside, Emerald wants to speak with you after she finishes her physical" I said and Celestia cocked a brow up.

"What does she want to talk about?" Celestia asked, curiosity coating her words heavily.

"She wants to thank you for giving her a chance is all, she looked so happy knowing this, so please consider talking with her" I said, the look on Celestia's face told me she was happy her younger sister wanted to talk. I guess she might've thought Emerald wouldn't want to speak with her after not trusting the girl for this whole time.

"I'll be happy to talk with Emerald, I was going to do so after sending a letter to Twilight regarding the Crystal Empire" Celestia said which piqued mine and Jackson's interest. "Sorry for not telling you sooner Jackson, I was going to tell you but uh... well... y-you know" Celestia said, cupping her cheeks in an attempt to hide her blush, Jackson chuckled a little at her reaction while I rolled my eye's.

"Tell us more about this letter" I said, just as Celestia rubbed her blush away from her cheeks.

"It's a summonce actually" Celestia corrected, snapping her fingers and summoned the scroll in her hands. "The reason why Im summoning Twilight is because I believe Cadance and Shining are in need of help right now" she said, poofing the scroll away to Twilight.

"Is something wrong at the Crystal Empire?" Jackson asked and Celestia nodded.

"I've been having strange dreams as of late and it always ends the same way" Celestia said, curiosity now gripping. "It always-"

"It always ends with a man surrounded by black fire holding a blue heart in the center of the Crystal Empire" We heard someone say from behind, we looked to see Luna walking towards us with Blazing and Silver next to her. "Unfortunately you always wake up before I can get a good look at him, but from what I've seen, he can be someone who've we met a very long time ago... someone very dangerous" Luna said, gently rubbing her puffy eyes then cleared her throat.

"L-Luna, I didn't expect to see you up an about so soon" Celestia said, she sounded almost hesitant to speak with Luna. "I would like to apologize for earlier, I should've considered how you were feeling at the moment and... I'm sorry"

"Now is not the time for crying or apologies sister, if the man you see in your dreams is who I think it is, then we must send Twilight and those girls to the Crystal Empire immediately" Luna said urgently.

"Who is it that can make even you get cold feet" I asked and Luna sighed.

"It is a very long story, a story we dont have time to tell, you two will accompany Twilight and her friends to aid them in any way you can" Luna stated firmly, we nodded to her request.

"Can you please at least tell us who it is we're up against if the guy shows up?" I asked and Luna groaned, her mood was already sour so it's probably best not to annoy her as much. "Just the name, so we can tell Twilight and the girl's"

"His original name was Crystal Miner, he was the former Emperor of the Crystal Empire" Luna said and hearing 'original name' struck myself an Jackson as a little odd.

"His 'original name'?" Jackson queried and looked to Celestia who now looked as pale as a ghost. "What's his new name?" He asked the scared woman.

"King Sombra"

On A Train Halfway Toward's The Crystal Empire, 3:45 p.m., Third P.o.v

"Okay to get the story straight, Twilight and all of us have to help Princess Cadance bring love back to a Kingdom that was just brought back after a thousand years of it being gone" Rainbow said as she lazily hovered in the air. "And to put more fuel in the fire, the Princess' believe that this King Sombra guy returned as well to exact revenge... should be easy" The dare devil said sarcastically, plopping herself back on the seat next to Twilight and Jay. Jay, Jackson and Twilight were all given a rough run down on what their objective should be, which was just what Rainbow had said.

"We understand that it'll be difficult Rainbow, but Cadance and Shining need our help so the least we can do is try" Jackson said but the girl slumped in her seat, the man heard from Applejack that Rainbow was a little moody leaving Snow behind for a week. "From what Celestia told us, it seems that myself and Jay are supposed to be helping Cadance keep a look out for Sombra since theirs a chance he could've actually returned... honestly I would be surprised if he did, when Celestia showed us that black magic shit... it felt like it didn't obey any laws of the universe" Jackson finished, scaring Fluttershy and Rarity a bit.

"It'll be fine you two, the thing to be afraid of is the cold nipping at your neck so be ready to dress warm when we get there... speaking of dressing up, Rarity... might I ask, why did you bring so much useless stuff?" Jay asked the fashonista who brought ten suitcases full of nothing but clothes. "We're only gonna be here for a week or so, didn't need to bring your whole wardrobe" he said which made the girl huff at this.

