Knights of Ice and Crystal

Chapters

Chapter 1: Arrival
Lost Child
Chapter 3: Useful Weaponry
Chapter 4: Calm Your Kids
Chapter 5: Crimson Shard
Chapter 6: Darren's Statement
Chapter 7: Dark Crystal, Love Crystal
Chapter 8: Late Appointment
Chapter 9: The Prince's Sister
Chapter 10: Reunion
Chapter 11: The Teacher
Chapter 12: Solo Act
Chapter 13: Scraps off the Table
Chapter 14: New Chances and Ancient History
Chapter 15: The Pulse
Chapter 16: Ruins
Chapter 17: Hidden Qualities
Chapter 18: Friendship Castle
Chapter 19: Call of the Map
Chapter 20: Enchantment Shop
Chapter 22: Test Run
Chapter 23: Spells and Specialization
Forgotten Mother
Chapter 24: Lesson One
Chapter 25: Lightning
Chapter 26: The Skeleton in the Cupboard
Chapter 27: Best Friend
Chapter 28: Destiny
Chapter 29: To Arms!
Chapter 30: Lies of Truth
Chapter 31: The Bravery of a Knight
Chapter 32: Loose Ends
Epilogue
Chapter 2: Wrong Place, Right Time
Chapter 21: Cards on the Table

Chapter 1: Arrival

It was cold and he could not see a thing. Once again, the snowstorm had returned, making it hard for Darren to make his way south. The sky was overcast and a distant howl encouraged him to keep ploughing his way towards civilization.

He had been walking through the Frozen North for five days straight. After half a day, the potions in his backpack had been frozen through. Two days later, Darren had passed an actual glacier, something that was rare even in Northrend. The sky had been clear and the stellar constellations confirmed what he had already suspected: He was not on Azeroth anymore. Up to now, he was not sure how many miles he had put between himself and the spot where the portal exit had collapsed.

A human would probably have died on the second day. For Darren, that did not matter. It was not because he would have been particularly badass, it was just that he had already done that a long time ago. Years without proper food had followed, years without body warmth, a decade without friends.

Now he missed Twilight Sparkle and the others even more than his own family. The latter were a distant memory, the former still fresh in his mind. That feeling of being treated like a decent human being, a friend even: Darren wanted it back, even if it meant having to walk across a continent.

Suddenly, the ground under his boot gave, and Darren stumbled and fell into the snow. Raising his head, he grunted in annoyance. His deep voice was the only sound that could be heard above the howling storm. He stood up and checked his things. Nothing had fallen out of his bags and the two-handed runeblade was still sheathed safely on his back. He pulled the hood up again and resumed walking. As he raised his eyes to reorient himself, he spotted a shimmering light in the distance.

Three hours later, Darren stood in front of a magical barrier. The force field was light pink and hardly visible which must have been why he had not discovered it sooner. The most remarkable thing about it: On the other side, there was neither snow nor ice.

Darren could hardly believe his eyes. Finally, something alive! Lush green grass spread to the horizon. In the distance, across the sloping hills, crystal spires stretched towards the blue sky. Crystal formations in rich colours completed the picture. It was the embodiment of life and beauty, so perfect that a sigh of relief escaped Darren's mouth.

If only he could cross the threshold to this kingdom. He stretched out his hand, trying to step through the force field. It did not budge by an inch. Magical static discharged between his gloved fingertips and the barrier as he pulled his hand back. He tried again without the gloves and got the same result. Darren drew his sword and stuck it into the frozen ground. Without the unholy weapon, he tried to step forward again. After pushing with all his might, he had to face the bitter truth. The death knight could not enter this paradise.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed, trying not to scream out his disappointment. He had never felt so close and so far from something at the same time.

Except... Darren eyed the blade that stuck in the ground next to him. There was one thing he had not tried yet. Now that he knew that this place existed, maybe he could create a portal?

He knew the theory at least; every death knight was able to cast a single portal spell to return to Acherus, the Ebon Hold. It had been their base of operations in the war against the Lich King. If he managed to alter the spell and just try to jump across this threshold...?

Darren took his sword and pulled it from the ground. With a little effort - the constant cold slowed even the undead down - he raised the blade, pointing it at the barrier. Focusing his mind, Darren said the incantations, replacing the name "Acherus" with "Crystal Empire". His efforts were rewarded when space reluctantly tore apart at the tip of his sword. The gate widened until it was large enough for a human to step through. Otherwordly voices escaped the dark maw, groans and screams of agony that Darren tried to ignore. The Death Gates created paths that were not for the living to tread. Black and purple smoke rose from the shivering tear.

It was now or never. Clutching his runeblade with both hands so he would not lose it while travelling, Darren stepped into the Death Gate.

He is immediately whipped into the smoke by gusts of ice cold wind and thrust across a great distance. The magic of the Gate whirls him across space and spits him back out before he realizes it.

"Oof!" The air was pressed out of his lungs as he landed on his belly. That had been a rough ride which was actually unusual for a Death Gate. It appeared he had been successful, though, as he found himself in a large chamber. The curved walls were made out of dark blue crystal, the massive desk and bookshelves were crystal, even the busts that depicted an admittedly handsome but somewhat vain looking stallion were crystal. Darren grinned wryly, scrambled to his feet and sheathed his sword.

The air was stale and dry from age. A dim green light illuminated the chamber through high windows. The eerie glow reminded Darren of the houses of Forsaken. Was this room half underground? A thin layer of dust covered every horizontal surface. Nobody else could be found, no footsteps had disturbed the dust layer before Darren had introduced his face to the study floor.

Darren hummed thoughtfully, wondering where the exit was and where it would lead. As he slowly walked through the quiet chamber, he felt a weight pressing onto his soul. After the howling snow storm and the Gate, the sudden silence felt deafening. The pony busts smirked at him as he let his gaze wander across the room, looking for a door. Some of them wore a crown.

There, an archway led to a staircase, all made of the same blue crystal. Darren moved his foot forward to climb the stairs when a sudden clinking made him stop. He had kicked something small into a corner. The object had sounded like glass. Darren found it under a dusty bookshelf.

It was a curved horn, maybe glass or crystal, and of a vibrant red. Maybe it had broken off of something, the jagged edge hinted towards that. A strange aura emanated from the horn, like a dark shadow. It was an unsettling feeling so Darren decided to inspect the object more thoroughly later on. If it was dangerous he would try to destroy it. He put the horn into his bag and returned to the staircase to look up into the stair tower. The steps wound into the darkness above, disappearing after a few yards. It was too dark to see far as the tower lacked any windows or openings. With a sigh, Darren drew his sword again. The cold blue mist which emanated from the runeblade would have to do as a torch.

As he approached the end of the staircase, Darren spotted a faint light that grew brighter with every step. He picked up the pace, climbing the small steps as fast as a could. As long as the light was there, maybe there was an open door, too. Good thing he could not run out of breath.

Finally, he climbed out of an opening in the ceiling. It appeared to be some kind of trapdoor. Darren was in the centre of an old throne room. Large, high windows made the room a bright, inviting place. This hall was well looked after; the crystal floors were polished so clean that Darren could see his reflection. The magnificent throne consisted of purple crystals and a high-backed chair but it was empty. A carpet led from a portal across the room straight to the throne. The rectangular opening through which Darren had emerged interrupted the path as if somebody had planned for the stairs to be a trap for unsuspecting guests. As the death knight stepped aside, the hole closed immediately. It was just gone as if it had never existed in the first place.

Darren shook his head incredulously. Had he just climbed out of a secret hideout? Who would hide a study room below a throne room? Maybe it was some kind of bunker in case of a coup.

Darren doubted it would look good if he was found sneaking around in a foreign throne room. He quickly followed the purple carpet to exit the hall. Carefully, he pressed against one door of the portal and pushed it open by a few feet.

"Hey, what are you -?" A surprised pony, clad in barding and holding a spear, flinched as he saw the tall bipedal creature that suddenly towered over him. Before he could finish his sentence or properly point his weapon at the intruder, Darren hit him on the helmet with the flat side of his sword. The stallion collapsed, unconscious. Darren quickly caught him and let him slide to the ground to avoid unnecessary noise. The guard had a build similar to that of Arcus Tangens so Darren assumed he had received proper training. He had a horn like Twilight but no wings so he had to be a unicorn. The pony's coat was strange; it glittered as if it was a precious stone. The stallion was slightly see-through, Darren could look at the floor through his hooves. Was he a crystal pony? Darren sighed inwardly. He had a feeling he would very soon be fed up with crystals.

"Sorry, pony," he muttered. Hopefully this had been the right thing to do. Hitting the guard had been more of a knee-jerk reaction than a thought out plan.

Darren looked around: The corridor only led into one direction. He followed it until he was at another door at the far end. This time, he was lucky and no pony guards were in sight. Where was everybody anyway? He descended a circular staircase until he found a smaller door which led to a less pompous hall. The cheers of a crowd came through the windows. Apparently, there was some kind of celebration outside. That would explain the empty throne room and the painfully low security. Darren went to a window - this one had no stained glass - and peered outside.

He could not see the crowd. Darren looked down into a deserted town square, seamed by smaller crystal houses. It seemed that the window was at the backside of a tall castle and the celebration was in front of the building. As he turned his gaze upwards, he recognized the spires. This must be the tallest building in the city. Darren was roughly twenty feet above the ground but the towers went far up into the sky. The palace was almost as big as Icecrown Citadel. Darren smirked, slightly impressed, and wondered if he could make the jump down to the square without injury.

He sheathed his sword and carefully climbed backwards out of the window. Hanging from the windowsill, he looked along the castle wall to find a cornice or moulding to jump to. Now that he was closer, he was sure that the drop to the square was above twenty-five feet. Sadly, the wall turned out to be as flat as a pancake. Darren sighed curtly and let go. With a loud thud, the knight hit the ground and and swiftly rolled over to keep the damage to his body minimal. His scabbard clattered against the even stone pavement. Darren huffed and got to his feet. So far, so good. Though his left ankle now stung a little and his hood had fallen back.

A terrified high-pitched gasp made Darren flinch. As he spun around, he found himself face to face with two little ponies. They stared into his cold blue glowing eyes with their mouths ajar, giving him the impression of deer caught in a carriage's headlights. The grey pegasus colt had a wooden toy shield with him that depicted a turquoise crystal heart. The filly was an earth pony with a bright orange crystally coat. She had just dropped her corn-on-the-cob.

The death knight quickly pulled the hood over his head and ran for the next alley.

Author's Note

Welcome back, dear readers!
Good gracious, it's been a long time since I last wrote something. Well, here we go again. Darren Houndslayer comes to the Crystal Empire! And already scares the first children.
What will he do next?

Lost Child

A few months ago, shortly after King Sombra's defeat

"Sir, you need to see this!" The voice of Beryllis cut through the silence like a knife.

"What is it? Another shard?" asked Corporal Aurora, slightly annoyed. They had been searching the perimeter of the Barrier for days, collecting dark crystal fragments. After his attempted return, Sombra's magic had dissipated but the property damage alone was worth looking into. They had made sure that the civilians were unharmed, then, a large portion of the city guard had been dispatched to clear the outer city from the ugly remains of Sombra's shadow crystals.

It was not the worst job, still better than fearing to find corpses in the debris, which, thank the stars, they had not. They could wander across the countryside which consisted mainly of grasslands and rocks, and just search for the shards. A carriage in tow, they collected the crystals to destroy them at a local quarry. It was wonderfully boring.

"No, it's... a colt, Sir," said Beryllis hesitantly.

"What? Outside the Barrier?" Aurora approached her subordinate. As she saw the shivering bundle, pity welled up in her heart. "Poor thing must have run outside during the panic," she mused. "Help him up."

"Yes, Sir." Beryllis carefully nuzzled the colt. The dark grey pegasus shivered and opened his eyes. To Aurora's relief, it appeared to be just a lost child, not a depowered Sombra. She had heard of Princess Luna's return. When the alicorn had been defeated by the Elements of Harmony, she had lost a significant amount of her powers. The magic had undone some of her aging, turning the adult mare into a teenaged pony. This colt, though, had blue eyes, so unlike the red ones of the self-proclaimed king. Additionally, he was a pegasus, not a unicorn.

She held out a hoof. With a soft voice, Aurora invited the colt, "Come here."

He immediately rushed toward her, burying his head in her forelegs, looking for warmth and comfort. She was surprised by his speed. The cold usually made you numb and slow.

"What is your name?"

"Eclipse," he answered immediately.

"Who are your parents?"

Eclipse shook his head, averting his eyes. Aurora sighed.

"Another one. Beryllis, go find the child a place to stay. And get him a blanket."

"That will be a problem, Sir. The orphanages are still packed from the time before the Return. The children of the crystal slaves..."

Aurora rubbed her temples. She should have known. Eclipse shrunk in her hooves, looking up at her with fear.

"All right, then go contact the office and tell them we need to find a foster family for this colt."

"Yes, Sir."

"Don't worry, Eclipse," said Aurora warmly to the colt. "We are going to find you a home."

Chapter 3: Useful Weaponry

He had waited so long for his revenge. After his second, even more shameful defeat, Sombra had learned to let time work for him.

Not that he had a choice; his soul was trapped in a stupid horn. He had no mouth to speak, he could not cast any spells, and, worst of all, he was not even alive. Merely scratching at what was supposed to be an existence, Sombra had a hard time not giving in to madness. The only upside was that he could not feel any pain, either.

When Twilight Sparkle and Cadance had snooped through his things, he could not do anything against it. They even read his journal! The horn had fallen down the stairs to his study. Nobody noticed him, nobody thought that he could still exist after getting torn to shreds. So he had waited for someone to find him in his abandoned refuge. The chances had been slim to none.

Then, the foreign knight had appeared, kicked him, and taken the horn, only to ignore his whispers. Apparently, Sombra was damned to keep waiting for the impossible.

Finally, he had been thrown back into the dark backpack. But this time, Sombra was in luck.

The horn was in close proximity to a sword. The blade in question had been forged from the black blood of the Old God Yogg-Saron and was engraved with unholy runes. Dripping with the life force of countless victims and filled to the brim with dark magic, it was the perfect escape. The owner had just left it lying around like dirty dishes.

Sombra grinned inwardly and absorbed the power that was abundant in the runeblade. A cold haze travelled from the sword into the horn and soon the body of a grey unicorn took shape in the messy basement. Only a few more minutes and Sombra would finally be free again.

Darren carefully approached the crystal pony. He had to hurry; it was not clear what was wrong with the little pegasus. Yet he could not move too fast if he did not want to scare them. It had been so long since he had looked after children. It felt strange.

"I'm going to have a look. It might seem a bit scary but I promise I will not hurt you. Alright?"

The colt nodded slowly, his gaze unfocused. Darren crouched down next to him and stretched out his hand to feel for the pulse. It was accelerated but still not so fast that he had to worry about that. The breathing had normalized, too. Darren bent down to listen at Eclipse's chest.

"Your claw is cold," Eclipse observed uneasily.

"Hand," corrected Darren automatically. Even though he had overheard it through the door, he asked, "What is your name?"

"Eclipse."

"I'm Peridot," chimed the filly in. She took a pillow from the couch and used it to cushion Eclipse's back and head.

"Eclipse, can I look into your mouth, please?"

"What? Uh, okay... Ah..." Eclipse opened wide as if he was at the dentist's.

Darren peered inside. A bit of the dark haze still came out with every breath. He reached for the pony's head, hesitating, waiting for permission. When Eclipse nodded, he touched Eclipse's forehead and closed his eyes to focus.

"I'm not a healer but I can tell that your sickness is of magical nature," said Darren as he opened his eyes. "You can close your mouth again," he added, slightly amused.

"What do you mean, of magical nature?" Peridot was confused.

"Did somepony curse me?"

"Unfortunately, I do not know. It could be a normal condition that passes after some time. I am not familiar enough with your physiology."

"Our what?"

"You are ponies, I am human. Your bodies work differently than mine but I don't know far that goes."

"Oh," mutterd Peridot.

"So how do I stop feeling so sick?" groaned Eclipse.

Darren hesitated. "I can try and take that dark magic away. Maybe you will get better after that."

"Anything to stop the pain," said Eclipse impatiently.

"Where are your parents?" asked Darren, suddenly realizing he had forgotten that important detail.

"They're at the Crystalling, we don't have time to find them," said Peridot.

"Just do it, please." Eclipse looked at Darren with pleading eyes. Darren cringed inwardly. It was hard for him to watch the little boy suffer but what if he made it worse? Still, he had to try. Time was a factor and he had no idea how long this Crystalling event was going to take.

Darren put one hand on Eclipse's forehead and one on his barrel. He focused on the dark magic that the colt emitted and slowly absorbed parts of it, adding the energy to his own.

Eclipse sighed, visibly relaxing. "That feels so much better..."

"I cannot keep doing it." Darren eyed the colt. "The magic is resisting me. I have only taken a tiny portion of whatever is hurting you."

But if I take the sword...

Darren flinched back, trying to hide his shock. There it was again. He had enjoyed draining the colt's magic. Apparently, it was similar to absorbing life force. He had to be extra careful if Eclipse was to remain unharmed.

"There is one more thing I can try," he said slowly, frowning. "But you will have to tell me 'stop' when it hurts. I'll return in a moment." He stood up to go to the basement and get his sword.

Darren had not actively noticed it before but the basement floor and all the clutter was covered by a thin layer of ice. He carefully descended the stairs and headed for the worn out couch. He picked up his sheathed sword. A disappointed groan made him freeze in mid-movement.

"Who's there?!" Darren drew the sword, dropping the scabbard on the ground. Holding the runeblade with both hands, he scanned the room.

Some movement could be heard from behind the couch. Darren sneaked around the furniture, glad that the socks muffled the sound of his steps, and got ready to strike.

There really was someone. A grey unicorn with a black mane and green eyes stared at the blade, then at Darren's face.

Wide-eyed, the stallion yelped and shuffled away from Darren.

"How did you get in here? I barred the door." Darren frowned darkly at the unicorn. He had a curved red horn on his forehead, almost... no, exactly like the one Darren had picked up. "You are..."

The unicorn stood up. "Yes. I am King Sombra," he declared, puffing his chest out.

Darren tried to put his memories of Twilight Sparkle's tales and the sight of the disheveled pony before him together. He snorted.

"Just Sombra," Darren stated with satisfaction.

Defiantly, Sombra lit up his horn to cast a spell. Darren dashed forwards and grabbed the pony by the throat. He lifted Sombra off the ground. The light of Sombra's horn died as he flailed his limbs about in panic. He struggled for breath, unable to think clearly.

Before the unicorn could die from asphyxiation, Darren let go. Sombra fell to the floor, coughing and hacking. Darren knew he had to keep using the element of surprise. He hit the pony's head with the flat side of his blade, knocking him unconscious.

He was surprised by the weakness of the supposedly powerful tyrant. Was it because his body had just taken form? Darren had expected much more of a fight. Not that he would complain about it. With the children upstairs, it was probably for the better if he did not need to use his abilities.

"I should kill you," he mused. "Not a big loss for the crystal ponies, I suppose." Also, it was a perfect chance to satisfy his bloodlust. It had been several days since his last kill.

A shocked gasp distracted him. Darren looked up. Peridot stood at the top of the stairs, gaping at the scene.

"Did you just say, 'kill'?"

"Er..." Darren lowered his sword, suddenly embarrassed by the child's question. "I said 'I should,' not that I would," he quickly amended.

Peridot pointed a trembling hoof at the pony. "Is that King Sombra? W-what's he doing in our basement?"

"I don't know," admitted Darren, leaving out that he had brought the horn here. "But I strongly suggest we bind him and find a way to prevent him from using magic."

To Darren's relief, the filly nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

Darren pushed his backpack and cloak from the couch and put the pieces of his armour on a sturdy cardboard box. Then, he grabbed the still unconscious Sombra around the barrel and heaved the pony onto the couch. He had to find some ropes, and fast. Darren picked up his weapon and went upstairs. He found Peridot running around the kitchen in a frenzy. Eclipse appeared to feel slightly better; he was sitting at the table, watching her looking for something.

"I think it's in the second drawer from the left," said the colt. His eyes widened as he saw Darren with the sword. "Look out!" he warned Peridot.

The filly shrank away from Darren.

"What - ?"

"Do you have any ropes?" asked Darren, intentionally ignoring the ponies' fear. Maybe if he pretended that there was no danger from him they might feel safer.

Eclipse slid from his chair and eyed the human suspiciously.

"We've got duct tape in the basement," he said. "What for?"

"To... bind Sombra's legs together," said Darren. "Can you show me where?"

The colt nodded, wide-eyed. Together, they found some tape in an old cupboard with creaky hinges. Eclipse volunteered to bind the unicorn but when he shivered so badly that he could not unroll the tape, Darren sheathed the sword and took the roll from him.

"Let me help you with that." Two minutes later, a bound Sombra lied on the couch.

Darren crossed his arms and watched the unconscious pony. This had turned out to be a really busy day. And he still had to deal with the fact that he had been breaking and entering and assaulted a guard. He needed to tell Eclipse's parents what's what and also find his friends, preferrably before he gave in to his bloodlust and went on a killing frenzy. Darren heaved a strained sigh.

"Are you okay?"

Eclipse eyed Darren, a tiny frown on his face.

"I am alright," lied Darren. "Sorry for breaking into your house."

Eclipse smiled wryly. "If you hadn't, I'd probably still feel much more sick. So I guess I should say thanks."

"Still, this one is going to be hard to explain," said Darren, raising a eyebrow.

Eclipse chuckled nervously.

Peridot joined them with a small paper box. There was a metal stripe with a jagged edge on the side. It looked like a thin sawblade. The filly opened the box and pulled out a sheet of thin metal. With some difficulty, she used the saw-stripe to cut it off.

"Here, I found some aluminium foil. We can wrap it around Sombra's horn. It's like a Far-, Firadee-, it's like a magic shield." She grinned proudly. "We learned about it in Science class."

"Peridot, will you and Eclipse please go upstairs? I do not want you present when Sombra wakes up."

"Aw..." Eclipse was disappointed even though he was still shivering. "But this is our basement," he protested half-heartedly.

Darren raised his brows. "I am serious. He is very dangerous. Let me deal with this alone." A cold wind went through the basement as if to emphasize his statement.

Peridot grabbed Eclipse's foreleg, trying to drag him away from the human.

"Come on, he's right. It's getting really cold already."

"I'll explain later," promised Darren. "This is not for children to watch."

"Uch, fine." Eclipse followed his sister upstairs. They cast a last look at Darren. The knight looked back at them, giving them a tense smile.

Peridot closed the door. Both ponies looked at each other, lost for words. After a second of silence, Peridot hugged her brother.

"I'm so glad you're better," she whispered as he hugged her back. "I was really scared. Thank the stars that Darren showed up. Though he still creeps me out a bit..." She sniffled and wiped her muzzle.

"Uh, Peridot," said Eclipse awkwardly, breaking the hug, "what are we gonna tell mom and dad when they come home?"

Her ears splayed back. "I have no idea."

Chapter 4: Calm Your Kids

Sombra woke up to a rough slap in the face.

"Ow," he muttered. "What...?" He struggled in confusion as he realized he could not move his legs. He could not cast any spells, either. Every attempt led to a sharp pain in his forehead. Out of the corner of his eyes, Sombra noticed something metallic wrapped around his horn. As he tried in vain to calm down, he saw the creature standing next to him. He was wearing his armour again and pointing his sword at Sombra.

"You again!"

"Yes, me," said the knight. His deep voice had an echo that reminded Sombra of the Umbrum. "I'm afraid I cannot leave you unrestrained. The authorities shall deal with you soon enough."

Sombra snorted. "With me? What about you, whatever you are? You broke into the Crystal Palace! What do you think they'll do to you?" He spat at the knight but missed him by a few inches. The spit froze in midair and fell to the floor with a small tink. Now that he thought about it, it was really cold in here, almost as cold as outside the Barrier. Did the knight do that?

"That shall be enough." The creature raised an eyebrow. "If you cannot behave yourself, we will wait with you muzzled and unconscious. Your choice."

Sombra nodded reluctantly. His gaze was fixed on the pale knight. When he struggled against the bindings, trying to sit, his captor grabbed him at the scruff and helped him up. Sitting on his haunches, even shackled, was way better than lying down like some wild non-sentient cattle.

"Th-thanks," muttered the unicorn automatically. "Who are you anyway? I've never seen a creature like you."

"Darren Houndslayer, species: human," said the knight curtly.

"Houndslayer?" Sombra's green eyes went wide. To his shame, sweat formed on his brow. He realized he was in over his head. Stripped of his powers, left alone without slaves or backup or a plan, he felt more helpless than the time he had run away, beyond the Barrier.

Darren smirked. "A name I earned after taking care of some wildlife in the Plaguelands." He lowered his sword a little and stepped away from Sombra. "How did you rise again?"

Sombra frowned angrily. "That's a bit of an overstatement. I drained energy from your weapon. It's filled with dark magic that can resurrect the dead. Are you even aware of that?"

"Yes, very," said Darren. His hand fizzled with purple electricity as he focused on Sombra. The unicorn frowned, fear bubbling up inside of him. Could the human cast spells with his hands?

His question was answered when he was raised from the couch by a force that held him at his throat. Darren raised his hand, pointing at Sombra with curled fingers as if he wanted to snap his neck from afar. His icy blue eyes glowed with a cold magic. Sombra noticed the greedy and determined expression on the Houndslayer's face.

"Return it," said Darren hoarsely. "The power. How much did you take?"

"Not again," Sombra wheezed through gritted teeth. "Stop it, I'm - gon' tell," he pressed out. Thank Goodness, the spell dissipated and Sombra fell down again. He coughed awkwardly and frowned at Darren as soon as he found his bearings. "Seriously, you're worse than I ever was," he rasped.

Darren raised his hand again.

"I didn't get my powers back," said Sombra quickly as he saw the gesture. "You returned too soon. I'd just taken shape. Couldn't even do shadow magic, just regular unicorn magic. You got me good." He bit his lips in frustration. "So... please... stop hurting me."

Peridot and Eclipse waited in the living room, scared and confused. Both of them jumped when the key turned in the lock and their parents entered.

"Mom! Dad!" They rushed to the grown-ups and tackle-hugged them.

"Whoa, calm down, sweetie," said Mom, putting down Eclipse. "What's gotten into you?"

Dad nuzzled Peridot and frowned. "Thank the stars you're okay. When the snow storm began you still weren't at the Crystalling."

"Snow storm?" Ecplise ran to the window. "Whoa, Peridot, look at this!"

Peridot joined him and looked outside. There really was a storm in the streets. Ponies fought their way against the strong winds, trying to get home.

"Where's the snow coming from?" she asked, confused. "What happened? Shouldn't the Crystal Heart protect us from that?"

"Feather, I think they weren't even outside," said her father. He brushed back his short copper mane and sighed.

"Dad, what's wrong? You're looking so worried. Is the royal family okay? We were outside but we went back home - that was before the storm."

"We should tell them, White," said Feather sadly.

White nodded. He gestured for the children to sit down on the chairs. They obeyed, impatiently waiting for an explanation. Their father sighed again and frowned.

"We were told to go home because the Crystal Heart can't protect us from the snow anymore."

"What?" said Peridot.

"The... the heir shattered the Crystal Heart," confessed Feather. "She is an alicorn and her magic destroyed it when she cried."

"WHAT?!" Eclipse and Peridot were aghast. They exchanged looks, remembering the scary wail and earthquake. "A baby did that?"

Feather hugged her daughter and sniffled. "We need to stay home until the princesses have dealt with this. I'm sure they'll find a way." Her voice was nervous. Eclipse did not find her very convincing. He jumped from the chair.

"But what if they can't? What if King Sombra -"

Peridot quickly shook her head, trying to warn her brother, but there was no need.

"King Sombra is dead, sweetie." Feather tried to reassure Eclipse. "He can't hurt you anymore. But the snow and ice from the Frozen North, those are real. It's getting dangerous outside, I'm afraid the Crystalling isn't going to happen for a while."

Eclipse nudged Peridot.

"Can we talk for a second?" he asked, his eyes darting from one parent to another.

"Riiight. Sorry, be right back!" Both of them rushed into the kitchen and closed the door.

"What do we do now?" hissed Peridot.

"Okay, okay, don't panic, for one thing," said Eclipse nervously. "I think we should tell them. They can help us. This is some grown-up stuff I'm not ready to deal with on my own. I mean, come on, the Crystal Heart is broken! What's keeping Sombra from returning now?!" He grabbed his sister, staring at her with his blue eyes wide open in fear.

"You don't panic," said Peridot, annoyed. "Alright, and what if we tell them? They're gonna want to know why there's a hoo-man knight in our basement!"

"So what? He can explain that, it's his fault he's there, not ours! And we have to bring in Sombra, don't we? Do you want to keep that creep down there and feed him for the rest of your life? Because that's what we'd have to do, you know, if we don't report him to the Guard!"

Peridot groaned, rubbing her face. "Yeah, you're right. This is stupid. We gotta tell Mom and Dad."

"Come on, let's go back and -"

"Are you two alright?" came Feather's voice through the door. She opened it and saw two guilty-looking ponies. "What did you do?" she asked with a dangerously calm voice.

Eclipse eyed his sister. "I think we better just show you. And - and then we can call the Guard."

White appeared in the doorframe next to his wife.

"What's going on with you two? Did you break something?"

"Er... no," said Eclipse. "Um, it's more like, we found something. In... the basement."

"Fine," sighed Feather. "Wait, did you say, 'Guard'? Honey, do you know of anything dangerous we left down there?"

"No." White frowned. "Let's see what they've got for us."

"They think it's something boring or stupid," whispered Peridot as she opened the door.

Eclipse nodded. "Can you blame them? After the Heart shattered?" He went past her and ran down the stairs.

"This is going to be so awkward," muttered Peridot.

"Careful, sweetie," Feather warned him. "Don't run too fast." She followed Eclipse downstairs and froze as she saw the two strangers.

Darren turned around when the basement door opened. Eclipse ran towards him, wildly flapping his small wings and almost tripping over his own hooves as he stumbled downstairs. Also, a blonde earth pony with a light turquoise coat stared at him.

"Mom, please don't scream," begged Eclipse, standing beside Darren.

His mother did not seem as if she was able to. She gasped, raising her trembling hoof to point at Sombra.

"I-is that - that can't be..." Darren could see her shivering from four yards away.

"That's King Sombra, isn't it," said someone else incredulously. A unicorn with a light peach coat and a short copper-coloured mane had joined her. Both slowly walked down the stairs. Peridot's head appeared in the doorframe. Then, the mare blinked, realizing something, and dashed towards Eclipse. She grabbed her son and dragged him upstairs and away from Darren.

"Mom, stop," complained Eclipse, trying in vain to break free from her grasp.

Darren looked at Sombra who was still bound. The prisoner smirked at the scene that unfolded before him, revealing a fang.

The stallion, most likely the children's father, positioned himself before Darren, shielding his family with his body.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice loud and angry. Darren noticed that he, too, was trembling, maybe worse than her. He could not help but feel a little admiration for the brave pony that was obviously not a warrior. "And how did you get in here?"

"My name is Darren," he answered, lowering his sword. "I am sorry for intruding. I will explain everything as soon as we have taken care of this." He pointed at Sombra, who winced and audibly swallowed.

"King Sombra... has returned? How?" The unicorn looked as if he was going to throw up.

"Please, call the Guard." Darren frowned. "This is a priority, Sir."

The stallion nodded curtly. "A-alright. Feather? Will you please get the kids upstairs and call the Guard?"

Feather nodded and left, taking Eclipse and Peridot with her.

"Wait, Mom - I can help, Darren's not evil, please -" His voice became inaudible when the door was shut.

The stallion stared into his eyes, sweating. Darren looked away, aware of the effect the sight of his face had on ponies.

Sombra chuckled as he watched the two of them. He obviously enjoyed that the pony was afraid of the human.

"Just a moment," said Darren, sheathing his sword. Always with one eye on Sombra, Darren put up the hood to hide his eyes. Then, he secured the scabbard on his back and bent down. He could feel the stallion's gaze upon him, watching every one of his movements. Darren picked up the roll of duct tape. As the stallion flinched away, Darren sighed quietly and used a bit of tape to muzzle Sombra.

"Now we can talk," he said, giving his attention to the stallion. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage."

"W-what?"

"What's your name, Sir? I assume you're the main resident?"

"Er, yes, well, my name is White Alloy and this is my house," stammered the stallion, his eyes on the gagged, frowning Sombra. "A-and you're trespassing. So is he." He pointed at Sombra with a shivering hoof. The former king rolled his eyes.

"I am aware of that," admitted Darren. "When the Guard arrive I will not cause any trouble."

"Good," breathed White Alloy, relieved. He eyed Darren. "Now, how...?"

"I had... a portal accident," said Darren. "Since I... do not exactly blend in I needed to hide somewhere. Your basement was the next place at hand. Coincidence. Sombra used my sword's magic to return to life. I was not present at the time. If I had known that he could do that I certainly would not have left his broken horn lying next to it. You have my deepest apologies." He bowed his head.

"I can't do much with that," snorted White angrily, the fur on his neck standing on end. "My children were alone with you, weren't they? What did you do to them?"

Darren recoiled in disgust. "Nothing! I merely helped your son when he got sick."

White shivered. It was getting colder with every second. The couch and shelves were already covered by a thin layer of ice. He looked around, then used his magic to grab an old blanket that was lying around. He wrapped it around himself.

"Yeesh, that storm is even in here," he muttered.

Darren tried to calm himself. He was losing control of his frost magic again. He focused, closing his eyes for a moment. The temperature did not drop any further but that was all he could do. Darren had to resolve this quickly before he completely lost control.

White Alloy eyed the shivering Sombra.

"Did he do that?"

Darren tilted his head, confused.

"You said Eclipse was sick. He's never been sick in his life. What did Sombra do?"

"I am not sure it was him," said Darren. "Eclipse has a powerful magic inside of him but I do not think it is from this one here."

Sombra shook his head and blinked slowly, confirming what Darren had said.

"Hm-mmh," he said, raising his brows.

"I absorbed some of the magic - he was not hurt - you should still get him to a doctor. Eclipse seems to be alright but he might have a relapse soon."

"A relapse of what exactly?"

"Better to ask your son."

White rubbed his temple and groaned.

"The Guard can't arrive soon enough," he muttered. "You just stay here." He dropped the blanket, his jaw set.

Darren nodded. White Alloy left in a hurry and slammed the door shut. There was a resounding click when it was locked. Sombra gave off a muffled groan through the duct tape.

"What?" Darren ripped the tape off. It hurt Sombra; the stallion winced and hissed in pain.

"Don't look at me," said Sombra accusingly. "You're the one getting both of us arrested. You could have left me here and run for it, you know."

Darren gave him an annoyed look. "Don't even try. I will keep my eye on you. It is the least I can do for the Princess."

Sombra's eyes went wide.

Author's Note

Hint: Jonathan needs a wand to cast spells. Darren has the sword for that.

Chapter 5: Crimson Shard

Feather ran through the wide streets, trying to ignore the harsh wind and the snow that hit her back. Her heart was beating so fast that gallopping to the Guard was easier than she had thought. Only slightly out of breath, she arrived at the precinct's station. The building was massive, made of light green crystal and sat on top of a small elevation. She had to climb a few steps to reach the door. Feather pushed it open and entered.

