The Eternal Problem

Chapters

I - Once Upon a Time...
II - Life in the Snow
III - Umbral Discussions
IV - Missions

I - Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were four Princesses. One raised the moon, one lowered the sun, one watched over the love of ponies… and the fourth, young, intelligent princess watched over their bonds as the Princess of Friendship. Together, they brought peace and prosperity not only to Equestria but to all the neighboring nations as well.

However, as always when the powers of Harmony prevail, enemies are made. Three dark entities whose reigns of terror had been ended by the Princesses banded together to bring ruin to Harmony itself. The Princesses fought valiantly, but they were not prepared for a multi-faced foe that used their own power against them.

The three allies of darkness turned ponykind against itself, plunging the land into an era of snow and hunger at the hooves of the windigos. All hope is not lost, though, for one bastion of harmony remains…

“The Crystal Empire,” Luster Dawn said, reading aloud from the book. “Where creatures of all sorts live in harmony, protected by the love within the Crystal Heart.” The pink mare furrowed her brow, looking out the window at the Crystal Palace. “...I don’t think that’s the whole story…”

~~~

The sky over the Crystal Empire was white.

It was almost always white. Even if the snow rarely fell all the way to the ground ponies trotted upon, the sky was a constant reminder that the outside world was cold and bleak. It was a rare day that the ponies banded together to break the shroud and reveal the sun or moon to the ponies. Such days were usually cause for celebration, marking festivals of the world that once was.

There was no such festival today. Only the endless white.

Luster Dawn trotted through the brisk air, noting that it felt a little warm today. It wasn’t summer, so this was odd—temperature was controlled very specifically in the Empire and rarely varied more than a few degrees unless something was going wrong. Seeing as the weather ponies weren’t panicking and screaming in the streets as they tended to do when things broke down, Luster decided she was just imagining the warmth.

Or she just missed the sun. Even though she hadn’t even been born when the windigos came, she somehow knew to long for the sun. Her cutie mark reflected that: a sun rising over the calm waves. A sight she herself had never seen. She’d never even seen the ocean outside of books.

Her life was the Crystal Empire and that one time she’d left its confines. As it turned out, there were ice monsters out there in the snow. That had been a bad idea.

Pushing those thoughts out of her head, Luster trotted up to the Crystal Palace, nodding to Gallus as she passed. “How’re things going on the front, Gruff?”

“Luster, there’s no war,” Gallus grunted, raising an eyebrow.

“You know what I mean. C’mon, Gruff. Any sneaky suspicious things at the palace? Hmmm?”

“No. There never is, Luster. You want horror stories, go talk to the border watch.” He allowed himself to smirk a bit. “Maybe you’ll see another one.”

“Ahaha, thanks, but no thanks. I like to keep my sanity, thank you.”

Gallus rolled his eyes. Luster took that to mean she was free to enter the palace, so with a happy hum she trotted right in. The main hall was large, as most royal halls were, but it was also empty. Gallus was the only guard at the moment. This made sense—there was little need for palace guards when the border patrol kept the real watch. Not that Gallus had a cush job, but… well, it was no secret the Princesses favored him.

Speaking of…

Princess Flurry Heart was falling down the stairs again.

“Flurry!” Luster called, exasperated.

“Shut—OW—up!” Flurry shouted as she tumbled head over heels down the smooth, sleek, and quite hard steps of the Crystal Palace. She slid to a stop at Luster’s feet, tapping the mare’s hooves with her horn. The arcane appendage was currently surrounded by a silver ring of magic limitation, making it cold to the touch.

“This is the third day this has happened. Your mom’s right, you really do need to learn how to stop levitating yourself everywhere.”

Flurry grunted. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, but… I’m supposed to be the hope of the Empire! I can’t do that if I’m constantly falling down stairs!”

“You’ll get Silverstream,” Luster pointed out.

“Silverstream’s been gone for weeks, so I might as well have an audience of zero! Zero!”

“Well… you do have me.”

“Yaaay…” Flurry said, groaning as she stood up and spread her oversized wings. “So, what brings you to the palace today besides judging every little thing I do?”

“I hardly think mocking you for falling down the stairs qualifies as every little thing. In fact, I think it can be argued that I wasn’t even mocking you directly, nor judging, simply offering friendly advice!”

“Ugh, why do you have to be so brainy?”

“I’m Twilight’s student, what do you expect?”

“I dunno. Somepony friendlier?”

Luster frowned. “I’m working on that.”

Flurry sighed. “You don’t really talk to anypony besides me and auntie’s friends.”

“I have friends in high places!” Luster winked. “It’s great!”

“I mean, I guess our generation is a bunch of hopeless, depressed, downtrodde—”

“Okaaaay, enough of that!” Luster coughed, dropping the book she found on the starway.

“...Don’t we need a table?”

“What did we just say about judging?”

Flurry automatically tried to conjure a table with magic. Naturally, she failed, and this infuriated her. “I swear I’m going to smash this thing before I learn anything…”

“They’ll just put it back on.”

“Yes. But it’ll be enjoyable.”

Luster returned to the book: A Modern History. “Anyway, I found this. It looks new, and it tells the story of how we got to where we are. Though, from what I’ve heard, it doesn’t tell the… whole thing.” She flipped through the pages. “Even beyond the summary at the start, this doesn’t mention any details about Cozy, or Discord’s involvement, or…”

“Oh. That.” Flurry groaned. “That’s politics.”

“Politics?”

“We don’t want ponies chasing Discord out and since Cozy is currently allied with us as the Princess of Thought in Subquestria we can’t just go around slandering her.”

“Oh.” Luster frowned. “...We’re lying to ponies?”

“Not… lying, just… not saying everything.” Flurry grinned awkwardly.

Luster raised an incredulous eyebrow.

“Ugh, look, auntie Twi can explain it better than I can. She’s free right now, we can just go talk to her.”

“Sure. Let’s do that.” Luster was completely confident that she wanted to do this. She was also sweating and her stomach was turning into a million knots. “Confront… Twilight…”

“You really need to loosen up. I confront them all the time. Worst consequence is… okay so the magic ring around my horn is a bit of a downer, but I’m living.” She tripped and fell on her face. “Ow.”

“What if she locks my magic!?”

“For asking a question? Auntie Twi?” Flurry laughed. “You know, we have a word for that.”

“Don’t.”

“Twiiiiilighting…”

Luster whimpered. Every time she heard that it just felt dirty. Who would turn their ruler’s name into a word?

“Twiiiiliiighting…”

“Okay, let’s go see her!” Luster trotted up the stairs. “Anything to end this.”

“Yes! You go, Luster! Show her who’s da mare! Who’s da mare!”

“...You really don’t act like a Princess that much.”

“And don’t you forget it!”

With a soft chuckle, Luster pushed open the doors to the throne room. Four thrones sat in the back, all of which were currently occupied. In the far back sat Cadence, Flurry’s mother and technically the ruler of all the Crystal Empire. She looked young, but tired—which made sense. It was her job to keep the Crystal Heart healthy and active, which was a difficult, draining chore these days. Her husband was absent, likely due to operations at the border.

The two side-thrones were occupied by the Elder Princesses, the mares of the sun and moon. Unlike Cadence, who was tired but otherwise healthy and magical, these two looked terrible. Wrinkles lined their faces and their once-legendary sparkling manes lay still. Crystals in their chest regalia provided them with some magic, but nothing compared to the glory they once held as movers of the celestial objects.

Only the bottom, frontmost throne held a true, regal alicorn. The amethyst glory that was Twilight Sparkle with her intimidating figure, gold regalia, sparking mane of arcane power, and soft, understanding eyes. Every time Luster saw her she wanted to squee at her magnificence. She was just so perfect.

“Ah, Luster!” Twilight said, brightening considerably. The other Princesses did too, but not as much. “You brought a book?”

“Yep!” Luster said, handing it over. “And I have a… question.”

“Oh, the Modern History…” Twilight smiled sadly. “Questions about our past?”

“Actually I was wondering more about what… wasn’t in there.” Luster frowned.

“Such as?” Twilight asked.

“Well, uh…”

“She doesn’t like that we’re lying about Discord and Cozy,” Flurry finished for her.

“Flurry!”

“You weren't gonna say it, I was getting bored…”

“I was going to put it nicer than that…”

“It’s still a valid question,” Twilight said, nodding slowly. “And I’m glad you came to me with it.”

“Though, Flurry…” Cadence raised an eyebrow. “You could have used this moment to practice proper manners.”

“Moooom, that takes time!”

“Flurry Heart…”

Luna coughed. “While I absolutely adore watching the two of you go at each other, perhaps we should respond to Luster’s inquiry without devolving into the next episode of ‘But Mom!’ hmm?”

Celestia let out a chuckle that was barely audible over Flurry’s groan.

Stifling a chuckle of her own, Twilight turned to Luster. “Why don’t you ask your question the way you want to?”

“Well… it seems like we’re lying to ponies about what happened. How Discord brought the three of them back to help you, which backfired horribly. How Cozy is one of the reasons we’re in this mess. The book doesn’t mention anything about her or Discord’s involvement. Don’t they deserve… to know? I can’t believe Applejack would be on board with this and… Sorry, I’m being judgy, I should go back, think about this and…”

“Those are valid concerns,” Twilight said. “And we did not come to those decisions lightly.” With a sigh, Twilight stood up from her throne. “I think it’s time for us to go on a little trip.”

“A trip? Where?”

“To Subquestria.”

“WHAT!?” Luster and Flurry shouted at the same time.

Twilight laughed. “Not right now, of course. It’ll take a week, at least, to push out the proper paperwork for that and establish a safe passage.”

“I’ve never been outside the Empire!” Luster stammered. “I can’t just…”

“Any prior arrangements you have can be put on hold by my order. Plus…” A big grin came across her face .”I bet you really would like to see the outside world.”

“I… well, yes, but, actually, er…”

“Consider it done. In a week, we will go to Subquestria to answer your Cozy question. But I don’t like to leave hungry minds waiting. We can go talk to Discord right now.”

“Uhhhhhhhh…” Luster’s expression flattened. “Can we… not?”

“He would be the best source for answers,” Twilight explained. “And come on, he’s not that bad.”

“No. He’s not. But… well, I don’t like having frosting stuck in my mane for weeks on end.”

“I always have frosting in my hair,” Flurry deadpanned.

Everyone stared at her.

She winked. “All right, now that I’ve run you all speechless, let’s go visit Discord!”

Luna glanced at Celestia. “I swear she’s just like you when you were young.”

Celestia smiled weakly. “It’s good to see somepony who knows how to have fun.”

“Too much fun,” Cadence tutted.

“I am going to invent a new genre of music just to prove how much fun can be had!” Flurry called. “I’ll call it… FLURRYWAVE.”

Luster facehooved, already thinking going to Discord might be preferable to watching this trainwreck.