"A lady must always be prepared for anything... and all my winter outfits are so cute so I just had to bring them!" Rarity said defensively, Jay rolled his eyes at the girl and looked out the window of the train.

"Something on your mind man?" Jackson asked the man.

"Yeah... it's a little farfetched but something in the back of my mind is telling we're gonna meet up with someone" Jay said, this caught everyone's attention. "I don't know when, I don't know how, and I dont know who, but I know they are in that kingdom... waiting for us" He said confidently, looking at everyone.

"The only people we know that are in the Crystal Empire is Cadance and Shining, beyond that we know absolutely no one" Twilight said and everyone started murmuring to one another until Applejack said something.

"What if it's Thomas?"

The train car the group was in froze hearing her words and the tension was so thick, you could cut through it with a knife. Almost every one present hasn't openly talked about their friend since he's vanished five month's ago, two particular people looked a bit down hearing the name.

"He's gone Aj... a hard pill to swallow, but unfortunately that's the truth... we gotta accept it no matter how much we dont want too" Jackson said suddenly, ripping the band-aid off to get the pain over with. "I highly doubt he's here so please don't get our hope's up"

"Sorry y'all... it slipped out before ah could stop myself" Applejack apologized and looked at the ground. "If by some slim chance it is Tommy yer talkin about then... ah don't know what ah'd feel honestly"

"I dont think any of us would know how we'd feel seeing a literal dead man walking" Jay said, trying to imagine bumping into Thomas in the Crystal Empire. "I think I'd be overjoyed at first, then it would turn to anger for leaving us like he did" the man said, though a small smile spread across his face at the thought of just talking to Thomas again.

"I would most definitely give him a piece of my mind if I ever saw him again... but I don't think I could stay mad at him for too long, he would probably apologize profusely and try to make it up to me" Rarity said, her own smile crossing her lips as she imagined Thomas being his usual shy self.

"I could never be mad at Thomas, he was the one other person to make my family laugh and smile, I'd probably just hug him with everything I had" Pinkie said, surprising the group by how calm she sounded.

"I'd be too happy to even be mad, Thomas was such a sweet person, I don't think anyone could hate him" Fluttershy said with a sigh.

"I'd hate him a little" Rainbow threw in, getting a few confused looks from the others.

"I thought you of all people would be ecstatic to see Thomas again" Jackson said and Rainbow rolled her eyes at this comment.

"Well if I saw him again I'd kick his ass for one, making me worried, and two, leaving me to take care of a child, granted not by myself, but taking care of a child no less" Rainbow said and this made Jackson go quiet at that moment. "But after kicking his ass... I don't know how I'd feel"

"Same here, though I have to agree with being pissed at him for making me worried" Twilight said and the two ladies gave off menacing auras as they sat in their seats and the other's shuddered feeling the anger from the two. "First thing I'd do is slap him as hard as I can"

"I was gonna bury my fist in his stomach" Rainbow said.

"Alright you two let's simmer down now, don't need ta make plans on killin the poor man" Applejack joked. "Plus ah don't think either of y'all would hurt a hair on his cute little head, prolly cry yer eyes out just seeing him" she teased, this made the girl's blush a little at this. As the girl's continued talking about Thomas, Jackson tapped Jay's shoulder and gestured him to follow him. Getting up quietly, the two boys walked into a different train and they sighed a bit.

"Tell them that Thomas is dead and they're talk about him like he was still alive" Jackson said and Jay laughed heartily. "Seem's like your mom was right when she said no was truly dead" the man said with a content sigh.

"If you saw Thomas again... how would you feel?" Jay asked and Jackson blew a raspberry then thought leaned back in his seat.

"Angry... happy... confused mostly" Jackson said, making the two chuckle a bit. "But I think I'd feel overjoyed to see that bastard walking around with that goofy smile he's got" he said and Jay felt the same way.

"Same here man, same here" Jay said, the two went silent for a moment, but not out of sadness, but of nostalgia thinking of their friend. "Remember what he wore for picture day freshman year?"