A swift turn to the right and she stood at the counter. A slightly puffy officer without armour sat behind it and greeted her with a friendly, though tired, smile.

"Oh, hey, Rush, I didn't know you were on the clock today," he said, slightly surprised. "Thought the other secretary was on duty."

Feather shook her head. "Hey, Print. I'm not. He is. Er, I need to report an emergency."

Deep Print frowned. "You're kidding, right?" He pointed at the room behind him.

Feather's ears went down. She had not noticed it before but the station was packed with ponies, panicking, shivering ponies and guards that tried to calm them down. The other secretary was also there, hoofing a cup of coffee to the Captain who had just taken off his helmet.

"Oh," said Feather. She cleared her throat. "Well. It's still important."

"You know the Princesses?" Sombra gaped at Darren.

The knight frowned, angry that he had slipped. He was way out of practice. Maybe that was a good thing, though. Ignoring Sombra's question, Darren looked around the basement and found a wooden crate that went up to his knees. He pulled it across the room so that it faced the couch about two yards away, then sat down on it. He rested his elbows on his knees and watched Sombra with folded hands.

He had a prisoner who was much weaker than anticipated. Darren doubted that Sombra was faking it. The way Twilight had described him, the pony was arrogant and impulsive. If he had the power to take down Darren he would have used it. But why would Sombra try to make conversation? Did he not care that he was going to get arrested? Was his objective not to return to his full power and rule the Empire? Darren took a deep breath through the nose.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Sombra did not answer and looked away.

"Hey, you two. Can I come in?" White knocked on the children's bedroom door.

"Yeah." That was Peridot.

White entered the bedroom and quietly shut the door. Both ponies were sitting on Eclipse's bed, wrapped into a blanket.

"How are you doing?" asked White, a worried frown on his face.

Eclipse sniffled.

"What are they gonna do to Darren?"

White sat down next to him an put a foreleg around him.

"You see, even if he isn't a bad guy, he still wasn't invited. And the Guard need to ask him what he knows about Sombra."

"But he helped Eclipse," said Peridot.

"Actually, I want to talk to you about that," sighed White. "What happened while we were gone, buddy? Did you really get sick?"

Eclipse nodded, fear creeping into his eyes. "Darren says it was dark magic. He took it away. It was so scary."

"Darren?"

"No, the magic. And it hurt so much." Eclipse shivered a little. White pulled him closer.

Peridot joined the hug and added, "It looked really scary, too. Eclipse was, like, floating in the air and there was this dark smoke and his eyes glowed..."

"My eyes glowed?" cried Eclipse.

Peridot nodded. "Like Sombra's," she whispered. "I didn't know what to do and Eclipse was hurting so I called for help. And suddenly Darren comes out of the basement and wants to help."

"So we let him," said Eclipse. "He just put his claw on my head and said, 'I will take the dark magic from you.' I'm better now. And he was really careful, Dad. And he found Sombra."

"And he knocked him out," said Peridot, emphasizing the statement with a swing of her hoof. "Though," she muttered, "I didn't really see that."

"Darren didn't want us to see what he'd do with Sombra," said Eclipse, worry creeping into his voice. "He isn't gonna hurt Sombra, is he? I mean, I know he's an evil guy but bad guys go to jail, right? ...Dad?"

White was shocked. He tried to keep his ears up and kissed his children.

"Yes, they do. I'm glad you're okay," said White. "I'm gonna talk to Darren when your Mom comes back. You stay here, alright?"

Both nodded meekly.

"Alright," muttered White. He stood up and left, closing the door behind himself. There was a ton of new questions in his head and there was only one able to answer them.

"But I'm telling you, it's actually King Sombra!" Feather cried desperately.

"Look," said the Captain calmly, "Sombra was killed when the Heart was returned by Spike the Brave and Glorious. Even if a pony looks like Sombra it can't be him. Most likely, it's some lunatic trying to imitate him. I'm sorry, Rush, but we have neither the time nor capacity for this right now. Princess Cadance ordered that everyone go home until further notice. You should, too."

"There are two strangers in my house, Captain," said Feather angrily, "and I won't let them stay there. Isn't there anypony you can spare?"

The Captain rubbed his forehead.

"Take Blaze. Two hours max. Now get outta here."

"Thank you, Sir!" Feather beamed, relieved.

Feather had not worked with Indigo Blaze before. The stallion was a detective in his thirties, a bright yellow unicorn with a mane shaved so short that it was hard to tell the colour. He was wearing a coat to protect him from the cold. Maybe he had been outside the Barrier a few times; the coat looked worn. The way that Blaze carried himself suggested a bit of experience in the field.

"Thank you for doing this," said Feather as they cantered back to her home.

"Captain's orders," said Blaze nonchalantly. "So what can I expect?"

"There's Sombra," began Feather nervously, "but he's bound and gagged and his horn foiled. I think he's weaker than before. His eyes didn't glow and he has a sort of normal body, without all the shadows. And then there's this two-legged creature who calls himself Darren. He... he looks like a knight of some kind, he is armed with a sword and about six feet tall - "

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Damn. Alright, what's the deal with that Darren guy?"

"I think he caught Sombra. Who else would have bound him? He looks very dangerous but he was actually the one who asked us to call the Guard. We barely exchanged two sentences, I have no idea what he is and what he wants aside from getting Sombra arrested."

They stopped at the house and Feather knocked.

"White, it's me!"

Her husband opened the door by a fraction and peered outside.

"Feather," he sighed, relieved, and let them inside. Indigo Blaze bumped hooves with White and introduced himself. Feather kissed White on the cheek to greet him.

"Are the kids still upstairs?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm gonna bring them something for dinner... and keep them occupied."

White frowned and took her hoof as she turned.

"You sure?"

"Why, do you want to have me downstairs with you?"

"Alright, I see your point. See you later."

"I thought so," said Feather and smiled wryly.

"We're getting company," said Sombra as he heard some muffled voiced through the kitchen door.

"Shit." Darren stood up and took the tape roll.

"Oh, come on!"

He muzzled Sombra again, just in time for the door to open.

White Alloy came downstairs, along with a pony that wore a coat over his... coat. Darren faced the two of them. The pony's eyes widened, then, he tried to keep a straight face.

"Are you Darren?" asked the new guy.

"Yes."

"I'm Detective Indigo Blaze, Crystal Guard. Did you bind and foil this stallion?"

"Yes, Sir. He is King Sombra so I figured it the appropriate thing to do."

Blaze frowned as his eyes taxed the bound grey pony.

"He does look slightly similar. Grey coat, curved horn. But the Neighponese have those, too. You know," Blaze snorted, "the eye colour is all wrong, plus, where's the smoke and fear magic?"

Darren cleared his throat. "Apparently, he has not regained his powers after his resurrection."

"Yeah, apparently." Blaze shook his head. "Let's see what he's got to say to that." He pulled the tape from Sombra's mouth.

"You do know that ponies can't be raised from the dead, right? This is just messed up... I mean, I'm just walking down the street, minding my own business, when this guy turns up and knocks me out. Next thing I know, I'm in some star-damn basement. What is this? Some kind of sick joke?"

Speechless, Darren stared at Sombra. Would Blaze see through the lie?

"Who are you, then?" asked Blaze, his eyes narrowed.

"Not Sombra, that's for sure," snorted Sombra. "My name's Crimson Shard. I came here two days ago with the Crystal Express."

"He's lying," said Darren angrily. "He claimed to be Sombra a few minutes ago. He drained energy from my weapon to return to this form."

"Uh, actually, we never heard him say that," said White reluctantly. "Just you... Did you tell the children that story, too?"

"Then why is he missing his Mark?" countered Darren.

"I'd rather not talk about it," mumbled Shard. He was actually blushing! "It's rare but it happens, getting your Mark late."

"Sir," said Blaze, "I need you to come with me. The way I see it, you've been breaking and entering, the only thing that nopony doubts right now."

Darren groaned, the echo in his deep voice startling Blaze for a second. Trying hard to stay calm, Darren sighed curtly.

"I realize... how this looks. Strange creature appears in a basement with a pony taken prisoner. If you'll let me explain -"

"You can do that at the precinct," said Blaze. "Turn around."

"Light dammit, you're letting him go?"

"King Sombra is dead. There is no way in Tartarus that this pony is him. It's Mr Shard's word against yours... Why is it so cold in here?" Blaze turned to White, who pointed at the back door.

"I think I know why," said White. "Look, the door. The lock's broken."

Darren used the momentary distraction to run for said door and remove the bar.

"Halt!" called Blaze, lighting up his horn. Darren drew his sword and turned around. He pointed it at Blaze and cast a spell. Blue mist formed around Blaze's head and the water in the air froze, turning into tiny snowflakes. The pony held his head, bending over in pain as the cold numbed his thoughts.

"Detective!" White shouted, shocked. He ran to his side, trying to catch the guard who looked as if he was going to faint.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." Blaze panted, blinking rapidly. "I got this." He shook his head and tried to do magic again, but too late; Darren had already left.

"Horseapples!" cursed Blaze. He ran after Darren, through the door, up the stairs - he looked around - the creature was gone. He had not thought a biped could be this fast, in plate armour no less.

Frustrated, Blaze returned to the basement and cut the Sombra-lookalike loose.

"You sure about this?" asked White nervously, his eyes on Crimson Shard.

"Yeah. King Sombra is dead, Sir. I saw him explode, you can take my word for it."

Crimson Shard smiled innocently.

Darren pressed his back against the wall. He waited for a few seconds and listened. It seemed that Blaze had already given up. He must be under a lot of pressure if he even forgot to just look around the corner.

Next to the house was a small garden, seamed by an enormous hedge. It was already covered by a significant amount of snow from the freak storm. Darren hid behind it and peered around the leaves. The door opened and Blaze left the building, along with Sombra. They parted ways; while Blaze turned to walk roughly in the direction of the castle, Sombra looked left and right. He galloped away in the opposite direction.

Darren grimaced angrily. Ponies were simply too gullible. His honesty had so easily been wiped away by Sombra's lie. Apparently, glowing eyes were a big minus for credibility. There was only one option left; he had to find Twilight. It was clear that he was not welcome at White's anymore. Twilight was a princess and Darren knew that she had been to the Crystal Empire before. That meant that she was familiar with the royals here. His best chances were to return to the castle.

He snuck back to the basement and listened at the door. As he could not hear anybody inside, he slowly pushed against the door. There was some resistance; the door had been barred again. He sheathed his sword. This was a case for blunt force.

Darren shifted his weight and kicked the door in. The wooden beam splintered loudly under his heavy boot. He heard a surprised shout from upstairs and hurried inside. Stepping over the remains of the improvised lock, Darren snatched his backpack from the floor and, after a moment of consideration, the roll of duct tape.

The kitchen door opened. Without looking back, Darren ran outside. He had high hopes that the snow storm would cover him on his way to the castle.

Chapter 6: Darren's Statement

Darren was surprised by how short the way to the castle felt. Now that he knew the way he avoided taking as many turns as on the way out. The snow storm helped. There were so few ponies in the streets that he only needed to hide twice on the entire way and just for a short time; no pony wanted to stay outside any longer than necessary.

He found the castle plaza deserted. There was a large archway that probably led to the main entrance of the castle; someone had closed it with an opaque makeshift curtain. The Crystal Ponies were apparently not used to dealing with actual winter weather or else they would have thought to build a proper gate. There was a stage but it was empty, too. Darren looked left and right before entering the plaza; he crossed it with quick steps. His boots left tracks in the freshly fallen snow. He hoped that more snow would fall to cover them again.

With one gloved hand, Darren pushed the curtain open, just enough so he could step through. He was now in a large chamber. In the exact centre was a pedestal of blue crystal. It looked like a pair of stalactite and stalacmite with a gap in between. The main piece was missing; thousands of small crystal fragments covered the floor around the pedestal. Was this the reason for the snow and ice? Had the spell that protected the empire been countered? Darren kneeled down and palmed a shard. It felt cold, like everything else. The colour was the same as the heart's on the banners he had seen outside. Maybe this was - had been - the famous Crystal Heart. If he had not known better he would have taken it for a piece of glass. He decided to take the shard and ask Twilight about it. Once something like this crystal was shattered it could not be fixed anyway so there was no harm in taking a piece.

His thoughts were interrupted by a strage sensation. Darren suddenly felt very light. He yelped in surprise as his feet were lifted off the ground. A grey shimmering force field engulfed him. Darren pressed his hands against it; it resisted him like a tough tent skin, adapting to his movements but holding him im place.

"Light damn it," Darren cursed. Slowly rotating in midair, he caught a glimpse of his captor.

Blaze had found him. His horn was aglow; he had conjured the force field and held it in place with his magic.

"Hello, Darren."

"Hello, Detective," replied Darren flatly.

"You know, after that Sombra incident, I had a feeling you'd come here," said Blaze. He seemed happy about his deduction being true but at least there was no arrogant swagger in his gait as he stepped closer.

"I," said Darren, "did not. I was not even aware of this thing here." He pointed at the shattered artefact.

"Right," said Blaze sarcastically.

"Is there no way to convince you that I mean you no harm?"

Blaze frowned, thinking for a moment. He floated Darren to the ground but kept the magical bubble active.

"There is a spell. If you come with me, we can sort this out."

There was a short silence.

"Alright," said Darren finally.

He landed heavily on both feet as Blaze released him. Darren unbuckled the belt that held his scabbard and offered his sword to the Detective. "I will comply. It appears to be the only way I can prove to the guard that you released King Sombra."

"Let's just hope for both our sakes that you're wrong," sighed Blaze, the hair on his neck standing on end.

Darren was in for another surprise when he entered the Guard station. It was huge and it was packed with ponies, both guards and civilians. Everyone went silent when he and Blaze entered. Scared looks were cast at him, whispered questions filled the air. Darren towered over everybody. He was of average height for a human but still easily two feet taller than Blaze. A few guards perked up, alert and ready. Blaze, with Darren's sword on his back, maneuvered them through the crowd. After a short talk with the guardspony at the counter and passing the sword on to him, he led Darren to a room at the back.

The chamber was small but still big enough for a table, two chairs and a plank bed. There was a single window but not in the outer wall. Darren could see another room behind it. He wondered how the ponies managed to produce such a large and even glass panel. Probably magic. The lights inside both rooms lit up as they entered. He looked at the ceiling. Of course: Crystals again.

Blaze gestured for Darren to sit down, which he did. Another pony entered the room, this one a white earth pony with a mane as red as fire. He was wearing armour which was slightly more ornate than the ones Darren had seen on the other guards. The newcomer whispered something to Blaze, then left and sat down on the other side of the window. His expression was grave; he was probably Blaze's superior.

"So, how does this work... Sir?" asked Darren.

"I will cast a spell on you," explained Blaze, "but first, I need your written permission. It's an invasion of privacy beyond a mere statement. It's not the same as just talking."

Darren frowned, which Blaze could not see because of the hood. "Are you going to read my mind?"

Blaze shook his head. "Not exactly. I will be able to receive thoughts and memories that you intentionally send to me. It is a telepathic connection so you won't be able to lie. That's why it can be used to find out the truth."

Thank the Light, thought Darren. Last thing I need is a mentally scarred guard whimpering in a corner.

"One can still lie with the truth," he said slowly.

"That's right." Blaze nodded. "And that's why I will ask you the questions before we do this. You will answer them through the spell. That way, we can control the narrative." He lit his horn. A piece of paper and a fountain pen appeared on the table with an audible plop. Blaze slid the sheet over to Darren. "Sign here." He pointed at a dotted line at the bottom of the form.

Darren bent forwards to read the paper.

"I can't decipher any of this," he admitted.

Blaze did not bat an eye.

"'I hereby allow the officer in charge of the investigation to cast a truth spell on me to receive an unquestionable statement concerning my involvement or lack thereof at the place and time of the crime stated above.' Meaning, you either confirm or deny that you did the breaking and entering. Or trespassing or whatever you did in that basement. And if there was a reason for your actions that concerns national safety, we can find out about that, too."

Darren took the pen and signed.

"That's a long name." Blaze raised an eyebrow.

"Darren Houndslayer," explained Darren. He hesitated, then added, "I did not want to shock you."

Blaze paled. He made the sheet and pen disappear.

"Ready?" he asked hoarsely.

"Eclipse! Peridot!"

Eclipse opened the door and peered into the hallway.

"Yes, Mom?"

"Can you come down, please?"

The siblings rushed downstairs, Eclipse with his wooden shield tucked under his small wing, Peridot with a slightly ruffled mane. Feather welcomed them at the foot of the stairs.

"Oh dear, you can't go like that," she said, trying to straighten Peridot's mane.

"Ugh, Mom, the mane's fine, what - what's going on?" said Peridot.

"We're going back to the castle," said White. "The princesses announced that they would perform the Crystalling. The neighbors just told us. Come on, hurry up or we're going to be late."

"What about Sombra?" asked Eclipse. "Did they arrest him?"

White shook his head. "That wasn't Sombra in our basement."

"Really? It sure looked like him." Eclipse shivered. "He even had the fangs."

White smiled mildly at Eclipse, trying his best to cover his doubts.

"I told you, son, Sombra's dead. That was just a look-alike. Now, come on. We need to hurry, there's still that snow storm going on outside."

"Why did you enter White's basement?"

Indigo Blaze is standing in snow that goes up to his barrel. He cannot feel the cold but he knows that it must have been there. Darren is right next to him, lying on the ground in an awkward position. As the armoured biped sits up, Blaze sees the exit of a magical portal fizzle out. He looks back at Darren and recoils. His eyes are glowing! Cold, icy blue eyes stare through him, at the place where the portal has been a second before. A fearsome tattoo, like a lightning bolt or an abstracted blade, runs across Darren's left cheek and down his neck. Being only two feet away, Blaze easily sees the confusion on Darren's pale face. Darren pulls up his hood to protect himself against the wind.

"Twilight!" shouts the knight. "Arcus! Jonathan? Levinia?" He stands up, curses and walks away.

The scene dissolves and Blaze sees Darren standing in front of the Barrier. He watches his futile attempts to step through. Blaze shivers from head to hoof as he understands that Darren can cast a dark and powerful portal spell. Terrible screams echo through the sinister gateway, grinding at Blaze's nerves but leaving Darren unfazed.

He is now standing in a poorly lit, abandoned study. Darren has just arrived, too, and looks around with curiousity.

Again, the scene shifts; they are in the Throne Room. Darren exits from a trapdoor in the floor just before the throne and makes his way to the door. He opens it and Blaze quickly follows him. A single guard is standing at attention before the portal.

"Hey, what are you -?" Darren hits the guard, who goes to sleep immediately, and mutters an apology.

They are in the streets and Darren keeps running until he stops at a house with a back door. He discovers that the door is not locked and enters. He sits down on the couch with a sigh.

"What is your relationship with Crimson Shard?"

They are back in the abandoned study. Darren picks up a red, curved horn. After examining it, he puts it into his backpack. Is that Sombra's horn? It is the only thing that comes to mind as Blaze lets his gaze wander across the room that is filled with busts of the tyrant. His eyes widen in shock. Darren's memory is showing him Sombra's hidden lair!

Blaze felt his hold on the spell slipping. He felt dizzy as he realized that he was back at the station. Of course, they had never really left... But as long as the spell was active it was like a dream; you forgot where you actually were. Darren sat in front of him, across the table. He did not move. Blaze realized that Darren waited for him to pull himself together. He lowered his head, scrunched up his nose, and re-cast the spell.

"What is your relationship with Crimson Shard?"

Darren walks down the stairs of White's basement and draws his sword. Unseen by the Darren in the memory, Blaze walks around the couch and discovers the grey unicorn. His red horn is not yet foiled and Blaze recognizes it immediately. His insides turn as the pony tells Darren his name and attacks him. Relief washes over Blaze when Darren overpowers Sombra with a foreign strangulation spell.

"I should kill you," says Darren. "Not a big loss for the crystal ponies, I suppose."

"No, we need him for questioning," says Blaze automatically. He slaps his forehead and scoffs. Nopony can hear him now.

That is when a young filly appears at the top of the stairs.

Blaze's surroundings shift once again. Sombra is on the couch, bound but still not foiled. Darren and the young pegasus colt, White's Alloy's son, are standing next to him, watching him.

"Are you okay?" asks the colt.

"I am alright," says Darren, his voice surprisingly kind despite the echo. "Sorry for breaking into your house."

Blaze opened his eyes. His head hurt and he needed to take a few steady breaths to make the grey fuzzy stuff retreat from the edge of his vision. He stared at Darren. Darren looked back at him. The knight lowered his hood and their eyes met. Now that he had already seen Darren's eyes, Blaze managed to look back without flinching. In the corner of his eye, he caught movement on the other side of the glass. He felt ashamed.

"Shit," whispered Blaze.

"Indeed. As you can see," said Darren slowly, "Kalar Thanagor Sombra a'lok gorum enthu'ras."

Blaze blinked slowly. "What?"

Chapter 7: Dark Crystal, Love Crystal

The snow storm was as strong as ever when the first ponies returned to the streets. The citizens of the Crystal Empire had a hard time ploughing their way through the white carpet that already went up to their ankles. The prospect of witnessing the Crystalling was still worth it. Even the campers who had waited all night on the castle plaza had been ordered to go home and they were the first to return.

Eclipse, Peridot and their parents were among the crowd that wandered to the castla plaza. The ice could not dampen their anticipation of the great event. What would the royal heir look like? They had heard it was an alicorn. That had to be quite a sight. The announcement of the princesses to fix the Crystal Heart with the love and admiration of the citizens was not only flattering, it was going to be their salvation. Everypony was happy to give all their trust and admiration to the royal family who, along with their friends, had saved them twice already. Eclipse used his wooden shield to protect himself and Peridot from the falling snow while White Alloy cast a small spell to float bigger clumps out of the way when they got stuck in it.

There was one exception from the crowd. A single, dark grey unicorn with a curved red horn ran away from the castle, towards the barrier. Sombra dashed along the streets so fast that it almost looked as if he was flying. The cold did not bother him much; he was sweating. Steam rose from his nostrils as he used all his stamina and determination to get as far away from the Empire as possible.

He had to get outside the Barrier. He needed to know what he was supposed to do. Only the Umbrum would be able to help.

Sombra reached the edge of the city an hour later. The snow storm hat covered the entire sky and the ice rain was everywhere. It it was hard to tell where the red Umbrum crystal was. Still, he found the formation on a familiar hill.

"Mother!" he shouted against the howling wind.

The crystal formation did not answer.

"Mother!" he repeated, stepping closer and touching the blood red surface.

"Mother, answer me! I have returned! Grant me your powers once again!"

Finally, the crystal answered. A dark presence stirred in the spikes and focused its cold gaze on Sombra.

Oh, look who's come back. It's the failed king, it sneered.

"Please, help me!" shouted Sombra against the wind. "You must know how to get them back. Am I not your champion? I will free you once I have reclaimed my throne!"

Champion? Thousands of hissing voices cackled, their echoes reverberating in Sombra's mind. The Umbrum laughed at him, full of glee and anger and hatred. You are no champion. We unleashed your might, your shadow self, and you managed to fail not once but twice!

"I - I'm sorry! Give me another chance and I- -"

Never! You had your chances! the Umbrum snarled. We have sent a new champion. He will free us! You may rot in Tartarus, good-for-nothing disappointment that you are. Even if we could, we would not awaken you again! Your powers were inside you, not a trinket that can be passed from a pony to another. Fool! If you lost them, they are lost.

"But... but I am one of you! You said I was your son!" Sombra could not manage to keep the panic out of his voice as he caught himself begging.

You are; but what of it? An offspring that cannot free his kin, what is he worth? Go away, Sombra, and die! Die at the hooves of the princesses! They will find you and do away with you, and good riddance, too.

Sombra was speechless. He felt the colour drain from his face. His belly was numb, like a bag filled with ice. This could not be happening! How could his own people cast him away? After having to grow up alone, discovering his powers alone, ruling alone, they would not take him back? He had no place in the Empire and no place with the Umbrum?

"Please, just let me come home to you," he croaked, pressing his hooves against the cold red stone. "Please."

The crystal remained silent. Sombra begged for a long time but no plea and no offer was answered. The Umbrum had left him.

He staggered away from the crystal, his vision blurring. Sombra was all alone, a little grey pony in the snow storm. He had thought that the pain of dying was terrible but, as it turned out, the pain of being completely and utterly left alone was much, much worse.

"As you can see," said Darren slowly, "you really just released King Sombra."

Blaze's reaction was not what he expected. Instead of shock, there was confusion. Blaze stared at him with disbelief.

"What?" he said, a word in a language that Darren did not understand.

"Pardon?"

Blaze said something again, getting a clueless frown from Darren.

"I think Twilight's translation spell just wore off," he assumed.

Blaze shook his head, trying to signify that he did not understand, either. He turned around and gave a short wave towards the window. The pony with the fiery mane stood up and joined them in the interrogation room.

"Captain," said Blaze, "we have a problem."

"I figured. You've been staring at the creature for an entire minute."

"The spell revealed that Mr Houndslayer was trespassing but did not commit a burglary. Also that he actually captured Sombra."

"What?!"

Blaze's ears splayed back. "Also, the truth spell countered another active spell. Darren can't understand our language anymore. I'm trying to work around it but it would help to find a pony with some lingual expertise." He hung his head. "We actually had him. We had Sombra. But I did not believe that somepony could rise from the dead. Apparently, Darren's sword managed to do just that. We'll have to start a search."

Coral Spark frowned and rubbed his muzzle, deep in thought. He looked at Darren who met his gaze and gave him a polite nod.

"I'm not so sure about that. Did the... new Sombra commit a crime after rising again?"

Blaze hesitated. "None that I know of."

"Well, then I suppose he's innocent."

"Sir?" Blaze was not sure if he misheard the Captain.

"On what grounds would you search for him, hm? The crime of being alive? He died, didn't he?"

Blaze nodded slowly. "I saw him explode. I even told Houndslayer."

"Then he paid for his crimes. Death is a capital punishment in the Griffin Kingdom. We don't even have a death penalty. Sombra just died because the magic of the Crystal Heart blasted him. He may have been a cruel, arrogant bastard but he still would have gotten a trial and, most likely, a life sentence.

"On top of that," Spark continued, "there's the reformation cases. You know, Princess Luna, Discord, Starlight Glimmer... I'm sure you read the news. If Sombra really regrets what he's done, who knows what the judgement will be."

"With respect, Sir, I'm surprised to hear this from you," remarked Blaze.

Coral Spark frowned. "I didn't say I have sympathy for the prick but we have to consider the possibilities. A pony risen from the dead, that would be a first. But Princess Luna's case is a little similar. We can't ignore that."

Blaze hummed, not entirely convinced.

"What about this po-, creature here?" asked Spark. "You said he managed to defeat Sombra?"

"Yes, Sir, and he did not even break a sweat. I think the 'king' is back to being a regular unicorn."

"Okay, Indigo, we're gonna do this: We will keep our eyes peeled, just in case, but if Sombra doesn't stir up trouble we can't arrest him. I will inform the Princess and Prince. We will search for him but that's because we need him as a witness."

"Understood." Blaze saluted. "What about Houndslayer?"

"Did he steal anything?"

"No, Sir. He wanted to hide. I do not know yet how the children are involved. The colt seems to like him."

Spark smiled wryly. "Maybe they invited him without permission from the parents. Rush is off duty tomorrow but interview her and the husband as soon as you can."

"Yes, Sir. There's something else. Houndslayer punched a guard in the castle, to escape when he accidentally found the throne room."

Spark thought about that for a moment. "Then find out who was on duty today and bring them here. We're gonna get to the bottom of this. Tonight, Houndslayer gets a room in the dungeon. And get a notebook until we find a translator." Coral Spark rushed out of the room, leaving a slightly frazzled Blaze behind.

Blaze turned around to face Darren, who looked at him expectantly. He had watched the entire conversation without making a movement or sound. Blaze had not even seen him breathe which freaked him out a little. He wondered how much information Darren had gathered from the gestures.

"Sorry about that," said Blaze. "Wait here," he added, pointing at the desk. Blaze quickly left the room and cantered to the counter. The station had emptied somewhat; most of the ponies who had come here in the panic caused by the snow storm had left again for the Crystalling. A few unlucky guards had to hold the fort, Deep Print being one of them.

"Hey, Print, got a fresh notebook for me?" asked Blaze.

"Sure, here you go. How's the interview going?"

Blaze rolled his eyes. "Made some progress but now another problem popped up. Gotta deal with it somehow."

"Good luck, then."

"Yeah. Thanks."

Darren waited patiently for Blaze to return. After two minutes, the pony was back with a book in his magic. He slapped it onto the table without much of a care. Pulling his chair around the table, Blaze gestured for Darren to stand up. Blaze positioned both seats next to each other, facing the window. Both sat down again - with a bit of distance between them. Blaze's horn lit up and the fountain pen reappeared.

Now Darren understood where this was going. He nodded and pulled the notebook closer.

Blaze opened the book and drew a sketch on the first page. First, a simplified castle and a stickpony lying inside it. Then, next to the pony, a stick version of Darren with a sword. Blaze also drew a group of tiny birds and spirals that circled around the pony's head. Darren snorted as he recognized the birds. Then, he grew serious again. He nodded and pointed first at the stickman, then himself.

"Yes, I did that. I'm sorry."

Blaze kept drawing. Another stickman appeared on the paper, this time, in a box. As Blaze added vertical lines to the box, Darren sighed and nodded again. He was not surprised to get into jail for this. For how long, though? And would he get a proper trial? What did the ponies consider a proper trial anyway?

"May I have the pen?"

Blaze tilted his head and hesitated. Darren pointed at the pen.

After getting the writing instrument, Darren pointed at the detained stickman and added a sun and moon, then another sun. Before he could draw more, he was stopped by Blaze's hoof. To Darren's relief, the pony crossed out all celestial bodies except for one moon.

The page was full so they turned it over. Blaze drew a big castle and inside it a stickman, flanked by two ponies. A third pony stood before a stylized throne. The pony had a horn, wings and a long mane and tail. Blaze gave the alicorn a crown - she was a princess. One foreleg pointed at Darren. He hoped that this meant that he would get a fair trial for his trespassing. Was it normal that they went to the rulers for something like this? Was the crime rate so low in this country that they did not need a judge? This could either mean very harsh or very harmless punishment. Darren had no way to tell. Still, he understood that he was meant to remain in custody for a while longer until this was sorted out. Darren just hoped that he would find a way to contact Twilight before this got out of hand.

Blaze began another sketch. He drew a stickman, then, next to him, an apple, a stylized loaf of bread and a block with holes, probably cheese.

Darren shook his head. He did not need to eat. Blaze looked at him incredulously so Darren took the pen and crossed the food out, then gave the stickman a smiling mouth. He usually did not smile but he hoped that Blaze would get what he meant with this.

"I will be alright without food," said Darren, leaning back in the chair.

"If you are sure about this..." Blaze magicked the pen and notebook away and stood up. "Let's get you to the dungeon."

Darren had the impression that Blaze wanted him to follow. They left the interrogation room. There was a flight of stairs at the opposite end of the corridor. They followed it downwards, into the bowels of the station. The basement corridor had smaller windows just below the ceiling; no one would be able to crawl through them. The left side was seamed with heavy doors. Blaze opened one of them and led Darren inside. A bed, table and toilet were the only furniture. A single window and a crystal lamp under the ceiling provided some light. As Darren entered the room, he saw that the other side of the door lacked a handle. He dropped his backpack on the table and sat down on the bed.

Blaze smiled awkwardly and left the room. The door closed with a metallic clanking. A key turned in a lock. Darren listened as the hoofsteps grew quieter and trailed off eventually.

Blaze was sure he had missed the beginning of the Crystalling when he gallopped to the castle plaza. He could hear the happy cheers of the crowd over the howling wind of the snowstorm. Thankful for the coat he had gotten used to wearing, Blaze had still taken the time to go home and get a hoodie. That had cost him valuable time; he dashed through the streets and came to a skidding halt behind a surprised family in the back row.
"Sorry," he muttered, brushing the snow off his coat and trying to catch his breath. "Has it started yet?"

The lower part of the castle that contained the pedestal of the Crystal Heart had been hidden by heavy curtains. Eerie lights shone through the cloth as if there was a silent disco party going on behind it. Some ponies looked at each other in confusion. Then, everything became clear when the royal family finally appeared. They stepped onto a platform which was decorated with a large heart-shaped frame. Another pony, a yellow unicorn who was probably the crystaller, held a baby in his hooves. That had to be the heir. Six other ponies accompanied the family. Blaze recognized all of them; the purple alicorn was the famous Princess Twilight Sparkle and the other five mares were her best friends, the Element Bearers. And, of course, there was Spike, the young dragon that defeated Sombra. Blaze had only seen him from afar; the crystal statue of Spike was definitely much larger than life, though.

The parents lit their horns to cast a spell. The heir giggled with delight when their magic slowly lifted her into the air. The crystaller announced her as the newest member of the Crystal Empire. Blaze noticed that he did not mention her name. The alicorn baby spread her wings widely and smiled at the crowd, radiating with golden magic as if she was a little sun shining upon the city.

"She's so pretty!" sighed Peridot happily, pressing her hooves together. She could not keep her eyes off the heir.

The tiny alicorn baby floated in front of the gathered city state, radiating joy and benevolence. Eclipse wondered if she was flying of her own accord or magically supported by her happy parents. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and her husband, Prince Shining Armor, were both magically adept ponies, as Dad always said. Eclipse believed they had to be. One day, he would stand among the guards beside them, protecting the heir with his life. The thought made him giddy with anticipation. Now that he looked at him, Shining Armor seemed kind of exhausted; his wife, too.

"Is it just me or are they looking tired?" said Eclipse.

"Well, they do have a baby at their hooves," laughed White Alloy. "Also, they probably stayed awake until they found a way to fix the Crystal Heart."

The cheers and exclamations of admiration throughout the crowd grew and reached an apex when everypony bowed and kneeled down before the heir. Eclipse's family bowed along with everypony else. He felt as if his heart had grown to twice its normal size. The love of all the ponies around him washed over him like the biggest hug in the world, except he felt hugged inside his soul. It felt almost a bit weird, maybe because he had never experienced anything like this before.

There was a tiny shiver than ran down his spine; Eclipse could not place it. For a short moment, he wished that the blue glowing magic that spread over the plaza would die away. He shook his head and stood up again.

"Look," said Feather, "everypony's love is manifesting!"

"Mani-what?" asked Eclipse.

"It's becoming visible. There, the crystaller has this small shard in his magic, see? He's absorbing the love into it. That blue magic."

"Probably to restore the heart," muttered White thoughtfully. "I don't know how they do it, though. He must be some kind of important wizard."

The crystaller, a yellow stallion with orange hair, was wearing a blue cloak embroidered with stars. After the love magic had been absorbed by the crystal shard, he quickly ran into the part of the castle that was hidden behind a heavy curtain.

Another wave of light washed over the city and changed everypony.

"Mom! Look - I've become a real crystal pony!" cried Peridot happily. She waved her hoof in front of Feather. Her mother hugged her and smiled widely. Her eyes were shinier that usual. Eclipse looked at his own hooves, and found that he, too, had turned into an actual crystal pony like everypony else. His coat was now slightly see-through and his usually ruffled, wavy black mane was now well-groomed. He could see his own reflection in his father's coat. Everypony glittered and shone, thus reflecting the powerful magic of the Crystal Heart.

