Displaced: Fallen Kingdom

She expected it to be cold, she really did. She just didn’t expect it to be this cold. Cadence shivered as she tried disappearing into her scarf. The Canterlot winters had nothing on this. Muttering something under her breath Shining Armor turned to her, those eyes of his filled with concern as he slowed down for a moment to keep in pace with her.

“You ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine, just… really cold.”

“Same.”

“You two should have at least brought jackets and boots.” Noah stated as he stopped to look at the pair. “Seriously, you’re gonna catch frostbite at this rate ya know.” The married pair released awkward smiles as they looked at the stallion. “You two know any fire magic? You could use it to heat yourselves up.”

“Fire magic?” Why did they look confused when he said that?

“No ponies practiced elemental magic in 1000 years.” Cadence admitted as Noah blinked in surprise.

“… what?”

“Yeah, no pony practices elemental magic anymore.”

“Oh you’ve gotta be…” Noah took a breathe as he tried rubbing his temples with his hoof. Giving up the unicorn pointed the hoof at the pair as he started to focus, his eyes flashing red for a moment as two red symbols came into creation in front of him. They didn’t stay with him long, floating over to the pair before resting over their heads. “There, that should do it.”

“What on… I feel warmer.” Cadence muttered as she looked at her husband for a moment as he stopped looking at the symbol hovering over his head.

“What did you just do?”

“Just created a pair of sigils to act as heaters. Nothing to major and it won’t last forever, but it’ll keep you warm, for a while at least.” The stallion muttered as he started walking ahead of the duo. “Come on, I don’t know how much ground we gotta cover before those wear off.”

“Uh-”

“Right!”

“Don’t you need one of these too?”

“Nope.” Noah muttered as he continued walking and adjusted his jacket. “I’m good with what I got.”

“How? You’re jacket doesn’t look like it’ll do much with the cold.”

‘That’s why I did a few changes before we left.’ “It’s a story, not a long one, but I just don’t feel like talking about it.” Noah admitted as he frowned for a moment. ‘Speaking of changes…’ He closed his eyes for a moment as he started to focus, drawing into himself before nodding his head. ‘Looks like everything's still the same; well inside anyway, seems only the outside really changed…’ “Meaning I don’t have to adjust to new organs and figuring what does what.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Glancing back at the pair Noah made a noise as he watched them for a moment. “So why is it that you guys don’t know Elemental Magic? Is it impossible for you to learn or something?”

“Oh no it’s not that.” Shining Armor began. “It’s possible to use it but it’s forbidden."

“Forbidden?” Noah paused for a moment. “You mean elemental magic is forbidden in Equestria?”

“Yes, it has been for 1000 years now.”

“… what?” Seeing as Cadence wasn’t going to continue the teen turned unicorn just took a breath before narrowing his eyes slightly. Whether it was from anger, annoyance or disbelief even he wasn’t all that sure but he did. “Why… is elemental magic… forbidden?”

“I don’t know all the details personally.” Cadence muttered as Noah let her and Shining Armor take the lead again. “But Auntie Celestia and the rest of the nobles decreed that all Elemental Magic was forbidden after a while.” Cadence paused as she tried digging into her thoughts. “All I can really say is that, whenever Auntie thinks back to those days she gets… really depressed. She told me once that she made a lot of mistakes a thousand years ago. Especially after she was forced to banish Auntie Luna.” That caught Noah’s attention as he looked at the mare.

“Excuse me real quick… did you just say she banished her sister?” Cadence’s ears dropped as she nodded her head. This was obviously a sensitive subject to talk about.

To bad Noah didn’t exactly care this time around.

“What happened? Why did Celestia banish her own flesh and blood?”

It’s because…”

“Cadence you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I can -”

“No, no it’s fine Shining.” Cadence took a breath as she looked back at Noah. “You’re bound to find out sooner or later since it’s part of our history. You see a thousand years ago Auntie Luna was tricked into rebelling, and tried becoming the sole ruler of Equestria.” Cadence admitted as Noah just stared at her. “Thousands of moons ago back when Equestria was still young Auntie Celestia and Luna both ruled over Equestria, but as time went on Auntie Luna grew bitter and resentful because ponies did not worship her as they did her sister. They didn’t see the beauty in all the work she did for them night after night.” Cadence muttered as she seemed to drift away for a moment. “Then one day she just… changed, something apparently got inside her, some dark magic took hold of her and caused her to rebel.”