"You mean that monkey suite his old man made him wear?" Jackson queried and Jay nodded. "Man we kept calling him Mr. Angelo for month's, though him and his mom kept calling us Vito and Joe every time we came over"

"I think we dressed up as those guys for Halloween once, man did Thomas' dad have a fit when he found out Thomas took the suit" Jay said and the two laughed, remembering the days that seem so far away now. "God man... those were the good ol' day's"

"It's felt like it's been a lifetime since that day rather than just four years ago, I wonder how everyone back home is doing" Jackson said.

"I'm sure they're doing just fine, hurt, but fine" Jay said, this answer gave Jackson a little relief hearing it. "Anyways, enough reminiscing like a couple of old men, we should be getting close to the Crystal Empire so let's get ready" Jay said with a sigh before getting up and headed to the door connecting to the one.

"You said you had a feeling that we'd meet someone in the Crystal Empire... do you... do you think it could actually be Thomas?" Jackson asked and Jay stayed silent, he stood facing the door. A long sigh suddenly came from Jay and he rested his head against the door.

"... I don't know"

Crystal Empire Train Station, P.o.v- Twilight

"Alright everyone, be sure to wear something warm before we get out, Celestia said that this region is part of one of the coldest regions in Equestria" Jackson informed us and we all sported heavy jackets and snow gear. From what I was able to find out about this place, it seems that the surrounding area is covered entirely by snow due to the temperature being lowered due to old magic that was left here during the first great equestrian war. "Before we left, Celestia also told that Shining would be coming to greet us and take us to the kingdom, so be on the look out"

"How can anyone see in this blizzard?" Spike asked, already carrying Rarity's suitcases.

"I have no idea, but keep those eyes peeled" Jackson instructed, I sighed and looked out the window to keep a look just as Jackson said, but a looming thought kept nipping at the back of my head. The way Jay said we'd meet someone we knew was driving me crazy, I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I've had this bad feeling for a while now and I don't know why.

"I see something!" Jay announced and Jackson pulled the door open letting in the sharp cold air and suddenly the person Jay saw dove inside.

"Shut the door!" He said and Jackson quickly did as he was told before going over to the man and helped him up. "God's above, you have no idea how fuckin cold it is out their, I swear if I was out their another minute I would've frozen over" he said.

"That you under all that heavy gear Shinin'?" Applejack asked and the man removed his scarf and goggles revealing my brother.

"Sorry for my rudeness everyone, but you can literally feel your bones freeze out their" Shining said, he spotted me and quickly gave me a hug. "So good to see you out of the dumps Twily, I know losing Thomas took a big toll on you, hell, it took a toll on all of us" he said, releasing me and gripped the middle of his jacket.

"Do you want a minute to rest or should we get going?" Rarity asked while handing him some water she got from her bag.

"Short break then we head out, it's not wise to stay out too late, trust me... there are things you don't wanna see at nighttime" Shining said, gulping down the water and plopping himself down on a nearby seat. "Hope you brought something heavier than what you're wearing, cause' you won't make it more than five feet"

"Thanks for the heads up, by the way, what's the situation at the Empire that needed all of us?" Jackson asked and Shining immediately grew a gloomy look on his face.

"It's hard to explain, but it looks like everyone had their hope literally sucked out of them... they look like dull hollow shell's just lazily going about their day" Shining said, though his explanation was kinda vague but still informative. "Cadance and I have been trying everything to raise their spirits back up but nothing we do is working, I asked around and it seems like they're scared of something coming back"

"Or someone" Rainbow said and everyone but Shining knew what she meant.

"Looks like Luna was right, the people know that if they returned, that means Sombra has as well" Jay said, the heavy atmosphere returned as everyone stayed silent, already knowing what they must do. "How far is it from here to the Crystal Empire?"

"About a couple miles, had to guess, maybe four" Shining said and Jackson hummed hearing this.

"If we go now we can make it before nightfall, did everyone pack a heavy jacket?" Jackson asked, everyone but Jay and Jackson looked in our bags to pull out a heavier jacket. Once everyone was wearing something warmer, Jackson shoved the door open, he had to grab onto the side because the wind almost knocked him back. "Okay, move fast everyone"

With that said, we all braced ourselves and walked off into the cold waste land. Shining was leading us towards the Empire, but he looked on edge, he said that when nighttime hits it gets worse, but that doesn't mean there isn't any danger right now. The further we walked, the colder it became, it honestly felt like I was becoming frozen from the inside out. We still had another two miles till we reached the Empire and I was starting to get tired and sore from the cold, I have to just tough it out for just a little while longer.