And really, the Crystal Heart had been restored! The snow storm slowed down almost immediately; the wind stopped blowing ice into everypony's faces and the cold streets warmed up again. Eclipse joined in the cheering of the citizens that had somehow managed to grow even louder. He tackle-hugged Peridot and waved his shield to greet the heir and the Prince and Princess. Eclipse felt as a part of something greater; he was now a crystal pony among his own kind.

This was the best day of his life.

Chapter 8: Late Appointment

"Pardon me - excuse me - Hi, nice to see you again - excuse me -"

Eclipse turned around. A bright yellow unicorn who was wearing a dark hoodie and a long coat tried to make his way through the crowd. Eclipse realized that the stallion was heading for him. His manestyle had not improved through the Crystalling ceremony - it was too short for that - but his coat was translucent and glistened in the sun.

"Hi, Mister," he said, unable to keep the confusion out of his voice.

"Hey, buddy, how you doing?"

Eclipse frowned, getting slightly suspicious. "I'm okay, I guess. Who are you?"

"Detective Blaze!" said Feather, "You made it to the Crystalling after all. Done for today?" She bumped hooves with the Detective and smiled. "I hope you didn't have too much trouble with that Darren character."

"Actually, that's also why I'm here," admitted Blaze. "Sorry, Rush, but I have to ask your family more questions about him."

"Can it wait? We want to celebrate at home, have a nice dinner and all that." White looked at Blaze with raised brows, strategically putting a hoof on his daughter's shoulder. Blaze's ears went down.

"Tomorrow will be fine," he relented. "Could you come to the precinct at around ten?"

White nodded. Tomorrow was a Saturday. Eclipse did not like the idea of having an appointment on a Saturday morning.

"Do we have to come along, Mom?" he whined.

"Yes, honey, but I'm sure it won't take that long. And when the questions are over we can go to the market and get some corn-on-the-cob for you two."

That appeased Eclipse. He looked at Peridot and saw that she also welcomed the idea of having their favourite snack on two days in a row. She obviously had not forgotten that half of her last one was currently lying in some gutter behind the crystal castle.

Eclipse still groaned when he was woken up the next morning and discovered that his coat had returned from cystal and translucent to normal and slate grey. He was reluctant when he had to leave the shield at home and he dragged his feet when they went to the precinct. Peridot nudged his side, trying to cheer him up by pointing at the now clear sky and some birds that chirped their songs on the rooftops and in the trees.

The precinct was a really big house made of green crystal. Eclipse could not help but stop sulking when he saw all the guards walking around, sitting at typewriters and talking to ponies. The corners of his mouth curled upwards, earning him a happy hug from Peridot.

"We're going to do this as follows," said Detective Blaze when everypony was seated in a small office. "First, you kids will stay in here and I'm going to talk to your Mom and Dad. Then, I will talk to you two but your parents will be with you. After that... well, we'll see."

White and Feather nodded. Feather seemed unsurprised. She had already brought along two sandwiches and a card pack.

"I have to admit this is embarrassing for me. Not only did I let Darren get away, I also shared information with you that turned out to be wrong. I released Sombra, too." Blaze's ears were pinned back during almost the entire conversation. He had told Feather and White everything he knew. White confirmed that Darren had come through a portal or, to be precise, that he claimed to have arrived through one. Up to now, the interrogation had become more of an actual conversation.

"He was honest about everything," said Feather, rubbing her neck. "Even though we preferred to trust Sombra instead of him, he fully cooperated with you?"

Blaze nodded. "Yeah. Is there anything else that he told you? Names of ponies, maybe? And what did he say to the children?"

"Darren claims to have healed - well, temporarily healed - Eclipse," said White. "He also suggested we see a doctor about his sickness. Eclipse said that he was suffering from dark magic, some kind of curse; he couldn't tell. What he was sure about was that - whatever it was - it hurt him a lot and after Darren touched him the pain was gone."

"I think the kids both like Darren," said Feather nervously. "They helped him to bind Sombra."

"He didn't mention any other names, though," said White.

"He didn't say anything about the Crystal Heart?"

Both parents shook their head. "No."

Blaze sighed. "Alright." He stood up and opened the door.

Eclipse and Peridot trotted inside, Peridot holding the card pack in her hoof. She put it on the desk when they sat down next to their parents.

"You two okay?" asked Blaze. "I hope you weren't too bored."

Both shook their heads.

"Is the knight alright? I heard you arrested him," said Eclipse.

"Yes, we did," said Blaze, "and there's a reason for that. He fought against King Sombra and defeated him. But he also broke into your parents' house. Did he want anything from you?"

"No," said Eclipse at the same time that Peridot said, "Yes." Both flinched and looked at each other accusingly.

Blaze was confused. "Peridot, you go first. What did he want?"

"He wanted some ropes," said Peridot, "to bind Sombra. We didn't know where to find any so we got duct tape instead. That was really useful, we could use it to muzzle Sombra, too. And I found the aluminium foil," she added proudly.

"Er, okay," said Blaze, making a note on his clipboard. "Why are you saying Darren did not want anything?" he asked Eclipse.

"I forgot the tape," admitted Eclipse sheepishly. "But besides that, he just wanted to help me."

"Help you with what?" Blaze asked carefully, curious to see how Eclipse would describe his side of the story.

"I felt really sick. That was the first time ever. I've never been sick before, not even once. Peridot was there but she didn't know what to do. She... she called for help. Loudly." Eclipse looked over to his sister who nervously shuffled around in her chair. "Then, Darren came in and wanted to help."

"Did he come through the kitchen door or through the front door?" asked Blaze, gesturing with his hooves.

"Kitchen door," said Eclipse and Peridot simultaneously.

"Was he armed?"

"No," said Peridot. She giggled. "He wasn't even wearing his armour. He's got grey socks. I think he really needs to wash them, he smelled funny."

Blaze smirked. "Alright." He made another note. "Wait. How do you know he had armour if you only saw him without it?"

"Because we met him behind the castle," explained Eclipse. "He jumped down from a high window. That was some surprise."

"What?" exclaimed Feather, alarmed. "When was that?"

Blaze shook his head. Feather reluctantly closed her mouth and leaned back.

"When we went home from the festival." Eclipse shrugged. "We wanted to take a break and come back to the Crystalling after that."

"Hah, 'surprised,'" laughed Peridot. "He scared us. We've never seen anything like him. I mean, he's reeeally tall."

"And has that ginormous sword, like an adventurer - or a knight!" added Eclipse with awe.

"And eyes that glow like blue ice," said Peridot in a half-scared, half-fascinated whisper.

"What happened when you met him?" asked Blaze.

"Errr... I screamed," said Peridot slowly.

"Like a little filly," grinned Eclipse. Peridot stuck out her tongue at him.

"I am a filly, dummy. At least you didn't drop your corn-on-the-cob," she said sulkily.

"Guess you should have eaten faster," retorted Eclipse in a sing-song-voice.

Feather cleared her throat.

"Sorry," said Eclipse. "Anyway, he ran away and we ran away and that was the last we saw of him before, you know, he came in to save me." He ended his story with a small voice. "I'm really glad he did. I've never been so scared in my life."

"Thank you for telling me all of this," said Blaze. "Did Darren say anything about anypony, maybe mention names, places he's been before...?"

Eclipse rubbed his muzzle. "Dunno," he said slowly.

"I don't know if it's important, but... he said he's a dad," said Peridot. "And a hyoo-man. That's his species."

That caught Blaze by surprise. That tall, creepy creature was a father? He had not even thought about the possibility. It made sense, of course; if there were male humans, there were most likely females, too. And little humans - children - with shorter legs and cute faces, whatever that meant, and higher voices... just like ponies. But what if Darren was a father and he could not see his family again? He had not said anything about a mate. Maybe the names he had called in the memory statement were family? Were they knights like him? ...Maybe he did lie, if only about that?

"Do you have any idea what he has to do with Sombra?" Blaze asked, getting back to the task at hoof.

Eclipse shook his head. Peridot shrugged.

"Not really," she said. "I think he wanted to - to kill Sombra but he didn't want us to see it. Maybe he changed his mind when he saw I didn't like the idea. We just put him on the couch instead. Sombra, not Darren," she clarified, rolling her eyes.

"Darren must have heard about Sombra somewhere else," mused White. "I think he knew who he was dealing with."

"Thank you, everypony," said Blaze. "You helped a lot."

"Can we go and see Darren?" asked Eclipse hopefully.

"Maybe later," said Blaze. "If your parents are okay with it. But I need to talk to the Captain first. We have to discuss my report. Are you going to be okay until then?"

White and Feather looked at each other and nodded.

Sombra woke up to the sound of birdsong. He squinted his eyes. Everything was so bright. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the sun, Sombra remembered the conversation with the Umbrum. He groaned and staggered to his hooves. It had been a good choice to get back to the Empire as quickly as possible. He was already tired and hungry, the stars knew if he would have made it back after a night in the Frozen North. Where would he go? Should he leave the Empire and find a place to hide in Central Equestria? But how would he get onto the train without being recognized? No, this would not work. He had to hide in the Empire.

But first, he needed to find some food. Sombra slowly walked towards the city. If he was lucky he would pass an orchard with fresh fruit. After that - he had no idea. Maybe he could find a cloth to wrap around his horn. If he did not smile too widely he almost looked like a normal unicorn. Except...

With a pang of fear, Sombra cast a quick look at his own flank. He still had no Cutie Mark. As an adult, that made him stick out like a sore horn. Great.

He had to make do somehow. At least it was almost another year until the next Crystal Faire. One year before the Heart could turn him into dust with its magic. One year to create the perfect disguise and get the Tartarus out of here. He wiped his eyes and set one hoof in front of the other.

The cell was as cold as the snow storm from from before. Darren knew it was his fault but could not help but worry about the little ponies and their family. What if Sombra came back? They had no way of defending themselves against a unicorn with combat experience. Even though he had defeated Sombra, Darren knew that the former king was not that weak. He had only managed to surprise him and interrupt his spell.

With a hint of guilt, Darren's gaze fell upon a bird that lay beneath the small window. A few hours ago, the delicate creature had sung a song on the windowsill. Darren had not killed for so long that he did not even hesitate. Now the bird was on the floor, still beautiful but also cold and still, a tiny but harsh reminder for Darren to never lose control again. He could not affort to harm the ponies. He had to find a way to deal with his bloodlust. How was he supposed to do that? There was no way to just sneak outside and decimate the wildlife. He needed another solution, and fast.

Darren stood up when he heard the key clacking. He quickly hid the dead bird by shoving it under the bed with his foot and folded his hands behind his back. The cell door opened and Darren saw Blaze, accompanied by two more guards - and White Alloy's family.

"Darren!" Eclipse cried happily. "You're okay!" He wanted to run over to him but his mother stopped him. The grey colt sighed and waited at the door, sheepishly waving at Darren.

He gave Eclipse a friendly wave back.

Blaze gave him an encouraging nudge and lit his horn. The notebook reappeared in midair and Darren caught it. He opened it and pointed at the picture of the trial.

"What about the trial?" he said. "Why are they here?" He pointed at the ponies.

Blaze nodded. "They will be present at the trial," he said. To make sure that Darren understood, Blaze quickly drew two bigger and two smaller stickponies next to the guards in the sketch. He turned to the visitors. "I'm sorry but he can't understand what we're saying. It seems that there was a translation spell on him that wore off when I questioned him. Now we have to use this notebook to communicate."

"Oh," said Feather and White.

"Aw." That was Eclipse. His ears folded down and he hung his head.

Darren saw the disappointment on the filly and colt's face and shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry, you two."

"Don't worry, Mister, we won't let you down," said Eclipse. "I'm sure we can sort this all out with the Princess's help."

"Come on, let's leave Darren alone," said Feather. "You're going to see him tonight at the trial. He needs to prepare for meeting the Princess."

Peridot managed to wiggle out of her father's grip and tried to get past the guards.

"Hey, kid!" said one of the guards, wrapping his hoof around her. "You can't approach the prisoner."

"But I want to give him this." She put a little box on the ground and slid it over to Darren.

Darren looked at the small carton, then at the adults. The parents and Blaze nodded so he picked the box up and opened it. It was a pack of playing cards.

"Thank you, Peridot," he said.

She smiled at him, gave the guard a defiant grimace and stepped back to her parents.

Blaze left the notebook on the bed. He concentrated and used his magic to cast a spell on the book. It wiggled and vibrated, then split into two identical copies. Blaze took one of them and stored it in his long coat. He nodded at Darren and herded the family out of the cell. The guards gave Darren a sceptical look. Then, they followed Blaze and shut the door from outside.

"So we can agree on this?" said Coral Spark. "You're going to tell the Princess what has happened so far, then the statements of the Whites, then Darren's statement. And try to stick to the facts. I know it's hard when you cast a truth spell but don't get confused by all the details."

Blaze nodded. "Yes, Sir. I'm still not comfortable in this role. Why can't we get Darren an attorney or something?"

"We have three attorneys in the city right now. One is sick in the hospital, he had an accident. The second is too scared to meet Darren. Also, she's busy with a big case. The third one is willing to take the job but hasn't shown up yet. We can only assign her when she arrives at the precinct. She hasn't answered any of our messages. Until then, you keep an eye on Darren and try to find out more about the names he mentioned."

"Sir, about that," said Blaze hesitantly. "Three of the names didn't ring any bells. One sounded like a foreign name, maybe another human. But the fourth might be a lead: Twilight."

Spark raised an eyebrow. "Twilight, as in Twilight Sparkle, the Princess?"

"Possibly. I think it's worth a try to tell Princess Cadence. They are childhood friends, as far as I know."

"Good idea. And get Houndslayer something to eat. I know he declined to take any food but we can't keep him locked up without taking care of his basic needs. Also, try and find somepony who might be able to cast a translation spell."

"Understood."

"Princess! Princess, please wait!"

Cadence sighed and closed her eyes for a second. Then, she turned around, putting a slightly strained smile on her face.

"Yes? What can I do for you?"

The guard, slightly out of breath, stood at attention. He saluted.

"Ma'am, there is an urgent case for the Crystal Court."

Cadence cringed inwardly. And here she had thought that, after yesterday, she would have the chance to spend a calm and relaxing evening with her husband. Shining Armor had convinced Sunburst to look after Flurry Heart for the day. Only dealing with the aftermath of the Crystalling had turned out to be quite the ordeal. The city was not buried under ice and snow anymore but there were still dozens of worried citizens. The Crystal Court had not been this crowded in weeks. And on top of that, the guard had arrived after she had just addressed the last case of the day. Cadence raised her eyebrows.

"For today?" she asked, already rescheduling her evening in her head.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but you'll see that it can't wait."

"Follow me, please," said Cadence and trotted back to the Throne Room. "So," she said, flicking her curly long mane back, "what are the details?"

"There is a creature that broke into a house. Also, - it's - possible that - Sombra has returned."

Cadence stopped so abruptly that the guard almost ran into her rear. She left her left eyelid twitching and her heart speeding up to twice the normal pulse.

"Would you care to repeat that?" she said slowly.

"There is a creature that -"

"You know I meant the other part," deadpanned Cadence, raising her eyebrows.

The guard shifted his weight nervously. "Yes, Ma'am. About Sombra being back - here is the report from the local precinct." A shaking hoof passed a folder over to her. Cadence took the file and flipped through it.

"It says that there's a grey unicorn with a curved horn that might be Sombra," she muttered. "And this Darren claims that he defeated him. The unicorn escaped but the creature is in our custody?"

"Well, in the City Guard's custody, Ma'am," clarified the guard. "He is accused of trespassing, possibly breaking and entering."

"I see," said Cadence. "Bring him here immediately. I will listen to his side of the story."

"Yes, Ma'am." The guard saluted once again and left.

Darren followed Blaze through the castle corridors. They were flanked by no less than eight other guards, including the white earth pony, Blaze's superior. He tried to memorize the path that they took through the castle. Being undead helped; he found that he had no trouble remembering the rooms he had passed on his way out.

Blaze looked more nervous than yesterday when he had tried to arrest Darren in the basement. Darren felt tempted to try and calm him down but was aware that any unexpected behaviour was not the best move right now. He estimated that he could take down five of the guards without breaking a sweat but, without his sword, Darren was unable to cast any spells. They would overpower him eventually. Even the Captain was probably a formidable opponent. His build and gait suggested a warrior's training. After sparring with Arcus Tangens for weeks, Darren had learned to respect Earth Pony strength, agility and stamina. He did not currently want to escape anyway; maybe he could explain to the Princess that he knew Twilight. Somehow.

They entered the throne room. A guard announced their arrival in a loud voice. The throne was now occupied by an alicorn. Darren recognized her from the newspaper photo. She was much more beautiful in reality, slightly taller than other female ponies but also slender without looking underfed. Her coat was pink and her mane and tail curly and long; she looked like real royalty, more so - Darren admitted to himself - than Twilight. Additionally, she was wearing regalia: a small crown and a chestpiece that was apparently of purely decorative nature. Her Cutie Mark was a blue heart that strongly resembled the heart pictures Darren had seen on the streets. That suggested that she was a powerful being, probably connected to the Crystal Heart in some way. Another pony was at her side. He was the white unicorn, perhaps her husband. He was wearing plate barding but it was light and even more ornate than the white earth pony's. Was he an actual guard or did the royals just wear armour for show?

Darren noticed that the White family was also present. They stood at the side of the hall, the two children between their parents. Once again, Eclipse gave Darren a small wave. This colt really seemed to like him, Darren realized with a pang of guilt.

They had reached the first step before the throne. Blaze and his superior bowed; the other guards stood at attention.

The Princess stood up and took a cautious step forward.

"You may present your case." Her voice was firm but lacked any hostility. She looked at Darren with a small frown on her face, as if she was trying to remember something.

Cadence tried to hide her confusion when she saw the accused for the first time. The report had not included any pictures of the foreigner; she had assumed by the description that he would be similar to a diamond dog or a minotaur.

"This is Darren Houndslayer," said Detective Indigo Blaze, pointing his hoof at the armoured biped next to him. Blaze was wearing his trademark coat. Cadence remembered meeting the guard for the first time. That had been half a year ago. She had liked him immediately; his natural air and expertise in combat situations made him a nice addition to the City Guard. Blaze still pointed at Darren Houndslayer who, to Cadence's surprise, bowed deeply before her. Half his face was hidden by the hood of his cloak. Was this a custom of his people?

"Houndslayer is accused of trespassing and of assaulting a royal guard. He appeared in the castle yesterday, while everypony was preparing for the Crystalling. He knocked a guard unconscious on the way out and hid in the basement of White Alloy and Feather Rush," Blaze went on, "where the dark magic of his sword revived Sombra, whose horn Houndslayer had taken trom his secret study."

Cadence and Shining Armor looked at each other in alarm.

"Where is the sword?" asked Shining.

"Here." Captain Coral Spark beckoned a guard to step forward. The pony revealed a long package he had brought with himself. He unwrapped the blanket that was bound around it, carefully avoiding to touch the sword itself. The weapon was a two-hoofed blade, engraved with foreign runes that ran along the blood groove. White mist rose from the blade as if it was very cold. It was larger than any sword Shining had ever seen - which made sense since it belonged to a -

"What did you say his species was again?" asked Shining.

"A human, Sir."

Shining nodded, giving Cadence a look.

"Go on," said Cadence.

"It seems that Houndslayer had not intended for his weapon to revive Sombra. He noticed it when he returned to the basement..."

Darren calmly waited while Blaze delivered his report. He only recognized a few words; his name, 'human' and the names of the ponies. The rest was gibberish to him. So he watched the Princess's reactions. She appeared nervous but not as scared as Darren had expected. Her husband kept staring at him as if trying to assess him.

Eventually, Blaze stopped talking and the Princess asked him some questions. Then, she walked over to the family and talked to them. She nuzzled the children affectionately. The parents let her proceed without protest; apparently, that was customary among ponies.

Blaze gave Darren a reassuring smile who managed to suppress an amused scoff. If the Princess was acting this casual, there was a good chance that Darren would not face a harsh sentence.

The Princess seemed thoughtful. She looked at the family, then Darren. Slowly, she asked Blaze something to which he replied, "Jonathan, Arcus, Levinia and Twilight."

"Twilight? Twilight Sparkle?" was the Princess's response.

Blaze shrugged and said a single word that could mean, "Maybe."

She talked with her husband, then he gave an order that made the guards look surprised. One of the royal guards at the door left and closed the portal behind himself. While he was gone, the Princess exchanged more words with the Prince.

Finally, the guard form the door returned with a small mirror in his magic. He passed the item on to the Princess who gave it to her mate.

"Are you sure about this?" said Shining Armor, holding the mirror in front of himself.

"No," said Cadence. "It's possible that Houndslayer meant another Twilight but there is an easy way to check. This enchanted mirror was a gift from our Twilight. She gave it to me a while ago and said I could use it to talk to her. Maybe we're lucky and she's at home." She positioned herself in front of the mirror, touched it with her hoof and said, "Twilight Sparkle."

Suddenly, the mirror gave off a blue glow. A few seconds passed, then, the face of a rather surprised alicorn appeared in it.

"Oh, hello, Cadence! Is everything okay? You look worried. Is Flurry Heart alright?"

"Yes, we're all fine," said Cadence. "Twilight, we are currently in the Throne Room with a human. You mentioned them a while ago. It's possible that he knows you, too, so I hoped you could tell me about them."

Chapter 9: The Prince's Sister

"A human? You found a human?" Twilight exclaimed, her voice rising to an excited squeak as she almost hyperventilated. "Who is it?"

Shining Armor cleared his throat. "He calls himself Darren Houndslayer."

The mirror almost fell out of his magical grip when Twilight all but shouted, "You found him! Oh, Shining, I'm so happy -"

"Wait, please, Twily, there is a problem," Shining interrupted her.

She frowned. "Is he okay? It's been almost a year since we passed the 'Missing' posters around."

"You see," said Shining matter-of-factly, "For one, he broke into a house..."

Twilight's voice filled the throne room, slightly distorted by the magic of the mirror. Darren perked up when he recognized it. Her tone suggested that the Princess and her mate were bringing her up to date. He decided to make himself heard.

"Ahem." Darren cleared his throat.

Cadence and Shining turned their heads towards the source of the sound.

"Ah, Princess," said Blaze, "there is the problem that we can't communicate anymore since his translation spell wore off. What should we do?"

"Translation spell?" came Twilight's voice from the mirror. "I can help with that! I cast the first one, don't worry about that." She hummed thoughtfully. "Either the previous spell lasted unusually long or Darren just arrived. Did you get a chance to ask him about that?"

"Detective?" asked Cadence.

"According to his statement, he arrived a few days ago," said Blaze.

"Well, that explains it," said Twilight. "There must have been some phenomenon that threw his portal exit off the timeline. How did you communicate with him after -"

"How fast can you get here?" Cadence cut her rambling off. "No offence, but your friend is scaring us a little. We need to sort this out as quickly as possible."

"Hm," hummed Twilight. "I need to tell Spike and the girls that I need to return. The train leaves twice a day so it would take me until tomorrow morning. I should also ask Jonathan and Arcus if they could come along."

"Are those your friends from the adventure you-know-where?" asked Shining cautiously, well aware that they were in the presence of guards and civilians.

"Yes. I promise we'll find a way to resolve this," said Twilight. "I'm sure it's all just a big misunderstanding. Darren is a nice and honourable person; you can trust him, Cadence. I know he seems a little scary but he saved my life more than once."

"With respect, Ma'am," Coral Spark spoke up, "Sombra is still on the loose. What about him?"

"You heard him?" Shining asked Twilight.

"Loud and clear. This mirror really is something." Twilight sighed. "Well, this is cause for concern. Maybe you should put up posters that show what he looks like now. I'll tell Princess Celestia and Luna after this conversation so they can brief their Royal Guards, too. And about my arrival: Should we meet at eleven-thirty at the train station?"

Cadence nodded. She said goodbye to Twilight and the mirror stopped glowing, ending the connection. She faced the guards.

"Alright. Since the White family is willing to forgive Mr Houndslayer for his trespassing and not pressing any charges, we can drop the issue. The assault on the royal guard is a different matter and will be discussed on Monday.

"Captain Spark, please coordinate your efforts to catch Sombra with Prince Shining Armor. Return Mr Houndslayer to the precinct. Until this is over, he needs to stay in your custody. But make sure he is comfortable. And he can have visitors if he wants." Cadence looked over to Shining. Had she forgotten anything?

"His weapon," he whispered. "Where to keep it."

"And he can have his sword back. If Twilight trusts him, we can, too."

"To some degree," muttered Shining under his breath, loudly enough for Cadence to hear him, yet he still nodded in reluctant agreement. She knew he had to be more careful than her - it was his job - but her trust in Twilight was absolute.

Everypony bowed, except for the four guards next to Houndslayer, and left. The grey pegasus colt - Eclipse - hesitated and cast a nervous look on Shining Armor. His sister nudged him before he could fall behind and they followed the guards.

When Cadence and Shining were alone, she slumped onto the throne, massaging her temples, and stared at the ceiling.

"I hate politics," she groaned. "I hate trials. I'm still not ready for this."

Shining hugged her and gave her a kiss.

"As far as I could see, you managed pretty well. Smart move to ask the family directly. Now we can focus on the other part of the case and on trying to find Sombra."

"I hate him, too," sighed Cadence.

Blaze accompanied Darren back to his cell. A tray with some food was on the small table, along with a jug of fresh water, a towel, and an empty bowl. The guard that had waited for them beckoned Blaze aside and muttered into his ear, "We found a dead bird under the bed. Removed it before bringing the food."

Blaze frowned. "What was the cause of death?" he asked cautiously.

"Unknown. Had the coroner have a look even though it's not a pony. He says it was dark magic."

"Thanks for the info," said Blaze, patting his colleague on the shoulder. "See you later." The guards left. Now Darren and Blaze were the only ones in the cell.

Blaze took the package from his back and gave it to Darren. The knight unwrapped the blanket and incredulously looked at his sword.

"Are you sure about this?" The doubt in his deep voice was obvious.

"Keep it," said Blaze, nodding.

Darren took out his copy of the notebook. He rummaged in his backpack and found a battered quill and inkpot. Sitting down on the bed, Darren patted the spot next to him.

Sighing, Blaze followed the request and planted his bottom on the bed.

"Alright, let's recap," he said and took the notebook.

He drew four stickponies, two of them small: The White family. Then, he added a stickman. The ponies were given smiles. Blaze hoped that Darren would understand. If not, they would be able to tell him soon enough; until then, Darren would have to be patient. He began another picture: A unicorn with a curved horn, chased by ponies with spears.

Blaze also drew a train that drove towards a castle in a circle, then, an alicorn that emerged from the train. Darren inhaled to ask something but Blaze already added a moon and sun to signify that the meeting would be on the next day. When Darren pointed at the alicorn, Blaze realized that he did not give her any features to tell her apart from the previous stickponies. He decided to draw Princess Twilight's Cutie Mark: A six-pointed star, surrounded by five smaller stars.

Darren hummed. He lowered his hood and looked at Blaze. There was a twinkle in his eyes, something that Blaze had not thought to be possible.

"Finally, some good news." He pointed at the alicorn with a slightly shaking hand. "Twilight Sparkle," he said firmly.

Blaze nodded.

"Yes," he confirmed. "Tomorrow."

"To-morrow," Darren repeated the word.

Darren sat in his cell, staring at the opposite wall. He could hardly believe how everything had turned out. Twilight would be here soon. Once the spell was cast, Darren would be able to explain himself and get the hell away from the Crystal Ponies.

He raised his hand and looked at its back. It was still shaking. At first, he had thought it to be an illusion but now he was certain. Darren had not expected to have peace for long. The bird had been a fairly small creature. He had to hold on for a bit longer. Deep down, he still trusted Jonathan's promise that the Light would free him from his curse. The hope of never having to harm anyone again was the only thing that kept Darren from using his sword against himself.

He lowered his hands, pressed the palms against the mattress and exhaled slowly. There was one more thing he could try to put off the inevitable. Darren remembered himself giving the advice to his own daughter.

It was an especially harsh winter in Lordaeron. In February, they had just enough to eat every second day. Darren and his wife often refused their own rations, giving them to the children. But with seven people sharing a roof and only one paladin in the family, there still were days when the older siblings had to make do with less than a piece of bread. One evening, Arianna, the oldest, suddenly left the house.

Darren found her in the back alley, digging out a small bush.

"Anna, what are you doing?" Darren asked, crouching down next to her. She did not look at him. Darren noticed that her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks wet.

"Come on inside, it's freezing out here."

"Maybe we can cook the roots," said Arianna without stopping her digging. Her fingers were red from the cold. "We gotty try, right?"

"They're not edible," said Darren, carefully taking her hands into his own. "Your mom already tried using them a week ago."

"I d-don't care," sobbed Arianna. She slumped back, relaxing into Darren's embrace. "I'm so hungry, Dad, I'm so hungry."

"I know," whispered Darren. He hugged Arianna and stood up. She automatically followed his movement until they were both standing and hugging.

"How do you do it?" she asked hoarsely. "How can you stand it?"

"I -" Darren hesitated and exhaled noisily. As always, he found himself unable to lie to her. "I try not to think about it. You know, Anna, there is a way to make it at least a little more bearable," he said as he lead his daughter back to the house.

"When we sleep, our body slows down." He opened the back door and they entered. "We breathe more slowly and we also move less. So it's a way to save strength. The farmers sleep more in Winter than in Summer."

Arianna brushed a bit of her blonde hair out of her face. They climbed the narrow staircase that led up to the second floor. She went into the bedroom. Frederick, Darcy and Brannon were already asleep, huddled together under three layers of bleached out woollen blankets.

"Where's Janek?" asked Arianna, taking off her shoes.

"Must be sleeping in our bed tonight," said Darren thoughtfully. They had actually three beds but because of the cold one was currently not in use. The kids took turns at sleeping in their parents's bed; with only three people sharing it instead of four, it was the least crowded and therefore a favoured spot. Darren sat down on the edge of the frame as Arianna slipped under the blankets. Fred shifted his weight, his eyes still closed, and mumbled something. She stroked her youngest brother softly and lied down next to him.

"At least when I sleep I don't feel the big hole that used to be my stomach," she tried to joke, whispering so she would not wake her siblings.

"Light, bless my girl," whispered Darren as he did every night. He bent down to kiss her on the forehead. Quietly, he stood up and left his children sleep, slowly closing the door behind himself.

Darren took off his armor. He needed longer than usual for it; his hands were still shaking and he felt slightly dizzy. At least there were a blanket and pillow on the bed, making the cell almost luxurious. Darren lied down and rolled onto his side. Putting his arm under his head, he tried to get comfortable.

Most people assumed that the undead could not rest but that was not entirely true. While many resurrected creatures actually could not sleep, Death Knights had the ability to do so. When they had been under control of the Scourge, they had been forbidden to rest. Darren had gotten used to it through the years. After he had broken free of the Lich King's grasp, he still would not sleep at night. It had its advantages. He could stand watch twenty-for hours a day which had proven very useful, especially on one-man assignments. But Mother Nature had not developed sleep without reason. There was even a Dragon Aspect for sleep, just as there was one for time and another for magic... Darren remembered how, back in the days before the Scourge, a man from his unit had begun to hallucinate after three deys without sleep, not to mention how irritable and clumsy he had become.

Darren hoped that the rest would clear his mind - or at least numb it until he was released from custody. It was worth a try. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax.

On Sunday, Twilight arrived at the Crystal Empire's Central train station at precisely eleven-twenty-one, which gave her and her friends some time to orient themselves. Arcus Tangens and Jonathan had agreed to come along; Spike needed to mind the castle while the other ponies were otherwise busy. After being away for a few days, work at home had already piled up.

Arcus was the first one to spot their welcoming committee.

"Hah, I can see Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," he said happily, pointing at the ponies that approached the track. Cadence was not alone; Shining Armor and two guards were with her. The guards were not in uniform or armour but they gave Jonathan wary stares which he tried to ignore.

Twilight waved at Cadence and Shining Armor and ran towards them. After hugging and greeting each other, they introduced their entourage.

"Cadence, this is Jonathan Baker. As you can see, he is also a human. And this is Arcus Tangens. He was with us on Azeroth so he knows Darren, too."

"Nice to meet you, Princess," said Arcus and bowed down.

"Please, there's no need for that," said Cadence. "This is not a formal occasion, you don't have to bow." She put a wing around her husband. "This is Prince Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard."

Jonathan scrunched up his face, remembering something. "Sir," he said, "aren't you related to Twilight?"

Shining nodded. "We're siblings," he said, grinning at Twilight who grinned back. Then, he pointed at the guards. "This is Indigo Blaze, who was present at the hearing and managed to talk to Houndslayer before the spell wore off. And this is Abrasive Paper, also a city guard." Both ponies nodded politely, Blaze with more enthusiasm than the muscular blue earth pony next to him. Slightly proud for maintaining a straight face when hearing the names, Jonathan nodded back at them.

"So, you found Darren?" he asked.

"Yes, we did," said Cadence. "Twilight, if you don't mind we should go to him right away so you can cast the translation spell."

Twilight nodded. "Of course."

"What about Sombra?" asked Arcus.

"Not here," said Shining quietly. "That's still classified. Only the guards know of the warrant."

"Oh. Sorry." Arcus grimaced uncomfortably.

"It's okay as long as you don't mention the news in public. Yet."

Arcus waved it off. "Nevermind then, Sir, I'll wait until you are alright with sharing the info."

Shining Armor led the way to the castle. Jonathan and Arcus enjoyed looking at the magnificent cityscape. Arcus pointed at several houses and gave Jonathan a small summary about their history and individual features. Jonathan only registered half of it; he was too impressed by the sight of it all: An entire city made of crystals. He wondered if this was something you got used to.

"Do all humans have white hair?" Shining asked Twilight. "I could see some of Houndslayer's mane. It was grey and long and almost as white as Mr Baker's."

Twilight chuckled, amused by the question. "Okay, brother, one: Humans don't call it a mane, just hair. And two: No, they have different hair colours. But the range is not as wide as ours. Sometimes, they dye it. A human's natural hair color is red, blonde, brown or black - or something in between. I think both Jonathan and Darren's hair lost their colour after they died."

"They what?" Shining stopped abruptly and stared at her.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I thought I had mentioned it sometime. See, Darren is undead. Jonathan used to be, too, but the Light healed him," said Twilight as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"We have a zombie at the precinct?" That was Blaze.

Twilight frowned at them. "He's just undead, not a zombie. And didn't you notice his eyes?"

"No," said Shining Armor sceptically. "They were hidden under his hood during the entire hearing."

"I saw them," said Blaze. He exhaled. "They glowed. Blue, like ice from a glacier. At least that explains why he didn't want to eat anything. Please, Princess, tell me he won't develop an appetite for brains anytime soon."

Twilight laughed. "I promise."

"Always with the brains," muttered Jonathan with a hint of annoyance. "Wait a second." He touched Twilight's shoulder. "What about the other thing?" he asked, suddenly alarmed.

Twilight's eyes widened. The curse forces him to kill on a regular basis, she remembered. "Shining, we may have a problem," she said.

Chapter 10: Reunion

"What problem?" asked Shining Armor. "You sound so serious."