~~~

“Visualize the apples,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing at Discord with a baton.

Discord snapped his fingers. In response, the pink-crystal necklace he wore flashed, channeling magic to his hands and producing a dozen apples. One of them had a mouth and was singing opera.

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “Discord, I need these to be normal apples.”

“Then you should have gone to someone else, we have chaos magic here.”

“Discord…. Please…?” Even as a grown mare, those eyes. Nobody could say no to Sweetie’s eyes.

“Okay fine,” Discord tapped into the necklace’s pink power again, turning the apple into a regular one. “I hope your magic students get a kick out of those.”

“Starlight says her pumpkins are getting too easy, I’m hoping this will be a good surprise!”

“Using pumpkins for target practice. Humph.”

“What? We need something to hit to learn all the fancy spells!”

“She’s just using my idea and not giving me any credit!”

“...Sure…” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Thanks anyway! Oh, and goodbye Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy looked up from the brown rabbit. “Oh, bye Sweetie! Thanks for visiting!”

With Sweetie gone, Fluttershy and Discord were left alone in their little house—one of the few trees in the Crystal Empire large enough to be carved into a proper cottage. It was a small image of what Fluttershy’s old cottage had been in Ponyville, and it was nothing compared to the beauty of the Sanctuary, but it was something to give the poor animals rest from the cold, uncaring world.

Discord sat down, glancing at his necklace. “There goes my chaos for the next hour.”

Fluttershy smiled sadly. “Pinkie’s magic can only do so much, you know.”

“I know. I just… I miss it. Just when I think I’m over the whole powerless thing, I make a bunch of apples and feel tired. Some Lord of Chaos I am.”

Fluttershy flew up to him and tilted his chin up. “I think you’re an excellent Lord of Chaos, magic or not. Don’t forget that.”

Discord smiled. “Well, if you say so, it must be true. My little butte—”

“DISCORD!” Flurry shouted, slamming in through the door. “I need to make a new kind of music. An entire genre. We’re calling it Flurrywave. STAT!”

Discord dropped Fluttershy—not that she minded. Given her expression, she found the whole exchange delightful. Discord stretched his face into Flurry’s. “This is relevant to my interests.”

“I know right? Come on, you and me, tour of the Empire!”

“Best idea ever! I’ll store up some delicious chaos over the next few weeks for the show… we’ll need to raid Vinyl’s loft…”

“Before you go and create the next cultural craze,” Twilight said, stepping in. “I’ve got somepony here to see you, Discord.”

Luster poked her head out from behind Twilight. “Uh… hi, Discord.”

“You’re lucky I’m low on magic right now,” Discord said, smirking. “I really was looking forward to a repeat of the icing incident.”

“Oh dear snowfall, please no.”

“Not now. But later. When you least expect it.”

“It really will be when you least expect it,” Fluttershy said.

“Can confirm,” Flurry added.

Luster whinnied dejectedly.

Discord cracked his knuckles. “But I suppose this is better for us to actually have a chat as opposed to, oh, a game of chance and foodstuffs.” He put an arm around Luster. “Pray tell, what do you wish to know, little unicorn?”

Luster took a deep breath. “W-well, I found that you weren’t, um, well, in any of the, book, things…”

Fluttershy put a calming wing on Luster. “Discord’s not going to bite you or do anything to you for talking to him. He may look wild, but he’s really just a big teddy bear—Discord I swear to the Tree if you waste magic to transform into a bear right now—and won’t hurt you.”

“Much,” Flurry added.

Fluttershy shot a glare at Flurry. The alicorn’s only response was to whistle innocently.

Luster took a breath. I’m probably not leaving here without getting it out so… here goes. “Discord? I was reading the history books about what happened… you know. You aren’t mentioned in any of them. I was wondering… why?”

Discord’s silly grin vanished. “Oh. That.” He slumped into his chair, deflating like a leaky balloon. “That…”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Discord put a claw to the bridge of his nose. “No, no, it’s fine. Just…”

“He’s been going through a rough patch,” Fluttershy offered. “And it’s not exactly a pleasant memory.”

“We can come back later…” Luster shuffled.

Fluttershy shook her head. “You had the courage to ask directly. That means…”

“...Yeah, yeah, I know.” Discord frowned. “Look, after the whole windigo fiasco happened, we told everypony what happened. Who had destroyed Equestria, what had broken them apart. And what I had done. And guess what?”

“What?”

“They tried to destroy me.” Discord picked at his nails, avoiding eye contact with Luster. “Enough of the unicorns were angry enough, and I was the one they could easily blame.”

“That book probably talks about the Crystal Schism, right?” Fluttershy asked.

Luster nodded.

“That’s what started it. The last place of harmony in the land… almost broken because ponies decided to take out their anger on Discord.” Fluttershy put a wing around him.

“And that’s why we don’t tell the story,” Discord grunted. “I like, you know, being here.”

“I don’t think ponies would…” Luster frowned. “You know…”

“Today? Probably not,” Fluttershy admitted. “But they still might drive him out.”

“And we don’t want that,” Twilight said. “So… when ponies ask ‘why didn’t Discord do anything’ we say he was the first victim of Grogar’s Bell. Bad luck for us. Which is… true, but keeps it all hidden away.”

Luster nodded. “I think I understand. But… isn’t being deceptive still… lying?”

“Applejack said that,” Twilight said with a nod. “But even she understood that someone’s life is more important than the truth.”

“There aren’t many things that are,” Fluttershy added quickly. “Don’t lie just because you don’t want to hurt somepony’s feelings…”

“...Or because you want to build them up with a hair-brained villain scheme,” Discord grunted.

“Life isn’t easy, or simple.” Twilight put a wing around Luster. “It’s complicated, and the rules aren’t as set in stone as we would like. But… even in hardship, they still matter. Just… in new ways.” She turned her gaze to the window. “...And I think it’s time I took you out there to see it.”

“I’m coming too,” Flurry said.

“I have no problems with that,” Twilight said. “But you need to talk to your mother first.”

“Meeeeh… ...Discord, let’s go create that music. I think we both need a pick me up.”

“Absolutely!” Discord jumped up. “Fluttershy, get your tambourine, we’re going to rock. Or… do something more than rocking…”

“...I call electric guitar if there is one,” Fluttershy said.

“Sold!”

Turning back to Luster, Twilight smiled. “So… Luster, do you think you’re ready to see the world beyond the Heart’s reach?”

Luster swallowed hard. “Nope. But, hey, if I waited until I felt ready I’d never get anything done, right?”

“Did I say that in class?”

“Yep. Philosophy.”