"Stop walking" a voice whispered to me, it sounded so commanding that I did as it said without realizing it. "Duck!" The voice exclaimed and I dove right, just barely dodging something that was about to pounce on me. I got back up and saw a giant pitch black monster-like wolf snarling at me, I was frozen in place, too scared to move. "Run"

That voice was enough to make my nerves become still and I took off running with everything I had, apparently, Shining and the others were calling out to me while also running. I didn't even hear them, I didn't have time to understand why because I currently have a giant eight foot shadow monster chasing me. My legs were burning and my lungs felt like they could freeze over at any second, but my flight or fight instincts kept telling me to run no matter what.

"Jump!" The voice exclaimed again and I did as I was told narrowly dodging a swipe from the shadow monster, but the force from the attack was so strong that it made me fly forward and tumble across the snow a couple feet away from it. I somehow managed to stop, but as I began climbing back up to my feet, I felt my knee's buckle and I dropped to my knees.

"Twilight!" I heard my brother shout, I didn't have to guess what he was calling my name out for. I snapped my head towards the monster and saw it already going to pounce for me. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, my heart was racing and my body shook in fear as I watched the shadow beast jump for me, ready to rip me apart to satisfy its hunger, time felt as though it slowed down to a halt. The others were too far to help me, my magic was being nullified by this magic blizzard, and I knew no way to defend myself from any sort of attack so I was completely helpless. Never thought I'd see my death with my own eyes, I always assumed I'd die in my sleep in my late nineties, being mauled to death was way down on the list I didn't even consider it.

'I guess this is it for me, I never got to finish my schooling, I haven't read every book in the world, I never even fell in lo-
… I never got to say I was in love' I thought, all my regrets felt meaningless as I noticed time beginning to revert back and the beast started getting nearer. 'I don't wanna die' I thought and gritted my teeth, I felt around for something and found a sharp rock to which I picked up, at that moment I made a decision. It was kill or be killed.

"I'm not going to die here, so come at me you son of a bitch!" I screamed and time resumed, I reeled my arm back to get myself ready to strike. I gave out a loud cry before hurling my arm right at the beast, but before I could connect with it, a sudden black shadow speared right against the beast. The shadow tackled it a few feet away after making contact and the impact was strong enough to throw me back again, when I fell back to the ground I quickly recovered and snapped my eyes towards whatever that thing was.

Standing in front of the now dead shadow beast was a tall man with long jet black hair tied into a bun wearing a heavy looking green jacket with a sheathed sword that resembled Emeralds on his back, he also wore heavy black pants that were tucked into his black snow boots. He even wore a mask that covered half his face, red tinted goggles and gloves. He turned his head back to me and for some reason I felt a strange familiarity with this person, almost like I've met him before.

"T… Thomas?" I called out the man shook his head lightly then pulled his mask down.

"You couldn't be any further love" The man said while giving me a smile, that smile made my heart sink and my blood run colder than the snow itself. Something inside me was screaming for me to run but I was paralyzed with fear. "I'll see you soon, Twilight" the man said and tossed over a sharp rock, when I picked it up I realized it was the same rock I was holding just a few seconds ago.

"W-Who are-" I stopped when I saw that he was no longer in front of me, he vanished. "Who was that?"

"Twilight, c'mon we gotta go!" Jackson exclaimed, finally reaching me and dragged me back to the group before I could even say a word. "Who was that guy!?"

"I-I don't know" I said, shaking from the adrenaline coursing through my body. "I've never been so terrified"

"I can understand, I felt just like you when I saw one of those things for the first-"

"That man… that man was far more terrifying than that pup will ever be" I said, though my words had confused everyone.

"What are ya talkin about sugarcube?" Applejack asked, I didn't know what I was saying either, I feel every nerve inside of me shocking me to my very core. I felt faint at that moment and my knees buckled underneath me, luckily Jackson caught me before I could hit the ground.

"I think the cold and fading adrenaline is finally starting to get to you, it's such a good idea for you to move anymore so one of us needs to carry you the rest of the way" Jackson said.