"Uh, er," stammered Twilight, "there is one thing, you could call it a side effect of the curse Darren has..."

Jonathan decided to jump to her aid. "Darren is forced to kill - or at least hurt - others," he said quietly so only Shining would hear him. "That wasn't a problem in Azeroth when we were basically surrounded by deadly enemies all the time. Now, though..."

Shining's eyes widened in shock.

"But what about Silvermoon?" asked Twilight. "He didn't kill anybody there until we escaped."

Her brother's eyes went even wider as he heard Twilight talk about killing with such a casual voice.

"Still didn't spare his sparring partners much pain," said Jonathan bluntly. He eyed Arcus. "Except for one. But they had healers nearby so they could overlook it to a certain degree."

"I see," said Twilight slowly, tapping her chin. She sighed. "I hope he's okay. He really hates that curse. I have no idea how he's dealing with it right now. Darren has a lot of self-control but Celestia knows for how long that will help him to hold on."

Darren is inside a blue crystal house. Eclipse and Peridot are lying on a couch in the middle of a tiny bedroom, huddled together under three layers of blankets. They are asleep. Darren realizes that he is in full armour. Trying not to wake the ponies, he slowly steps backwards - but before he can reach the stairs, Eclipse wakes up and looks directy at Darren.

"How? How do you take it? How can you bear to be so hungry?" asks the colt. He stands up from the couch. Eclipse raises his forelegs, rising into the air like a conjurer. His eyes glow in an eerie green light and he breathes out black smoke.

"I'm so hungry," slurs Eclipse. He is floating towards Darren, a puppet with the dark smoke as a puppeteer.

Darren raises his arms to catch Eclipse but his hands only touch smoke and dust. The colt's eyes are like tunnels as he pierces Darren with his gaze.

"Do you think," he says, "we can cook Blaze? I tried to dig him out, you know."

"What?!"

Eclipse touches Darren's cheek and forces him to turn his head.

Suddenly, they are in the garden behind the house. Peridot is sitting in the dirt, digging at the head of Detective Blaze. The Detective is buried in the ground with only his head sticking out. Blaze angrily stares at Darren.

"Your kind should not outstay your welcome on these grounds," he says.

Peridot keeps digging the earth away at his neck. Her eyes are reddened; she is crying.

"I can't get him out, it's so cold and my hooves are numb," she whines, shuddering. Her hooves are freezing over, turning blue. She points at Darren's feet, at the brown grass around them. "That's your fault," she says.

Darren flinches backwards, shocked: Everywhere he steps, the sparse grass on the ground withers and dies. The earth beneath his feet is hard and cold. Snow is falling from the overcast sky, quickly covering the dead grass with a white blanket.

Eclipse floats around Darren, placing himself between the knight and Peridot.

"Stay away from my sister!" he snarls. The green glow of his eyes turns into an icy blue. "She's mine; I get to kill her first. You'll have to wait your turn, knight." Eclipse grins widely, too widely even for a pony; his mouth is like a slit that cuts his face in half, like an open wound. There is no reason in his demeanour, only madness, wrath... and the greed of a Lich.

That is when Darren's reflexes take over. Without a second thought, he draws his sword and runs it through Eclipse's barrel. The colt's eyes break and the blue light inside them dies away as he exhales.

"What have you done! He's just a colt!" Blaze jumps out of the ground - as if he had never been stuck - and wraps his forelegs around Eclipse, violently ripping the child's body out of Darren's hands.

"I know what you are, you murderer! You have the same eyes!" Blaze declares. Clutching Eclipse's body tightly, he points an accusing hoof at Darren and screams a single word at the top of his lungs. It is a warning for everyone in the neighborhood to run for their lives, the dreaded word that has accompanied Darren for almost twelve years.

"SCOURGE!"

Darren almost drops his sword. He wants to avert his head in shame but he finds that he cannot turn away from Blaze.

"ENOUGH!" booms a thundering female voice.

Before Darren can react, Blaze's expression freezes. He does not move by an inch. Darren waves his hand before Blaze's muzzle. The pony does not even blink - or breathe.

Neither do Eclipse or Peridot. Time has stopped. Even the falling snow remains in midair. It is suddenly very quiet.

A blue wave of magical energy rushes through the garden, dissolving Blaze, Eclipse and Peridot into blue smoke that is carried away by the wind.

Darren spins around. A dark blue alicorn approaches him. She has black regalia, decorated with a crescent moon. Her long mane and tail float in the breeze. Thousands of stars are glittering inside it, making her resemble a titan-like goddess.

"Hello," she says calmly. Thankfully, the volume of her voice is back to normal. The pony smiles faintly. She is even taller than the Crystal Princess; the tip of her horn is at the height of his solarplexus.

"Are you Darren Houndslayer?" she asks.

Darren nods, still slightly shocked by the events that have unfolded before him. He feels disgusted with himself and his thoughts.

"You humans have the most disturbing dreams," sighs the alicorn, "But yours are the worst yet. I am glad I could reach you in the end.

"My name is Luna."

The sister of Princess Celestia! Darren quickly kneels down and puts his sword on the ground. "Princess," he says.

Luna laughs softly.

"Rise," she says, gently touching his shoulder. "There is no need for formality; we are inside your mind. Twilight told me about you. It was quite a while ago. I have a drawing of you in my office. But the picture was black and white. I thought your eyes would be yellow, like Jonathan's," she muses.

Darren's eyebrows knit together in confusion.

"After she exited the portal without you, Twilight and her friends were devastated. They made 'Missing' posters of you." Luna frowns as she sees Darren shake his head.

"Im am endangering her and all the ponies," he says. "The curse -"

"No excuses," Luna interrupts him. "Your dream revealed the truth, as confused as it may have been. Obviously, you are feeling terrible guilt for what you have done in the past. I know that feeling when I see it, Darren. Twilight told me what the Scourge is... and so did Jonathan." She looks into Darren's eyes, her gaze like steel. "You did not really kill anypony in Equestria, did you?"

"No," sighs Darren. "Thank the Light I did not."

Luna closes her eyes for a second, visibly relieved.

"So the colt represented someone different, I suppose?" she presses on.

"Yes. Several people, in fact." Unwilling to share his memories with the alicorn, Darren does not add anything else.

Luna frowns sadly.

"I don't think I can help you by just fixing this dream," she says slowly. "It was already very hard to freeze and drive the spectres away. Your mind is extremely resilient. There are many barriers inside of it. 'Tis like peeling an onion." She paces up and down in front of him. "You remind me of some guards... after the war with King Sombra. I fear you will need to have more nightmares before your soul catches up with your memories. I sincerely hope that, given time, you will be able to forgive yourself."

"I see," mutters Darren. He crosses his arms and, trying to change the subject, he asks, "Princess, how did you find me?"

"Your dream was too... vibrant to be overlooked," deadpans Luna. "Also, I had a magical mirror conversation with Twilight yesterday." She smiles apologetically. "Since I cannot influence this healing process, I hope I can help you with something else?"

"I don't know." The corner of Darren's mouth twitches. "There will be another hearing. Twilight is on her way to the Crystal Empire." He pauses. "Princess, I... attacked a guard in the castle," Darren confesses.

Luna raises her eyebrows.

"I knocked him unconscious," Darren admits. "I doubt he suffered permanent damage but that is still an offense that will be punished, is it not?"

"Why does that worry you so much? Scared of spending time in a dungeon?" Luna smiles wryly.

"I do not fear for my safety," grunts Darren, "but for everyone else's in there."

Luna sighs. "You are aware that the curse will most likely fade away now that you are not on Azeroth anymore?" She gently touches his side. "Just hold on a little bit longer, Darren. Your friends will be here soon. Don't be scared to trust them." Her lips part into a friendly smile. "And I am sure you won't let them down."

Twilight, Arcus and Jonathan followed the Detective as he led them down the stairs and to Darren's cell. Jonathan and Arcus exchanged looks; both remembered the time when they had walked down Undercity's dark hallways to the hall of the Banshee Queen. At least this situation was much less serious.

Blaze stopped at a door that looked identical to all the others. The only way to tell them apart was by a small label next to the handle. He unlocked the door and stepped aside to let the three guests inside. The two guards that had tagged along positioned themselves on both sides of the door. The cell was not big enough for everyone at once.

Darren was sitting on the bed, looking down on a few playing cards that were stacked on a small table. Apparently, he had been playing a game alone. Twilight noticed that the ponies on the cards looked slightly cartoonish as one would expect on a foal's playing cards. When his guests arrived, he stood up.

Before Darren could say anything, Twilight dashed towards him, leapt into the air and hugged him.

"It's so good to see you!" she cried happily. "Are you okay?" Darren hugged her back for a second. She let go of him and dropped to the ground.

"Twilight, the spell," Jonathan reminded her.

"Oh, right." She grinned sheepishly at Darren and gestured for him to stay still.

Darren already recognized the look on her face. He relaxed and let his hands fall to his sides, waiting for Twilight to perform the translation spell.

She focused her magical energy into her horn. It glowed when the force was released. The pink magic field expanded and there was a white flash that made everyone blink.

"Did it work?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Yes," said Darren, now genuinely smiling for the first time since his arrival on Equestria.

Arcus stepped forward and stretched out his hoof. Darren hesitated, then shaped his hand into a fist and bumped the hoof to greet his friend.

"You look different," said Darren. He raised his eyebrows. "You have gained... considerable weight."

"Well, thank Goodness," snorted Arcus. "After that ordeal in Quel'Thalas, it was touch and go for a while. Really helps when your wife is an awesome cook. Me, not so much." He grinned - but when he saw the expression on Darren's face the grin trickled off his muzzle. "You okay?"

"Yes," said Darren a little bit too quickly.

Twilight's ears folded down. She wondered if he was thinking of lost family.

Jonathan decided to cut the awkward silence short and stretched out his hand. Darren shook it with a firm grip.

"When did you arrive?" asked Jonathan.

"A few days ago," said Darren. "Something went wrong with that portal of yours. Something must have interfered with it," he corrected when he noticed the defensive glare from Jonathan.

Twilight rubbed her chin. "It threw you off-course in both time and space," she said. "I must remember that this can be a problem when travelling by portal. Darren, I'm really very sorry about all this." She grimaced.

Darren shook his head. "Doubtful it was your fault." He folded his hands behind his back and looked at the visitors expectantly, especially Blaze. "So what now?"

"The second hearing will be tomorrow," said Blaze, "but now that we can understand each other again, I guess I'm off the hook with preparing for it." He grinned. "The statement has already been relayed and the White family has decided to forgive you."

"What will be the compensation?" asked Darren, all business-like.

Blaze frowned, confused. "I - I just said that they forgive you. You know, Sir, for trespassing."

"I do not have to pay a fee, serve time...?"

"Er... no."

"I must meet them to express my gratitude," stated Darren.

"I'll ask them if that's alright," promised Blaze. He shook his head, still bemused by Darren's expecting more severe punishment.

"The hearing tomorrow...?" began Twilight.

"Will be about Mr Houndslayer assaulting the guard in the castle," said Blaze. He turned to Darren. "We found the guard and he had a slight concussion, we'll see how the hearing turns out. The attorney still hasn't shown up which is kind of unlike her. We don't have anypony to represent you at the hearing," Blaze admitted.

"I will represent him, then," said Twilight instantly. She looked at Darren. "If you're okay with that."

Darren nodded. "Of course."

"Hey, Eclipse! Come and look at what I found," called Peridot, leaning out of the bedroom window on the second floor.

Eclipse jumped from the lower branches of the ash tree behind the house. He fluttered his little wings to slow his fall and landed on all four feet.

"Coming!" he called back. Picking up his shield, he dashed to the house.

When he entered the bedroom, he found Peridot sitting on her haunches, surrounded by all of the books that they owned. There were almost two dozens of them. She had opened most of them and marked pages with some of the bookmarks she had made at school.

"Hi," she said, raising her head. "You gotta see this." As Eclipse sat down next to her, trying not to step on any of the books, she shoved the one she had been holding under his muzzle.

The book was his. Eclipse had read it so often that the binding was a little ripped on the edges. He had tried to fix it with magic tape but a few pages were still askew. Eclipse leaned back to look at the picture.

"That's a knight," he stated flatly. "sooo... what?"

"Exactly! It's knight, not a guard. I've been thinking. We have the Royal Guard and the City Guard. But this picture shows a pony in completely different armour. And I'm pretty sure I've seen armour like that in the museum before. Do you know what that means?" whispered Peridot, her eyes widened in excitement.

Eclipse shrugged. "That there used to be not just guards but also knights?"

"Yes!" shouted Peridot triumphantly. "But that's not the big question! The question is- "

"What happened to the knights?" finished Eclipse thoughtfully. "Huh. You're right, that's weird."

"Thanks." Jonathan smiled at a slightly shocked well-fed pony behind the counter. She gave him a forced smile and turned away to serve Arcus.

Jonathan took his tray and carefully walked over to the round table where Darren and Twilight waited. The City Guard Cafeteria was not the biggest but alright for ponies who worked in shifts. Bright, slightly purple crystals lit up the white tiled floor. Even the walls were tiled up to waist height. It was too loud for such a small room; Jonathan did not like it. Today, Blaze's superior, Coral Spark, had agreed to let them eat here. Twilight shifted her chair to make some room and Jonathan put the tray down.

"Ah, crap," he muttered. He had forgotten the knife and fork. "Be right back."

"So, Darren, what did you do the last few days?" asked Twilight. "I mean, uh, besides getting caught for -" she lowered her voice, remembering where they were, "- assaulting a guard and releasing King Sombra? Uhh, sorry I asked." She blushed, embarrassed. "I guess I just wanted to know how you are."

Darren raised his brows. He leaned back and exhaled, watching Jonathan and Arcus joining them at the table. Arcus pulled a fourth chair closer. The chair scratched across the tiled floor with a sharp squeak which made Twilight's eyes fold back. The guards from the neighbouring table raised their heads, earning an apologetic smile from Arcus.

"Since Blaze is not here yet..." Darren put his elbows on the table and bent forward, lowering his voice as well. "Barely holding on. Isn't there a place like your Everfree Forest nearby?"

"With wild, dangerous animals?" Jonathan frowned.

"Sorry." Arcus shook his head. "No such luck."

"What do we do?" whispered Twilight, nervously looking around.

"Stop that. Please," said Jonathan quietly, giving her a deadpan look. "That twitching around of yours is what makes you look suspicious."

"Sorry," she muttered, grimacing.

"What... does it feel like?" said Arcus hesitantly.

Darren twitched, then looked at the earth pony. There was a pause.

"Like a vicious hunger. I am dizzy. Also, highly aggressive."

"You don't look that angry to me," said Arcus incredulously.

Jonathan pointed at the jug of orange juice that stood on his tray. It was frozen over. So was, in fact, all the food on the table.

"Oh." Arcus bit his lip, his ears folding down. "I see."

Jonathan lifted a salad leaf on his fork, inspected it and dropped it back on his plate. "Great," he groaned. "So much for lunch."

"I apologize," pressed Darren through his teeth. "Maybe Twilight can reheat it with a spell."

"If you're hungry, maybe you should eat something, too," said Twilight, more as a joke than anything else.

Jonathan's eyes widened as he realized something. "Wait a second." He grabbed Darren's arm. "What if you're just that? Hungry?" He smirked. "Like I was when I came to Equestria. It started after a few days. I got that hunger and I also fell asleep at night. That needed some getting used to."

Darren shook his head, pulling his arm away from the priest.

"Unlikely. The Light healed you. I do not have... access to it anymore."

Jonathan frowned. "Wait, what?" Anymore?, he mouthed.

"Stop, stop, let me get this straight," said Arcus, waving his hooves. "Are you saying that Darren is - somehow - getting healed?"

Jonathan shrugged, grimacing. "Maybe. I mean, maybe the Crystal Heart..."

Twilight stood up. "Of course! That must be it! Darren, that could be - we must test it! Here," she shoved her plate under Darren's nose, "you should try some food!"

The knight just glared at her. Twilight fought the sudden urge to use her magic and put up Darren's hood, just so she would not have to see his cold blue eyes.

Jonathan cleared his throat. "Princess, you shouldn't push him."

Twilight lowered her gaze. "Sorry," she mumbled. She turned to Darren. "I didn't mean to. I just hoped..."

"Don't mind that," he said curtly. "I will try to eat later. Not here." He raised his brows and jerked his head towards the guards.

"Still, is there anything we can do?" asked Twilight desperately.

Darren hesitated. "One thing comes to mind."

"I think I know what. We'll do it. We'll stop you if we have to," promised Jonathan in a tone so serious that Twilight gulped.

"With any means necessary?" countered Darren.

"Yes. But," said Jonathan slowly, "I don't think it'll come to that. We should still wait a bit and see if the Heart really does something and the bloodlust fades. If not - I'll pray about it. Maybe the Light can help us out. It's my job, about time I did it, I guess."

"I can offer three days," said Darren after a while. "More seems unrealistic."

Arcus and Twilight exchanged uneasy looks.

A quiet plink made the two ponies jump. The orange juice was melting again.

"Let's eat," muttered Twilight without any enthusiasm whatsoever.

Author's Note

Ehh, still not entirely happy with the chapter. It'll do.

Chapter 11: The Teacher

"The plants in the Crystal Empire are not really made of crystals." Coelistine wandered up and down in front of the blackboard. "Neither are the animals. It's like with our coats. They just look like a crystal from the outside and only when we are happy or feeling love.

"I have prepared a little something here." He stepped closer to his desk. The class, consisting of twenty ponies with their age ranging from six to eight years, followed every one of his moves. Coelistine pointed at a glass and a jug of water.

"Now, look here," he said, lifting the jug up with his magic, "when I fill this glass, which is made of quartz crystal, with water... like so... what can you see?"

A few hesitant hooves were raised.

"Snow Cloud?"

"There is water in the crystal glass?" offered an earth pony filly shyly.

"That's right. But when we drink water, what can we see?"

"Oh!" Her eyes widened in understanding. "We can't see the water anymore!"

"Exactly. A real crystal, in its true form, is often transparent. Some are not, like Magnetite or Sphaleite. But Crystal Creatures like us ponies are never, ever transparent. Our coat is imbued with magic that only makes us seem translucent but actually bends the light around us." He made a motion with his hoof around the glass.

"Imagine if we could see the food being digested," whispered a colt. "Gross!" His neighbor stuck out his tongue.

"Mister Coelistine!"

Him again. Coelistine closed his eyes for a second.

"Eclipse, it's nice that you are so curious but can it wait-"

"But this time, it's related to the subject," insisted Eclipse, bobbing up and down on his seat with both his forelegs raised. "I am a happy, in general, so why don't I have a crystal coat?"

"Er... Some ponies that live here, like you, are descendants from outside the Empire. Your coat is different than ours, it's a bit softer, too. The magic in crystal coats makes a pony a tougher worker, or guard, than the regular Earth pony. On average, we have less strength, though. So, to be clear, there's nothing wrong with your coat."

"What about knights?" asked Eclipse. The class became restless and whispered among each other.

"Knights?" Coelistine hesitated. "We don't have any knights. Only Guards."

"But before? Weren't there knights before Sombra's reign?"

Before Coelistine could answer, the bell rang, a melodious ding-ding from the school tower.

Saved by the bell, the teacher thought, and said loudly over the rustling of the students packing their things, "Please write a summary of what you learned today about crystal creatures. Name three examples of differences between those and actual crystals."

As he packed his own things and went to the sink to empty the glass, Coelistine felt somepony standing behind him.

"Yes, Eclipse?"

"Mister Coelistine, I'm adopted." Eclipse shifted his saddlebags around on his back.

The teacher raised his brows. "I figured," he said cautiously.

"The pegasi have something like knights," said Eclipse. "They call it the Phalanx. I've read that there used to be city states. Now they are integrated into Equestria but they still have those armies."

"I wasn't aware you were interested in military history," said Coelistine, wiping the glass dry with a towel.

"When I'm grown up, I want to become a Royal Guard," said Eclipse proudly. "Like Prince Shining Armor. Or a knight like... Or a knight."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but there are no knights in the Empire. I think thereused to be an order of knights very long ago," he added, rubbing his chin, "but they disappeared shortly before the reign of King Sombra. It's possible he..."

"... made them disappear?" finished Eclipse, frowning.

Coelistine winced uncomfortably. "Yes."

To his relief, Eclipse nodded and did not ask anything else. "Okay then. Thanks, Mister Coelistine. See you tomorrow, Sir!" The colt waved, then ran outside to find his sister who was in a different class.

Coelistine stood in the empty classroom, his eyes on the glass. He knew that Eclipse had been adopted by the White family shortly after the Empire's return. It had cost him some restraint not to see Sombra when looking at the dark grey colt with the black mane. It had helped that Eclipse was so cheerful and uncomplicated, more that one would have expected from a recently adopted pony. On top of that, he was a pegasus, not a unicorn. Plus, his eyes were a deep blue, not the red irises of the tyrant. The only bad thing that could be said about him was that he sometimes asked too much in class, disrupting the flow of Coelistine's teaching. That did not worry him too much, though, better if Eclipse was this way than passive and apathetic.

It was a sad coincidence that the colt resembled Sombra so much. Coelistine had caught his classmates giving Eclipse a hard time because of it. His sister had jumped to his side, defusing the situation, but Coelistine still remembered that Eclipse had asked no more questions for the rest of the week.

Coelistine smirked. As a teacher, he was not supposed to have favourite students. But Eclipse's curiousity had once again spiked his own. Now he caught himself wanting to know more about knights.

The market was full as always. Coelistine wandered across the plaza in a zig zag pattern, looking for the apple stand. He had always liked apples. After finding out that the Element of Honesty loved them, too, he liked the fruit even more. Today, he had run out.

He spotted the green flag fifty yards across the plaza. Coelistine trotted over, making his way past two ponies that enthusiastically argued over the prize of a bag of peanuts.

"Excuse me," he said, gently pushing through the narrow gap. He immediately against something - no, somepony.

A young stallion had been hiding around the corner of the peanut stall. His eyes darted from the bag of fruit he was clutching to Coelistine's face. He had been stealing from a vendor! The dark brown hooded cloak he was wearing failed at hiding his face since it was about two sizes too small for him.

"Sombra?" mouthed Coelistine incredulously. There was an extreme, even impossible, likeness. If he had not known that the pony was dead, Coelistine could have sworn he was the real deal. The stallion's emerald eyes widened in shock and he dropped the bag. He lit his horn. Green magic picked up the stolen fruit and the thief bolted.

"Hey! Wait!" Coelistine ran after the stallion, turning over crates and barrels as he tried to keep up. Angry shouts followed him as he stayed right on the thief's tail, thankful that the hours of gallopping in the evening finally payed off.

He cornered the stallion in an alley two blocks away from the plaza. Both of them were trying to catch their breath, staring at each other. The thief's hood had fallen back, revealing a mane as dark as obsidian. Coelistine had not noticed it before but the stallion's curved horn was wrapped in a cloth as if injured. The stallion spoke.

"Please... please, I don't have any money," he panted.

"What?"

"I can't pay," explained the thief. "I would've if I could, I swear." He talked with the scratchy voice of somepony who wanted to avoid a visit to the City Guard at all costs.

Coelistine sighed, brushing back his mane. He kept a distance of a few feet but made sure to stand in the middle of the alley so the stallion could not run past him.

"I don't want to report you. I don't even know who you are. You look like somepony I know, though."

Please don't be him, he thought.

"You and the rest of the Empire." The stallion groaned as he realized his slip up. "Crap."

He huffed in exasperation and eyed the alley behind Coelistine. Once again taking the bag into his magic, the stallion ran towards freedom - but Coelistine tackled him and threw him to the ground. The two of them rolled into a bush, entangled, and were stopped when the thief's back hit the wall of a house. He called out in pain, wincing. Coelistine used the chance to grab the cloak and lift it.

The stallion had no Cutie Mark.

"It is you," whispered Coelistine. "I can't believe it."

Sombra ripped the cloak from his grip. Eventually, he broke free and stood up.

"I'll have to kill you," he said hoarsely, frowning at the teacher. Coelistine shivered. He had to act fast if he wanted to get out of this in one piece. Maybe he could distract Sombra, confuse him enough to escape.

"Why? It's not like you." The teacher rose and brushed the dust off his forelegs. "You've always been a nerdy kind of guy. And really nice, too."

"Not anymore," said Sombra coldly. "I have... what are you saying?"

"You wanted to be one of the heroes."

Sombra squinted his eyes as he recognized the teacher. "Mister Coelistine?"

"I still remember you running around the school yard, playing with that filly. What was her name? Hope? By the stars, you've really payed for all the shit you've done, haven't you." He scoffed with contempt and even though his heart was beating so fast that his neck felt half its size, Coelistine pressed on. "You even died. Usually I woudn't say it but I think that's a fair consequence for slavery and high treason."

Sombra stood frozen and looked to the ground. Was that guilt? Shame even? Had he hit a nerve?

"Don't say her name," he said, his voice cracking.

"Sorry, kid." Coelistine took the bag of fruit from the ground and tossed it over to Sombra. The bag was not caught. It fell to the ground and a few pears rolled out. "I had hoped I'd been wrong. When you seized power I didn't even recognize that colt anymore."

"Me neither." Sombra avoided his gaze. He took the bag and turned to run again.

"Hey!" called Coelistine even though his mind called himself an idiot. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Thanks." Sombra put up the hood and disappeared around the corner.

Thank the stars for my big mouth. That had been really close. Coelistine exhaled and flopped to the ground as his knees gave. He wiped the sweat from his face with a shivering hoof and felt the sudden desire to have a strong drink.

Arcus annoyed the two guards at the door. He kept walking in a circle in front of them, waiting for the portal they were guarding to open. They looked straight ahead but Jonathan caught one of them following Arcus with his eyes. He smirked and leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed.

Finally, one wing of the large door swung open and Twilight stepped outside, followed by Detective Blaze, Abrasive Paper and two more guards. One of them was without armour and had a bandage around his head. Still, the way he walked alongside the others was a giveaway. Jonathan winced inwardly, guessing where the bandage came from. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor did not follow; they remained inside the Throne Room. There was probably a second door through which ponies could enter or leave the room, mused Jonathan.

Arcus stopped his pacing and turned to Twilight and Darren.

"How did it go?" he asked nervously.

Detective Blaze eyed the guard with the bandage. The pony frowned back at him. Then, without further comment, the three guards left; only Blaze stayed behind.

"So, when?" Blaze asked Twilight.

She rubbed her chin. "Today, I think. Please give me two hours, I'll have the money until then."

"Understood. Thank you for your cooperation, Princess. See you later."

"Er, yes, see you later, Detective," said Twilight awkwardly, giving him a broad smile. Blaze turned to walk away when he thought of something. He looked over his shoulder.

"By the way, you did really good. This your first time representing somepony?"

Twilight blushed. "Yes," she admitted.

"I have seen attorneys less prepared than you, Ma'am." Blaze grinned and left, his cloak swaying as he picked up the pace.

"That went well, I think." Twilight smiled at Darren.

"Yes. Thank you for your help. I will repay you once I-"

Twilight shook her head.

"No," she said. "I won't have that. You need to get settled first, Darren. Anything else can be discussed after that."

Darren lowered his hood to look Twilight in the eyes.

"If you are sure."

"Is anypony going to tell us now?" said Arcus impatiently.

"I was supposed to pay 8,000 bits for battery, but - ," Darren raised an eyebrow, "- since I saved Eclipse from dark magic, the fee was reduced to 5,000." He adjusted his backpack and scabbard as he spoke. The backpack was significantly larger than before. Jonathan suspected that Darren had put his armour inside of it. That would explain the metallic noises the pack made when they walked.

"That's still a shitload of money," said Jonathan, his eyes wide. "You gonna be alright?"

Darren hesitated. Twilight stepped forward before he could reply.

"I'm going to pay it," she said. "Since I'm not a princess of the Empire I can't pardon Darren. But the least I can do is help out."

"Oh, good." Arcus was relieved. "So that's what the talk with Blaze was about. Good thing it's not a prison sentence! That would have been a problem."

"Actually, I suggested the fee," said Twilight. "I'm just really glad they did not ask why. Come on, let's go. I'd like to go to the bank."

"So, Darren," said Jonathan as they walked along the corridor, "do you have an idea where you gonna stay? The City Guard's hospitality probably expired after this, er, hearing."

Darren smirked. "True. I hope to exchange my old money for bits. It's mainly gold and silver, that should suffice for a week or so. Still, I will obviously have to work and rent a house. That is, after..."

"...solving the other problem," finished the priest. "Any new impressions you might wanna share?"

Darren shook his head. "Same."

"Still hungry?" Jonathan pressed on.

Arcus rolled his eyes.

"Jon, why in Tartarus are you so convinced it's going to be the same with him as it was with you?"

"Same curse, same cure?" suggested Jonathan, wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck; Darren's cold aura made even him shiver. He frowned, biting back another comment.

"Darren's not a priest," said Arcus. "I'm still not convinced about the Crystal Heart -"

"If you don't mind," Darren cut him off, "I'd like to try dinner today."

"Oh!" Twilight beamed. "I'll invite you!"

Jonathan huffed. It was rare that Darren interrupted someone. Was it really the best thing to pamper the knight like this? Maybe they should just leave him be? At least Twilight should not carry the entire load of helping Darren out, Princess of not. He cleared his throat and raised his brows, saying firmly, "Let me. You got the fee covered, I've got this covered, alright?"

Twilight's ears folded back. "Sure. Of course. Right, it would be weird if I... yes."

"Are we good, Princess?" said Jonathan, giving her a friendly smile.

Twilight nodded, her ears still down. The fur all over her back bristled.

"Anyway," Arcus changed the subject, "Got to catch the night train. I called in sick for today, just in case, but I can't pull that off for two days in a row without seeing a doctor." He grinned. "Still worth it, though. Great to see you didn't get lost in the Twisting Nether, Darren." His expression grew serious. "You're gonna be okay."

The cold subsided a little. Arcus stretched out his hoof and Darren bumped it with his fist.

"Take care," said Darren, "and... thank you."

"Anytime. And if you need somepony for advice or any help, just call me."

"Call you? How?"

Jonathan grinned widely.

"When we've eaten, I've got a really cool surprise for you."

Author's Note

There is not much info on the internet about coelistine. It is a gemstone, usually white, sometimes yellow, brown or even blue. The name is derived from coelum, which means "heaven" or "sky" (hinting towards the blue colour).

Chapter 12: Solo Act

"Pah!" Little Bluebell spat out her food, spraying mashed bananas all over Coelistine's muzzle. He sighed in resignation, floating a towel over from the kitchen. As he wiped his daughter's face, then his own, the doorbell rang.

"What, at this hour?" asked Azalea. "Did you invite somepony?"

"No..." Coelistine got up and cantered into the hallway. Looking back at his wife, he added, "I'll make it quick."

He opened the door. A young grey stallion, huddled into a a worn cloak two sizes too small for him, looked at him.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me... What do you want?" asked Coelistine curtly. He could feel heat rising to his neck as anger took over, suppressing the fear he had felt earlier.

Sombra lowered his gaze.

"To thank you for not telling on me," he grumbled.

Coelistine laughed bitterly.

"Of all the ponies," he muttered through clenched teeth. "That's not all, is there?" he asked in his normal voice.

"I didn't know where else to go," said Sombra, his face flushing, and his ears folded down.

"You've got no secret hideout or anything?"

Sombra shook his head.

"That one's in the castle. I can't exactly waltz in there."

"Well, you can't stay here, either," said Coelistine coldly. "I suggest you conjure yourself a crystal cottage."

There was a silence. Sombra cleared his throat.

"I - I can't."

"Honey? Who's at the door?" That was Azalea. She stuck her head into the hallway. Bluebell was sitting on her back, giggling happily.

Coelistine shifted his position to hide Sombra from their gaze and vice versa.

"Nopony important," he said, trying to keep his voice casual. "I'll be just a minute." He pushed Sombra from the doorstep, joined him outside and pulled the door shut.

"I don't care," he hissed, "how powerful you are. You are not going to stay at my house, with my family!"

Sombra frowned angrily.

"I wasn't going to do anything to them," he hissed back. "Even if I could, I wouldn't hurt a foal. Ever." He stepped away from Coelistine. "I had just hoped that at least one pony could see me for who I am. So what you said earlier, that was a lie?"

"No. I did like you when you were younger. You were smart, nice and one of the best students I ever had," admitted Coelistine. "But! You wasted it all. You took the Crystal Heart, you enslaved hundreds of ponies, you cursed the Empire to vanish for a thousand years!" He stomped his hoof in anger.

"You think I don't know that?!" snapped Sombra. "I risked everything, everything, for some bucking liar! I even died for them, only to be thrown away like a broken tool!" He clasped his mouth with his hoof when he realized he had been shouting in the street. Sombra took a breath as if to steel himself. He grabbed Coelistine's shoulder, looking at him with pleading eyes - eyes that were emerald green, as they had been when he had been a colt. "Please, just hide me for one night! I swear, you won't ever see me again."

"You didn't seize power for yourself?" Coelistine's eyes widened. "Who -?"

"I'll tell you - if you let me stay," said Sombra, pulling his hoof back. He lowered his head, bowing down deeply before his former teacher. "Please."

Coelistine felt heat creep up his face again. The former tyrant, groveling at his hooves! What was he playing at? If he had his fear magic he could just turn into a dark cloud and fly away, couldn't he? Could Coelistine risk letting Sombra into his house? And yet... If he had stolen food from the market maybe he really was powerless. Maybe that had happened when Spike the Brave and Glorious had shattered him. But how could he have survived this? Would his powers come back? Too many damned variables!

An image of Princess Cadence and her husband came to his mind. If anything went wrong he could always alert the Royal Family. He had to trust his gut with this. Coelistine grabbed Sombra by the cloak, pulling him upright.

"Stop that, what if somepony sees us!" He opened the door. "Just hurry up and get inside."

"This," said Darren, "is really good. You have been here before, haven't you?" He put another large heap of stew onto his plate.

Twilight smiled. She had already eaten her portion; Jonathan was still chewing. He ate about three times as much as her on a regular basis. At first, she had wondered whether the Light was not done healing him. After a few weeks without change she had come to terms with the fact that Jonathan's body just burned food faster than most others she knew. One could almost be jealous of him - he never needed to watch his weight.

"We - I mean, Spike and the girls - we visited the inn the last time I was here," she said. "To cheer me up, actually."

Darren raised his eyebrows. Then, he turned his head and waved for a waitress to come over. A nervous earth pony stepped closer to the table, giving him a shaky smile.

"I'd like some mead, please," he said calmly. "The strong kind. And more stew."

The pony nodded and all but ran for the kitchen.

"Sheesh." Jonathan frowned darkly, looking after her. "And the Princess is sitting right here," he said to Twilight.

She shrugged uncomfortably.

"Maybe she did not recognize me," she offered hesitantly. "It's a bit dark in here."

Darren looked at Twilight. The cold blue glow of his eyes, bright in the dim-lit room, met her gaze.

"That is probably not the reason. Still, it appears... that Jonathan was right." He put down the spoon thoughtfully. "Thank you, again."

Jonathan nodded. He emptied his own drink and pushed his plate away. Leaning forward and putting his elbows on the table, he lowered his voice.

"So, what now?"