“Huh.” Twilight chuckled. “Well, it’s true.” She took Luster’s hoof in her own. “Sometimes you just have to jump in.”

~~~

“I’m late I’m late I’m laaaate!” Starlight whined, running through the Crystal Empire at high speed. “LAAAAATE!”

“Just teleport, we see you do it all the time!” a random mare Starlight had never met shouted. Either she was a changeling she knew, or Starlight’s erratic behavior really was obvious to the average citizen of the Crystal Empire. Starlight liked to think the former was true.

Deep down she suspected the latter was the truth, but she didn’t like to dwell on her eccentric image that much.

Lighting her horn, Starlight tried to jump to the combat magic training session she was supposed to be teaching.

Instead, she ended up outside the Crystal Empire. In the snow. Right in front of an ice monster. It stood before her, six legs and hexagonal body caked in snow and frost. A soft blue glow within the crystals pulsed as it recognized her presence, preparing for an attack.

Starlight shattered it into a million pieces before it could attack. “Right, miscalculated the jump coordinates… Just need to reel back about five meters and…”

Her hoof touched something. Something soft. Fuzzy.

Immediately, she used her magic to clear all the snow away, revealing what was under the frigid fluff.

Or, rather, who was under it.

“Scootaloo!?”

II - Life in the Snow

Sweetie Belle glanced from the clock to the plate of apples atop a pumpkin. She tapped her hoof impatiently, continually shifting from one to the other as her annoyed expression deepened with time.

“Five after…” Sweetie grumbled. “Well, that’s that, Starlight is officially late!” She twisted around to glare at the class with what she hoped was an encouraging smile, but in reality was more likely to drive fear into the hearts of the few brave enough to try and learn combat magic. “So, once again, it appears as though your snowy little TA will have to run things. ...Yes, this is looking like a pattern, isn’t it?”

“Can’t you report her for negligence or… something?” A young black kirin asked.

“Who would I report her to? Herself?” Sweetie chuckled. “She’s the commander, only below the Princesses, and the moment I need to go whine to Twilight about Starlight being late is the day I eat my hat.”

“...You don’t have a hat,” a blue unicorn pointed out.

“Exactly.”

The class started to murmur amongst themselves.

“But this is combat spell training!” Sweetie declared. “So we are going to learn how to smash ice monsters into shrapnel! Today… precision.” She levitated the plate of apples over to herself and placed one of them just above her horn. “If you can shoot this apple off my head you get to eat it.”

“Where did you even get those?” the kirin asked.

“A mare never reveals her secrets. ...Unless she’s trying to teach those secrets to—nevermind, the metaphor isn't important. What is important is that you learn how to hit small areas with your spells. All these explosions and wide-range attacks are good and all, but not all monsters out there are hulking behemoths.”

“Will this help with windigos?” a purple unicorn asked.

“No,” Sweetie sighed. “The spells that can touch those swirling mongrels are unfortunately end-of-course material. Punching wind doesn’t really work.” She coughed. “Soooo, who wants to go first?”

“Eh, why not.” The kirin stepped forward and pointed her horn at Sweetie. She unleashed a nice, focused burst of white energy.

It would have burned Sweetie’s face half-off if she didn’t put a shield up.

“Yeah. No.” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Good form, but terrible aim.”

A unicorn tried next. He jumped forward, smirked, and unleashed a fireball. It was large enough to consume Sweetie whole.

Deflecting it to the side, Sweetie sighed. “Precision, that was not.”

“At least the apple will be warm for whoever gets it!”

Sweetie facehooved. “Let’s… just keep trying.”

After a myriad of other failures, that one stallion with all the knives strapped to his body walked up. Sweetie refused to believe his name was actually Edge, but that’s what he called himself. He levitated a knife out and skewered the apple before Sweetie could say anything.

“...We’re supposed to be working on our combat spells, Edge.”

Edge shrugged, munching on the apple before she could take it from him.

Sweetie’s eye twitched. “You know what, if you’re so confident…” She levitated another apple onto Edge’s head. “Why not take my place? I’m sure nothing will go wrong.”

The rest of the class froze, turning to Edge with wide eyes.

“Don’t do it!” the kirin hissed. “It’s…”

Edge walked up to where Sweetie was and turned to the class, head held high. He said nothing.

Sweetie twitched. I am going to let one of those fireballs get close enough to singe him before I dispel it. He needs to be kicked off that pedestal stat.

This never occurred. No student took a single shot at Edge’s apple.

Because Starlight teleported into the room with an orange pegasus on her back.

In an instant, Sweetie’s carefully constructed “hard combat instructor” exterior vanished, falling apart with a pained cry of so many emotions she couldn’t parse. “SCOOTALOO!?” She ran to the limp pegasus, tears welling up without her awareness. Pressing a hoof to Scootaloo, she could feel the mare breathing. But… no heartbeat?

Sweetie couldn’t register what this might mean. All she could feel was the ice crystals in Scootaloo’s fur and feathers. Clear signs of frostbite on virtually every part of her body.

“Wh…”

“I don’t know. I found her just a minute ago,” Starlight said. “She’s lucky I mis-teleported…” Starlight trotted away. “Class is canceled today!”

Sweetie scrambled after her as she left the classroom, entering a hallway of the Crystal Academy. Making a sharp left, they found the nurse’s office, currently occupied by the only zebra in the crystal empire.

“What can I do for you, if you are feeling blue?” Zecora asked, looking up from a book she was reading. “Is that Scootaloo?”

Sweetie didn’t have the awareness to comment on Zecora rhyming three lines instead of two. “Yes! Yes! Help her!”

“I will do my best to keep this mare from doom! Lay her here and send word to Apple Bloom!” Starlight did as asked, setting Scootaloo down and teleporting away to get Apple Bloom. Sweetie remained, staring at the weak pegasus with terrified eyes. “Is she…”

“I am surprised she is breathing at all, given the torture of the icy hail.” Zecora placed a warm cloth on Scootaloo’s forehead and inserted a thermometer into her mouth. “No heartbeat of which to speak. This, I say, is looking bleak.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“I am afraid I know not, for without a heart a mare should rot.” She carefully placed her hoof on Scootaloo’s chest, feeling around the ribcage. “Many scars abound, what has this mare been around?”

Allowing herself to look more closely, Sweetie was horrified to see dozens of old scars running across Scootaloo. One of her ears had a notch taken out of it and a few long marks dotted her body, including one across her left cutie mark.

Zecora frowned as she felt something within Scootaloo. “Bones do not make right angles, an unnatural thing is in this body’s tangles…” She pressed down, trying to get a better sense of what was in Scootaloo.

Scootaloo’s eyes flew open, revealing eyes that glowed with an unnatural blue light. She let out a horrid shriek that shouldn't have come from any pony. The air around them went cold.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie shouted. “Scootaloo, stop!”

It wasn’t clear if Scootaloo was even there. It was just screaming.

“Zecora, do something!”

“I… do not know what dark magic makes this so!”

Starlight returned with Apple Bloom a moment later - the yellow mare was wearing her bow and nurse’s cap, the latter of which appeared to have been hastily slapped on. She took one look at Scootaloo and ran for the medicine cabinet.

“What in the…?” Starlight’s eyes widened as she examined the screaming Scootaloo. “It… feels like windigos!”

“It’s SCOOTALOO!” Sweetie shouted.

“Ah got it, Ah got it!” Apple Bloom said, pulling several medicines out of the cabinet and tossing them into a miniature cauldron she had situated on a nearby counter.

“Mixing medicinals is dangerous! You do not want to injure us!”

“Do you have a better idea?” Apple Bloom shouted, already having ground the medicines into a powder. Getting silence from Zecora, she continued, stirring the brew. Muttering words to herself as she did so, the pasty goo quickly became a ruby liquid, ripe for use.

When it started sparking, she knew it was ready. “Let’s hope this works…”

She threw the brew onto Scootaloo’s face.

The shrieking stopped instantly. Scootaloo’s eyes became normal and her breathing slowed.

Apple Bloom smirked. “Ah told ya. Worked like a charm.”

And then Scootaloo lit on fire.

Starlight acted quickly, teleporting several feet of snow on top of Scootaloo, smothering the flames in an instant. She buried Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and Zecora in the process, but to be fair she hadn’t really been given much time to think the spell through.

Slowly, Sweetie pulled herself out of the snow. “I have no… idea… what just happened.”

“Potion overcompensated,” Apple Bloom responded, digging herself out next. “It is why mixing ingredients quickly is a bad idea, generally.”

“A student are you, for you never do what you should to be good.” Zecora kicked some snow out of her ear.

“You can say that again,” Scootaloo said, poking her head out of the snow.

“SCOOTALOO!” Sweetie shouted, pulling the pegasus into a hug. “You…”

“I’m back…” Scootaloo laughed… a sad sound. “Been a while, huh?”

“We… we haven’t seen you since…”

“Since the windigos came,” Starlight said, taking a few steps forward. “...What have you been doing all these years?”

Scootaloo’s eyes drifted as her focus shifted to things far, far away. “That… is a long, long story…”

~~~

“WEEEoooooEEEooooMMMMM.”