“I take it Luna’s rebellion failed in the end hence her banishment.”

“That’s right? With the Elements of Harmony, Auntie Celestia managed to defeat her sister, and in turn she was banished to the moon for a thousand years.”

***

“You’ll have to forgive her, my sister has been… away for a good thousand years.” Celestia admitted as she approached the duo. “She’s, behind on our current metal work.”

“Well that sucks.” Noah noted as Luna returned the weapon to it’s sheathe on the stallion’s back. “Where have you been?”

“The moon.” Noah gave her a look, one that showed he didn’t fully believe her or get whatever joke she was trying to make.

***

‘So that wasn’t some kind of inside joke…’ Noah made a noise as he started to drift into his thoughts. I’m not sure if I should be impressed or horrified. To do something like that would take an insane amount of magic, way more than any human would be able to do without performing mass sacrifices.’ Was that level of magic normal for these ponies or just the princess? ‘Wait Cadence mentioned something about Elements of Harmony. That some sort of weapon or magic amplifier? Might have to look into that.’ Not sure if it would get him home, but it definitely sounded like something to look into regardless. If it could help send a person to the moon - and keep them alive for a thousand years in an oxygenless environment; definitely something to look out for. He did not want that turned on him for whatever reasons. ‘That said…’ “So Celestia banishes her sister, and then Elemental Magic becomes forbidden. I get the feeling the two are connected.”

“You’d be right.” Cadence admitted. “After Auntie Luna was imprisoned the nobles feared that her turning to darkness do to her Elemental magic, and in order to prevent it another from turning out like her, they recommended all Elemental based magic be forbidden, and Auntie Celestia agreed in the end.”

“… that is the dumbest reason to seal away magic I have ever heard.” Noah muttered but the duo obviously heard him. “Please tell me that’s not the real reason that Elemental spells were sealed away.”

“It wasn’t.” Cadence sighed. “Really it was just an excuse. Auntie Celestia told me that the nobles had been fearing the potential of Elemental Magic for a good while - there were even conflicts before Equestria was formed based on usage of such spells.”

“Well that makes sense… but how does that link to Luna?”

“Princess Luna is probably the most powerful elemental user in the entire nation - maybe the whole world.” Shining cut in as he looked to Noah. “She’s so intune with Elemental magic that she can manipulate it unconsciously.”

‘And~ there’s my answer..’ Noah thought as he looked between the duo for a moment. ‘A royal that turned traitor and the most powerful elementalist this nation ever produced. Now I’m starting to connect a couple dots.’ “So they used a rogue royal as a scapegoat to stop the practice of elemental magic.”

“Basically.”

“I’m gonna need to talk to Celestia after this…’ A thousand years or not; to hear a mage not practice some form of elemental magic was essentially blasphemy. In a way Elemental magic was deeply tied with Mage society; well at least it was back home anyway. It was just one of those things a spellweaver had to learn at one point in their lives even if they would never use it at some point in time. To find an entire society that had forbidden it. Curious, but mostly weird. “Do you know what nobles mainly wanted it removed?”

“Oh that’s easy, it was the Pegasi.”

Noah didn’t even make a noise as he looked at the two, expecting them to go on only for them to stay silent. Apparently “the Pegasi” was the whole answer. “Forget it…” He muttered as the trio continued walking for a moment. “So ‘nother question.” The stallion pulled to a stop as he looked at the pair. “Do either of you know if we’re going in the right direction to the Crystal Empire?” That got the pair to stop as they looked at each other before looking back at the foreign unicorn.

“Uh~ that’s uh… that’s a good question.” Shining Armor muttered as he raised his hoof and scratched his head. “I don’t remember Princess Celestia giving us a map or anything to tell us which direction to go.”

“Don’t worry we’re going the right way.” Cadence stated as she received a pair of looks. All she did was frown for a moment as she looked in a random direction. “I… I don’t know how but I… I just know we’re going the right direction. Does that make sense?”

“Not really but…maybe it’s a subconscious thing?”

“Maybe.”

“Well weirder stuffs happened in my life.” Noah shrugged as he turned back to Cadence. “Either case, we’ll just start following you and -" Barely a moment after the words left the stallion the ground started to tremble under their feet. “Hm?”

“What the - what now?” The trio covered their faces as a rush of cold winds slamming into them and the ground continued to shake beneath them. When the winds fell silent they all turned to see something reaching the sky, some kind of pillar of purple and black and green was growing in the distance as Cadence’s eyes widened. “That’s - that’s dark magic!”