"I am not finished," stated Darren. He nodded politely when the waitress returned with his drink. White foam ran down on one side of a gigantic tankard.

"Whoa." Jonathan grinned. "You never seize to surprise."

Darren raised an eyebrow, taking a sip. He eyed the tankard, apparently content, and drank more. Then, he set the beverage down and frowned.

"Sombra is till on the loose," he said quietly. "I cannot let this slide."

Twilight sighed. "Darren, the Guard is taking care of it. The City Guard is teaming up with the Royal Guard to find him. I think we should let them do their jobs." She grimaced. "Look, Darren, I know you think that his escape is your fault but it really isn't. He would have found another way - sooner or later."

"That and you need to get a job or I'm gonna have to pay for your food all the time," said Jonathan, smiling wryly. "And make no mistake, business is going well but there are limits."

"Business?"

"Uh-huh. Enchanted items shop. Hey, which reminds me! I made a gift for you. Been a while but I kept it just in case."

"We never gave up hope to find you," said Twilight, smiling warmly.

Jonathan rummaged in his bag and found a small bundle. He turned it in his hand to inspect it.

"The paper's gotten a bit crumpled. Eh. Here you go." He unceremoniously handed the small package over to Darren. "Go ahead, open it."

Darren took the package and ripped the paper off. It was a mirror. The wooden frame was simple. The glass was extremely clear, not one of those cheap brass mirrors. The reflection of his tattoed face, completely undistorted, looked back at him.

"I cannot accept this," he said, quickly looking away from his image.

"Just touch it and say the name of a friend," insisted Jonathan.

Darren gave him a deadpan look. Jonathan tried to smile, feeling stupid. He had forgotten that Darren had not been in Ponyville yet. That meant that, the citizens of the Crystal Empire aside, the knight only knew two ponies there - one of which was dead.

"Arcus Tangens," said Darren reluctantly, touching the mirror's surface with his thumb. To his surprise, his reflection disappeared. The glass gave off a yellow glow, then the light faded away and he could see a familiar face.

"Already?" said Arcus, his voice slightly distorted and magically projected into the room. "I'm still on the train."

"I apologize," said Darren. "This was merely... a test."

"It's okay. Got your present, huh? Jon's given me a mirror, too. You can call me anytime. Well, take care, big guy."

"You as well." The image faded and was replaced by Darren's face again. He looked up, slightly bewildered.

"It only works with two mirrors, in case you're wondering. So, you gonna keep it?" asked Jonathan, smirking knowingly.

There were days when school was interesting, like yesterday, and then there were the boring days. Today had been especially boring, considering that Mom had promised Eclipse that he could come home one hour before lunch. She had given him a note, informing the teacher to let him go earlier, and that had been it. Eclipse was amazed by how convincing Mom's letter must have been. He counted the minutes until he did not have to listen to Miss Buttercup drone on about equations and symmetry anymore.

When he came home, the riddle was finally solved.

"We're going to the doctor."

Eclipse gave off a prolonged groan.

"Do I have to?" He put his saddlebags down with slightly more force than necessary.

"Yes, Sweetie, we do. Come on, raincloud. It won't take long and it won't hurt, I promise." Mom always called Eclipse a raincloud when he was angry or sad. He liked the nickname and she knew it. There were not too many pegasi in the Crystal Empire so it reminded him of what made him special. A pity he did not have his Cutie Mark yet. When Feather hugged him, Eclipse did not squirm but hugged her back.

"But why? I'm not sick anymore."

"I know, but we still need to check if you're okay. You see," she added after a moment of hesitation, "The... Um, Darren was the one who suggested that. Ind Daddy and I agree. It's just to be on the safe side." She gently stroked his cheek with her hoof, then put his saddlebags aside so nopony would trip over them.

"Well, then we probably should go to the doctor," agreed Eclipse. "I don't want it to happen to me again."

"Do you think Darren's going to be alright?"

Jonathan looked up from the sketch he had been drawing in his notebook. He grimaced.

"Think so," he said slowly. "I mean, he ate a lot. That hints towards recovery. Maybe he's not using up his mana like I did when I healed - but going from undead to alive's gotta require a lot of energy. He needs to, well, start a whole new diet." Jonathan grinned wryly. "The note I gave him? That's a list of recommended food and drinks."

Twilight's eyes widened.

"I didn't know you specialized in nutrition counseling. Wow..."

"Heh, no. I don't." Jonathan grew serious again. He looked out the train window, watching the landscape pass. "I went to Fluttershy's a while ago and let her check my vitals, to make sure I ate right and all. She's a good vet, judging from all the pets. Did you know she has a grown bear as a friend?" He raised his eyes, tearing his gaze from the window, then chuckled. "Flutters is such a druid," he joked.

Twilight nodded. She smiled.

"I guess that makes sense; a normal physician might have given you the wrong advice. Ponies can eat meat but we're still herbivores. The last thing we'd want is you getting..." she hesitated.

"Thinner?" Jonathan smirked, amused by her discomfort. "Princess, don't sweat it; I'm okay, I feel okay. Fluttershy said that some people just need to eat a lot. Like birds. Most of them literally must eat every day because of all the flying around. Or else, well, you get the idea." He made a throat-cutting motion, sticking out his tongue. "Though I guess it's probably different with griffins. Huh."

"I bet doing magic has a similar effect, in addition to your general constitution," Twilight mused. "I still would have preferred to stay a bit longer."

"Wouldn't we both," sighed Jonathan. "Vacation's always great. But you've got a castle and a library to run, I've got a shop to run, that's just how it is." He spread his arms in an apologizing gesture.

"I... I still don't know," said Twilight sadly. "It's strange that Darren wants to stay in the Empire. He's been angry most of the time. He tried to hide it, I know, but..." She spread her forelegs, frowning. "His entire room was covered by ice this morning, remember?"

Jonathan gave a noncommittal grunt. "He still seemed better than yesterday. And it all melted in a minute or so, as soon as he saw us. At least room service didn't see the ice. They might have thought the windows were broken." When Twilight still looked worried, he bent forward to look into her eyes. "Twilight, Darren's a death knight. We really should give him the time and space he needs. He's got the mirror. If there's a problem, he can always contact us. And remember, he said," Jonathan imitated Darren's deep voice and correct pronunciation, "'I should remain here until the matter with Eclipse is resolved.' Eclipse is that grey colt, right? Guess Darren feels responsible for him."

Twilight sighed.

"Yes, and I understand... but I just want to help him. We're his friends, why can't we take him to Ponyville with us? He could stay at the castle until he's adjusted and..." She hesitated when she noticed Jonathan's sceptical look.

"You're still worried. Okay. Remember when I didn't tell you about my Enchanting problem?"

"Oh. You mean it's like that?" Twilight frowned, rubbing her chin.

"Pretty sure. See..." Jonathan grimaced. "It's... a pride thing. Darren's an adult; if he wants to deal with his problems alone we can't force ourselves on him. It's not like he's in immediate danger or anything. I say let's give him the chance to try on his own."

"Alright. I think I get it... a little bit. But if there's trouble -"

Jonathan smirked. "We'll be there, no questions asked."

It was a warm and sunny day. Most of the days in the Crystal Empire were, and after the incident before the Crystalling ponies appreciated this even more. They left their homes to go to the market or have a picnic in the park. Many ponies worked today since it was a Tuesday. Those who had their lunch break sat outside their workshops and offices, munching on sandwiches or cool snacks.

Darren sat at a table in front of the Valiant Prince. The other inn guests - all crystal ponies - kept their distance, looking over to him and talking in hushed voices. He ignored them completely as he worked his way through a pile of newspapers. Whenever he saw something relevant he would rip out the page and circle the advert with ink. The rest went onto a steadily growing pile on a chair next to him.

... Furniture assembler - maybe, DJ - definitely not, teacher... which subject? Probably a no for now. Plasterer - maybe, boxing coach - not really, he was not sure how to adapt his fighting style to pony physiology. Gardener - no, bouncer: maybe...

Leaning back, Darren put down the quill and rubbed his eyes. After saying goodbye to Twilight and Jonathan, Darren had decided to leave the cloak and hood in his room. If he wanted to stay in the Empire there was no point in hiding who he was. Enough ponies had seen him with the Princess. Darren had the hope that this kind of news traveled fast among the ponies.

He neatly stacked the ripped pages and rolled up the rest. On his way in, he threw the paper into a trashcan and nodded at the pony behind the counter. Ten ads should do it. He would begin with the job offer he liked best and work his way down to the one he would get. Heaving a sigh, Darren climbed the small stairs and went to room 103.

Twilight had offered to take him to Ponyville but Darren had declined, explaining that he still wanted to figure out some things on his own. There was Sombra, there was the hunger - fading, but still present - and there was the mystery of the little pegasus colt. Darren thought it best not to leave the city before getting a clearer picture of where he stood in all of this. Additionally, he was used to working alone. The Princess had not seemed completely convinced when they had left.

Washing and drying his clothes took about two hours. Darren himself was next. The armour was stored in his now bulky backpack next to his bed, his sheathed sword was locked up in the closet.

To get himself into the mood, he drew the small book from his backpack and read a few lines. After gently touching Grace's intricate handwriting, Darren put the book away and turned to go to the first location.

He was stopped by the stallion behind the counter who eyed him nervously.

"E-excuse me, Sir, there is a message for you."

Darren raised his brows, surprised. He received a rolled up paper from the earth pony. When he opened it, Darren discovered that the message was written with a typewriter. Once again thankful that he had learned Equestrian letters through mapmaking with Arcus, Darren read the short note. Twilight's spell did the rest.

Mr Houndslayer -
if it is not a bother, please come to Dr. Passiflora's at 15 o'clock. Her office is at the junction of Palace Alley and Carpenter's Road. I will be waiting for your reply.
With regards, Feather Rush

A doctor's appointment? Maybe this was about Eclipse. It seemed they had taken his advice after all. If they wanted to see Darren so soon it was probably important. Even if not, it was safer if Darren went there.

"What time is it?" Darren asked the pony, slipping the paper into his backpocket.

"Uh... 14:50."

Darren ran.

Author's Note

In order to find inspiration for ex-military jobs, I browsed a website that offered those. One ad, this is the truth, said, "Headshot photographer." That just felt wrong.

Chapter 13: Scraps off the Table

Coelistine entered the guest room to see if Sombra was gone. He had not turned up for breakfast and Coelistine was not surprised to find an empty bed. The unicorn sighed and snatched a note from the tangled bedsheet. It was scribbled onto the label of a used sports magazine he had left lying around.

Thank you and sorry for the trouble. S.

He huffed and crumpled the note. Better to tidy up before Azalea came home with Bluebell. This was the one quiet hour he had in the day.

Darren found the house of Dr. Passiflora after fifteen minutes. He was surprised to discover it was unusually small. The only explanation could be that the doctor lived someplace else. The mustard yellow wooden door was framed by a group of colourful flowerpots. A sign on the door proclaimed in straight letters, "Dr. Passiflora, family doctor and Medical Thaumaturgy." After knocking twice, Darren took a step back and waited.

Muffled hoofsteps grew louder and stopped. An earth pony opened the door.

"It's open, welcome-" She flinched when she looked up at Darren, her blue eyes as wide as saucers.

"I'm here for the 15 o'clock," said Darren calmly to the shivering pony. The honeysuckle and daisies in the pot next to the door withered and died in a sudden cold breeze. "I am a little late. Is Feather Rush here yet?"

"Come in," the mare managed to say. "Your name, S-sir?"

"Darren Houndslayer."

"This way, please," she said in a voice that had risen an octave. The assistant led Darren through the narrow hallway and another, bigger, waiting room to the actual office. The flabbergasted ponies in the waiting room followed the two of them with their eyes. She knocked, then opened the door by a few inches and stuck her head inside.

"Doctor, Mr. Houndslayer is here." Her hoof was trembling ever so slightly.

"Thanks, please let him in," came a calm, professional voice from inside.

The assistant opened the door and stepped aside. Darren entered and saw Feather Rush and Eclipse, who were both sitting on a chair, turning their heads to look at him. Eclipse smiled, Feather almost went there, and the doctor behind the wooden desk paled and dropped the pen she had been holding in her mouth.

"I apologize for my tardiness," said Darren. "The message was delivered a few minutes ago."

"You are Darren Houndslayer?" The physician gaped at him. When she realized she was staring, she quickly closed her mouth and picked the pen up from the ground.

Darren just nodded and pulled a chair over next to Feather and her son. Feather raised her hoof in a half-hearted greeting. Darren bumped it and smiled briefly. She blinked back at him, surprised that he actually knew the pony greeting.

"Ma'am." He sat down and eyed Eclipse. The colt grinned at him widely.

"You look different without armour," he said. "Where is it?"

"I do not need it here, do I?" Darren smirked at Eclipse, quickly hiding his trembling fist.

Dr. Passiflora shuffled around in her notes, trying to order her thoughts.

"You are the... the one who helped Eclipse when he had his episode?" she asked, avoiding his eyes.

"Yes. I drew the magic from his body and absorbed it."

"I already talked to Mrs Rush and Eclipse about the incident. He was emitting a magic that can be described as black smoke?"

Darren nodded. "That is correct."

"How did you absorb it?"

"I put my hands on the boy's forehead and barrel and -" Darren frowned. "I am not sure how to describe it. I... claimed it. I felt the 'black smoke' leave Eclipse and enter me."

"Have you felt any different since you did that?"

"No."

Dr. Passiflora raised her eyes. She looked at Darren, then Eclipse, then Darren again.

"H-have you ever done anything like this before?"

Darren huffed. Was she referring to his glowing eyes?

"Several times. It was... an occupational hazard. However, this type of magic is unknown to me. It might be similar to Void Magic," he added thoughtfully.

"Void Magic?" Feather Rush interrupted them. "I've never heard of that one before."

"Ma'am, I would have been worried if you had. It is dark and dangerous sorcery. Do not worry," he added when he saw Feather cringing, "I am alright and I believe Eclipse is, too. Unless the diagnosis says something else?"

The doctor sighed and made a few notes. She shook her pen a few times; the ink seemed to be stuck. Her ears folded down and she frowned. Then, her features straightened out as she seemed to make a decision.

"I can't find anything wrong with Eclipse. But as long as we don't know where the magic came from, I'd like him to check in once a month. Sir, if the magic returns: Would you be willing to help again? I'm afraid I'm at a loss here."

"Of course," said Darren without hesitation. He turned to Feather Rush. "If the parents permit it."

Feather looked at Eclipse. The colt swallowed and nodded.

"We will," she said quietly. "Thank you."

"I do not know where that magic comes from. All the more reason to stay vigilant. You can call for me anytime, Ma'am."

"We will need your place of residence," said the doctor, readying her pen.

"I am currently staying at the Valiant Prince inn. I will notify both of you once I move someplace else."

"Sorry to drag you into this again," muttered Feather.

"I suggest you go to the hospital to get a second opinion," said Dr. Passiflora. "Until then..." she stood up. "Eclipse should eat and drink normally, make sure to do his exercises at school and stay away from any kind of medication. And please keep this confidential."

"Yes, of course. Thank you, doctor," said Feather.

"Thanks," muttered Eclipse.

Everyone stood up. Feather, with her foreleg around Eclipse, left the room, followed by Darren. He cast a last look back at the doctor. She quickly averted her eyes and took great interest in her notes.

"Mom, what does 'confidential' mean?" asked Eclipse.

"It means that it's a secret. You can talk to me and Dad about it but nopony else, okay?"

"Not even Darren?"

Feather chuckled and eyed the knight.

"That's fine, he already knows."

"Oh, good. And Peridot?"

"Please don't talk to her about it, honey."

Eclipse's ears went down and he sighed, disappointed. They left the hallway and stepped outside. Feather turned to Darren. She dug at the ground, opening and closing her mouth, chewing on unsaid words.

"Thank you," she said eventually. "After all the trouble-"

"It's alright," Darren interrupted her. "Just take care."

"Where are you going?" complained Eclipse. "Can't you come with us?"

"I have business to attend to," said Darren carefully. "Goodbye, Eclipse. Ma'am." He faked a smile, then hurried around a street corner.

As he exhaled, Darren raised his shivering hands. His head still hurt but al least it was less bad than a few minutes ago when he had used all of his concentration not to freeze the office, or worse, the ponies inside. The last thing he needed was to hurt a pony or even raise suspicion. He watched the bush next to him crumble to a wiry ball. The last time, food had helped. Maybe he should postpone the job search until tomorrow and pray that the hunger would subside in the meantime.

Darren wondered when he had last felt such a strong urge to kill. Maybe it was two years ago in the Plaguelands.

The caravan was slow. It had been raining for four days in a row and everyone was in a bad mood. Clayton tugged at his hood, shifting under the heavy cloak. Everything was brown - the trees, the ground, even the sky was tinted in a sickly reddish tone as if it was infected, too.

"I so hate the Plaguelands," he muttered to himself.

"Two more days until the Chapel," said Evergreen, giving him a tired smile.

"You heard that?"

"Yeah, sorry." Her smile widened into a grin. "You weren't as quiet as you thought."

"Two days. We'll be drowned in two more days," sighed Clayton. His armour clinked as he turned his head. "They okay back there?"

"We should have brought more men," said Evergreen, worry creeping into her voice. "The way we are right now, we couldn't..." she hesitated, shook her head and fell silent.

"Right. I'll tell Frazzleclack to feed the horses."

Darren watched the conversation from a nearby bush. Crouching down deeply so he would not be seen, he spotted twelve men and women, including three Night Elves, a dwarf and two gnomes. Too many. He cursed under his breath and retreated.

The wildlife had fled the rain and cold, surprised by the bad weather in June. Even the maggots could not enjoy the humidity. Darren had seen a pile of deceased worms, all of them the size of dogs, their yellow bodies half decomposed. The only upside to this was that his stench was hidden - the downside, of course, was that he had to find his prey elsewere.

Harming the Crusaders was out of the question. But what about the horses?

The next morning, Evergreen's shocked shout woke Clayton up. As he stumbled over to her, still half asleep, she grabbed his arm and pointed frantically at something dark on the ground.

"The horses! Light, they're-" She gagged and turned to the side, only closely missing Clayton's boots with her vomit.

Clayton could understand why. Two of their horses were a tangled heap on the floor, badly cut and barely recognizable. Their innards were still there but the poor creatures were most definitely dead and had been for at least an hour. Flies flew away when Clayton stepped closer, holding his nose. The ravens would not be far.

There was still a bit of ice melting away and he would bet that the horses had been completely covered by it not too long ago.

"Dammit," he cursed. "Come on, quickly."

Evergreen nodded and they both ran over to the rest of the group.

"What's going on, what happened?" asked one of the Elves, nocking an arrow.

"Scourge," said Evergreen, still breathing heavily. "Must have snuck up on the horses and killed them when we didn't look. I only noticed just now."

"We have to be extra careful," said Clayton. "We don't know how many there are. Might be a random ghoul, might be a death knight or a lich. Either way, we must burn the carcasses. Don't want to give them free mounts." He spat on the ground.

Darren watched the caravan move on, the smoldering carcasses left behind at the side of the road. He wished he could tell them that they were not in immediate danger. But if he had, they would not believe him. The alliance between the Argent Crusade and the Ebon Blade was still new and fragile and many crusaders still viewed the free death knights as members of the Scourge. It did not matter whether someone had done it of their own choice or not; murder was murder. Darren could not help but agree with the crusaders. That was why he would never find forgiveness, even from himself.

He yanked Bane's reins around and the undead griffin flapped his bony wings. As they ascended and flew in the opposite direction as the caravan, Darren swore to find an area that was more populated - preferably by blighthounds. They had so much energy that it would take longer until the next wave of bloodlust.

Sombra walked along a narrow alley, clutching the bag with fruit and a bit of bread he had taken from Coelistine's breakfast table. When the wife had looked another way he had grabbed the food and run outside, ignoring the surprised and worried calls from her.

He finally arrived at the park. It was already getting dark and the last visitors were young couples, taking walks and whispering sweet things to each other. The park was big enough to hide in, that much he remembered from his last visit. The trees were old, at least sixty years, and their and the bushes' leaves would provide lots of cover. Sombra trotted on a path parallel to the regular roads, trying to avoid other ponies. For once in his life, his dark grey coat was doing him a favour - it concealed him well in the shadows. He sat down between two large bushes and found some space under one of them, enough to stretch his limbs. Good thing it did not look like rain.

He opened the bag and ate an apple and the bread. Chewing slowly, Sombra watched a couple walk by at a few yards distance. If he did not snore nopony would suspect he was here.

It was unlikely he would be able to sleep anyway. At Coelistine's, he had hardly had a shut-eye, the memory of his so-called mother rejecting him replaying in his head over and over. The contempt with which the teacher had looked at him had convinced Sombra to keep his story short. After a few sentences, Coelistine had been satisfied and showed Sombra the guest room. Sombra suspected that he was not really interested in his tale and just let him in because it was the decent thing to do. They had even set a plate for him. But he had seen the suspicion in the mare's eyes and she would have connected the dots soon enough.

Sombra squeezed his eyes shut. He did not want to run. He wanted a fresh start. He wanted a life. But who was brave enough to take him in? Give him work? He could not go to a shelter, either. Most ponies would report him immediately. Or run away. Or even try to kill him, again. To them, he was not just some bad guy. He was a monster, the idea of evil. They remembered him as a dark cloud of fear that strangled the Empire. And he had shattered the Princess. He suspected that nopony but Hope knew that. She had been outside the Empire when he had cursed it and made it disappear so she was dead. She had been for almost a thousand years. Only the stars knew where in the Frozen North she had perished. And even if, against all odds, she had made it to a village, she was still long long gone.

The memory of her choked him. Hope, his only and best friend who had never given him up. And he had thrown her friendship back into her face for the lies of a dumb crystal. They could have figured his powers out. But he had blown that chance. Now he was truly alone. Sombra curled up in a fetal position and sobbed silently.

He woke up to the gentle sound of wind blowing through the trees. Sombra blinked rapidly, trying to remember where he was. So he had been able to sleep after all. He stretched his limbs and yawned. Wow, he felt not so bad. Almost rested. He let his hooves slide scross the dirt, looking for his food bag. Ah, there it was... and it was empty. Crap. Some critters must have stolen his food in the night.

He sat up and sighed. There was an inn across the street, the Valiant Prince, maybe he could snatch something there.

"By the stars," whispered Sombra, wiping a rogue leaf off his muzzle. "How in the world can a single creature eat that much?"

As he had expected, the inn's guests liked to have breakfast in the morning sun. And, to his surprise, the pale human knight was also there. He was sitting alone at a table for two. And he had been eating for an entire hour. Plates and cups were brought and taken by the bewildered waitress and the human still kept ordering food. He looked better than the first time Sombra had seen him; his mane was combed and he was wearing some kind of shirt, waistcoat and pants combination, along with the same heavy boots Sombra had seen as part of the armour. Sombra's eyes widened as Darren had his eighth piece of bread, along with the third egg and a gigantic pot of coffee. The knight's eyes still unnerved Sombra, their icy blue glow keeping the other inn guests from sitting closer than two tables away. He sighed silently, feeling a pang of sympathy for the human. But as long as he sat there, Sombra did not want to risk sneaking over to the leftovers at the neighboring tables. He rubbed his neck, still remembering the grip of the knight tightening around it. What should he do?

Of course, he still had his magic. Sombra concentrated his will on an abandoned half-eaten croissant. The croissant trembled in his weak green magical field and fell back onto the plate.

Sombra huffed, wiping sweat from his forehead. It was probably the cloth. He took the rag he had wrapped around his horn and shoved it into his improvised food pouch. Now he could try again.

Slowly, slowly... he carefully lifted the croissant into the air and, as soon as nopony was looking, he let it float over to the bushes he was hinding in. Sombra frowned, hoping that the inn guest was healthy, and devoured the croissant.

It was Prench, it was buttered, it was bliss. Sombra closed his eyes and smiled. But he was still hungry. He needed more. There, a family of three had left their table and their foal had declined most of her food. Jackpot. Sombra grinned and cast the levitation spell again.

Chapter 14: New Chances and Ancient History

Darren wiped his mouth with a napkin, leaned back and asked for the bill. That breakfast had been more extensive than he had expected. He had to reprioritize if he did not want to run out of money too soon. The pony waitress gave him a long receipt and he payed, adding roughly fifteen percent. He had no idea how tips worked in Equestria but the only thing it should hurt was his own wallet. In order to avoid a bad reputation he better erred on the side of caution. The waitress's eyes widened and she smiled at him. After wishing him a nice day, she took away the first batch of plates. When she left, Darren heard a gasp escape her. He turned around and saw the waitress staring at a jug of milk that was floating away from one of her tables.

"A thief!" she called, staring at the jug. She twitched, obviously angry she was not fast enough to instantly put down all the plates. The green magic field around the jug faded. It shattered on the ground, spilling its contents on the pavement.

Darren jumped up. His chair fell over with a clang. Ponies gasped and backed away, confused by the commotion. The waitress frowned at him, frozen on the spot. He scanned the area: there was movement in the bushes right next to the inn.

He dashed towards the shrubbery and saw the shade of a stallion running away. Darren smirked and tilted his head. It had been some time since his last chase.

Sombra gallopped into the park as fast as he could, looking back in panic. The knight had spotted him! This could hardly get any worse. What would he do to him? Deciding that he did not want to find out, Sombra skidded to a halt, almost tripping over a tree root, and changed direction. He was running across a paved path when the human tackled him, pinning him to the ground with his sheer weight.

"Oof!" The air was pressed from his lungs as his barrel hit the dirt. The knight sat on his back and held his neck in a firm grip of interlocking arms, forcing his chin up.

"Hello again," said Darren into his ear with a dark smile. "Nice of you to drop by." He raised his voice. "I got him!"

Sombra angrily hit the ground with his hoof.

"Mister Shard." Detective Blaze sat down opposite to Sombra, giving the unicorn a broad smile. He stretched the fake name like honey pulled from a jar: Shaaard. Then, the guard immediately grew serious. "That was really quick. I would have expected you to be across the border by now."

Sombra lowered his head and said nothing.

"I hear that you and Mr Houndslayer had a little race. Wanna tell me what that was all about?"

"Don't you already know that?" Sombra looked up at him defiantly.

Blaze spread his forelegs. "I wanna hear it from you. Humour me."

"I didn't do anything."

"Then why would Houndslayer chase after you? He said he caught you red-handed, stealing food. His words."

Sombra groaned.

"Yes." Blaze leaned forward, putting his hooves on the table. "Listen up. We have about a dozen eyewitnesses placing you at the inn. So there's no use denying it."

"I was hungry. I didn't take more than I needed to survive." Sombra's voice was flat, tired.

Blaze sighed and rubbed his eyes, leaning back again. "Then why didn't you go to a shelter?"

Sombra gave him a deadpan look. "I'm pretty sure you can figure this one out by yourself, Detective."

There was a knock at the door and a white earth pony stuck his head inside the interrogation room. "Got a minute?"

Blaze stood up, casting a look at Sombra, and left. He closed the door and turned to the Captain.

"He stole milk. That's petty theft. And kinda pathetic, too."

"I know," muttered Coral Spark. "He'll have to pay a small fee and that's it. As long as we can't pin anything on him, he gets to walk."

Blaze frowned. "Can't we make sure that he stays off the streets? If the inn guests were any indication we need to be careful there won't be a panic."

"If he steals food maybe he really has no money and nowhere to go," said Spark, rubbing his chin. "If he can't pay the fee until after next month we'll have to take him in anyway. It's kinda ridiculous if you think about what he used to do."

Blaze raised his eyebrows. "Yeah."

Spark heaved a sigh, making a decision. "Let him go. Tell him to go to a shelter if he gets hungry. Nopony in this city has to starve, for the stars' sake. Keep him under surveillance. One guard, but at a distance. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out."

"Yes, Sir."

Darren's reward for catching Sombra was a figurative pat on the back from the City Guard and an actual one-week coupon for free breakfast from the inn. The latter was more helpful than the former, Darren decided. That had been a good start of the day.

It went downhill after that. The first job Darren tried to get was as a bouncer at a nightclub. He was denied because the owner was worried nopony of the invited guests would even try to enter the club if a strange bipedal creature with glowing eyes stood at the entrance. He did not use those exact words, though. Most of the other vacancies had been filled mysteriously overnight, shrinking Darren's list down like ice cream in the Tanaris desert sun. At least some of the ponies had the decency to give him a proper reason for not employing him, such as the job requiring certain experience.

The first successful interview was at a grocery store close to the train station. Darren was surprised to find the owner, an earth pony called Peppermint, completely relaxed when he asked about the vacancy.

"Yeah, we've had minotaurs and griffins as customers," explained Peppermint. "So it's not that big of a deal to see you around. But I need some identification. You've got any insurance, a bank account?"

That was a problem. Darren did not own any documents proving that he existed, legally speaking. He asked Peppermint to give him two days. They bumped hoof and fist. Darren went back to the inn with mixed feelings of success and failure.

Back at his room, he rummaged in his backpack until he found the mirror Jonathan had given him. Knowing royalty did have its advantages.

The Compassionate Heart Centre had always been the most popular place in the Crystal Empire when it came to getting free food and, if you were lucky, a place to spend the night. At the chaotic return of the Empire, many ponies had lost their homes to the destructive power of King Sombra; others had lost their families to the mines. As time passed, those without a home had gotten a new one and those without family moved into smaller homes or quietly packed their things and left the city. Thus, the Centres had emptied. However, there were still those who somehow never managed to get their things in order. To prevent them from falling through the cracks, the Compassionate Heart Centre remained open.

A short line of ponies waited at the improvised line of tables that cut the small hall into two halves. In the other half of the hall, two ponies carried a large pot of soup inside. They set it down on a thick towel. There was also a basket with freshly baked bread. The line began to move.

Sombra eyed the three ponies before him. The first one was very old. His mane and coat had paled over the years and he used a crooked stick to support himself. The old stallion waited until the pony after him had gotten her fill. She was as old and wrinkled as him but she was a unicorn. After muttering a thanks to the cook, the ancient couple wobbled to a free table, two bowls in the mare's faint magic.

The third pony was chatty. He had talked while he was waiting in line: about his day, about the weather and how much it cost to just rent a room for one lousy week. It did not seem to matter to him that nopony listened. When he received his bowl, he told the cook, "Thank you, and might I add that soup of yours is a great as always, keep up the good work, laddie, I'll see ya tomorrow, won't I. There's gonna be cheese, there's always cheese on Fridays, dont'chanow," and he sat down at a table in the far corner of the hall.

Now it was Sombra's turn and he stretched out his hoof to get his own bowl. His hood slipped a bit and he quickly adjusted it so it would hide his wrapped horn.

"Thanks," he muttered like the old ponies had. He turned away and let his eyes wander around the room. Where should he sit? A tiny voice in his head suggested to leave the Centre and take the bowl with him. He forced it back and sighed.

"Excuse me, Sir!" Sombra twitched and almost dropped his soup when a hoof touched his shoulder.

"Y-yeah?"

"You forgot your bread. It's free. Here you go." The cook smiled at him, pointing at the basket.

Sombra nervously smiled back, making sure to keep his mouth closed. "Right." He took a piece of bread into his green magic and trotted over to a table next to the old couple.

The soup was hot and tasty. There was a large amount of carrots and tomatoes and just a hint of basil. Sombra decided to visit the Centre again tomorrow.

Coelistine trotted down the school corridor when he almost bumped into a student.

"Oops, sorry, Mister Coelistine!" That bright orange coat... wasn't she Eclipse's sister? Peridot?

"No harm done." He smiled. "Say, is your brother still around?"

"Uh, I think so, he wanted to play near the stairs."

"Thank you."

Peridot ran past him, towards the toilets.

"Hey, no running, young lady," Coelistine called after her.

She slowed from her gallop to a fast canter, grinning apologetically.

He still had five minutes until the end of the break. Coelistine left the building and let his eyes wander across the schoolyard. There he was. When Eclipse looked in his general direction, Coelistine waved for him to come over. The colt gallopped to him and skidded to a halt.

"Hi," he panted. "What's up, I mean, can I help you, Sir?"

Coelistine grinned. "I found something out about the knights. If you want to know more I can share it with you after class."

"Cool!" Eclipse beamed. "Can Peridot join us?"

"Of course." Coelistine nodded. "See you later, then. Room 1-0-2, at Three."

"Right." Slightly surprised that the conversation was already over, Eclipse returned to the stairs where two other colts were waiting for him. Coelistine noticed that he seemed embarrassed when they asked him something. He frowned and returned to the staff room to get his books.

When Eclipse entered the classroom Mister Coelistine had told him to go to, he found that Peridot was not the only additional guest. Two more students and one teacher were there, too. He nervously greeted Miss Petal, his history teacher. She was a rather old pony and known for being strict and straightforward. He did not know the other students; they were at least two years ahead of him.

Peridot grinned at him and patted the chair next to her. He sat down and expectantly looked at his teacher, as was everyone else.

"Hello, everypony," said Mister Coelistine. "You're here because, like me, you're interested in ancient history of the Crystal Empire. Eclipse here was the most recent pony to ask me about knights and I decided to do some research of my own about them. I want to share my findings with you because I think a discussion about them might turn out helpful for our understanding of the Empire's past. I asked your parents before I asked you, by the way, so you can tell them about anything we discuss here."

Miss Petal nodded gravely, the other students just waited, feeling slightly intimidated by the big announcement.

Mister Coelistine lit his horn and his desk opened. He levitated a pile of brown and yellow-greyish books out and put them on the desk. A cloud of dust rose from the ancient tomes and Eclipse sneezed. Two old scrolls joined the books. Coelistine cleared his throat.

"So, there really used to be knights in the Old Empire, we know that much already. These books are from the Crystal Archives so I'm afraid I can't let you kids touch them. They contain journals of knights from that time. I even found a map..." he unrolled one of the scrolls, "...that depicts the dwelling of said knights. As you can see, they had their own fortress outside the city borders, in the area that was not protected by the Barrier. As if that wasn't unusual enough, they also had a garden and wheat fields inside the fortress." He pointed at a pale green square on the map. "See, there's some symbols for trees and agriculture."

"Are you saying that they grew their own food outside the city?" asked Miss Petal.

Coelistine nodded. "Exactly. They must have found a way to create their own barrier against the ice and snow."

"Or maybe," muttered Eclipse, "their plants grew despite the cold. Like super-tough snow trees or something."

"What were the knights called?" asked one of the older students. "Did they belong to an order?"

"According to these journals, they called themselves Knights of Ice and Crystal," said Mister Coelistine slowly. "And most ponies did not seem to like them much. There are reports of trouble keeping the peace in the city when they were around. The knights were the ones to fight enemies outside of the Empire."

"So they weren't in the city very often," concluded Peridot.

"Why didn't the city ponies like them?" asked Eclipse. "Shouldn't they show respect for the protectors of the Empire?"

Coelistine sighed and let go of the scroll. He took one of the books. Some of the pages were marked with snippets of paper.

"I should warn you; what I'm about to show you might be a shock." He opened it and turned it around so the class could see the pages.

The picture was a coloured woodcut. The colours were still vibrant and clear even though the book was very old. Somepony must have cast a spell to preserve the image so well.