“Flurry, shut up,” Luster deadpanned. She was sitting on her bed, trying to read a book.

“FEEEEEEEEEEEL the floooooooow Lusterhhhhhh.”

“You are making the worst music. Ever. Of all time.”

“Well, duh, I can’t make the sounds right with my mouth!” Flurry scoffed. “You’ll just have to hear what the synth has to offer when we get it back from Vinyl.”

“...Flurry, you could just ask her for it instead of sneaking around like some kind of thief.”

“You don’t know how to have fun.”

“And you know too well.”

Flurry snickered. “It’s a good thing I’m coming with you on this trip to Subquestria. You’d just squander it all on learning without me around to show you how to get…” She pulled a pair of sunglasses out from behind her mane. “Funky.”

“...How long have you been waiting to use those?”

“A few days. Takes a lot more planning with the magic lock.”

Luster rolled her eyes. “I can imagine…”

“But, you know what, it makes it so worth it!”

“So you are learning something!”

Flurry’s smile vanished in an instant. “Ugh. UUUUUUUUGH. Why does everything have to be some kind of friendship lesson?”

“Who’s in charge again?”

“The Princess of Friendship, yeah yeah…” Flurry tapped her hoof on the ground, annoyed. “Always gotta be something to learn, yada yada…”

“It seems to work pretty well.”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t work,” Flurry said. “I’m saying it’s annoying. I’d like to… you know, just once, have an idea that’s better than her, you know? She’s not perfect. She can’t be right all the time.”

“No. Just more often than you.” Luster cracked a smile.

Flurry looked around for something to throw at Luster. Before she could settle on a pillow, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Luster said, closing her book.

Spike walked in, having to duck to fit in Luster’s pony-sized door. “Hey. There’s been some change in the… plans.”

“Drama alert!” Flurry declared. “Are we not leaving? Is our departure delayed? Oh, woe i—”

“Nothing that fancy,” Spike said, ruffling his scaled wings. “Just… Something’s come up that Twilight’s going to have to deal with personally.”

“So, what, we’re going with Rarity?”

“No…” Spike rubbed the back of his head. “See, Rarity has to deal with it too.”

Luster raised an eyebrow. “...Being very suspicious here, Spike.”

“The ponies involved would rather less people know about it. You’ll probably find out when you get back what this whole fiasco is.”

“Right, fine, I won’t press. Who’s taking us, then?”

“I am!” Spike grinned.

Flurry and Luster stared at him.

“What? I’m a good guide!”

“I mean…” Flurry grinned. “It would be nice to have a big, strong dragon guide us through the endless, frozen wastes…” She raised her eyebrows.

“Stop that.”

“Make me.”

Spike glanced to Luster. “Does she realize I can?”

Luster nodded. “Yes. She knows you won’t.”

“You sure you can handle us?” Flurry giggled.

“I’m already regretting signing up for this,” Spike grunted. “...But I already said I’d do it, so here we go! Spike—”

“—the brave and glorious—” Flurry inserted.

Spike ignored her. “—is going to take you on a grand tour of the outside world! Subquestria’s the main event, but there’s so much more we’ll get to see!” He unrolled a map and set it down for them to look at. “We’ll take the route to Yakyakistan first, to get used to the journey. Then we’ll take a sharp turn south through the frozen pillars until we reach the Kirin Outpost. After that it’s a relatively short trek to Subquestria. On the way back we’ll take the sea route and drop by Fyrge, Seaquestria, and Griffonstone, but that’s relatively easy.”

“Wait…” Luster pointed at the map. “After we get through Griffonstone we’ll have to cross the Pillars of Peril to get back to the Empire. Are you sure we can do that?”

“Psh, it’s not as dangerous as they say,” Spike said, dismissively. “...Then again I can literally melt any of the monsters that live there, so…”

“Oh, what a big, strong dragon…” Flurry cooed.

Spike rolled up the map and hit Flurry with it like she was a misbehaving cat. She hissed at him.

Luster giggled. “Well… a grand tour of the world… just the three of us.” She laughed nervously. “This will be… interesting, to say the least.”

Flurry clapped her hooves. “And I will have a flurrywave mixtape ready for the road!”

“Flurry no.”

“Flurry YES!”

“What’s flurrywave?” Spike asked.

Flurry’s already absurd grin widened even further. “Oh, do I have a treat for you.”