"I can carry her" Fluttershy said, this response got a couple looks from everyone including me. "Uhm… if that's alright with you"

"Sure.. but I thought you couldn't carry anything more than a bunny or two?" I said, all Fluttershy did was walk over and put me on her back with one hand with little to no effort. "H-How…. I-I don't-"

"I didn't just take care of my animals Twilight, I did other things to make myself stronger these past few months, now I can carry a juvenile dragon pretty easily" Fluttershy said and quickly showed off the well hardened abs and muscles she gained. "I'm gonna have to thank Zecora for giving me a small boosting potion to get me started, now lets get going before something else comes after-" Fluttershy stopped as a loud roar rang through our ears and echoed through the open field of snow.

"What… was that?" Rainbow asked and that horrific roar bellowed out again and a wave of shadows appeared out of nowhere and was now rushing towards us at a fast pace.

"RUN!" The voice shouted.

"Hurry, we have to run, don't look back!" Shining exclaimed and started sprinting, everyone began chasing after not even attempting to look at the impending doom that was behind us.

"Wait!" We heard Spike cry out as he ran and waddled with all of Rarity's stuff.

"Lose the stupid clothes!" Jay shouted at the boy.

"But their Rarity's!" Spike said and I heard Jackson groan before he skidded to a stop and raced over to my love blinded assistant. Once he reached him, I smacked him upside the head causing him to drop the bags then he picked him and began sprinting back to us.

"Buddy, we really need to have a chat about the difference between doing something nice for the person you like and doing something stupid!" Jackson said to the boy who was rubbing the back of his head. "Also sorry"

"We're almost there!" Shining shouted, "Everyone head to that big dome, you'll be safe inside!"

"You heard the man, keep moving till you're inside that dome!" Jay instructed, this caused everyone to go into overtime, giving it everything they had as we ran from the sea of shadows coming toward us. One after another, we each made it inside of the dome and everyone immediately collapsed once inside.

"I've … never ran so fast…. in my life" Pinkie said, panting up a storm along with everyone else. The only people who weren't that tired was me, Rainbow and Spike.

"Is… is everyone alright?" Applejack asked.

"I'm good" Pinkie said.

"Same here" Jay said

"Here" Jackson and Rainbow said.

"Here darling, if it wasn't for your brother telling us to run we would've been dead" Rarity said and I looked amongst everyone, only one person wasn't accounted for.

"Wait… where's Shining!?" I asked in a panic, that question was answered when we saw my brother come flying inside the dome landing in front of us. "Oh dear gods, please tell me you're okay!" I exclaimed, rushing over to him and trying to wake him.

"What was he thinking, what was he hoping to do!?" Jackson mumbled and kneeled down next to him and began checking his pulse. "He's alive, she knocked out is all, but those black crystals look a little serious"

"Black crystals?" I queried and looked to his horn, on it was a jumble of jagged black crystals protruding outward. "This looks like… dark magic"

"Shit, we know very little about it so I don't know what to do" Jackson said, his fist clenched and had an annoyed look. "Should've asked Tia for more information about this stuff, but for now it looks like he's fine"

"He better be, I didn't just risk my neck to save this idiot from that shadow wave" Someone said, his voice catching everyone's attention. We snapped our heads to where the voice was and we saw two people walking inside the dome wearing worn armor that was covered with either a black or brown cloak and both of them wore a makeshift mask out of torn up cloth. "I don't know what this moron was thinking, but he sure was lucky we showed up when we did" the man on the right said.

"T… Thomas?" Rainbow asked hesitantly, the man looked at her with a tilted head.

"How do you know my name?" The man asked and took off his mask, I wasn't the only one shaking right now. It was Thomas, alive, breathing, walking!

"Jesus Christ" Jay muttered under his breath, Thomas looked at all of us confused and a little creeped out.

"Thomas… you're… alive" I said completely in shock.

"Of course I'm alive, I'm standin right here aren't I and can you please tell me who you people are?" Thomas asked, "Have we met before, do I owe you money or something?" He asked much to our surprise, how could he not remember his own friends. How could he not remember me.

"Perhaps you do know of them Thomas, remember, your memory is not as clear as you think it is" The man next to him said, his voice was smooth and deep, it was like honey to the ears. "Apologies for my friend here, unfortunately, no matter what you say or do, he wont be able to remember you"

"What are you talking about?" Jackson asked and the man sighed with regret. "Why can't he remember who we are!?" He exclaimed, getting angrier by the second.

"Because Thomas has amnesia"