A stallion, a slate grey unicorn in dark armour, stood tall on the edge of a cliff. His horn was straight but he still reminded Eclipse of Sombra. But the pony's eyes were grey and his short, curly mane was brown. He was casting a spell: green, black and violet sparks surrounded his horn. There was a determined look on his face, mixed with anger and joy. On the opposite page, the image continued. The beams from the knight's horn widened, hitting a large group of white wolves and bears. The attackers were thrown back by the beam. Some were lying on the snow with various expressions of pain and fear. Black crystals grew on their coats. One of the wolves was impaled by a black crystal that grew from the ground. Eclipse was glad that the picture was not too detailed. He shuddered.

"They used dark magic?" whispered Miss Petal.

"Yes." Coelistine closed the book. The slapping noise made Eclipse and Peridot jump.

"The Knights of Ice and Crystal were dark sorcerers. They conjured crystals and used Fear Magic to fight. But their magic grew unstable and out of control. There are reports of voices in their heads and terrible mind spells. It consumed them. They turned into shadow ponies and were eventually banished from the Empire and sealed away. The Princess and Prince from that time decided never to allow teaching Crystal and Fear Magic again. Shortly afterwards, the City Guard was founded. They and the Royal Guard are now the peacekeepers of the land. And that's why we don't have any knights in the Empire." He looked at his class expectantly. "Questions or comments?"

Five hooves shot into the air.

Chapter 15: The Pulse

"Yo, Darren, the fridges need a refill," called Peppermint across the shop counter. His voice was loud enough to carry through the long room, past the numerous chest-high shelves and into the storage room.

"Yes, Sir," came a faint call back from the storage room.

The corners of Pappermint's mouth twitched. He turned back to the customer and smiled. "This will only take a moment," he promised.

The customer, a pale pink unicorn with a purple and golden mane, nodded. She let her eyes wander across the wares on the counter. Peppermint always put small sweets and gadgets there. When the line was slow, the customers tended to buy the sweets even though their price was a bit higher than that of those on the normal shelves.

"I see you've employed somepony again?" said the mare in a polite tone.

"Ah, yeah, he's a catch. Strong, fast and punctual. And I think his manners are better than mine." Peppermint laughed hoarsely, then turned serious again. "Though some ponies can't seem to appreciate getting their wares on the shelves on time. Got a few complaints but only when he wasn't around... Ah, there he comes." He nodded over to Darren who walked over to the fridge with two baskets. He put the baskets on top of the shelves and moved their content - milk jars and butter - into the glass boxes on the boards. "Really useful to be tall, too," commented Peppermint. "Got a warehouse assistant and a security guy in one person." He grinned slyly.

The mare's eyes widened ever so slightly and she gasped a little when she saw the human.

Darren looked up and wiped his hands on his dark green apron. "Ma'am." He gave her a polite smile.

"Dear goodness, you've changed!" the mare said, then grimaced guiltily.

"Have we met?" asked Darren slowly. "You seem familiar. Your voice..."

The customer rolled her eyes. She chuckled nervously. "Actually, we have. Two weeks ago, in the palace."

Darren briefly shook his head. "I apologize, I can't place you."

"Let me help you with that," said the mare. She lit her horn and a shimmering light washed over her body. It grew taller and wings which had not been visible before unfolded. Her mane unraveled into lustrous curls and a small crown appeared on her head.

"Princess!" Peppermint knelt down so fast that he almost hit his head on the edge of the counter. Darren bowed before her but did not kneel.

"Sorry about the deception," said Princess Cadence. "I just wanted to see how you were doing." She frowned at Peppermint. "Please get up, there's no need for that."

The clerk rose to his hooves, looking at the ground.

"If I had known..." he said.

"Exactly," said the Princess. "So how much for the milk?"

"For you, Princess, it's free!" he said, trying to catch his breath.

Cadence shook her head. "I want to pay for it, just like everypony else should. How much?"

"Well - your Highness - if you - insist. Three bits."

She took a purse from under her wing and withdrew three coins from it. Peppermint accepted the money, still slightly rattled, and eyed Darren.

"When will your shift be over?" asked Cadence. "I'd like to have some coffee with you and talk, if you don't mind."

"In half an hour, your Highness," said Darren. One of his eyebrows was still raised and he seemed torn between confusion and amusement.

"Eh, it's okay if you take off," said Peppermint, waving his hoof. "Just stay longer tomorrow and we'll be good."

"Are you sure, Sir?"

"Get out of here."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Eclipse." The was a soft knock on the bedroom door. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk?" White Alloy's worried voice carried to Eclipse who was sitting on his bed. He had his wooden shield in his hooves and stared at the blue heart that was painted on it.

"I dunno..."

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"I don't know," repeated Eclipse a bit louder.

"I'm coming in." White pushed the door open. He trotted into the bedroom and stood before Eclipse. "Where's Peridot?" He askes softly. "Still away with the girls?"

"Mhm," hummed Eclipse without taking his eyes off the shield. Then, with a sudden movement, he flung the piece of wood onto the bed and said, "Dad, where did you find me?"

"Er. Y-you mean, when we -"

"We had this special lesson at school today," said Eclipse.

"I... see. The special... right. What did you learn?" asked White to play for some time.

"That there used to be Knights of Ice and Crystal who used dark magic to defend the Empire. They turned evil from using the magic and became Shadow Ponies and were banished into a crystal outside the Empire. And they had their own evil fortress and..."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, buddy." White sat down on the bed, next to Eclipse. "Shadow ponies?"

"Yeah. Mr Coelistine says that's why we don't have any knights. Because they turned evil. We just have guards."

White rubbed his chin in thought. "That explains some things," he admitted slowly.

"Dad, where did you find me?"

"What does that have to do with your lesson?" asked White nervously.

"There was a picture. In the old book. There was a knight and - well, he had a brown mane and his eyes were different, too, but he still looked a lot like me. Or..." he muttered something into his pillow.

"Sombra?" guessed White.

Eclipse nodded, sniffing. He turned to White. The light of the lamp reflected in his blue eyes.

"Dad, am I a Shadow Pony?"

"It's great to see you're doing so well," said Cadence, giving Darren a sideways glance as they walked along a path in the park.

"Peppermint is a very considerate pony," mused Darren. "Even though he owns a shop that stays open from Eight to Six."

Cadence frowned. "What do you mean?"

Darren hesitated. "One, he is the only pony to hire me yet," he said. "And two..." he paused. "I used to call in sick for a few hours. On several days in a row."

"Oh?" Cadence said, unsure how to react.

"Well," said Darren curtly, "I am glad to report that this has not happened the last few days."

They passed a bench. Cadence turned around, sat down on it and patted the spot next to her with a hoof. Darren slowly sat down, at a respectful distance to the Princess.

"Was it the curse dissipating?" she took a guess.

Darren's eyes widened. Now that he thought about it, he had begun to eat regularly, and a lot. He also had to use the bathroom. He still hesitated to use the bathroom mirror, though he never would have admitted that to the Princess. And he did not feel so aggressive anymore. It had happened so gradually that he had not even noticed.

"Possibly," he said.

Cadence smiled. "Your eyes are looking much better than at the hearing," she said.

Darren twitched. Warmth rose up to his ears. "Ma'am?"

"Darren, they aren't glowing anymore. You see, I had the time to have a talk with your friend Jonathan. He described to me how he was healed. Today, he's got a pulse and everything. And his eyes are normal again, though he said they used to be blue, not yellow."

Darren froze. He glanced at Cadence, then at his own hands. Slowly, he raised one hand and held two fingers to his carotid artery.

There was a faint thumping. With his fingers still on the side of his windpipe, Darren stared at Cadence, who giggled.

"You didn't notice your own pulse?" she asked incredulously. "I thought something like this would catch your attention. Well, I guess nopony thinks much about their own pulse except when they have health issues or do sports..."

Darren did not react. His stare became distant.

"Are - are you okay?" Concern crept into Cadence's voice.

"Approximately sixty beats per minute," said Darren dryly, lowering his hand. "I think so, Ma'am - Cadence," he quickly corrected himself. He felt his mouth twisting into a smile. "I suppose I will get an appointment with Dr. Passiflora," he said. "She should conduct a magical scan, see if there is still any residue of the curse."

Cadence beamed and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea," she agreed. "Oh, I'm so glad you're feeling better, Darren! Does Twilight know?"

"No, I had not realized the... extent of my... progress," admitted Darren. He cleared his throat. "I will see to it that she knows, of course." His smile grew wider. "Thank you, Princess. The Whites will be pleased. I have not seen them since our last dinner a week ago."

"Wait, those are the pony family with the grey pegasus colt, right?"

"Yes. I agreed to attend Eclipse's appointments and they... wanted to give me their thanks that way."

The Alicorn smiled knowingly. "Did you enjoy dinner with them?"

Darren grew serious. "Yes," he said. "They bring back pleasant memories. Mostly," he added with a quiet voice. He regretted the words as soon as they had been spoken.

"Mostly?"

Darren's mouth became a straight line.

Cadence nodded, her eyes widening with realization. "You had a family?" she asked carefully. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she said quickly.

The knight just nodded. She was the Princess. He had to answer.

"Five children," he said, raising his eyebrow. "They all died, along with my wife." He rubbed his nose.

"How long ago was that?" whispered Cadence.

"Ten years." His voice felt like a scratch in his throat. "At least it was not me. But I was there. Once I regained my free will, I realized the implications..." He broke off.

A tear ran down the Princess's face when she saw the way Darren looked at her.

White took a deep breath and sat up very straight. He had feared that this day would come soon - he had almost expected it after the episode with Darren. But he still was not prepared.

"Alright," he said. "Listen. Actually, it wasn't us who found you. That was the Guard when they searched the borders for lost ponies. They found you all alone in the snow. Since Mommy works in the Guard, she heard of it. And we discussed it and offered to take you in as our son."

"Yeah, you already said I was adopted," muttered Eclipse. "And that's why I don't really remember anything from before you found me."

"Adoption doesn't come with a memory wipe," snorted White. When he saw Eclipse's face, he winced. "Sorry. But we often wondered what your life was like before you got lost outside the Empire."

"Me too," said Eclipse. "I always thought that somepony bad hit me on the head or something... but maybe I never was in the Empire before that. Maybe I was just dumped by the Shadow Ponies for - for you to pick me up. Maybe that's why I have this black smoke magic and stuff!" His voice grew louder, challenging White to disagree.

"Maybe," muttered White. "But maybe you are just a colt who got very lost and was attacked by some weird magic when Sombra was revived."

"It doesn't add up, Dad," said Eclipse, shaking his head. "First, the smoke magic came, then Darren helped, and then Sombra returned. It can't have been him. That's what's so scary about it." He sniffed again and rubbed his muzzle. "I don't wanna turn evil, Dad. I don't wanna hurt anypony!" He whispered, "I'm really scared!"

White carefully put his forelegs around him. "Eclipse," he said, his voice full of pain and love at the same time. He hugged the colt until the sobbing subsided a little, then he broke the hug and looked Eclipse straight into the eyes. "Let me tell you something about Evil," he said. "Ponies are evil... when they do evil things and enjoy it... or think for some reason that they are doing good. When magic makes you do bad stuff, you are just sick, not evil. Tell me: Do you want to hurt me?"

Eclipse shook his head.

"Or Mom? Or Peridot? Anypony?"

Eclipse shook his head again, each time more firmly.

"What are you going to do when you feel that dark magic again?" asked White.

"Ask for help. For Darren to come and help." Eclipse smiled shakily. "Oh, I think I get it."

"You're not an evil pony, Eclipse. "I would have noticed if my son was turning into a twisted madpony, believe me." While smiled. "And even if you were a - a Shadow Pony, I think that's not even the point. The point is what you do with the powers that you've got. You'll always be my son. Nothing in the whole wide world is going to change that." He paused. "And I know you love us... because we love you, too. Just promise you won't try to solve everything on you own, okay? You can count on us. Always."

"O-okay."

White took the shield and held it in front of Eclipse.

"You want to become a guard, don't you?"

Eclipse nodded, slightly confused. "Yeah?"

"Why?"

"Because guards are awesome... they are strong and brave and they make sure everypony's safe!"

"You know what your Mom told me once?" White smirked. "Guards get scared, too."

"What?"

"Yeah. They train to get over their fears. They aren't superpowered ponies. They just do the best they can. Nopony would expect anything more. They set an example by striving for an ideal, even if that ideal is unreachable. It's like... with trees. They don't touch the sky but they grow upwards because they want to. Otherwise they'd be a tangled mess."

"Oh."

"I think you'll make a great guard," said White.

Eclipse beamed.

Chapter 16: Ruins

Darren slowly unlocked the door to room 103 and pushed it open without a sound. That afternoon had been utterly exhausting. Not physically, obviously, but still.

The time with the Princess had been a long overdue walk down memory lane. And it was the ugliest of roads, the kind with stones, puddles of mud and ambushes along the way. There was no way to go there and return without feeling the need to take a shower. As Darren sat down on the only chair in the tiny room, he groaned and rubbed his eyes. He needed to unwind, do something to keep his thoughts from circling.

The mirror. It had to be around somewhere. Darren got up and pulled the drawers of the nightstand open. There it was. He used his sleeve to rub the glass surface clean and made himself comfortable on the chair once again, saying, "Jonathan Baker."

It took a while until the mirror surface glowed and rippled. Then, Jonathan's face became visible. In the background, Darren could make out a shelf overflowing with parchment rolls and inkwells.

"Hey," said Jonathan, slightly out of breath. His voice was distorted by the mirror's projection. "Didn't notice you trying to call, sorry."

"You're busy."

"I usually am. Good thing about being your own boss is that you get to decide when not to be." The priest grinned. The image in the mirror spun for a moment when Jonathan sat down on a chair Darren could not see. "How you doing? Settling in?"

"More or less," said Darren hesitantly. "By now, every...pony is surprisingly comfortable with me. The White family especially."

"Those were the ones with Sombra in the basement, right?" Jonathan narrowed one eye, trying to remember their faces.

"The very same. Though last I heard, Sombra is on the loose again... but under surveillance. I managed to catch him." Darren smirked. "At breakfast in front of a café. He was stealing a milk jug. It was almost too easy."

Jonathan shrugged. "Works for me. As long as he doesn't do shit to ponies anymore. He doesn't, does he?"

"He gets his food at the local shelter. I suppose finding a job would turn out to be difficult for him."

"Wow. How the mighty have fallen." There was a pause. "You get a job yet?"

Darren nodded. "Storekeeper. Sort of. It pays alright."

"Go Death Knight." Jonathan smirked, then the grin trickled off his face. "Wait a minute... your eyes..."

Darren could not help it. He simply smiled.

Jonathan hit the table with his flat hand. "Awesome! Man, you got healed, didn't you?"

"I still eat a lot. But the bloodlust has settled down, thank the Light."

"Yeah, thank the Light indeed. Though it must have been the Crystal Heart, too." Jonathan frowned. "You should come to Ponyville. Everybody misses you, Twilight especially. We could go to the lake, catch up some more."

"I will, soon," promised Darren. "In fact, I have an idea with... whom..." He cut off, losing his focus as he remembered his most recent nightmare. He had dreamt of the Whites - and of his own family. Princess Luna had not been there.

"Er, Hello? Azeroth to Darren?" Jonathan raised a brow, knocking at the mirrorframe.

"Sorry," muttered Darren. "I just remembered something."

"Are you sure you're okay? You got that thousand feet stare going on for a moment."

"I used to take my wife and children to Lake Lordaeron," Darren said quietly. "We even got to see the Citadel Barrier once." He smiled sadly. "Darcy loved the colour of the force field. She said it looked like Stratholme Lilies."

"You still think of them a lot, don't you," realized Jonathan.

"Every day." Darren's voice felt like sandpaper.

"Me too. Lizzie, I mean." Jonathan sighed. "I left her behind to study in Lordaeron. And shortly after I was ordained, the Scourge took over. I killed my sister, Darren. My own sister."

Darren nodded, rubbing his nose. "Hm," he said. He had expected something like that after Jonathan had hinted at his sister's death weeks ago. Darren felt sympathy for the young Priest rising up, adding to his own pain. So much for distraction. He cleared his throat.

Jonathan took a deep breath. "Good thing that the Whites don't know. Not that it would help anyway. But it does explain why you're so fond of those kids." He tapped his fingers on the table on his side. "I've been thinking about what you said. About you not having access to the Light anymore. If you don't mind me asking: What were you... before all of it?"

Darren hesitated, frowning. Jonathan leaned back, raising his hand dismissively. "Nevermind -"

"I was a Paladin," said Darren quickly.

Jonathan's mouth formed a silent, "Oh." He blinked twice, then asked, "Well. Maybe... the Light will come back to you, too."

Darren shook his head. "You kept in touch with the Light before and after you died. But you know how the Death Knights came to be, don't you?"

Jonathan gulped. He shuffled around on his chair as he muttered, "Yeah."

"My point," said Darren, raising his brow, "is that there are things you don't come back from. Even if the Light would forgive me for... everything, I still would not dare to wield it."

There was an awkward silence, filling with the things the former undead kept carrying around and did not talk about. Jonathan tapped his fingers again. Darren said nothing, unable to think of a way to change the subject. To his relief, Jonathan had that covered.

"About visiting Ponyville. You can bring any stuff you want me to enchant. Free of charge."

"I appreciate it," said Darren. "All of it."

Jonathan nodded and the corners of his mouth twitched into a brief smile.

The sun was low in the sky and tinted the glittering roofs of the city red and golden. A swarm of birds fluttered into the sky, disturbed by a figure that walked past a group of bushes close to the Barrier. This part of the city was nearest to the force field border and provided the most cover. The green belt that surrounded the Crystal Empire was dotted with villages but hills were scarce. If you wanted to leave the Empire undetected, neither the train nor the exposed meadows were an option.

Sombra could have taken a more direct path but he was in no hurry. After days and nights spent on the street he clung to the glimmer of hope he had found when a small voice had whispered to him in the dark.

There is a fortress in the white.

The voice had echoed in his head, so quietly that at first he had thought it had come from a nearby window. It had sounded different than the voice of the Crystal. Sombra had nothing to lose and the prospect of a house where he could stay, no matter his past, was tempting enough to follow the advice. So he had packed his pathetically small bundle, enough food to last for four days - he had taken it from the shelter when they had served something other than soup - and his too-short cloak.

Sombra reached the Barrier after three hours of walking. He was glad that, for some reason, the cold hardly bothered him. Was it his heritage that made him mostly immune to the ice? It took Sombra a whole day and night to find a collection of large dark grey rocks embedded in the ice, just out of sight from the city.

Go around it, whispered the voice, so Sombra carved a curvy path through the snow with his body as he circled the rocks. His hoof stepped on something wooden. He bent down and pushed the snow off the frozen planks. There was a door. It must have been part of a portal long ago before somepony had pulled it from its hinges. Sombra looked up and realized that the rocks were not rocks but in fact ruins, leftovers from thick walls. He laughed. The voice had been right. Sombra pushed some more snow away and looked around to figure out what shape the building must have had before.

It had been a small house, connected to a wall. A guardhouse. Maybe this was the perimeter of that fortress. There, some dozen steps ahead, were the remains of another wall. The ground rose to become a hill, almost as if...

"It's been buried," muttered Sombra. He looked up and realized how odd the shape of the snowhill was. Did magic hold it in place? He walked towards it; the snow shimmered in the sun. Or was it really the sun? It was hardly visible in the overcast morning sky. How could it make the hill glitter and glimmer that much? Carefully, Sombra inched forward. Another step, and another, and the snow shimmered even more. The closer he came to the hill the harder it was to make it out. Eventually, the illusion faded away and he stood in front of more walls. Dark stone, similar to the spikes that dotted the landscape of the Frozen North, was the buiding material of the ancient fortress that stood in front of him. It had been preserved from time by the spell that had banished and hidden it. It stood on an actual hill, rising at least five stories high, and was surrounded by two thick walls. Sturdy towers marked the five corners of the fortress. There were hardly any windows, probably due to the weather conditions. Am empty flagpole was erected on the largest tower, a rectangular shape that must have been the last line of defense in case the fortress was ever under siege.

As Sombra marveled over the magnificent yet somehow gloomy sight, the voice killed the moment.

"We are not alone!"

He narrowed his eyes. Slowly turning his head, Sombra cast a look at the trail he had left in the snow. A second set of hoofsteps branched away from his own. Somepony must have followed him and hidden behind the guardhouse ruins. He smirked and lit his horn.

"Come out!" he called against the wind. "I know you're there!"

Something rustled behind the corner of the wall. A blue earth pony in a thick woollen cloak slowly showed himself. He was carrying a polearm. The curved double blade looked sharp. The pony did not bother pointing the glaive at Sombra. For one, he was out of reach, and secondly, Sombra could easily disarm him with his magic.

"Hey, Mister Shard," said the pony. As he stepped closer, he had the swagger of a well-trained, strong guard. "I guess I could pretend to be here by chance but what's the point?"

"Why did you follow me?" demanded Sombra.

"Orders. You're free to go anywhere you like. But you do understand the city needs to keep tabs on you, right? At least for a while, to make sure you're done with being evil." The guard did not look the slightest bit intimidated. How long had he been on Sombra's tail? He had probably witnessed his daily visits to the Shelter. Sombra's insides turned into acid at the thought.

"Mind if we get into the castle?" asked the guard. "It's really cold out here."

The magic around Sombra's horn faded away. He cast a skeptical look at the guard. The voice said nothing so he decided to take a leap of faith. It was not as if the guard could report anything right now.

"Alright." He frowned at the guard once again, then he turned around and frowned at the portal in front of him.

"Wow, that thing looks old," said the guard with awe. "I had no idea they built anything outside the Barrier."

"Neither did I," muttered Sombra, bending forward to inspect the lock. He peered into the keyhole and grimaced. "Step back."

The guard took half a step away from Sombra and waited, his face unreadable.

Sombra focused and cast a small spell. With a 'clunk', the lock opened. "Hah! It worked!"

"Good job." The guard's tone was mocking but Sombra could also hear some relief mixed into it. Both of them pushed against the heavy door but nothing happened.

"I think it opens the other way," said the guard.

Sombra blushed. "I knew that," he said.

"Yeah, right. You just needed the exercise."

Sombra scoffed and pulled at the portal's handle. The door opened with ease and both ponies went inside.

"I'm Abrasive Paper," said the guard while Sombra unlocked the second portal. "Might as well get comfortable with the thought of me hanging around. I brought my own food." He grinned wryly.

"Fine. Just keep your distance. I'm Sombra," said Sombra, "but you can call me Shard."

The next day, Darren kept his promise to work longer and left Peppermint's store an hour after it had closed. He glanced at the next clock, which happened to be the school's clock, and picked up the pace. As the bell struck Seven, he jogged along the road. The ponies that he passed turned their heads, slightly curious, but left him alone. A few seemed to recognize him. He paid no attention to them. Instead, Darren scanned the houses left and right until he discovered the sign he had been looking for.

Feather Cloud - Pillows, Blankets, Furniture.

Darren slowed down when he was only a few steps away from the door. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he peered through the wide display window. It showed what the sign said: A comfortable couch and two chairs were grouped together, with pillows and blankets expertly draped over them. The colours of the blankets were still strong so apparently the owner changed the decor once in a while.

The doorbell jingled when Darren entered. Silence greeted him. A pony trotted closer, her hoofsteps muffled by the carpets on the ground.

"How may I help you?" Her voice was steady but her smile a little too wide to be entirely convincing.

"Hello," said Darren. "I would like to buy a carpet."

"Do you have anything specific in mind?" asked the clerk carefully, her smile still plastered onto her face.

Darren smirked. "Actually, yes. It should be as long as that couch over there and sky blue. On both sides."

The pony nodded. "I see... er... on both sides?" Her grin wavered. "I never heard that kind of request before," she admitted, slightly confused.

Darren waited.

"Though we have a few blue carpets over here." She directed Darren to a far corner of the store and showed him a rack where dozens of carpets were rolled up. "This one," she said, straining a little as she lifted one of them, "is a soft plush carpet imported from Equestria. It's very in season and you can put it anywhere."

Darren rubbed his neck, tilting his head. "Do you have anything... tougher?"

The pony's eyes widened, then narrowed as she thought quickly. "Uh... yes!" She beamed again and lifted another carpet. "Here. This carpet is wool and linen flatweave. Specially made for high-traffic areas. You can put it in the Train Station's foyer and it will stay alright for years."

For years? Darren was sure that was an exaggeration. But it did not matter that much.

"High traffic sounds good," said Darren. "May I?" He stretched out his hand and rubbed the carpet's corner between his fingers. The threads were twisted together and woven very tightly. The knots were done by an expert. "Very good," he said. "How much is it?"

"One hundred and fifty-four bits," said the mare, her tone neutral.

Darren felt heat creeping up his ears. "How about a carpet half the size?"

Darren eventually settled for the larger carpet. The shopkeeper had offered him to split the payment into two. He would pay the second half in a month. As he carried the rolled-up cloth on his shoulder, Darren thought about his conversation with Jonathan. He almost walked past the Valiant Prince and only noticed where he was when a pony bumped into him.

"Sorry," muttered the mare at the same time as Darren said, "Excuse me." Then, they both looked at each other.

"Hi, Darren," said Feather, chuckling.

"Hello," said Darren. "Did you work the late shift?" he asked politely.

"Yes. It was exhausting. I'm on my way home. Oh, I see you bought a carpet? Does that mean you've found an apartment?"

"The carpet is not for the apartment. Which I do not have yet." Now was his chance. "Feather, I intend to pay a visit to Ponyville this weekend. If you wish, you and your family..." He hesitated. Feather looked at him with expectation. "...could come along," he finished quickly. Why was it suddenly so difficult for him to ask? There she was, a little turquise pony, and he felt as if he was facing a horde of Nerub'ar spiders without his sword...

Feather tapped her chin. Then, she smiled. "I wouldn't mind a little trip outside of the Empire. I need to talk to my husband, of course. The foals would love it for sure. They have never been to Equestria before. I can tell you tomorrow, say, after work? Or I'll leave a message if you are busy."

"Splendid," said Darren. "I will wait for it. Good evening, Feather."

"Good evening. See you then! I'll tell the foals you said hello." Feather gave Darren a friendly wave as she walked by.

"Please do." Darren smiled at the pony.

As Feather continued on her way, the smile slipped off Darren's face.

Did he have the right to do this? To just butt into that family? Was it not enough that he had to keep an eye on Eclipse? But Feather had actually seemed alright with the invitation, even appreciated it. If Darren had learned one thing about the ponies it was that they were extreme amateurs when it came to faking emotions. If things went south, he could always take his leave. He was bound to no one. Darren frowned darkly as he realized that this was also the downside of his situation. A pony that passed him in the hallway of the Prince flinched when he saw his expression. Darren quickly nodded a greeting and hurried upstairs.

Chapter 17: Hidden Qualities

Dear Darren,
we will be happy to come along to Ponyville. White Alloy took the liberty of picking the connection.
Please join us tomorrow at 8:30 at the Central Station, track 2, next to the information panel.
With best regards,
Feather Rush

With the folded note in his hand, Darren let his gaze wander across Central Station. The clatter of hooves on stone echoed troughout the gigantic hall. He wondered how long it had taken the blacksmiths and crystal carvers to create the intricate ceiling. Hundreds of crystal rectangles covered the sturcture of woven iron. The light danced over the passengers in white, pink and yellow. Darren read the sign that told everyone where to find Track 2 and nodded. As he descended the stairs to the tunnel connecting the entrance and Track 1 to the rest of the station, Darren had to be careful not to knock anybody over with his rolled-up carpet. His sword was sheathed and secure on his back. The last time he had carried it around had been over two weeks ago. He had never thought it would feel strange to bear it again. He was not used to the stares anymore. Or was it just that the ponies in the neighborhood had gotten used to seeing a human around?

He climbed the stairs to Track 2. The echoing noise from the tunnel subsided a little. Everything was incredibly clean, very much unlike the Deeprun Tram, the only means of public transportation - besides ships - Darren had used before. He had to admit that the absence of Gnomes felt like something of an improvement. The ponies were taller than Gnomes; it was easier not to run them over. Nobody liked walking with their eyes on the ground all the time.

The information panel was right between the tracks Two and Three. White Alloy, Feather Rush, Peridot and Eclipse stood huddled together. Feather and Peridot were wearing light cloaks; White was equipped with a pair of slightly worn saddlebags. Darren was confused by the lack of further baggage; then he realized that the ponies only needed to bring snacks for the journey and probably a blanket or two. He, on the other hand, had brought a spare set of clothes along with food and water and a few things he never parted with. It was force of habit after not having his own place for years.

"Darren! Over here!" Eclipse had spotted him and waved at him enthusiastically.

Darren waved back with the hand holding the note. He set the carpet down like a pillar, leaning the cloth against his chest, and bumped his fist against the hooves of the parents. Feather's eyes wandered to the hilt of his sword. Darren smiled apologetically.

"It's the safest place to keep it when I'm out of town."

She frowned, then nodded. "Let's go, the train leaves in ten minutes," she said.

They all approached the edge of the track. Feather pulled Eclipse back with her foreleg. "No closer than three steps, honey," she warned him, pointing at the line that was drawn on the ground. Darren raised an eyebrow.

White squinted his eyes. "There she comes," he said.

Peridot flinched when an array of crystals next to the panel suddenly buzzed. In a mechanical voice, they declared: "Track 2, arrival: The train to Baltimare via Cloudsdale, Canterlot, departure eight-fourtyfive. Mind the gap."

"What the hell was that?" Darren stared at the array.

Peridot giggled when she saw that he was more surprised than her.

"They enchanted the crystals to tell everypony the schedule," said White, unable to hide a grin.

Darren looked at White. "Couldn't a pony do that?"

"What kind of job would that be, sitting at a resonance crystal all day and saying the same stuff over and over again? Nopony in their right mind would do it. It's way less effort to just install a few crystals that can read the information aloud."

Darren considered that for a moment as the train approched the platform. It was a noisy monster of steam and metal but at the same time it looked... fast. The design was smooth and, of course, included crystals. Everything about it said, "I am new, I am tough and you better sit your rump down before we roll out." The train stopped with a hiss and all along the wagons doors sprung open. Ponies poured out of the train like ants from a corpse. Most of them had little to no baggage. Darren noticed that not all of them were crystal ponies. He even spotted a griffin further down the track. With a pang of guilt, he remembered leaving Bane behind when he had turned his back on Azeroth.

"Come on, everypony, and don't get lost," said Feather, herding her two children towards the train. White followed suit. Darren quickly put the carpet back on his shoulder and stayed on their tail. When he stepped onto the train, he noticed a gap between the train and the platform. That was probably the one he was supposed to mind. It was not even that big; only a very clumsy pony with small legs would have gotten their hooves caught in it.

The train compartments were separated by chest-high wooden walls. Feather and White sat down next to each other in the way that ponies sat on blankets. Peridot and Eclipse had a little fight over the window seat. Their parents exchanged a look, then White switched over to the opposite bench so both children could look outside. Darren occupied two seats: His carpet was put down on one and he sat down on the sixth. He hoped he would not have to pay for an extra ticket. Feather had told him they could be bought on the train itself which was probably an advantage if you were in a hurry.

The inside of the train was surprisingly quiet due to soft carpets that covered the floor and wall space between the windows. The excitement of Eclipse and Peridot was contagious. They pointed at things they saw in the station and invented names for them. Darren smirked when he saw how much fun they had. Feather and White urged them both repeatedly to sit down. That was when Darren heard a shrill whistle, then the thumping of closing doors. A slight jolt went through the train as it accelerated. The train station went sideways and disappeared from sight, replaced by houses that flew by at an ever increasing speed.

"I'm beginning to think this is bigger on the inside." Abrasive Paper's voice echoed through the cavernous hall. The dark stone made everything look much smaller than it really was but there was so much space to begin with that it did not make that much of a difference.

"It's big enough on the outside," said Sombra, annoyed, and kept walking. It was cold but not as icy as outside where the relentless winds kept blowing. They could hear their howls and sighs all throughout the castle. That and the fact that everything was so dark and abandoned made one shiver after another run down Sombra's spine. He could have sworn there were voices in the winds. He did not like it one bit.

"Any idea who lived here?" Abrasive Paper asked.

"No."

"Must have been some megalomaniac villain. The vibe sure fits. Sure it wasn't you?"

Sombra rolled his eyes in an effort to cover his nervousness and pushed the door open that marked the end of the hall. He almost stumbled when he saw the garden.

The glass house was tall; it covered an entire courtyard. Sombra suspected that it was not really glass but crystal or maybe even enchanted ice. Long rows of fruit-bearing trees and bushes were lined up from wall to wall. Little bits of sunlight that reached the garden were somehow multiplied by the panels above, tinting the garden in a bright, clean light that left few shadows. Birds were chirping somewhere, the only sound in the surprisingly windless garden.

"Are those fruit I smell?" Abrasive Paper had entered the garden. He cantered around Sombra and disappeared behind the next bush. "Yep, plums." He slurred the words as if he was chewing on something.

Sombra followed the voice and found the guard eating fruit from the closest tree. The tree was special: It bore not just fruit, it was blooming at the same time. The tree next to it looked the same. Sombra suddenly realized how tasty it smelled. The food he had brought was already used up. Being in the cold had made him hungrier than anticipated. Using his magic, Sombra pulled ripe plums from the tree.

"So you have never been outside the Empire before?" Darren asked Peridot.

"Nope! This is my first train ride ever! Our teacher said we would visit Canterlot in half a year but that's still sooo far away."

"Why aren't we going to Canterlot?" asked Eclipse. His mood had soured when he had realized they were traveling to a small town in, as he said, the middle of nowhere. "I bet it's much more interesting than Ponyville."

"Ponyville isn't that far from the Capital," said White patiently. "In fact, it's only two stations away. We need to change trains in Canterlot. So we'll get to see the train station, at least."

"Small consolation," muttered Eclipse under his breath. "And why did Darren get to bring his sword if I can't bring my shield?"

Feather sighed quietly, her chin set. She raised her eyebrows at White, who just shrugged. Darren suppressed the urge to chuckle and said, "I did not want to leave it unattended in case of Sombra visiting while I was away."

"Oh." Sobered up, Eclipse sat up straight. "Sorry, I forgot."

"Don't worry, it's unlikely that he would do it. It's still better to err on the side of caution. At least this way, I always know where it is: There." He pointed at the sheathed sword next to the rolled-up carpet with a grand gesture, making Eclipse laugh.

"I can see Cloudsdale!" cheered Peridot. "Look! Awww, it's really made of clouds!"

"Did you learn about it at school?" guessed Darren.

"It's a pegasus city," explained Eclipse. "They have enchanted roads and stuff so non-pegasi can live there and visit, too. I wonder if anypony has ever fallen off their yard."

"Let's assume not," said White uncomfortably. "I'm sure they have some ponies that keep an eye on the city and if anypony ever falls, they rush over and catch them," he added cheerfully.

"Or they put up nets," offered Darren. Or the ponies just die, he added in his mind. Like Levinia.

"Tickets, please!" The train conductor had just entered the compartment. "Thank you. Tickets, please..."

A general buzz and shuffle started when everyone rummaged in their bags to find the short piece of paper. Darren just pulled out his wallet and said, "One to Ponyville, please. Or two, if the carpet counts as one seat."

"One ticket, then. Ten bits," said the conductur, turning around, "Here you - ah, er -" His eyes went up to Darren's tattooed face, the rolled-up carpet, and the sword next to him. "- go." The conductor's face flushed and his ears went down as he accepted the bits, trying in vain to conceal his embarrassment by smiling nervously.