Spike gulped.

~~~

It didn’t matter how far south they went.

Snow.

Only snow.

Truly endless snow.

Even the once great Bone Dry Desert had been reduced to cold sheer winds over a frosty ground.

Surely somewhere in the world must be warm, they had thought. So they braved the icebergs of the southern pole, enduring temperatures life itself struggled to trudge through.

The other side of the world had filled them with hope.

But even here, it was snow. Deserts reduced to frost, rivers stuck in time, and windigos prowling everywhere.

Now, as they traveled across the northern ice sheet, they knew they had almost circled the planet.

“There has to be some way to destroy them,” the once-queen of Changelings, Chrysalis, hissed as she vaporized a windigo trying to eat her. “This can’t be it!”

“The fires of friendship,” Tirek said, draining another windigo of its magic.

“Never,” Chrysalis seethed. “Never will I let that disease run over this planet again. It is better frozen than… that.”

“Agreed,” Tirek added. “But the cold is the price we pay for that.”

Chrysalis let out a shrill hiss. “They fall just like ponies, if you drain them enough. Surely there must be a way to take them all.”

“How long have we been wandering the frozen wastes of the world, Chrysalis?” Tirek asked. “How long have we increased our power?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. If there was a way to do it, we would have found some sign of it by now.”

“We haven’t been looking hard enough!” Chrysalis hissed. “We just thought there had to be something warm somewhere. Well, that wasn’t true!”

Tirek reached into his saddlebags and pulled out Grogar’s Bell. “Not even this could defeat them! Not all at once!”

“It’s not big enough! We need something… more. Their power has to have a limit. Something to… erase their very essence!”

“Nothing in this world has the capacity to do that!”

“MAY I OFFER A SUGGESTION?”

Tirek and Chrysalis turned their heads sharply, staring in surprise at what appeared to be a massive, red crystal embedded in the snow.

“WHY RELY ON THINGS IN THIS WORLD TO DO WHAT YOU DESIRE?”

III - Umbral Discussions

Luster Dawn stood at the gates of the Crystal Empire; two massive amethyst pillars placed at the very edge of the Crystal Heart’s influence. The barrier that kept the frozen wastes out intersected the gates perfectly—bisecting the world. The ground up to the very center of the boundary was green and grassy while the other side had a foot of snow piled up against the barrier.

Twilight smiled warmly, placing a hoof on Luster Dawn’s back. “Don’t worry. It’s cold, but you have your coat and Spike, you’ll be fine. It’s not that far to Yakyakistan these days.”

“I… I know.”

“Why do we have the airship dock outside the barrier?” Flurry asked. “That has to be dangerous.”

“Someone hasn’t been paying attention in their defense classes,” Twilight tutted.

Flurry shrugged with her wings. “Yeah, guilty as charged. So…?”

Luster cleared her throat. “Transmitting from the warm interior to the cold exterior is chaotic and prone to cause airship malfunctions, particularly in magical components.”

“Very good, Luster,” Twilight smirked. “I really wish I was going with you… but a Princess’ duties always call.”

“Unless you’re me,” Flurry pointed out.

Luster furrowed her brow. “Technically speaking, you haven’t been officially coronated ye—”

“Shussssssh only you care about legalistic technicalities.”

“Oh, so I don’t have to remove the magic lock?” Twilight asked, smirking. “I’m free to ignore that little legal agreement?”

“Auntie…”

Twilight giggled. With a flash of her magic, the ring around Flurry’s horn fell to the ground below. “There you go.”

“YES!” Flurry declared, jumping into the air and using her horn to play what she called a ‘funky beat’ to the group. “Let’s get this trip rolling!”

“Now now, keep your magic under control. Spike will be watching you and he will give me a report on how you use your powers.”

“Challenge accepted: abuse powers as much as possible without Spike knowing.”

Spike facepalmed. “Twilight…”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You said you could handle her.”

Spike grumbled a bit before nodding in agreement.

“Good! Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’m going to die out there in the snow,” Luster said. “These two are going to be shouting at each other and then an ice raven is going to eat me and they won’t even notice.”

“Oh, we’re not that bad,” Flurry said, pulling Luster into an awkward hug. “We’ll notice after we’re done arguing and then we’ll feel really guilty.”

“Gee, thanks, makes me feel so much better.”

Flurry winked. “Anyway, what are we waiting for? That airship isn’t going to fly itself!”

Luster ran to hug Twilight. “See you when I get back?”

“I have no intention of going anywhere. Though…” Twilight’s expression darkened. “There’s been an… unusual development. I don’t want you to worry, but I also can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. At least you’re telling me you’re not telling me!”

“Come on!” Flurry shouted from the other side of the barrier, hovering above the snow. “Let’s mooooove! We’re—” she started playing some ‘groovy’ tunes. “—off to see the world!”

“I swear you’re going to become the Princess of Music,” Spike muttered.

“Aww, thanks!”

“Princess of Bad Music.”

Flurry clocked him on the head with a hoof.

“Hey!”

“Not magic, can’t cry to Auntie for that.” She winked.

Luster sighed. “I think I should go keep them from killing each other.”

“I’m trusting all of you to watch each other,” Twilight said. “And Luster?”

“Yeah?”

“Listen to Spike.”

“...I think Flurry needs to hear that more than I do…”

“She won’t listen, but you will. Please, Spike’s my number one assistant. No matter what you may think, he does know what he’s doing.”

“...Okay.” Luster hugged her mentor one last time before jumping across the barrier.

Twilight waved until they left her sight—which wasn’t long, given the constant blizzard out there. With a sigh, her hoof and smile dropped. Standing still for a moment to absorb what had just happened, she let her mind wander.

No, nothing’s going to happen to them. Spike’s with them. Stop being such a nanny. There’s another mare who needs your help right now.

Twilight surrounded herself in magic and teleported across the Crystal Empire, right into the palace hospital. There were a lot of ponies in the room—Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Rarity, Starlight, and Zecora, all huddled around a weak orange mare.

Scootaloo had seen better days. Aside from the old scars, she sported singe marks, a few locations of minor frostbite, and half of her mane was a different length from the rest as if it had been cut right off.

“H-hey Twilight…” Scootaloo smirked. “You’ve gotten big.”

“So have you,” Twilight said with a smile. “...We looked for you.”

“Yeah, I was pretty stupid, getting lost like that. Tried to follow the pegasi…” she coughed. “None of them would carry me up.”

“None of them!?” Rainbow shouted. “I am gonna find every single one who lived in Ponyville and give them a—”

“Rainbow, not the time,” Applejack said, tapping the mare’s side gently.

“R-right.”

Scootaloo closed her eyes. “With the snow and the windigos and the chaos, I somehow got really, really lost. Snow everywhere… the only reason I survived was I found an old cave with some abandoned filly guide camping gear. Really lucky... but the world outside was so different, I had no idea where anything was.” She sighed. “I could survive the snow, make a shelter, but I didn’t know which way was north. Couldn’t see the sun.”

“So what did you do?” Twilight asked.

“I… wandered. A lot.” Scootaloo frowned. “No idea where I was going. I think I spent years in the Everfree Forest moving around aimlessly. Going in circles and circles and circles... Until I found the Treehouse.”

“You… you found the Treehouse!?” Rarity gasped. “But… we tried…”

Scootaloo frowned. “I always thought it was weird nobody found me while I stayed there.”

“We lost the Treehouse in the freezing of the forest,” Twilight said, closing her eyes. “The Everfree became a magic maze where directions didn’t matter and ice spirits sought our death. I am very surprised you…”

“Hey, Scootaloo’s got fire!” Rainbow smiled proudly. “She’ll get through anything.”

Scootaloo coughed but managed to roll her eyes. “Yeah, sure, anything. ...I stayed there for a long, long time, waiting for something to change. Waiting for somepony to arrive. And when somepony did… I…” She winced. “I don’t know who she was, surrounded in so many coats and magic things, and she never told me her name. She just… showed up one day and started yelling at the Treehouse.”

“What did she say?” Twilight asked.

“I… I don’t remember,” Scootaloo said, looking away. “Something about the Elements. Which are gone.”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. They are.”

“I don’t think the Treehouse listened to her, since she started talking to me next. She quickly decided I didn’t know anything, but… apparently she thought I would be useful.” Scootaloo looked down at her bedsheets, a tear dropping down. “She put a chain around my neck and… dragged me around for… I… I don’t even know.”

“I… I’m so sorry…” Sweetie said, hoof to her mouth.

“It was… hard,” Scootaloo admitted. “She fed me and she made sure I wasn't uncomfortable, but she rarely said anything to me and… I had to do things for her. Usually, touch magic artifacts or…” She shivered. “Stare at a windigo while she disassembled it bit by bit…”

There was silence in the room.

“Is she responsible? For your heartbeat most terrible?” Zecora asked.

Scootaloo nodded. “She… put this thing in me. Never told me why. Something about the windigos. I… I ran away after that. We’d traveled enough that I’d figured out where everything was, and where you were, so I ran here.” She stared into the distance. “I don’t remember anything from the last few days of my journey.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom put their hooves around Scootaloo. Apple Bloom smiled. “...You’re safe now. You don’t have to go anywhere. You’re with us.”

“Yeah… yeah…” Scootaloo let out a relieved sigh. “It’s finally over…”

“It is. Don’t worry about anything else.” Twilight traced her forehead with a careful hoof. “...I’ll leave you to catch up. Rarity, Starlight, with me if you don’t mind?”

She left the hospital room, her two closest unicorn friends in tow.

“This is… distressing,” Rarity observed, tossing her gray-streaked mane back.

“A mystery mare and the Treehouse, not to mention that thing in place of Scootaloo’s heart.” Starlight shuddered. “She’s been infused with something akin to windigo magic.”

“We need to investigate this, clearly,” Rarity added. “Although I’m not certain how. The mystery mare could be anywhere, and all our efforts to pierce the Everfree have been pointless, even back when Gallus’ group was together.”

“I’m aware…” Twilight frowned. “Starlight?”

“I have the feeling I’m not going to like this…”

“It’s time for you to return to the Canterlot Archives.”

Starlight winced. “I was right…”

“We can no longer afford to ignore the tools at our disposal. Gather a team. I will have to discuss this with the other Princesses, so do not leave without final confirmation, but I want you ready.”

“Of course! I’ll find someone to replace me a—”

“I’ll teach your class while you’re gone,” Twilight offered.

“...You sure?”

Twilight smirked. “Yes. I will. And I will be punctual.”

Starlight flushed.

“Just keep to the schedule better when you get back, hmm?”

“S-sure…”

~~~

Tirek looked at the crystal. “Other worlds?”

“YES, TIREK, SUCH A—”

Chrysalis hissed. “I am not taking any advice from an Umbrum Crystal!” She pointed an accusatory hoof at the ruby construct. “I saw what you did when you ran free in the old Crystal Empire, endless destructive nonsense. You would seek to use us to free yourselves, adding your darkness to the windigos’ cold! I will have nothing to do with you and your dark realm!”

“Ah, yes, the origin of Sombra…” Tirek smirked, tapping the crystal. “Absolutely brilliant sleeper agent, by the way. Did his job perfectly. Rather intelligent, too.”

“DO NOT PATRONIZE US.”

“Why not?” Chrysalis laughed. “You can’t come out of that crystal on your own or you would have done so eons ago. You can stay stuck in your little shadow of reality.”

“It might be better in there than out here, anyway,” Tirek pointed out. “Darkness or endless biting cold? Which is worse?”

“Oooh, coin flip.”

“WE HAVE MUCH WE CAN OFFER YOU.”

“What, POWER?” Chrysalis laughed, holding up Grogar’s bell. “If we wanted raw power we would absorb the myriad of magical essences we have stored in this thing. Please.”

“YOU WISH TO END THE WINDIGOS. WE KNOW OF A POWER THAT CAN DO THAT.”

“So do we, she’s stuck on the moon,” Tirek muttered. “We’re not stupid.”

“...WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO. WE REFER TO THE GREATEST BASTION OF DARKNESS, THE PRIDE OF OUR KIND, THE ESSENCE OF DARKNESS.”

“The Pony of Shadows is stuck in another timeless universe,” Chrysalis muttered. “Can’t really get to it.”

“YOU COULD IF YOU HAD A CONNECTION TO IT.”

“Stygian is dead of old age,” Tirek pointed out. “No other host still lives.”

“STYGIAN’S LINE IS NOT BARREN. THERE IS AT LEAST ONE WHO REMAINS THAT CARRIES HIS LEGACY. IF YOU FIND HIM, YOU CAN USE HIM TO RELEASE THE DARKNESS!”

“Which would be better than releasing you why?” Chrysalis asked.