***

Luna didn’t need to see it; she felt it the moment it happened. A heavy concentration of dark magic suddenly erupting from the north of Equestria and “shining” like a beacon in the dead of night. “Looks like Sombra’s reclaimed the Crystal Empire after all.” Nightmare Moon noted as she stared out the nearest window. An action that Luna copied, turning her attention towards the sky as a dark aurora started to spread over the land. It would do no harm, but it did act as a signal. One that told they had once again lost the Empire.

“But how? Cadence and Shining Armor’s love should have been able to keep Sombra’s evil from reaching the Empire.”

“Given they reached the Crystal Empire first.” The Nightmare stated as Luna turned to her. “Sombra knows the northern terrain, those three do not. They may have gotten lost once they began moving on foot.” Luna muttered a curse under her breath as she looked around, her attention turning to the tomes she had been reading not moments ago before she started channeling her magic. Not to lift the books and return to her studying, but to l find sompony; her sister.

In a flash of light the night princess left the Canterlot archives only to reappear in the earthen roads of the Everfree’s makeshift village. She found her sister not to far from where she landed. The mare was looking skyward, her attention locked on the dark aurora that now streaked across the sky. “Sister…”

Celestia turned to her sister as she gave her a look. It had been a long time since Luna had seen her sister worried, and even now it still put a cold pit in her stomach. “I just received a letter from Cadence not to long ago.” The elder alicorn admitted as she took a moment to school her features. “She said that the airship was shot down by something before they reached the drop off point. Everypony appears to be safe but she’s requesting aid as soon as possible.”

“Do we have any more ships?”

“Yes, thankfully.” The mare admitted as she returned her attention skyward and narrowed her eyes. “We’ll need one of our fastest ships to pick them up, after that however…”

“We prepare for war sister?”

“… yes.”

***

Her attention turned back, the True Queen released a noise as she watched the dark aurora. “Hm… so you allow him to reach his empire first mercenary.” She whispered as she turned her attention away and continued walking. “An interesting move, though I question your intentions mercenary.” Looking to a tree she frowned before tapping her foot a few times on the dirt, and right before her eyes she watched it shrivel up into dust. “Mercenary… I do not know why you chose to aid the Umbrum, but be warned; you must put him on a leash, or else I shall deal with him myself.”

***

“Move!” Shining Armor didn’t need to be told twice, combat honed instincts forced him to dodge to the side as a spire of black crystal suddenly erupted from the ground. Cadence did as well jumping as she took to the sky as one tried stabbing into her from below. As for Noah, he bolted, dodging the series of crystal spikes that started rising up out the ground as he cursed under his breath. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Dodging another spiked he continued his string of curses as he and the wed couple started weaving through the rising black spires.

“Shining!”

“I’m fine; just keep moving!”

“Fuck!”

“Cadence are you-”

“Oh Horse apples!”

“Dodge!”

It only took five minutes for the crystals to stop sprouting, but in all honesty, it felt more like thirty. Shining Armor dropped a barrier as Cadence took to the snow and crystal covered floor. Noah released one final curse as he leered at the spires. “I. Hate. The north.” He muttered as he brushed some snow off his form and took a breath. “I also hate having to readjust to a new center of gravity.”

“Is everypony ok?”

“Yeah, just… winded.” Cadence muttered as she looked at the crystal structures.

“What are these things? They’re not regular crystals…”

“It’s.. it’s crystal magic?" Cadence stated. ‘But it’s… It’s so dark… darker than anything I’ve ever felt.’ “This mana… it feels wrong. It makes me feel sick just looking at it.”

“Heavy concentrations of Dark Mana will do that to you.” Noah muttered as stepped away from the crystals. “Their filled with blinding hate and malice, or crippling despair and sorrow.” He made a ‘tsking’ noise. “In this case it’s the former. Hate this sensation…”

“You sound like this isn’t your first time being exposed to Dark Magic.”

“It’s not.” Noah admitted as he shrugged to himself. “Come on, we should probably get going. These things didn’t just decide to rise of for no reason after all.” Cadence nodded her head as she looked in the direction the spires originated from.

“We have to get to the Crystal Empire now…” The mare muttered as she and the two stallions took off running, slipping through spires of blackened crystals as they made their way towards their origin. When they reached the heart of the crystallized area though they paused.

“Well… fuck.”