"Thank you," said Darren evenly, even though he felt annoyance at the predictable response. He took the ticket from the conductor's trembling hoof and stored it in his wallet. Feather showed the conductor her four tickets and gave him a rather cool smile when he checked and returned them. As soon as he was gone, her stiff smile turned into a frown.

"I'm sorry, Darren," she said warmly. "You must be tired of this by now."

Eclipse and Peridot grimaced awkwardly as they realized what had just happened.

"That pony was scared of you, wasn't he?" said Eclipse quietly. There was some kind of plea in his voice as he looked up to Darren.

Darren nodded, his throat feeling dry when he said, "Yes." He raised his brows. "It's a natural reaction; he has never seen a Dea-, a human before."

Eclipse grumbled something to himself, then he looked at Darren and declared, "Well, I'm not scared of you!"

Darren smiled. "I know." He ignored how his stomach twisted when Eclipse showed the same expression of confidence his oldest son had once worn.

White cleared his throat. "I think it's time for a game," he said cheerfully. "Anypony got any requests?"

"I would have brought my cards, but -" Peridot stuttered when she remembered she had given them to Darren.

The knight reached into his bag with a crafty smirk. Peridot beamed as he pulled out the ridiculously colourful pack.

"Do you know any good card games?" she asked, excited and wide-eyed.

Opening the pack at the bottom, Darren swiftly caught the cards. He shuffled them with a speed that made White and Feather exchange looks, then he used one hand to split the stack in the middle and turn one half around the other. Eclipse and Peridot gaped at him in awe.

"Kid," he said, "I used to serve. I know all the card games."

Author's Note

What Darren did with the cards is called a knuckle cut. I was so impressed when I saw Data doing that in Star Trek: The next Generation that I did not want to leave it out... even though it is apparently not that difficult.

What's your favourite card game?

Chapter 18: Friendship Castle

The plums were tasty. Sweet, juicy and filling, too. Sombra wiped his mouth. He swallowed hard when he realized something. If the food was fresh there had to be somepony who grew it. Which meant that they were not alone. Weird that the voice did not warn him. It had been so perceptive before. But he had to check nonetheless.

"Wonder who'sh taking gare of dis garden," said Abrasive Paper, still chewing.

Sombra squinted his eyes when he heard a faint rumble that quickly moved closer. The ground shook, but only a bit, and it sounded as if masses of water were approaching.

"Shit!" The guard jumped to his feet and grabbed his glaive. "Run!" he shouted, pointing in the direction where they had come from. Sombra decided that that was a reasonable suggestion and followed Abrasive Paper who, of course, had to be a better sprinter than him despite the bag and weapon he was carrying.

Dashing through the still open door, they swung it around and slammed it shut. They looked at each other, all ears turning towards the door. The hinges rattled, a noise that grew stronger each second. Both ponies ran for their lives.

Back in the garden, the rumbling subsided as a heap of brown stones emerged from the ground. The rocks lifted into the air, flew around each other and quickly assembled themselves into a bizarre shape. The creature had two massive arms, a small head atop a broad rock that was faintly shaped like a ribcage, and flaming eyes. A few rocks danced around its lower parts as if they could not decide on the number of feet it should have.

"Where they go?" rumbled the creature, sounding disappointed.

Next to it, water rose from the dirt below and formed a wave. It, too, had arms, but they were made of the purest water. White foam wandered around the liquid creature's body. It looked at its companion with two yellow dots where one could imagine a face.

"Dunno," it glugged. "Did you sssee who idd wasss?"

"Nay. Maybe they new."

"Or maybe not ourrr masssters at all," replied the water creature. "Better be carrreful."

There was another rumble and splash and both creatures disappeared into the ground again.

After changing trains in Canterlot, the remaining journey to Ponyville took only half an hour. The Ponyville train was called Friendship Express, another hint towards the fact that ponies valued harmony more than technology. It was decorated with maudlin motives - lots of hearts, pastel colours and organic shapes. Feather played card games with her children. White and Darren looked out the window and watched the landscape flying past them. The fields were a patchwork of green and yellow, dotted with trees. They passed blooming orchards and small settlements with straw-covered houses. Darren felt reminded of Lordaeron before the Plague, when the skies had been blue and clear, not covered by a looming cloud of green and brown mist.

He was thankful that White did not talk. It gave Darren the chance to appreciate Equestria in silence. This place was strange and yet felt real to the point of obtrusiveness. The Frozen North had felt more familiar to Darren than the pastures around him: it had been almost void of life. Darren had not seen this much green since Silvermoon. However, there was a difference. The Elves had put a lot of effort and magic into their city and the result had still been something artificial. But Equestria... Even though it was obvious that the ponies took care of the land, there was a wildness in it as if an ancient soul breathed in it. In retrospect, Darren realized that the Scourge had not only destroyed the lands of Lordaeron and poisoned its people. It had also taken its soul, its very essence. That was such a tremendous loss that he felt his stomach shrink as he understood. He had committed the ultimate crime: He had slaughtered the Innocent, which was evil enough on its own, but he had also taken part in killing a land.

White looked at him, a small line of worry between his brows. Darren ignored him and kept watching the landscape, trying not to show what was going on inside his head. He promised himself to never tell the ponies what he had done.

To his relief, the train soon slowed down and arrived in a quaint little town. The conductor - a mare with an unusually short mane and tail - walked through all the cars to the back of the train and told everyone loudly that they had arrived in Ponyville. White jumped from his seat and put on his saddlebags. Feather gave Darren the pack of cards back. Her husband used his magic to float the carpet outside the car so Darren could quickly take his sword and bag. They herded Eclipse and Peridot off the train and onto the single platform that made up the station.

"Darren!" That was Twilight Sparkle. Ponies respectfully stepped out of her way as she cantered towards her guests. Unfurling her wings to do a little jump, she hugged Darren. Feather's eyes widened in surprise. "And you must be Feather Rush and White Alloy! Nice to meet you!" She turned to the baffled ponies and shook their hooves. They responded with a "nice to meet you, Princess" and slightly awkward smiles.

Eclipse and Peridot, suddenly shy, stared at Twilight as she was greeting their parents.

"Welcome to Ponyville," she said with a beaming smile. "Let's get your things to the castle, then we can do a little tour and have lunch."

"The castle?" White stammered. "We wanted to book two rooms in the local inn..."

"No way," said Twilight. "You and Darren are my guests, you don't have to book rooms. There's plenty of room at my home, don't you worry."

Darren raised his eyebrows. "I thought you lived in a library."

For half a second, Twilight's smile wavered. "It was destroyed when Tirek attacked Equestria," she said. "But the Tree of Harmony grew a seed and that became a castle. I moved there with all the remaining books and opened a new library. Oh, in case you're wondering, Jonathan is working, that's why he didn't come. Arcus, too. Fluttershy and Applejack could make the time, they are waiting in the throne room."

Darren remembered the two names from Twilight's stories but he could not recall which one had the yellow coat and which one was orange.

"Princess, how can we accept this honour?" White Alloy said nervously.

"What do you mean - oh, all right," laughed Twilight. "Look, I'm just a pony, too. Please, you can call me Twilight."

"As you wish, Pr-, Twilight," replied Feather quickly. She exchanged a look with White which Twilight did not see because she was walking ahead of them. Darren gave them a nod to reassure them. Just like Cadance and Luna, Twilight preferred to keep formalities to a minimum. Darren liked that about her but he also knew that it could confuse common folk when the royals behaved like everyone else. You somehow just expected them to be snobbish, even if they were known to be kind rulers.

"What's the Tree of Harmony?" Peridot piped up.

"That's a magical tree in the Everfree Forest," said Twilight. "It's made of crystal... I think. The Elements of Harmony have a special connection with it."

They followed a broad street through the centre of town. Darren saw that the ponies gave them curious looks. Many seemed comfortable with the sight of him, more so than in other towns. Was it because of Twilight? Since it was close to midday, many took a break from their work and went home or visited the few restaurants they passed by.

"Five friends and I used to bear the Elements of Harmony for some time," Twilight continued. "They are powerful artifacts and each of them represents another aspect of the Magic of Friendship. But we gave them back to the tree to heal it when it was sick."

The road led them past an unusually large square. The middle of the plaza was paved with a beautiful stone ornament depicting a tree. The corners of the rectangular pavement were marked with four small trees in pots. Twilight gestured towards the ornament.

"This is where the Golden Oaks Library used to be. The little trees are saplings from new oak trees. The old oak," she cast a look at Darren, "exploded. We couldn't retrieve anything from the remains except for the roots." Darren noticed a certain look in Twilight's eyes, one he had seen several times when they had worked on a plan to rescue their friends from captivity. "Anyway, we're here," she added quickly.

"Whoa..." Eclipse and Peridot gaped at the magnificent structure.

It was very Equestrian. More crystals, reminding Darren of the Empire's castle, and more pastel colours. Blue was the dominating one. A star silimar to Twilight's Cutie Mark adorned the castle's highest tower. The entire building resembled a tree. The main portal was in the broad trunk. Twilight smiled, her focus apparently shifting from the past to the present.

"Welcome to the Castle of Friendship!" she said proudly.

Wheezing and panting, Sombra and Abrasive Paper leaned against a wall. They had run through a seemingly endless series of corridors which would have looked identical had it not been for the occasional window or colourful tapestry. The first few halls had been illuminated by large crystals. Now they only saw unlit torches in the dim light of Sombra's horn.

"Hey, look, it's you," said Abrasive Paper, his hoof pointing at one of the tapestries. "Oh, wait, his mane's different," he added nonchalantly when Sombra rushed to his side to take a glance at the woven picture. He gave the guard an annoyed glare. Touching the tapestry, Sombra discovered that it was soft and warm, not cold and brittle as one would have expected.

"They're performing..." Sombra took a deep breath. "...a ritual of some kind. No, it's a fight..."

The unicorn on the tapestry stood in front of a horde of white wolves, a few more grey-coated, black-armored spellcasters behind him. All of their horns were aglow, the effect produced by silver, black and purple threads stitched onto the image. Their spells gathered in a dark cloud, shaped like a creature Sombra had never seen in real life.

"Weirdest squid ever," chuckled Abrasive Paper.

"I'm pretty sure they usually don't have two legs and tentacle arms," said Sombra dryly. He looked at the guard. "And the cloth is warm." He went over to the next tapestry which showed a similar scene, only with a cloudlike, slim purple creature instead of the messed up squid monster. The images went on like this; each displayed grey warriors and spellcasters fighting animals or foreign ponies coming from the ice, using purple magic, monsters and sharp weapons. Their enemies usually looked at them with terror, twisted limbs showing pain and anguish. Sombra was not sure if it the artists had just overdone the poses or if it had been their idea of a powerful military force. The determined faces and ruthless fighting style of the grey ponies sent a shiver down his spine.

"The air is warm," Abrasive Paper corrected him. "Walls, too. Like the other hallways. There must be a fire somewhere."

Sombra tore his eyes from the glorified fighting scenes. "Not necessarily. It could be magic, like the crystals in the other halls."

"Still, a source of warmth means there's probably somepony around. Better be careful."

"Right, so they don't notice us stomping around causing floods and earthquakes."

"Yeah. That." The guard scoffed. "I'm gonna look for a place to sleep. Preferably not a dungeon. Sound good?"

"Welcome!" The chipper voice of a pony used to smiling greeted them when Twilight's magic opened the castle's portal. "I'm Starlight Glimmer," said the mare. She was a pink unicorn with a purple mane that had light turqoise streaks in it. She gestured for them to enter. Tilting her head back to look at Darren's face, she showed no surprise. Only her smile grew a little stiff when she saw that he was not smiling. Her hind leg twitched as she resisted the urge to shift away from him.

"Thanks for preparing the table, Starlight," said Twilight warmly. "I'll go and tell Spike and the girls we're here. Can you please show Darren and the Whites their rooms?"

"Sure," beamed Starlight. She led the way to a staircase, casting a quick look back to make sure she was being followed. "This way, please, everypony - I mean -"

"It's alright," said Darren calmly.

"Oh-okay! Sorry!" Dear Light, the mare was growing more nervous with every second. It was even worse than with the train conductor. Did she feel that guilty for the slip-up? Strange. Darren frowned.

"How do you know the princess?" asked Feather.

"Well, uh, we're friends!" said Starlight. "We, er, met in a small town. I don't really want to go into details, if you don't mind... let's just say that I'm kind of her student." She chuckled awkwardly. "This is you room, Mrs and Mr White..."

Feather smiled warmly. "I'm Feather Rush," she said. "And this is Eclipse..." - "Hi!" said the colt - "...and Peridot."

"And I'm White Alloy but you can call me White. There's no need for the Mister."

"A-and you are Darren, right?" Starlight asked for confirmation.

Darren nodded. "Nice to meet you, Starlight Glimmer." He decided to smile.

Her own smile almost distracted from the tiny frown on her forehead. She cantered over to the next door, banging her hoof on the edge of the frame, and declared it to be Darren's room, also that they would meet in the entrance hall in ten minutes if that was okay.

The Whites said, "See you later," and disappeared in their room. Darren entered and closed the door of his own room. He put the rolled-up carpet down and hung the sheathed sword onto the back of the door. His bag went into the large closet. He threw the cloak onto the bed and went back into the hallway.

The clatter of hooves indicated the direction into which Starlight had disappeared. He went down the stairs and saw a door at the end of the hall. Starlight's tail had just disappeared behind it. The door had not closed completely. Darren heard voices from inside and hesitated when he recognized Twilight's voice.

"Starlight, are you alright? You look terribly nervous. Did something happen?"

"Happen? No, no, I'm totally fine. Yeah." Not even Darren was convinced by that. "It's just..." There was a pause.

Another mare spoke. The voice was so soft thatDarren could not make out the words.

"What's there to be scared about?" said someone else, this time a colt. "Was he that intimidating? I thought you said that Jonathan was taller."

"He is," said Twilight, "but Darren... well, how do I put it?"

"He's a warrior, isn't he?" said Starlight. "He had this huge sword on his back and this vicious tattoo on his face and I think he - he saw right through me! It's like those eyes are ice - they could drill right through - through...," she stammered in a panic.

Darren frowned, his hand hovering over the handle. It seemed that even though the curse was gone ponies still felt cold around him. His hand clenched into a fist. Maybe he had decided too soon to visit Ponyville.

"Sugarcube, how 'bout y'all take a deep breath," said another mare. "Did he say anythin' mean to ya?"

"N-no, not really. It was just the way he looked at me, you know..."

"Starlight, I swear I didn't tell him anything about your past," said Twilight. "I would never do that. Darren can..."

"Twilight, the map!" said the mare that had called Starlight a sugarcube. "It's glowin'." There was a pause when everyone was probably looking at the map.

"I've seen that Cutie Mark before," muttered the unknown quiet pony. "Could it be..."

The rest of her sentence was drowned by a terrible scream.

"Darren! Help!"

Feather. Darren spun around, the overheard conversation forgotten, and rushed upstairs taking three steps at a time. He could hear Twilight and her friends running after him. He found Feather standing at the open door of their guest room, waving for him to quickly come inside.

"It's Eclipse, he - I don't know - dark magic again -" she stammered.

Darren ran past her, nodding to show he had understood, and found a familiar scene.

Eclipse was in midair, black steam rising from his coat and mouth. He flapped his small wings, trying in vain to regain control over his body which floated in the air as if underwater.

"Mom!" he wailed. "Mom, it hurts!" Tears ran from his wide, glowing eyes.

"Mister Darren!" begged Peridot, clutching her father's leg as they both helplessly watched her brother writhing in agony.

Darren leapt forward and grabbed Eclipse's leg, pulling the colt down onto one of the beds. As soon as he touched him, the cool sense of purpose was gone. His heart pounded against his ribcage and cold sweat ran down his neck. Was that fear he was feeling?

He stretched out his hand - strange, it was shaking - and felt for Eclipse's forehead. It was time to free the colt again. Darren closed his eyes to concentrate better and reached for the dark hole in his own soul...

Nothing happened. Darren pulled away from Eclipse, trying to stay as calm as he could. Why did it not work anymore? Since when could he not drain magic?

Of course... The curse was gone. He was not a Death Knight anymore, just a human...

The only way left to do this kind of magic was with his sword.

"Be right back," he muttered, gently pushing Twilight and an orange mare aside as he ran to his own room. He pulled the weapon from the hook at the door and unsheathed it as he dashed back to Eclipse, dropping the scabbard on the carpet of the hallway. He skidded to a halt in front of the bed and raised his sword.

"What are you doing?!" shrieked Feather, aghast.

Darren hesitated, suddenly realizing what he must look like pointing a runeblade at the little colt. For the first time since his death, he felt his face turning red hot. He lowered the weapon.

"Feather, I swear I would never hurt your boy," he said, trying to put all of his sincerity into the words. "I want to use the sword as a focus. Like... a wand. Or a horn, if you will. To pull the dark magic from Eclipse."

Feather stared at Eclipse, then Darren. Finally, her gaze settled on her husband.

"You'll just point it from a distance?" asked White cautiously. Peridot, her forelegs still locked around his, looked up at him and nodded wildly.

"Yes!" replied Darren sharply. He waited, his trembling hand pointing the sword at the ground, until White finally nodded.

"Do it," he said.

Chapter 19: Call of the Map

"You better stand back for this," said Darren as he raised his sword and pointed it at Eclipse. The colt stared at him, wide-eyed and helpless. Even though he was a pony his expression was much like that of a human boy. Darren had to remind himself that he was helping him by doing this.

Darren focused his thoughts to reach for the magical power in Eclipse's soul and found it. This time, something did happen. It had only been a few weeks but the dark force in the colt had already grown stronger. A swirling mass of hardly contained emotion and might pressed Darren's power back, resisted him. He grunted as he readjusted his grip on the sword, adding his other hand and going into a more stable stance. Eclipse groaned uncomfortably. Then he whimpered as Darren increased the pressure of his spell. Darren felt as if he was pushing against a flexible wall. He was not able to get through it and however often he tried, he only bounced off.

"Eclipse, you need to help me!" Darren pressed out. "Let the power go, I will take it!"

"I can't, I don't wanna hurt you!" Eclipse cried.

Darren could see in the corner of his eye how the yellow pegasus squeaked and stumbled a few steps away, bumping into the orange pony. Great, the audience was getting nervous. That was the last thing he needed. He tried to keep his voice even when he said, "I'll be alright. Just let go."

The instant Darren had said it, the magic inside Eclipse exploded. A sinister current of pitch black energy streamed from the twitching Eclipse at an alarming speed, surrounding both of them with a dense cloud of smoke. Darren felt that Eclipse was still resisting. It was incredible; the colt was already too strong for a single opponent to handle. The dark clouds assaulted Darren, trying to hold him, enter his head, throttle him...

Darren feels the fearsome power enter his mind and freezes. He cannot shake it, the shadow monster is creeping into the back of his head and heart, rummaging around, forcing his deepest shame and fears to the surface... He is in the Capital City of Lordaeron after Prince Arthas has murdered the king, slaughtering families he had known for years... No, he was fighting Eclipse's magic! He is standing on a snowy hilltop in Northrend, watching as ghouls, skeleton warriors and liches storm the defenses of an Alliance outpost... he is descending from the Ebon Hold on his undead griffin, brandishing his runeblade to wipe the Scarlet Crusaders from the face of Azeroth... He is watching Twilight as she shivers and shies away from the cold stormwind he had released -

"Darren!" A hoof grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him away from Eclipse. Twilight had jumped up and lit up her horn, ready to fire a spell. "What's happening? Should I cast a shield spell?"

Darren's eyes widened when he realized where he was. He was still locked in an impasse with Eclipse, neither of them retreating, neither able to completely overcome the other's attack. Hitting the colt with his sword was out of the option so Darren could only try and keep the magic from overpowering him.

"I can't do it," he panted, his hands shaking as he did his best to keep his defenses up. "He's too strong already! The only way is if Eclipse stops it by himself."

Peridot gave off a terrified whimper, hiding behind her father with her ears folded down.

"Daddy!" she cried, tears running down her face. White took her on his back and quickly left the room. His face was full of doubt. He was probably wondering if he had done the right thing by trusting Darren.

Feather was also crying. But she still stepped through the haze towards Eclipse, trembling from head to hooves, and eventually managed to get close enough to hug him.

"Careful, Ma'am!" Darren warned her. Twilight's grip around Darren's shoulder tightened.

"This is my son!" There was a fire in Feather's eyes when she looked back at Darren. "I won't lose him to this darkness!" Turning back to Eclipse, she stroked the twitching colt's black mane. "Eclipse, sweetie, you need to calm down," she whispered, he voice hoarse as if she had been crying for weeks. "Can you do that? Just look at me."

When Eclipse reacted to her soothing words by looking at her, she winced: His blue eyes were still aglow, a dark light just like Sombra's magic. She kept stroking his mane with a trembling hoof.

"We're not gonna hurt you, sweetie... I love you so much, Eclipse - my brave little guard - yeah, just look at me. You can do it. Just breathe." Eclipse stared at Feather who smiled at him in the way only a mother could and, finally, he blinked.

Darren felt the pressure from Eclipse's dark magic subside and cautiously lowered his sword. There was a strange ringing in his ears.

The black smoke slowly dissipated as Eclipse's gaze grew more alert, more focused. He stopped trembling and twitching and raised his head, taking a deep breath.

"Mom!" He hugged her back and cried, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" The sinister glow from his eyes was now completely gone. Feather sniffed and fell back on her rump, holding Eclipse tightly to her chest.

"It's fine, it's okay, we're okay..." she muttered into his ear.

A collective sigh of relief escaped everyone, including Darren, and he smiled briefly as Twilight stepped away from him.

"Well done," he said to Eclipse despite the terrible headache that was throbbing in his skull. "I'm sorry if I scared you," he added hoarsely. The images he had seen during Eclipse's shadow spell were still before his eyes.

Eclipse shook his head. "No. It w-was me, I scared all of you. And myself, too..." He helplessly spread his forelegs. "I'm so, so sorry! I don't know what this... is. I'd never wanna hurt you guys! I didn't mean to hurt you, Darren!" Still hiccupping, he wiped his muzzle and buried his head in Feather's mane.

"I'm alright, you didn't hurt me," Darren lied. He wiped his mouth. How much of his memories had Eclipse seen?

"We better rest a bit before we do anything else today," said Feather, grimacing.

"Of course," said Twilight. "We'll make some sandwiches and bring them up to you. Dinner in Ponyville is just as nice as lunch. I think we should talk about what happened," she muttered the last part towards Darren and he nodded.

She smiled awkwardly at Feather and Eclipse and left the room, taking the two other mares with her. Darren suddenly noticed that there was also a little purple and green dragon by Twilight's side. He had not said anything for the entire time. Now he put his hand on Twilight's side, reassuring her or looking for reassurance himself.

They found White and Peridot a few steps into the corridor, anxiously waiting for news.

"Everypony's back to normal now," said Twilight to White. "The dark magic stopped. Eclipse is resting, I think you can go back in, he'll be happy to see you."

Peridot nodded and gallopped back into the room. They could hear her tackle-hugging Eclipse. White nodded at Darren, unable to get anything out, and quickly followed her inside.

Darren picked the scabbard up from the carpet and sheathed the sword.

The Throne Room was unusual. Six high-backed crystal chairs plus a smaller one stood around a large table. The decorated roots of a large oak hung above, adding something organic to the otherwise plain crystal cave. Darren counted three exits. He sat down on one of the empty seats which was marked with a cloud and rainbow lightning symbol. Twilight was restless, she paced up and down the room like a caged tigress.

"Thank you for joining us," she told Feather, who was sitting on another chair, this one decorated with the symbol of three balloons. "I guess I can speak for all of us when I'm saying we're all still a bit shaken from all of this. Is Eclipse really okay?"

Feather nodded. "Yes, considering what has happened. White is looking after him right now, and thank goodness Peridot still isn't scared of her brother! I'm just glad we were around when it happened. And Darren. I would have had no idea what to do."

"What I tried did not work," said Darren, taking a deep breath. "Even with the sword. You managed to calm him down. I..." he tensed up as his stomach cramped and heat rose to his head. "This is beyond my ability. He was too strong."

"You did your best," said Twilight. "Nopony's blaming you for what happened up there."

"Um... if you don't mind me asking... but what exactly happened?" asked the pegasus through her long pink mane. "It looked as if Darren was trying to absorb the dark magic somehow..."

"You're right, Fluttershy," said Twilight. "But Eclipse was already too strong. What I don't understand is where that magic comes from. He's not a unicorn! Just a regular pegasus colt. He shouldn't be able to do any magic except weather spells!"

"Maybe he ain't so regular after all," said the orange earth pony. She took her hat off and set it down on the table. "And it din't seem to me like it's been happenin' for the first time, either."

"It was the second time," said Feather. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, right, sorry, pardner. Ah'm Applejack."

"Applejack, you're right. The last time, Darren absorbed the magic. We had hoped that Eclipse would not have an episode like that again but..." She sighed sadly, her ears splaying back. "I won't lie, I'm more than worried. I wonder how often this is going to happen. And if we can even deal with it."

Twilight stopped pacing and finally sat down on her own chair. "I guess that depends on how well Eclipse will be able to control it. This magic... it looked a lot like Sombra's. Did you see it, too?" She turned her head when there was a knock at the door. It opened and the little dragon entered with a tray of snacks. Behind him, Starlight brought another tray, this one with glasses and apple juice. They both set the trays down and sat down on the two remaining seats.

"Yeah," said Applejack, taking a glass and filling it with juice. "And Ah reckon it would be a strange coincidence if the kid learned it from Sombra." She downed the glass and refilled it.

Darren slowly shook his head. "He did not. He was probably born with it. Some people just have an affinity to certain kinds of magic, maybe it is the same with you ponies."

"Again, what we saw wasn't pegasus magic... or even arcane magic." Twilight grimaced. She spread her forelegs in frustration and levitated a drink from the tray.

"You had a name for it," Feather said slowly. "At the doctor's appointment. I forgot. What did you call it again?"

"Void Magic," answered Darren.

Fluttershy shuddered. "So the poor thing has the magic of... emptiness?"

"What does that even mean?" asked the dragon.

"I wish I could tell you, Spike," sighed Twilight. "I never studied that kind of magic. But if it really is like Sombra's magic, then we may have a starting point to understand it. If they both do the same thing with their victim...

"Darren, we only saw the magic but you're the one who experienced it first-hoof - first-hand," she corrected quickly. "What did it feel like?"

Everyone looked at Darren who was lost for words. How could he describe something so foreign to the ponies? Only Twilight could probably understand a little what he had gone through. Darren knew that she had faced her share of fearsome magic over the years. As the silence stretched out, he cleared his throat.

"It was cold," he said eventually. "Inside. Void magic attacks the mind. It forces people to relive their worst moments. It creates nightmares while you are awake. Anyone affected is paralyzed by that." Now he had their undivided attention. "The Light is very powerful against Void Magic but other forces not so much. I could only resist Eclipse for this long because of years in the field."

"The field? What field?" Spike was confused.

"Fighting against people who use Void Spells," explained Darren matter-of-factly. "Black priests, warlocks. Necromancers, death knights."

"Oh..." The dragon grimaced uncomfortably.

"That really sounds a lot like Sombra's magic," said Twilight quietly. "He locked the door to his own study with a spell that did exactly what you just described. I faced my worst fear when I tried to open it. And as you said, only powerful positive magic can defeat it. The Light, Friendship, Love or Alicorn magic." She smiled at Feather. "You did just the right thing, then. A mother's love is very powerful."

Darren took a sandwich from the tray and ate it. Starlight and Spike looked at each other with a satisfied smirk. There was a pause when everyone else also began to eat. After her second sandwich, Twilight sat back and rubbed her muzzle in thought.

"Well, the bad thing is that we can't really figure out where the magic comes from... yet," she stated. "And there's one more thing. It may be an ability Eclipse was born with - but if that's true then it's an ability that has manifested itself only recently. What triggered it? Feather, can you tell us what happened the first time?"

Feather shook her head. "Sorry, no, I can't. I don't know because I wasn't there. We, I mean, White and I, we were still on our way back home from the Crystalling..."

Applejack's eyes widened. "Ya mean the first Crystalling that went awry 'cause Flurry Heart shattered the Crystal Heart?"

Feather nodded.

"Of course, that's it!" Twilight jumped up and paced across the room. "The shattering released a strong wave of the love energy that was stored in the Heart. It must have been the cause for Eclipse's reaction!" She stopped walking and spun around to face Feather. "But the second time? It was here in Ponyville and we don't have a Crystal Heart."

Everyone fell silent, looking at the table.

"I ain't sure if that's it, but," said Applejeck slowly, "we were talking and the map suddenly did that glowing thing again."

"Yes, it activated to show us a new friendship problem we were supposed to solve," mused Starlight.

"Aha! The map is a seed from the Tree of Harmony!" Twilight grinned with excitement, obviously in the zone. "It makes perfect sense. Harmony magic is just another word for the Magic of Friendship. So, again, we've got a surge of positive magic that happened close to Eclipse. And the Shadow, I mean the Void Magic inside of him reacted to that. Hm... I guess that means that Eclipse is most likely to have an episode when he is exposed to powerful positive magic." The smile trickled from her face as realization hit her. "That means if he doesn't want it to happen again, he should stay away from sources of that kind of power."

"Aw, doesn't that mean he's got to stay away from events like the Crystalling?" Feather asked sadly.

"I'm afraid so," agreed Twilight. "He should only attend if he can completely control his Void Magic."

"He probably does not even understand what his powers are," said Darren. "He would have to train to gain conscious control over them." He hesitated. "I can help with that at least. I do have the most experience with it."

Spike stood up. "That's all great, but may I remind you all of the urgent friendship problem? The map never lights up without a reason." He crossed his arms with the confidence of an experienced organizer. The only thing missing, thought Darren, was a clipboard.

Twilight sighed. "You're right. I completely forgot, sorry. But the map is smart. It wouldn't ask us to solve a friendship problem if it wasn't important, we can't just ignore that." All the glasses gathered on the trays which in turn rose into the air and set themselves down on the floor. The table instantly glowed in a faint blue light. Its surface rippled and unfolded into translucent layers of an intricate landscape model. Darren and Feather marveled at the detailed map in front of them. Two symbols floated in an area close to the map's edge. The rocky land there was tinted in shades of white, and grey.

"Wow! Is this a real life representation of Equestria?" Feather asked.

Twilight and Applejack nodded simultaneously.

"The problem is in the Crystal Empire," said Spike. "Well, that can't be a coincidence. And it's your Cutie Mark, Fluttershy!" he added with a grin. Darren cast a quick look at Fluttershy's flank. The three butterflies on her rump matched the ones on her chair and the symbol floating above the little representation of the Empire.

"Yes," admitted Fluttershy, sounding much less excited than Spike. "I did feel the map's call earlier. But who has the other Cutie Mark? It looks a bit like Trixie's. I've seen it before, I just can't remember where."

"No, hers is a moon and a wand, not a sword and a wand," said Starlight. "A sword and a wand... maybe it'a a wizard or a royal guard?"

Fluttershy giggled suddenly, hiding her grin behind her hoof. "Oh, now I know," she said happily. "It's not a pony. It's Jonathan!"

"Sugarcube, Jon doesn't have a Cutie Mark," said Applejack carefully. "Humans don't have those. Or do they?" She turned to Darren, raising an eyebrow.

"No, we do not." Darren could not help but smirk.

"He did have one when Discord played a prank on him, though," explained Fluttershy. "Discord used his chaos magic to turn Jon into a pony." She bit her lower lip, trying not to laugh. "It was actually a funny prank, that is, when he did it the second time. Jonathan was a pegasus. And he looked really... good." To Darren's surprise, she blushed a little at the last sentence. "Anyway, that was his Mark, I'm pretty sure about it."

"So Fluttershy and Jonathan suddenly have a friendship quest in the Crystal Empire." Starlight raised her brows, rubbing her muzzle. "I kind of hoped it would be me. Just after reconnecting with Sunburst it would have been nice to go there." When Twilight opened her mouth, she already waved it off. "I know, I know, somepony needs to mind the shop anyway. I hereby volunteer, again."

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," said Twilight happily.

"Yeah, sure," Starlight replied with over-the-top enthusiasm and a nervous chuckle. Did she dislike Jonathan? Or was she unsure about working at the shop?

"As I said, the map notices things." Spike seemed pleased with himself.

"If Jonathan and Fluttershy have to go to the Empire anyway, Jonathan might as well help with teaching Eclipse," mused Darren. He looked at Feather expectantly.

"Alright," sighed Feather, "I'll talk to White about it. Please don't decide anything until we've discussed it."

Twilight nodded slowly and with a frown. She was always eager to get things done quickly. Darren knew that it could be hard for her to wait for other people to make their decisions.

"And this Jonathan," Feather went on, "isn't a pony, either? He's a human like you?"

Darren nodded. "We are from the same world. The same country, even. Jonathan is younger than me, around the same age as Twilight and her best friends. I can assure you, he is a good man. We've been through a lot together. He is a priest - that more than qualifies him for teaching how to control Void Magic."

"Don't tell me he uses it, too." Feather groaned, unconsciously tugging at her mane.

"Occasionally. He normally channels magic opposite to that. They're two sides of the same coin, Feather, and he learned to wield both of them. It takes a lot of discipline and self-control to do that. Jonathan... knows his stuff. Also," Darren raised an eyebrow, "he can put up a forcefield of pure Light to protect everyone from Eclipse's magic."

"Oh, yes, I've seen him use the Light before," said Fluttershy, smiling warmly. "I asked him for help when one of my critters was so sick that she would have died. He healed her and now she's all right and back with her family."

Good timing, pegasus, thought Darren.

Feather's eyes went wide. "I see where you're going with this," she admitted.

Author's Note

No, it won't turn into a shipfic.

Chapter 20: Enchantment Shop

When White agreed to go to Jonathan's, Darren had already unpacked, introduced himself properly to Applejack, Fluttershy and Spike and found the castle's library. As he wandered along the countless rows that went up to a ceiling at least twenty feet high he looked for a book that might tell him more about magical ores and weapons.

He had expected that his sword would work as a moderately adequate focus for his magic. Still, the fact that it did not even properly channel dark spells anymore had been a nasty surprise. It was as if it was just a runeblade now, without the mysterious properties of the metal. Saronite was not only lighter than steel. It was produced by smelting an ore which was named after an Old God. Darren had always suspected that the ore was more than just a tough material. Every living being who wielded a saronite blade eventually went mad. Maybe Death Knights could only use them 'safely' because they were already cursed, undead and plagued by bloodlust... What Darren did not understand was how the blade could have been cleansed. And when?

Maybe it had something to do with that stallion, Sombra. He had to learn more about the shadow pony. The forces of the Void were too dangerous; if Darren just accepted that the sword's magic had gone elsewhere it might bite him in the arse later on. Unsolved problems had the habit of re-surfacing one way or another and anything involving dark magic meant big trouble in the long run. Take Frostmourne, for example. A paladin finds a runesword in the ice. First thing he does is slay hordes of undead and thus save his knights. Second thing he does is make himself Lich King of the Undead and slay the very same knights. In a way, Darren was relieved that his sword had turned more normal. At least now he could focus on getting better and training Eclipse without having to worry about any grisly side effects of his blade's magic.