“THE DARKNESS THAT MAKES UP THE PONY OF SHADOWS HAS NO WILL OF ITS OWN. IT IS MERELY A SOURCE OF UNTOLD POWER THAT TAPS INTO THE HOST TO FULFILL THEIR DESIRES. PONIES AND THEIR DESIRES FOR HARMONY AND FRIENDSHIP ALWAYS SEE IT AS CORRUPTING… BUT YOUR HEARTS SHOW SOMETHING ELSE. SOMETHING THAT CAN BE ONE WITH THE DARKNESS.”

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “And it’d just be another power-up.” She rung the bell again. “Ding ding, we’ve got plenty of those.”

“IT IS THE MAGIC OF THE SHADOW THAT CAN DEFEAT THE WINDIGOS. IT CAN INFECT ANYTHING. EVEN THAT WHICH ALREADY IS DARK OR COLD. AND THE DARKNESS WILL SERVE THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION THEREOF. NOT ONLY COULD YOU DEFEAT THE WINDIGOS, YOU COULD ALSO BEND THEM TO YOUR WILL. SHAPE THE WORLD AS YOU SEE FIT.”

“What do you get out of this?” Tirek asked.

“WE WILL TELL YOU OF THE LAST CONNECTION OF STYGIAN’S LINE IF YOU DESTROY THE CRYSTAL HEART.”

“Not happening,” Tirek said. “Twilight and her friends are still together, and we saw what happened to Sombra without the Elements. We wait for them to grow old before trying anything.”

“And that’d just let you out.” Chrysalis tapped the crystal mockingly. “Sorry, but we just don’t want an army of dark nightmares trouncing around our world! Terribly inconvenient.”

“THEN YOU WILL NEVER KNOW OF THE LAST LINEAGE.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Tirek grinned, looking to Chrysalis.

Chrysalis held up Grogar’s bell and shot a very particular sort of magic into Tirek, causing him to grow in size over ten times. He placed his hand in the crystal and grinned, pressing it between his thumb and index finger. “It will be little trouble to absorb all of your energy, Umbrum. Perhaps sever your connection from this world entirely…”

“Maybe we should go in and thrash their entire realm!” Chrysalis cackled. “I hear Discord’s magic is excellent for tearing holes in unstable realities…”

“YOU WOULD NOT DARE CROSS THE UMBRUM SO!”

“What are you gonna do? Attack?” Chrysalis laughed. “You’re stuck in that little crystal! We’d have to come in… And you don’t want us to come in.”

“Simply tell us what we want to know, and we won’t destroy everything you hold dear,” Tirek chuckled.

“...IT WILL BE ENOUGH FOR YOU TO FREE THE SHADOW. THE LAST OF THE LINEAGE IS NAMED SHADOW LOCK, AND HE CURRENTLY RESIDES WITHIN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE.”

“Annoying, but helpful enough.” Chrysalis chuckled. “Good Umbrum, we’ll be sure to get your little friend out of his limbo. Don’t you worry a hair on your pretty little heads! Which don’t have hair.” She cackled.

“Is there anything else you’d like to say?” Tirek asked.

“WE HAVE SAID OUR PART AS MUCH AS YOU WILL LISTEN. WE ARE DONE HERE.”

“Good.” Tirek lifted a hoof and crushed the crystal beneath it. “Now shut up.”

Chrysalis clucked her tongue. “Your line could have been better. Perhaps…. ‘Then begone!’ or ‘speak no more!’ ‘Shut up’ is just so… bland.”

Tirek grumbled as he returned the extra magic to the bell.

“They likely have other ways to communicate with our world.”

“And they haven’t been able to do anything with them for thousands of years.” Tirek waved a hand dismissively.

“True…”

“Anyway, Crystal Empire.”

“Yes. It’s time to visit some old friends…”

~~~

A large, pink airship pushed through the cold, cold blizzard. It twisted through the winds, further and further north. Unbeknownst to them, they passed overhead a changeling and a centaur, both completely oblivious to each other.

The airship itself arrived at the Yakyakistan port without issue, latching to a tall metal tower with a massive chain, anchoring it in the frigid rush. Instead of releasing a docking ramp of some sort, Flurry teleported them onto the platform without any issue.

The princess, the student, and the dragon were all wearing full-body coats with goggles over their eyes. They were bundled so tightly it was impossible to see their wings, though the horns of the ponies were visible. Their scarves fluttered in the breeze as they looked down upon the Yak settlement. From up here, it was impossible to pick out any actual yaks, but they could make out the buildings. Primitive though they seemed, they were somehow able to withstand the brutal cold and endless snow of the Frozen North, even under the assault of Windigos. It was as if the yaks were immune to the evil spirits’ magic, somehow.

Although the Windigos left Yakyakistan alone, for the most part, the ice monsters didn’t. They could see the carcass of a massive one on a nearby mountain, never melting, a constant reminder that they had fought for their survival and won by the legendary Yak Smash.

That’s how the legend went, anyway. Luster was pretty sure no single yak was big enough to actually damage a creature of that size. She suspected magic was involved, though nobody was talking.

“Right, we’re not here for long,” Spike said. “Just making a few visits before we move on.”

“Wasn’t somebody supposed to be waiting for us?” Luster asked.

“YONA IS WAITING!” a large female yak shouted, running to them across the platform. “YAK HAPPY TO SEE SPIKE AND PRINCESS!”

“...I swear you’re louder every time I see you,” Flurry said, shaking her head. “What’s up?”

“Clouds.”

“...Yes.”

“Yona have so much to show you, Yaks have been doing new things!”

“Yaks? New things?” Spike let out a gasp of mock surprise. “What will they think of next?”

“Come and see!”

IV - Missions

“No, seriously, what are the Yaks doing?” Flurry asked Yona as she took them down the airship tower to Yakyakistan proper.

“Yona not spoil surprise!” Yona bounced slightly in excitement, rocking the rickety rope elevator considerably. She rediscovered her childhood fear of heights upon making the platform take a thirty-degree angle with the ground. “Yona just… stand still. Excited, but still.”

“Don’t take the elevator up much?” Spike asked.

“...Yona not trust rope.”

Luster lit her horn, examining the ropes holding them. “Pretty sure these are enchanted with steel mesh. Not going to break from one yak.”

“That is what ponies said. Prince Rutherford took it as a challenge. Not go well for anyone involved.”

“I can imagine,” Flurry said, using her wings to hover just outside the rickety construction. “But seriously what are you doing?”

“Yona finds your impatience… fun.”

Flurry twitched. “Spike. Can I—”

“No,” Spike deadpanned.

“You didn’t even hear what it was!” Flurry huffed. “I swear…”

“Sometimes, your tone is enough to tell me it’s a bad idea.”

“How is that not all the time?” Luster asked.

“Yona finds this dynamic confusing.” The yak examined the three of them, eyebrow raised.

“It’s called ribbing, I thought you’d be an expert!” Flurry nudged Yona in the side. “You know, being a yak and all. Best at everything, right?”

“Yes! Everything!”

“Except gift-giving,” Luster whispered under her breath.

“Hm?”

“Nothing!” Luster grinned. I still can’t believe that was the deepest secret I could pry out of Pinkie Pie.

They reached the ground—which was basically just “however high the snow happened to be at any given time”—and hopped out, entering the streets of Yakyakistan. The capital of Yakyakistan. Yes, it was confusing, but the yaks were all about “name is perfect!” and didn’t care much for disambiguation, even after all these years.

“So… Yona, where are we going, then?” Flurry asked.

“Where do ponies and Spike need to go?”

Flurry twitched. “Wherever you want to take us to see your new yak thing! Come on!”

Spike took out a checklist. “Well, actually, we need to stop by Prince Ruprecht to give him an update from the Crystal Empire’s affairs, and we’ve got to procure further supplies for our journey to Subquestria and beyond. After that we should be out of your coats.”

“Spike…” Flurry twitched.

“Learn patience. Maybe if you don’t use your magic to hurry this along, I’ll give Twilight a good report on your behavior.”

“Not fair…” Flurry pointed. “This was supposed to be a vacation…”

“I thought it was supposed to be a learning experience for me,” Luster added.

“That’s for you. I, on the other hoof…”

“VISITORS!”

Flurry folded her ears back instinctively. “Oh no…”

A massive male yak burst out of a pile of snow, his horns decorated in all manner of golden trinkets and shiny baubles. “YOU ARE WELCOME IN YAKYAKISTAN! AS ALWAYS!”

“Prince Ruprecht,” Spike said, extending a hand as if the yak weren't shouting at a volume high enough to rupture eardrums. “I see you’re in good health!”

“HAH! THE DRAGON LISTENS WELL! AMBASSADOR SPIKE, DO YOU WISH… TO… SMASH!?”

“I’d rather not break my scales on any logs today, thank you.”

“YOUR LOSS. WHAT DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?”

“A report on…”

Ruprecht swiped the scroll out of Spike’s grasp and placed it on his back. “WILL GIVE TO PAPER PONY LATER.”

“Sandbar,” Yona corrected.

“HM? OH, SANDBAR. WHY PONIES NEED TO BE CALLED BY NAME, I WILL NEVER KNOW.” He seemed almost proud that he was using the word “I.”

Spike set his jaw. “It is rather important to them. A pony’s name is who they are.”

“PONY IS PONY, YAK IS YAK, DRAGON IS DRAGON.” Ruprecht waved a hoof dismissively. His mind switched tracks without giving Spike a chance to respond. “DRAGON, WE SHALL THROW A FEAST!”

“Actually, we aren’t planning to be here long, just to pick up supplies on our way to the south, as part of a tour.”

“Yeah!” Flurry said. “Luster here’s never even left the Empire before!”

Ruprecht laughed loud enough to make Luster take a step back. “HOW PONY ENJOYING OUTSIDE WORLD?”

Luster blinked. “Well, so far, it’s just been… colder and louder.”

“BETTER AND BETTER! PONY LEARNING!”

“If that’s what you want to take away from that…” Luster laughed nervously.

“WHILE YOU ARE HERE, AT LEAST SEE THE ICE FARMS.”

“Ice… farms?” Luster asked, cocking her head.

“YES, ICE FARMS! NEW YAK INVENTION! YAKS BEST INVENTORS.”

Flurry blinked. “It’s a FARM!?” She looked at Yona like she was a traitor. “You can’t be serious.”

“Yona perfectly serious,” Yona huffed. “You will see, and you will understand.”

“Growing ice. How interesting could it possibly be? I can grow ice with my magic!” To demonstrate, she created a life-sized statue of prince Ruprecht right then and there.

“I AM KEEPING THIS!” Ruprecht declared.

“Will you smash it later?” Flurry asked.

“MAYBE. MAYBE ASK ART YAKS TO MAKE MORE FIRST. THEN SMASH. UNSURE.”

Flurry shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.”

“The ice farms are this way,” Yona said, waving with a hoof.

With a roll of her eyes, Flurry followed Yona to a large, open area near the edge of town. It was completely white and surrounded by a stone wall.

Inside were four-legged creatures of pure ice. Flurry could vaguely make out heads and short, stubby tails in the creatures, though the heads were far too triangular to be natural. Sparks floated around in the head’s point, almost like meandering eyes.

Flurry knew instantly what it was: one of the smaller ice beasts. Unlike Luster, she had gone outside before, and knew exactly what these things meant: death.

She likely would have blown it up were a young yak not riding it like the family pet.

Her jaw dropped. “Bwuh… wha… huh!?”

“YAKS BEST ICE TRAINERS!” Ruprecht laughed.

“They’re feral beasts of ice endowed with the magic of hatred!” Flurry blurted. “They just want to kill you! How in… what in…” She shook her head, trying to understand. “What did you do!?”

Yona grinned. “Yveltal went out into the snow and smacked one in the head until it listened to her.”

“That… shouldn’t… work.”

“I don’t know, maybe the yaks have some kind of inherent magic we unicorns don’t,” Luster suggested. “A way to bend other entities to their will. Something has to keep the wendigos away, right?”

Yona blinked. “What Luster talking about?”

“Eh… crazy theories.”

“CRAZY THEORIES ARE WORTHY OF SMASHING!” Ruprecht declared.

“What do you use the ice-beasts for?” Spike asked.

“UH…” Ruprecht blanked, staring at the beasts. “NO IDEA. JUST HAVE.”

“You can probably use them to carry heavy things, or defend against other ice beasts, or… smash things better.”

“YAKS ALREADY PERFECT AT SMASHING.”

“Better than perfect.”

“THE LEGENDS WERE TRUE…” Ruprecht said, eyes wide.

Flurry facehooved, her fascination with the ice-beasts over.

“Anyway, friends see ice farms,” Yona said. “Now friends get supplies. Tell Cozy Yona said hi!”

“I will,” Spike said.

Luster opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it, clamping her jaw shut.

~~~

Starlight looked at her team. “Our mission, should you choose to accept it, is to raid the Canterlot Archives.”

“I’m in,” Sweetie said, without hesitation.

“Something hurt Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash growled. “I’m going to make her pay. If this helps, I’m in.”

Discord looked up from his magazine. “I question why you’re even asking.”

The four of them were in Discord and Fluttershy’s house. Fluttershy was currently in the kitchen, making them another batch of tea.

Starlight huffed. “I was being… okay fine, I was just being dramatic. I know you’d all come regardless. If I just went out to ask for volunteers I’d probably have to turn people away just because…”

“Canterlot will eat you up and spit you out, yeah, we know,” Rainbow said. “We’ve all been out there. Lived out there for a while.”

“Look, I chose you three for a reason. Sweetie, you’re my student. Rainbow, you’re the best fighter we have. And Discord, even if you’re limited, you still pack more punch than any of us. Together, we should be able to storm the archives, get what we want, and get out.”

“Before it notices us?” Sweetie asked.

“Yeah, that would be preferable,” Starlight admitted.

“What are we even risking our lives for?” Discord asked. Catching Rainbow’s glance, he held up a hand. “Scootaloo, I get it, I’m asking what could possibly be in there that we need?”

“Starswirl’s records of his study of the Tree of Harmony, for one,” Starlight said. “He told us there wasn’t anything useful in there, but we’re a little desperate now that it seems to be related to Scootaloo. And…” Starlight glanced towards the kitchen. “Fluttershy, make sure nopony else is listening in!”

“You’re good!” Fluttershy called back.

Starlight nodded. “There are lots of powerful and dangerous books in the restricted section.”

“Do we need the Alicorn Amulet for some reason?” Rainbow asked.

“It… might not be a bad idea to pick it up, but no. We’re bringing back the remnants of the Map.”

Sweetie did a spit-take with her tea. “We have those!?”

“Yeah. And Cozy doesn't know we know where they are which is why this has to be kept quiet. We figured it was a safe place to keep them, and when it moved in it just made it more secure. But…”

“Now we need them and everything is just a million times more difficult,” Discord observed.

“Eeeexactly.”

“If we’re using this to find the Tree…” Sweetie began.

“Twilight doesn’t think that’ll work,” Starlight interrupted. “The Treehouse wasn’t found before, it’s not going to be found now using old tricks. No, she wants to use the destiny spell inherent within the Map to figure out… well, she said ‘find whoever did this to Scootaloo and how to fix it’ but she’s probably just banking on it knowing what to do next, somehow. And…” She pointed at Sweetie. “She’s able to do it because you three are all here again. Your cutie marks shine with the power of destiny.”

Sweetie beamed. “Thanks!”

“Then we need to get those shards.” Rainbow smirked. “I got a lot of tips from A. K., we’ll be in and out lickety-split.”

“That’s the hope…” Starlight said.

“I do hate to break it to you, but I did recently use my magic on some apples,” Discord commented. “I rarely have enough to be of much use.”

“That’s why I asked for a candygram.”

“You didn—”

Pinkie Pie flew through the window and slammed a pie right into Discord’s face. She did a triple pirouette off his face and landed on the windowsill she’d just jumped over a while ago.

Her family was outside—Cheese and all four of the kids—clapping and shouting happily.

“...Pinks, I have nightmares about your kids,” Rainbow admitted.

“I know, Dashie!” Pinkie giggled. “Anyway, Dissy-wissy, you’ve got a candygram!”

Discord laughed. “I can’t talk you out of it, so hit me with it!”

Pinkie pulled a pink gemstone out of her mane and set it upon her nose. It flashed a bright red, drawing magic directly out of her face, shooting it in a beam of concentrated energy into Discord’s necklace.

Starlight winced as Pinkie gave far more of her magic than was probably healthy. Her smile never wavered, but her legs started to wobble and the poof in her sprinkle-covered mane went down slightly.

“There… ya… go…” Pinkie breathed, panting.

Discord sighed. “You really do give it your all.”

“Yeah… I’m… I’m gonna go sleep for a week now, heh…” She wiped her brow, stepping back outside. “Don’t fail. I won’t have more to give you for… geez, I don’t know…” She stumbled into the grasp of Cheese Sandwich and the kids, who all but carried her away. “And if I’m not awake to give you the party when you get back, Cheese will! Got it!”

Discord fingered the necklace containing Pinkie’s chaotic power. “Got it…”

“Use that sparingly,” Starlight said. “It’s our last resort if we come across… it. Or something just as bad.”

Discord glanced at the gem. “I wonder if I could…”

“No, do not try to destroy it, I don’t want to risk that backfiring horribly.”