Leaning dangerously far away from the ladder he was standing on, Darren pulled a book called Advanced Spells by Clover the Clever from a shelf that was too high for ponies to reach without magic or flying. He added it to a small pile under his arm. He hoped that he would have time to read the books tonight. If not, he would have to make a list of the titles and borrow them from the Empire's library. Given that they even had those books. Twilight was as powerful as an Archmage and Darren doubted that every city had one of her sort. Her collection was probably unique. He was glad that during his paladin training he had been forced to study loads of books and librams. Otherwise, the sheer amount of reading involved would have deterred him from looking into the matter.

That was when the library doors creaked. Twilight Sparkle entered, along with White Alloy. They both looked around, trying to find Darren.

"Hello?" called Twilight in sort of a hushed shout.

"Up here." Darren descended a ladder and set the small book pile down on the next table. He strode toards White, fist outstreched. White bumped it reluctantly.

"I'm gonna be frank with you," he said flatly. "I'm not happy with this arrangement. Feather is the one who vouched for you, along with Eclipse. You're a knight, for goodness sake, and knights really don't have a good reputation in the Empire. And your weapon obviously isn't just for show. But after you apparently saved my son twice already, I'm going to give you the benefit of a doubt." Twilight grimaced as White stepped closer to Darren. Even though he was significantly smaller than him, as all ponies were, the look in his eyes told Darren how serious the stallion was. "Do not abuse my trust."

"I won't," said Darren earnestly. "I swear by the Light."

Twilight's eyes widened a little at the oath that sounded so unusual from Darren.

"Uh, right," she said. "Now that that's off the table, we can go and tell Jonathan, right, Fluttershy? - Fluttershy?" She spun around. "Where'd she go?"

Darren raised a finger and pointed at the far corner of the corridor. Behind the door, a strand of long pink mane twitched and was pulled out of sight, followed by something that sounded like, "Eep!" Apparently, Fluttershy had walked beside Twilight but decided to hide instead of entering the library.

Twilight went back through the door.

"Fluttershy?" she asked carefully. "What's wrong?"

A muttered reply came from the other side of the door.

"You don't? Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Another muttered sentence. "Oh." Twilight's ears went down. She turned to Darren. "Just a minute, please!" She smiled apologetically and pulled the door shut.

White gave Darren a flat look, then he walked away and admired the library.

Darren rolled his eyes and sat down at the table, opening the first book. Pretending to read it, Darren wondered what Fluttershy's problem was. If the pony's name was any hint, as pony names usually were, she was probably too shy to travel to the Empire with a stranger. Or maybe she did not have the time and forgot to check her calendar before agreeing to go.

The door opened and Twilight and Fluttershy entered. The pegasus took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"I will come to the Crystal Empire with you and Jon," she said quickly. "I'm sorry for the confusion."

Twilight nodded and smiled. "Let's go," she said.

The walk through town was uneventful. Twilight and White talked about the Crystalling, the royal family and White's profession, which was goldsmithing, and even though Twilight asked Darren one or two questions, he was too distracted to give her more than one-worded answers and she eventually gave it up. She greeted most ponies that they passed by, some with a "Hello" or "Hi!", others just with a wave of her hoof. Fluttershy did not say anything. She listened to the conversation between Twilight and White, nodding and occasionally risking a shy look in Darren's direction.

As he watched the ponies bustling around town, Darren constructed scenarios in his head. What if Eclipse had an episode and no one in the vicinity knew what was going on? What if nobody was there to calm him down, say, at school or on a playground? He had to put some kind of safequard in place, like a warning system. Maybe magical wards would be an option but he did not know how they might interact with Eclipse's magic. It would have to be a person. Somebody with the time to follow Eclipse around. He frowned as he adjusted the weight of the rolled-up carpet on his shoulder. Except he could imagine that White and Feather would not easily agree to another pony following their son around. But what if they did not know?

Ponies were not exactly stealthy, al least not in the city. Paved roads were the norm in the Empire. He could already see it before his mind's eye: some guard clip-clopping after poor Eclipse, following him around like a stalker... no.

They crossed a stone bridge over a small stream. It reminded Darren of the canal bridges in Undercity.

Levinia. He could ask Levinia. Nobody except Darren and Eclipse would know and she could warn him whenever the dark magic stirred within Eclipse.

Jonathan's shop was a small house on the edge of town, with a thatched roof and a clean white facade just like its neighbours. The only thing that made it stand apart was a wooden sign that hung above the door.

SPELL BAKERY

Below the curved letters was the exact symbol the map had shown earlier: A wand, crossed with a sword. The sign itself was in the shape of an unrolled piece of parchment.

Twilight pushed the door open. Darren had noticed that most Equestrian shops had doorbells but Jonathan's shop did not. Instead, the distinct smell of a library greeted him when he entered. The room was larger than Darren had expected. Various items were presented on shelves and showcases, ranging from mirrors over gemstones to small boxes. At the far end of the shop, a large shelf was stuffed with parchment rolls. That must be the one that Darren had seen through the mirror. A counter separated the front from the back. The floor before the counter was elevated - this way, pony customers could get almost on eye level with the human shop owner. There was also the constant scraping of a whetstone. Jonathan was currently bent over it, holding a gem glued to a short stick and frowning at the facets of the jewel.

"Just a second," he said, raising his head from his work. The whetstone slowed to a halt and Jonathan put the gem aside. "Oh!" He grinned and raised the safety glasses he had been wearing. His white hair was significantly shorter than two days ago. "Hi, guys. So you made it! And you are...?" he asked politely, wiping his hands on his apron.

"White Alloy. Nice to meet you." White stepped to the counter as if he wanted to buy something. Or maybe he just wanted to feel taller. "You're Mr Jonathan?"

Jonathan snorted. "Nah, just Jonathan. My last name is Baker, hence -" He pointed towards the door with both hands - "the sign."

"Very punny," said Darren dryly, putting the carpet down on the floor.

"We're in Equestria, man, how could I resist?" He and Twilight hugged, then he bumped his fist with Fluttershy's hoof. "What can I do for you?" Jonathan turned to White.

"They said that you were to go on a friendship quest," said White hesitantly.

"I am?" Jonathan shifted his weight, leaning on the counter with crossed arms. "How come?" He raised an eyebrow, looking at Twilight.

"You didn't feel the map's call?" asked Twilight, surprised.

"Ahhh, so that's what it was!" Jonathan exclaimed, chuckling. "I've been feeling that weird itch all over. I wondered what it was about. First I thought I'd eaten something I'm allergic to. But you're saying it's a map calling?"

"The map," corrected Twilight. "The Cutie Map, the one in the Throne Room. It activated to show us there's a friendship problem that needs to be solved."

Jonathan leaned away from the counter. "Wait. Rarity said something about this map. Isn't she in Canterlot because of it?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, and Pinkie Pie, too. But now the map wants you and Fluttershy to go to the Crystal Empire."

"Huh. Alright. Uh, well, I'd need to ask Starlight to mind the shop again. Hope she's up to it. And what kind of problem?"

"We don't actually know," admitted Twilight. "The map never tells us. It's part of the solution to find out. But," she looked at White, who gave Jonathan a polite smile, "we have a pretty good idea what it might be."

"I see." Jonathan smirked. "I wouldn't mind another trip to the Empire. It's always nice to hang out with the other half of the human population."

Darren rolled his eyes. Twilight laughed, apparently unaware of the comment's double meaning.

"Great!" she said. "When do you think you can go?"

Jonathan looked at the ceiling. He pursed his lips and hummed.

"Not today. I need to finish this urgent order. And I guess Darren didn't bring the carpet for nothing. You want me to enchant it for you?" Darren nodded. Jonathan scratched his chin and straightened his back. "Okay, just leave it and I'll do it 'til tomorrow. Other than that, if this friendship quest thingy doesn't take over a week I'll be fine. Though I gotta tell Starlight not to forget watering Clara again. Last time, she hummed sad songs for a week, it was depressing as hell."

"Oh," Fluttershy muttered, taken aback. "We didn't mean to distract you from your work. I'm sure it's important."

"Don't sweat it, Flutters, the door sign did say 'Open'," Jonathan reassured her with a friendly smile. "Friendship quest aside, are you okay?" Concern crept into his voice as he eyed her.

Fluttershy cast a quick glance at Darren, then at White Alloy. She nodded.

"I - I think so," she said quietly. "Yes." She raised her head.

White stepped away from the counter, descending to normal floor level.

"We need to return home tomorrow," he said. "My family and I are going to visit Ponyville's, uh, tourist traps today." He hesitated, frowning in confusion. Darren could almost see the gears in his head turning. Was there even such a thing? Maybe they had Equestria's Biggest Apple or something of the sort. "How about we have dinner together?" White proposed. "That way, we can get to know each other a little better before making any rash decisions."

Jonathan nodded. "Sounds fair. I know a place. It's four streets down, across from Spirit's café. I'd kill for one of their hayburgers. Say, at Seven?"

"He's different from what I expected," said White after the door had shut behind them.

"How so?" Twilight curiously tilted her head.

White hesitated. "No offense," he started with a half-heartedly apologetic glance to Darren, "but Jonathan is more... well, like a pony."

"What?" Twilight giggled, then fell silent when she saw Darren's face. She lowered her ears and kept walking.

"As in, more approachable?" guessed Darren testily.

White gulped, his ears down. He looked like the kid in class who had just said something he'd thought had been smart at the moment. "Well..."

Darren sighed. "I usually am the grumpy one," he admitted. "I'm sorry. It's not... intentional. I wasn't always this way."

"Jonathan and Darren have both been through some terrible things," said Twilight. "Everypony deals with that in a different way, I guess. I..." she broke off, grimacing uncomfortably.

Darren stopped walking. He felt he should say something to relieve White of his worries. The stallion had put his son's life into Darren's hands. The least he could do was show it was not the wrong decision.

"Look, White," he said, "I can see your point. Letting a stranger give lessons to your boy, it's a risk."

"You're not," White interrupted him. "I just made a comparison. It's not... a very fair thing to do." He let out a long breath, biding his time. "I'm sorry. We still don't know each other very well. I only know that you're a knight, you used to fight necromancers, can use frost magic and know a lot of card games. And where you work. But that's about it. It didn't escape me that you listen more than you talk."

"Fair enough," grunted Darren.

"But," White went on, "I know that for whatever reason you do feel responsible for Eclipse's wellbeing. I can respect that. Maybe in time, we can become actual friends."

Darren's mouth twisted into a hesitant, lopsided smile.

Eclipse opened his eyes. He was in a foreign room. Castle. He was in Ponyville and - oh Stars. He buried his face in his hooves. Everything came back to him. The train ride, the shadows, Darren pointing his sword at him. Blinking rapidly, he turned his head around, frantically searching for a familiar face.

"Hi, sweetie." His mom sat on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling?" She stroked his mane, affectionately running her hoof across his cheek and down to his muzzle.

"I... I don't know." Eclipse sat up. "Is everypony okay? Is Darren okay?" His voice rose along with the panic that wormed its way up from his gut.

"You passed out. But yes, we are all okay."

Eclipse sighed and sank back into the pillows. "Oh, good," he breathed. "Mom, what happened?"

"Peridot went to Sugarcube Corner with Spike and Applejack. And your Dad is at Jonathan's shop with Darren and the Princess. When they come back, we can take a walk to the lake. If you're up to it." The cheery tone could not hide the worry still entched into her face.

Eclipse tilted his head, confused.

"I dunno. I'm tired. But who the hay is Jonathan?"

Feather wrinkled her nose.

"He's the other human and a friend of Darren's. Princess Twilight seems to know him pretty well. Darren said that he might be able to help with..." She hesitated, grasping for words. "...with teaching you to control Shadow Magic."

Eclipse sat up again, suddenly feeling giddy.

"I get my own teacher?" Eclipse was not the slowest or the fastest in class. He was very interested in History and terrible at Math. So he knew first-hoof that with a big class, teachers could not always meet the needs of every single student with their lessons. Only rich ponies could afford private teachers. "Ooh, does he teach things like special moves and..." He paused. "Wait, Shadow Magic? Isn't that..." His face fell. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes. "Mom, are you saying that I'm 'special'? And need 'special' care?"

His mom recoiled a little.

"You're saying that as if it's a bad thing," she chided. "Yes, Eclipse, you are special. Everypony is, and everypony is special in a different way. And one of your... specialties is Shadow Magic, apparently." She added the last word hesitantly. "Your magic is very powerful. That's nothing to be ashamed of. But it's important that you learn how to control it. Do you understand?"

Eclipse nodded. Flashes of what had happened raced through his mind. He had fought against a knight! And it had been a stalemate! At first, the magic had just poured out of him without purpose or focus. But then, when Darren had told him to let go, he had done something. It had felt frightening and dark but also strong and strange... He had used his power to hold Darren and look at him. Look into him. Oh Stars, Darren probably knew that! Eclipse felt dirty. He had invaded somepony's privacy in a bad way. But the things he had seen... were they true?

"Mom," Eclipse whispered. "I gotta tell you something." He crawled across the blanket into her embrace. "When Darren and I... when we fought against each other... I did something. I could see... things. Like, like memories and thoughts. I think I saw Darren's mind!"

The grip of her forelegs around him tightened.

"W-what did you see?"

"I'm not sure if it's okay to tell you," Eclipse admitted. "They were somepony else's memories, Mom."

Feather chuckled proudly. Then, she sighed.

"That's true, honey, but your magic is dangerous. I think it's better if you tell me everything."

"O-okay." Eclipse sat back, trying to gather his thoughts. He sniffed. "Okay... Let me think. Um. At first, I pushed into his thoughts like... like trying to get through a door. And then I wanted to make him feel bad so he would stop trying to take my magic. But, Mom, I also kinda didn't want to. I just... did it. I looked at him, I mean, at his thoughts. And there were things that made him feel bad so I made him look at them too. Make him remember them.

"We were in that stone city. There were humans and monsters and skeletons. And the monsters and skeletons killed the humans. Darren also killed humans." Eclipse grimaced, feeling heat spreading from his chest and tears forming in his eyes. "He was on the side of the monsters." He cleared his throat, trying to keep talking despite the sobs that would not stop finding their way out. "And th-then we were in a land like the Frozen North with m-more monsters, I, I think they were undead, Mom, and Darren watched them k-kill human knights around a big tower. And he had this big skeleton griffin he was riding on, and, and," he took a deep breath, clutching his Mom's hoof, "and he was in a tent with the Princess and s-scaring her - but," Eclipse closed his eyes, trying in vain to fight the stream of tears, "then the Princess shouted at him, I mean outside of our heads."

"She asked him what to do," said Feather quietly. "Oh, Stars, Eclipse, I'm so sorry you had to see all that!" She hugged him again and kissed his forehead. "I'm so sorry!"

Eclipse hiccupped, snorting to get his nose free.

"I feel dirty but I don't wanna know how Darren feels! I think he knows what I saw!"

"But if that's true," Feather said slowly, "Then Darren... was evil."

Eclipse nodded.

"Oh yeah," he said. "What I saw was definitely evil. Much, much worse than anything I've ever seen in my whole entire life! I've never seen anypony kill anyone! He was like a totally different pony, I mean, oh, you know what I mean!" he grumbled and sniffed.

Feather rubbed her muzzle, deep in thought.

"And in those memories, he scared Twilight?" she asked.

Eclipse nodded again.

"But she still trusts him, I mean right now. Something must have happened..." Her eyes widened as realization struck her. "You said you showed him the things he feels the worst about?"

He nodded a third time but quickly stopped. His ears and nose were now completely clogged. He just wanted to run away. But he knew he could not run from himself. And being with Mom was better than being alone...

"It's like with Nightmare Moon," muttered Feather. "A reformation... Just like Princess Twilight said..."

"I don't get it," said Eclipse. "He is always so helpful and he protected us against Sombra. And then I find out he used to be worse than Sombra."

"But if Princess Twilight trusts him... And you're right, he is nice. Although sometimes a bit distant.

"Maybe that's why he wanted to get away from his world." She took a deep breath, looking nowhere in particular. "Maybe he wants a new start. But he still carries his sword around." Feather groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. "Ugh, this is so complicated! He looked so sincere when he said he wanted to help! And I believed him."

"Me, too," muttered Eclipse sadly. "I still want to. If I hadn't looked into his mind, I'd still trust him. But, Mom, he said he was sorry for scaring me! After I made him relive his worst moments! He said, 'Well done'!"

"I bet that's why he didn't tell us about his past. If this is anything like with Nightmare Moon, it might not even be his fault that he did those terrible things."

"I'm gonna tell him," Eclipse decided. "I'm gonna tell him that I know. And I wanna tell him I'm sorry for looking. If he really feels so bad about his past, that means he's good now. Doesn't it?"

Feather nodded slowly. She rubbed her muzzle.

"His eyes... they used to glow at first, ice cold. And now they don't. Eclipse, I think you're right. That's very brave of you, that you want to talk to him. But I want to be there when do it, young stallion," she stated firmly.

Eclipse smiled shakily.

"I would have asked you anyway," he admitted. "I don't feel 'specially brave right now."

Author's Note

A lot of dialogue here, as will be in the following few chapters but don't worry, there will be more action later on!

Chapter 22: Test Run

When Dinner was over, everyone went back to their places: Jonathan to his own home, Twilight and her guests back to the castle. Darren excused himself as soon as they left the restaurant - he needed to take care of something before going to bed.

Once he was sure that Twilight and the Whites were out of earshot, Darren went in the exact opposite direction. He strolled through the now quiet streets of town, watching a few remaining ponies walk home and a pegasus stallion light the street lanterns with a long candle. Ponyville had electricity - but not yet in every street.

Darren felt calmer than he had been for a long time. Having to hide his past deeds had always hung over him like a shadow. Now that he had gotten the chance to explain himself things would hopefully be different. The White family saw him in a new light. Funny enough, breaking down in front of them had been much less shameful than what the confession had been about. As their conversation over dinner had progressed, Darren had watched them, especially Eclipse, and observed with relief that they were still friendly and respectful - even more so than before. White, who had always been somewhat reserved towards Darren, was now downright cordial. Twilight and Jonathan exchanged a lot of jokes and by dessert everyone was relaxed and happy. Darren suspected that the cider had also helped him to unwind.

He still wanted to implement the safeguard as planned.

Darren followed the paved road until the cobblestones were replaced by a dirt road. He passed the last house and found himself on the edge of a surprisingly dark forest. A narrow path forked away from the main road and led to a little cottage with a green roof. Was it covered by grass? It seemed like it.

Now he was at a sufficient distance from town. He did not want any of the ponies to see what followed next.

Twilight had explained to him how to do it. Darren took a deep breath and called into the quiet evening.

"Levinia!"

He had not even closed his mouth again when the wind picked up. The fresh grass on the edge of the road swayed in the sudden gust. Dry leaves, maybe a remainder from the recent "Winter Wrap Up", tumbled past Darren. He looked around, waiting for his friend to appear.

There she was. A little blue wisp of light soundlessly popped up next to him and quickly expanded until the glowing, translucent ghost of a pretty pegasus mare floated before Darren. She had the same long mane and tail as always. They flowed in an invisible breeze just like the hair of Princess Luna. When she saw that Darren was alone and calmly standing there, she visibly relaxed.

"Darren! Hi! This is a surprise." Her happy voice echoed inside of his mind. Darren knew that ponies could not see her except on Hallow's Eve which was called Nightmare Night in Equestria. To an outsider, it probably looked as if he was talking to thin air. "Are you okay?" She floated a little closer, frowning at him. "Is anypony in trouble?"

Darren shook his head.

"Not as such," he said. "But if you have the time I'd like to ask a favour."

"I'm dead. How busy do you think I am?" Levinia grinned. "Go ahead, how can I help you?" She put her head on her folded forelegs, leaning forward as if an invisible table was supporting her weight.

"There's this little colt," said Darren, "his name's Eclipse. He's got special magical powers. I need someone to look after him and call me when he loses control over them."

"You sound different than before," Levinia observed.

"Yes, well, that's what I sound like when I'm not trying to talk like..." Darren searched for words.

"Somepony who doesn't come from anywhere? A snob? A death knight?" suggested Levinia, smirking.

"You get the idea. I've grown rather fond of the boy. And his parents agreed that Jonathan and I teach him how to control his magic." He rubbed his chin. "I should probably mention that I'm living in the Crystal Empire."

Levinia made a somersault backwards, flapping her wings in excitement. She spread her forelegs.

"I'll do it!" she exclaimed. "I've been looking after a lot of ponies while you were gone. You know, mostly in the city. I push them out of the way when they overlook a carriage, I support old ponies when they cross the street, stuff like that. But it's a little sad that nopony can see me. Sometimes they say, 'Oh, I must have had a guardian angel looking after me.' That's nice but they never know it's me. Not begging for attention, mind you. But being invisible can really suck sometimes." She lowered her voice as if she could be overheard. "I'm just glad that I can visit Mara Dust."

Darren raised a brow.

"Ah, you don't know her. She's a really nice pony in Ponyville, the only pony I know who can see spirits. We're friends," Levinia stated proudly. "And she helps when I want to visit my daughter, too. Sorry, I'm rambling! How are you doing? I haven't heard from you since we both left Azeroth."

"I only arrived a few weeks ago," Darren explained. "Something went wrong with the portal."

"Oh." Levinia gave him a sympathetic look. "Where did you exit the portal?"

"Crystal Empire."

"Aha, I get it. That's how you met Eclipse, huh?"

He nodded.

"Well, I'll be happy to help! Distance doesn't matter to me, you see. I found out that I can jump basically anywhere just by thinking! I call it the Ghost Step." She snickered. "I was in Manehattan when you called me. Oh, it's so good to talk to a friendly face! How old is Eclipse?" Levinia immediately switched the topic again.

"Something around eight years," Darren guessed.

Levinia's eyes narrowed. "Do his parents know what you're asking of me?"

"No. And I'd like to keep it that way, at least for a while. I just had a serious talk with them and we need to keep building some trust before I can break the news there's a ghost looking out for their kid."

"Ugh, fine. But only if you promise me you'll tell them in, let's say, ten days?" Levinia insisted.

"Very well, I promise."

Levinia slowly floated closer.

"I have a question," she said, suddenly looking shy.

"What is it?"

"Since I'm invisible to others... I know you're not the cozy type, being a death knight and all... but if it's okay... can I hug you?"

Darren snorted and wordlessly spread his arms. Levinia beamed and rushed towards him.

The hug felt weird, like holding something between wind and a cold dry pillow. Levinia did not breathe - she did not need to, obviously, and of course she did not have a heartbeat. The embrace did not last long; she pressed her hooves against his back, then she let go and floated backwards.

"Thanks," she muttered. "That felt good. I'm sorry if it was awkward for you."

Darren shook his head.

"It was fine," he assured her. "I don't mind."

"Okay, good," Levinia sighed happily. "So, how should we do it, me looking out for Eclipse?"

"He's most likely already in bed," Darren mused. "The easiest will be if I describe him to you. Join us in the Castle of Friendship tomorrow and you'll see him. He's a grey pegasus, with a black mane, no Cutie Mark, blue eyes. Not a Crystal Pony but a regular one."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan! Well, see you tomorrow, then! Bye!" Levinia grinned, gave Darren a friendly wave and disappeared into a breeze. One second later, he stood alone on the edge of a forest. No - a little blue light danced next to him, bobbing up and down. It swiftly rose into the sky and faded away.

The next morning came suddenly and without warning. Darren found himself all tangled up with his blanket, shivering from the cold sweat on his back and face. Vivid images of his latest nightmare still occupying his mind, he stalked to the small water basin in the corner of the room. The cold water from the faucet was like a shock that drove the memories away, replacing them with clearer thoughts. He dried himself with the fluffy towel provided by - supposedly - the castle staff and put his shirt and vest on. His hair was a mess, too. After combing it, he tied it into a tight bun instead of his usual ponytail.

When he put his second boot on, Darren heard children's voices from the corridor. The Whites were up.

"Oy! Get up, Shard." Sombra groaned at the curt command from his guard/stalker/parole officer and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Already?" he muttered. He felt as if he had only fallen asleep an hour ago or so.

"Dude, it's nine in the morning. We gotta get moving." Abs was already wide awake, in his thick cloak and with the glaive on his back, and looking at him. "Move your flank."

"Whatever." Sombra rolled off the bed rather than standing up properly. Somehow, he managed to put his hooves under his barrel and ran a hoof through his mane. He squinted his eyes; the faint light that shone through the window was already too much.

"Tartarus, you look like a mess. You alright?"

"Hardly slept," Sombra mumbled. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to forget the voices that had constantly disturbed his sleep. They had woven through his dreams, tinting everything in the colour of anguish and mistrust.

"Nightmares?"

A hesitant nod.

To Sombra's surprise, Abs frowned. Genuine concern showed on his face as he eyed Sombra with a tilted head.

"Figures, considering who you are," said Abs, unlocking the door. "Come on, let's go. Maybe we can find that garden again."

When Darren left his room the Whites had already gone downstairs. He followed the distant chatter and laughs down two stairwells and along a hallway. The refectory was a circular room just like the library and the throne room. Golden chandeliers and generous windows lit the large round table from above. Twilight, Spike, Starlight and the White family were busy putting bowls and cups onto the table. The smell of fresh warm bread made Darren's mouth water.

"Ready?" asked Abs in a whisper.

"Ready," replied Sombra.

Abs opened the creaky wooden door and slowly peeked around it. His ears were straight up as he squinted his eyes.

"Nothing. It's quiet." He slipped through the door and cantered to the next fruit-bearing bush. "Apples, yeah!" He picked several of the delicious fruit and stuffed them into a bag he had improvised out of his cloak.

Sombra used his magic to gather his own amount of apples and they both hurried back to the door, hoping their theft would remain undetected.

You're trapped, laughed the malicious voice in Sombra's head.

They froze and exchanged terrified looks when the ground shook again.

"Shit," said Abs. He pointed at the door, almost dropping his breakfast-to-be.

This time, the rumbling and splashing was much closer than yesterday. They had no time to run as the earth before them parted and rocks emerged from the gap. Flying around each other in a wild frenzy, they quickly assembled into a huge creature. The elemental had two bulky arms and a broad chest consisting entirely of rocks and stones. Its fiery eyes were fixed on Sombra who, in shock, had dropped the apples he had gathered.

"Not so fast, young master," the earth elemental rumbled. Small stones danced on the ground as it moved uncomfortably close to him. Next to the creature, a fountain sprouted from the ground. It turned into a wave that also had arms and something distantly resembling the idea of a face.

"You mussst try the bananas," the water creature said. It sounded like a waterfall - if waterfalls could talk.

Sombra and Abs simply stared at the otherwordly creatures.

"Wh-who are you?" Sombra dares to ask.

"The keepers of the garden."

"We tend the treesss..."

"Grow the fruit..."

"Serve the Shadow," they said in unison.

"Er," said Sombra. "What shadow?"

"The Order," said the water elemental. "The Knights of Ice and Cryssstal."

Abs dropped his fruit.

"Dayum," he whispered fearfully, all of his previous swagger evaporated.

"Do you always eat that much?" Peridot asked Darren as he took his tenth slice of bread along with a new refill of cereals.

Nodding, he downed the remainder of his coffee. Now that the kid mentioned it he realized he was the last one eating. Slightly embarrassed, Darren cleared his throat.

"It's not a problem," said Starlight jovially. "We've always got enough for unexpected guests. So, you are going to the lake today?"

"Yes," said Twilight. "We're going to meet up with a few friends." She smiled. "You can join us if you like."

Starlight waved it off. "Trixie and I are planning to spend the day together. You guys have fun." She stood up and carried her plate as well as some honey jars into the adjacent kitchen. "See ya!"

Spike also rose from his seat. "I'm gonna meet with a friend, too," he said. The little dragon gathered his dishes and followed Starlight into the kitchen, muttering something under his breath about dice and potions.

"I guess that just leaves us," said Twilight to Feather. "I already packed the picnic baskets and," she grinned and cast a spell which made three baskets, a large parasol and an inflated beach ball appear before her, "a few other things."

Next to her left ear, a blue wisp sprung into existence without anyone but Darren noticing. She floated over to Eclipse and circled him his head if asking Darren a question.

Darren gave her a tiny nod and refilled his coffee for the last time.

"Thanks for the offer," said Abs with surprising politeness, "but we need to go." He bowed, quickly gathered the dropped apples and shoved Sombra through the door, leaving two dumbfounded elementals behind.

"Uhhh... what was that?" demanded Sombra, taking the apples into his magic so Abs could canter faster.

Coward! You always run!

"The Knights of Ice and Crystal," said Abs, "are bad news. Castle must be theirs. But they've been gone for centuries - even way before your reign of terror."

Sombra felt heat rushing to his neck.

"I don't know much. Most of the info is classified," Abs went on. "The Knights were some dark order established to protect the Empire from outside threats. They disappeared without a trace. This place... looks like it's been frozen in time when the last knight left. Maybe it was an all-out attack. They were banished. But not here, obviously. Maybe somewhere out in the Frozen Wastelands. Can I have an apple?"

Sombra wordlessly gave Abs one apple, eating another one himself.

"I think we should ged the tartarush out of here," Abs munched. "This place is creeping me out, plus I don't wanna spend the rest of my life in a gigantic fortress with only a villain and two elementals as company. I do have a family, you know."

"Former villain," muttered Sombra, slightly aggravated. "But you're right. Let's go back to the Empire where you can keep watching me going to the shelter for food."

He was glad the ever-present voice did not comment on that.

Ponyville's lake was not much more than a glorified pond. Darren noticed that the water was especially clear, though. While Twilight and Feather spread the picnic blankets on a grassy hill, White took the beach ball and challenged his children to a game in the water. Levinia floated lazily in mid-air next to Darren, this time in her original pegasus form. It was perfect weather once again, to Darren's bewilderment, until he remembered that pegasi could influence wind currents and cloud patterns.

"Aw, this looks like so much fun," sighed Levinia. "I wish I could join them. I loved to play ball with my muffin. Uh, with Ditzy, my daughter."

Darren nodded absent-mindedly. He turned around when he heard muffled footsteps approaching from behind. Levinia gasped and quickly faded away to turn completely invisible.

"This carpet is heavy," Jonathan complained mockingly. "But when you test it I wanna get a ride, too." He grinned and dropped the carpet to the grass with a grunt. Since there was a slight decline, the cloth immediately unrolled until it lay flat before Darren.

"Granted," said Darren. "How does it work?"

Before Jonathan could answer, a leaf green pony with a short blue mane and tail ran towards them.

"Hey, guys!" called Arcus Tangens happily. "Sorry I'm late, I forgot until Maple reminded me you'd be here today." Panting heavily, he stretched out his freckled hoof and bumped it with Jonathan's fist, then with Darren's. "I brought snacks," he declared, pointing at the light blue saddlebags on his back. His gaze fell onto the carpet. "Uh, why is there a carpet on the grass? You run out of picnic blankets? Hi, Twilight."

"You'll see in a moment," said Darren ominously.

"This is great, the gang's finally back together," said Arcus. "The only ones missing are Vol'Shalai and Levinia, of course, but still." He eyed the blue carpet, his ear swiverling around when the bubbling laughter of Peridot and Eclipse carried across the lake, which was good because this way he missed the guilty expression on Darren's face.

Jonathan said, "Sit down and hold the rim, like so." He demonstrated it by sitting on the carpet with his legs folded beneath him like a pandaren monk. Grabbing the blue cloth, Jonathan looked at Darren. "Then you basically think where you wanna go and how fast." The carpet twitched a little, then it lifted itself from the ground and hovered a few inches above the grass.

"Cool!" Arcus grinned. "If I liked flying then I'd want a mount like that. It doesn't even make a mess like a bat or a wyvern."

Jonathan let the carpet set itself down on the grass and stood up.

"Wanna give it a try?" he asked.

So Darren sat on the carpet. He did not like the way Jonathan had sat; in fact, he found it rather uncomfortable. He settled for sitting on his feet instead. Grabbing the rim with both hands, Darren felt slightly ridiculous. This was not the same as riding an undead griffin. Or was it? Maybe it helped to imagine he was telling Bane to start running. Darren took a deep breath, pressed his knees together, and hoped for the best.

The carpet made a sudden jump, almost throwing Darren off. He bent forward, trying to concentrate better, and the carpet steadied itself at the height of Arcus's head.

"Here we go," Darren muttered, deciding to try something else. He tilted his beck bone forward as if commanding a horse to change paces and pressed his knees together a second time. As the carpet began to accelerate it also rose further up. He could only hear Arcus stutter from below, "Wait a second, did you see his eyes?" when his improvised mount already rushed across the lake, over Peridot's head and past a group of nearby trees. It was difficult to steer; Darren decided to modify the rim with two loops as soon as he was home; the edge of the carpet almost slipped from his grip when he urged it to turn around and fly back to Twilight, Jon and Arcus. He managed to decelerate in order to avoid a collision with Twilight and as soon as he let go of the rim, the carpet dropped the remaining distance onto the grass, turning into a limp blue decoration again.

"That was... something," Darren said, only now noticing how hard he was breathing. His heartbeat was racing, too, he could even feel it in his gut and neck. He laughed.

Arcus stared at him.

"Dude, you're - actually - wow..."

"Alive, yes," Darren helpfully provided the missing adjective. He eyed the carpet. "I wish to try again."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Twilight. She and Jonathan had decided to fly with Darren. Arcus, still uncomfortable with flying, planted his rump firmly on the grass and took out a camera he had brought from the office.

"Come on, it's gonna be fun," Jonathan assured her. He put a hand on Darren's shoulder and offered Twilight the other one. Reluctantly, she hooked her foreleg in and sighed. "For your sakes. Okay. I'm ready... I think," she squeaked.

Darren grabbed the rim of the carpet and made it rise. He noticed that the Whites had stopped playing to watch the flight. He took the carpet higher and steered towards the nearby forest, the same one he had seen the evening before.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," he could head Twilight from behind.

"May I remind you," he shouted over the wind, "that you have wings, Twilight?" She only yelped when Darren took a sharp turn around a tall pine and headed back to the lake again. Behind him, Jonathan laughed excitedly.

"Ha, I'm getting the hang of this -" Darren cheered but as he tried to slow the carpet down he realized that he had underestimated its speed. They rushed past the lake and almost hit Arcus. Darren yanked the rim around, Twilight screamed and used her magic to push the earth pony aside; they descended a little; the carpet was now once again above the lake.

As Jonathan shouted, "No, no, no, higher!" a mysterious force shoved the astounded White out of the way and Darren tried to convince the carpet to slow down further. They almost touched the water, the wind creating ripples on the surface, and Darren suddenly cramped up. He shouted "Stop!" at the carpet - but of course that did not work. His breath accelerated and his hands began shaking so much he found himself unable to steer. Eventually, he simply let go of the rim and his mount dropped onto the lake with a thud.

Confused and disoriented by the unexpected panic attack, Darren blinked away the stars before his eyes. Twilight and Jonathan stumbled away from the carpet and almost slipped into the lake. For some reason, there had not been a splash yet.

"What," said Jonathan.

Twilight gasped, tapping Darren's shoulder and pointed downwards.

"Oh my goodness, Darren, look!"

They were on an ice floe.

Chapter 23: Spells and Specialization