“Oh, all right, fine, you don’t know how to have fun.”

Fluttershy walked into the room with a new set of tea, but all of it was in thermoses. There were also four packs large enough to hold several meals.

Starlight’s eyes widened. “We… we get your homecooked meals on the road?”

“I figured you would tell me no if I offered to cook for you,” Fluttershy smirked. “So I just made them before you left.” She kissed Discord on the cheek. “Now go be the heroes. I’m too old f—”

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted.

“I’m a year older than you.”

“Wel, uh.” Rainbow blinked. “A single year doesn’t matter!”

“Mathematically speaking, there has to be a line,” Sweetie said. “Where one gets ‘too old’ for something.”

“Actually it might depend on the mood and biology of the person in question,” Discord added.

“Perhaps, but have you conside—”

“Okay, goodbye Fluttershy, we’re leaving before this neurosis gets worse,” Starlight laughed nervously. “...I’ll bring him back safe.”

“I know you will.”

~~~

Chrysalis and Tirek watched as Starlight, Discord, Sweetie, and Rainbow left the Crystal Empire in a magically levitating carriage.

“Two of their biggest powerhouses, gone,” Tirek observed.

“I was looking forward to tormenting Starlight again,” Chrysalis whined.

“You may still get your chance. If we complete this early… we may track her down.”

Chrysalis licked her lips. “Good… now, stay here.”

“I know the drill,” Tirek muttered, leaning back into a snowbank. “Find him and bring him back here.”

“With pleasure…” Chrysalis transformed into a unicorn with a blue coat and purple mane. She’d learned long ago to stop using the same pony for her disguise unless there was a particular reason. She teleported across the walls.

One thing that was nice about being a changeling; the Crystal Heart and other protective magics didn’t actually recognize the species as evil. Tirek would probably have tripped some alarms had he attempted to enter, but Chrysalis? If anyone was looking closely, they’d just see a changeling, and that wasn’t that unheard of. And if they were testy, she could always pretend to be a reformed changeling. It wasn’t difficult at all to pull it off.

She did hate the Crystal Empire, though. A memory of her defeats and a bastion of hope for her enemies. Were she less aware of the apocalyptic threat of the windigos, she would probably have started looking for ways to tear this little Empire to the ground. Unfortunately, even she could admit—these ponies and their Crystal Heart were the most effective resistance against the Cold in the world, aside from maybe Cozy’s little experiment, but Chrysalis didn’t like thinking about that place either.

Basically Chrysalis didn’t like thinking about any place at this point, which was more than a little annoying for her.

“Maybe I should leave the planet,” she muttered to herself. “Then maybe I could get away from all this.”

Shaking her head, she refocused her efforts on her goal: find the pony Shadow Lock, last of the line of Stygian. Shouldn’t be too difficult, ponies kept meticulous records of who lived where. They liked paperwork.

She walked right up to the castle, a confident smile on her face.

She barely managed to keep it when Twilight walked out, talking with Rarity.

“Scootaloo’s condition is stable,” Rarity was reporting. “And Starlight’s left.”

“Good.”

“What else can we do?”

“I…” Twilight furrowed her brow. “Stay close to her and watch her. Something dark is brewing, I can feel it.”

“Yes…”

They got out of earshot and Chrysalis didn’t want to make her snooping particularly obvious. She was curious, yes, but these ponies’ problems were not her own. She had a goal.

She walked down to the archives. She’d been in the castle before, many years ago, she knew where to find them. Unfortunately, there was a guard now: a blue griffon. Gallus, if she remembered properly.

Chrysalis considered transforming into Rarity, but she couldn’t chance that the guards were trained in changeling recognition. Instead, she walked up as her random reformed changeling. “U-um, hi… Gallus.”

Gallus blinked. “Do I… know you?”

“N-no, but… Ocellus talked about you a lot, and about how… well, uh, never mind that…” She scratched the back of her head. “I’m Vibratum, and I’m trying to find the archives?”

“They’re in here.”

“Oh, good.”

“I can’t just let anyone go in there, though. Lots of important documents.”

“I’m just trying to trace a few family t-trees… I-I mean I guess I could try to come back with…”

“No, no, it’s fine, I can watch you. There’s nothing classified in the census and genealogy sections, far as I know.”

“T-thanks…”

And so Chrysalis walked right into the archives, looking for the pony Shadow Lock. She made a show of trying to trace down family lineages and the like, but, really, she didn’t have to try very hard. Gallus may have been a student in the past, but he had no idea what real academic research looked like. He just guarded while she poked around, digging through files…

After forty minutes she found Shadow Lock. She made sure to keep reading past the name, so Gallus wouldn’t have anything to report back to Twilight. Once she had his name and census data, she was able to move to some employment records. She found a picture of the gray unicorn and an employment manifest. It was very brief, but it told her he worked in the castle itself as a researcher of some kind.

She spent a few more minutes digging around and writing notes for show. “Thank you, Gallus!”

“I stand around and guard things all day,” Gallus said with a shrug. “Wasn’t a problem.”

With a wink, she trotted out. As soon as she was out of sight she shifted to the appearance of a different reformed changeling.

She had a few options now. She didn’t know exactly where in the castle he researched, so she needed to narrow that down. Asking around was on the table, as was transforming into Shadow Lock and trying to garner reactions. But she didn’t like how easy those were to see.

No, she had a better idea. She trotted up to the pony who managed the employee payouts of the castle: a very nervous looking unicorn.

“Um, excuse me, I didn’t get my check this week?”

“Oh no oh no oh NO!” the pony whined. “Not again… not again!”

This was not the reaction Chrysalis had been expecting, but she went with it. “Really? You lose checks that often?”

“I don’t know, but last time it happened, I…” He suddenly gained control of himself, forcing a smile. “Let’s see. What is your name.”

Chrysalis chose a name that definitely wouldn’t be on any name list anywhere. “Xyjaxia-loru,” she said. “...It’s old Buffalo. Should be easy to find.”

The unicorn paled when he couldn’t find it in any of the files in his cabinet.

“...You might have me under a misspelling. Some people hear it as ‘Sha-jaxia’. Here, let me help.” She walked over to the filing cabinet and used her magic to slowly sort through all the files. Sha… Sha… Sha… ah, yes, Shadow Lock. He didn’t have an address listed, just a really high payout and instructions to deliver it to the red door in the fifth basement.

Satisfied, she kept looking through files. “I… guess I’m not in there…” Chrysalis frowned. “Don’t worry, you tried. I’ll go talk to Rarity about this.”

“O-okay…” The unicorn looked about ready to pass out.

Chrysalis left him like that, making her way to the fifth basement. The red door was pathetically easy to find, though she had needed to sneak past a few guards—easy to do by causing commotions to send them running away.

The door itself was enchanted. Only a specific spell could open it, one Chrysalis didn’t know. However, there was a slot in the door to get paper-thin items in and out. And Chrysalis was a master of changing her shape. She transformed into a butterfly, a trick of size distortion most changelings couldn’t accomplish and flew right through. She couldn’t keep it long, though—on the other side she was forced to pop back to a pony-sized changeling.

On the other side was a decently sized room filled with books, scrolls, and notes. On the far end of the room was a much more sinister, darker door, wafting with dangerous magic. Chrysalis recognized the signature—the Umbrum were behind that door.

And asleep on a desk in front of the door, surrounded by sketches and magical drawings, was one Shadow Lock.

So that’s how they knew he existed. He was studying their door.

Oh how Crysalis wished Tirek were here so he could drain the arrogant Umbrum door of all magic, relieving them of another portal to this realm. Alas, that was not to be. What was to be was her capture of Shadow Lock.

She dropped her disguise and spat green goo onto his horn, waking him up.

“Ah, Shadow Lock… I am Queen Chrysalis, hopefully you’ve heard of me. Don’t scream or I eat you.”

He stared at her in terrified shock.

“Now, I am going to take you through that red door, and you are to say nothing. We are going to leave this empire, you and I. Understood?”

He nodded slowly.

“Good.”

The door was locked from this side as well, unfortunately, no doubt to try and keep the Umbrum under control if they should ever be released.

“Open it,” Chrysalis said. “I’d rather not blow it to smithereens, but I no longer require stealth.”

Shadow Lock pointed at his horn.

“Explosions it is…”

“W-wait!” He stammered. “I don’t have to use any magic, it just needs to read my magic signature.”

Chrysalis rammed his face into the door. The moment it touched his horn, the lock disengaged. The moment they left, Chrysalis made sure to slam the door.

She didn’t want the Umbrum getting out either.

Now that she was outside the magically protected room… she could teleport out. With a flash, she and Shadow Lock were gone.

Nopony would notice for quite some time.