Run. That's all I could do. That's all any of us could do. No matter how many blaster bolts I dished out, no matter how much fire I sprayed, it didn't seem to faze him. Not even a little bit. It seemed to just piss him off.

"Come on! We're almost there!" I could barely hear Shining Armor over the blaring wind. It felt stronger than it did previously.

Sure enough, just ahead of us, a clear light blue dome could be seen through the thick snowfall. The city beneath completely unaffected by the blizzard.
With a final surge of energy, we raced towards an opening in the dome, Sombra not far behind us. Looking over to the girls, I could easily see the fear in their eyes and it easy to understand why.

As we were coming up to the barrier, something didn't feel right. I stopped and looked back and I saw Shining Armor trying to stand up to Sombra, firing shots of magic at the black mass. Nothing worked.
Without thinking, acting out of pure instinct, I ran forward as quickly as I could, time slowing to a crawl. I could barely make out the screams of the group behind me. Coming up behind the unicorn, I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and heaved with all the strength I had and threw him towards the barrier, before Sombra came down upon me, forcing me to take a knee.

As the cloud of inky black enveloped me, Sombra's face materialised in front of me, his sinister grin baring down at me with malevolent intent. I could feel him poking and prodding at the back of my mind, testing my mental defences, trying to find a way in. But I wasn't going to take it lying down. Like hell I was.
Reaching down to the holster on my thigh, I grabbed my pistol and fired from my hip, the bolt finding its mark in Sombra's left eye.

Lashing out in pain, I felt my body come into contact with a strong shock wave, sending me soaring through the air and, thankfully, into the opening in the dome.

I don't think I have ever run as fast as I did at that moment. My only focus was on getting my friends and myself to safety.

"Come on! We're almost there!" I was just able to hear Shining shout. The wind didn't feel this strong before! Could Sombra have control over the weather?

Shaking the thoughts out of my head and focusing on the task ahead, I could make out the light blue of the shield over the Crystal Empire. We were so close.
Pushing any fatigue I had, I ran forward as fast as I could. We came upon the opening in the dome, I did a quick headcount to make sure no one was left behind. I came up two short and looked back. What I saw, made my heart skip a beat.

I saw Fendral sprinting with a burst of speed that would make Dash blush, running towards my brother who was trying to fight Sombra to try to ward him off.

"SHINING! FEN!" I don't think I've ever screamed louder in my life, the girls and Spike joining me in my attempt to get their attention, but our hollering fell on deaf ears.

Grabbing Shining by the collar, Fen threw him with a strength that would make Big Mac jealous, I saw Sombra rearing up to pounce. Before we could even try to warn him, Sombra had already made his move.

As he came down on our friend, he fell to one knee, a physical manifestation of Sombra's face coming up close to his own. I know Fen's strong, but from what I was able to research, Sombra is very powerful when it came to mind control magic. He stood no chance of fighting back.
But before any of us were able to react or comprehend what was happening, Fen reached down to his thigh and pulled out his pistol and shot Sombra in the eye, making him send out a mighty telekinetic burst of magic, sending all of us farther into the hole in the shield.

As we came to a stop, I looked up to see the hole had closed and Sombra flying away, leaving a trail of crimson red smoke behind him as he went. Fen really did a number on him.

"Is everypony ok?" I heard Shining ask, getting a nod of confirmation from all that was present.

"Not everyone," Spike said, pointing to where we had come from.

Before I could ask what she meant, I heard everyone give out a gasp. Looking behind me, I saw Fen on his hands and knees, shaking and twitching. it was random, sporadic. Something was very clearly wrong. But there was something else. Even at the distance we were at, I could plainly see what it was.
Coming out of every inch of his body was a wispy black smoke, similar to Sombra's, but less intense. Getting up, I rushed over to his side, making sure not to touch him, the others doing the same.

"Twi, darling, do something!" Rarity shouted.

"I can't! I've never dealt with dark magic before!"

I could hear him muttering, but it was slightly muffled, so I couldn't make out what he was saying. I've never felt more powerless in my life before now. All I could do was watch and pray that our friend would be ok.

"Come on, Fen fight it. Fight it like I know you can!"

PoV shift: Fendral

Anger. hatred. This was all I could feel as my vision blurred to darkness, my whole body on fire with pain never before felt. I could feel something in the back of my mind, a whispering soon turning to a murmur. Murmuring turning to comprehensible words. Words of corruption. Sombra's words of corruption.

"W̵̞̉h̴̨͝ò̴̡ ̶̝̎I̴̲͂s̸̩̈ ̶̗̄ȟ̵̘e̷͇̿r̷͒ͅé̶̪?̴̟̿ ̶̩̏Ÿ̸͇́o̸̭͝ư̵̢ ̷̰̈́w̷͍͋i̷͖͋l̸̕ͅl̵̤̃ ̷͍͛f̴̗͊ǎ̶̭i̸̓͜l̴̘̍,̴͓͠ ̴̙͂y̴͖͐ó̴͈ǘ̶̻ ̶̲̾w̵͔͝ḯ̵̮ḷ̵̊l̸̛̠ ̸̬̽a̵̙͂l̷̦̓ḷ̴̆ ̸̬̏f̷̈͜a̶̳̋i̶̗͑l̸̓͜.̸̫͑ ̵͇͛T̷̪̾h̴̩͂e̸̼̾y̷͚͌ ̷͇̓d̶͔̂e̶̠͊ṇ̵̇y̶͛͜ ̶̦̏o̶͕͐u̴͕͊r̷͈̕ ̵̖͘t̶̗̔ơ̴̼ư̵̮c̶͕͌h̸̝̓.̵̤̕ ̷̨̈́W̸̻͗e̵͈͠ ̴͉̉m̴̤̾u̵̖̐s̸͇̈́t̷̯͒ ̸̟͐r̵͙̋ȅ̸̼t̵̺̐ũ̴̠r̵̜͆n̵͕͆.̷̙͂ ̶̳͆B̴̬̔r̷̘͌e̴̲͆á̵̡k̷̻̂ ̵̦͊y̴̬̐o̸̱͝ų̷̉r̷̛̮ ̵̛̟s̸̫̀e̵͓͝a̶̝͆l̷̟̇.̴̰͠ ̵̞͘Y̴̗͘ŏ̷͚ȗ̴̯'̷̞̏l̸̡͌l̵̟̐ ̵̞̍n̷̢͛e̸̤̍v̴͓́e̶͉͊r̷̟̆ ̶̡̂s̵͖̀u̵̠̾r̴̢̆v̷̝̚ĭ̶̹v̷̡̇e̸̪͝!̷́ͅ ̵̱̍Y̸͈͝ò̵̧ů̷͔ ̷̫̉m̶̫̑u̵̥͝s̵̲̚t̵̮̽.̸̖̅.̵͔͂.̴̛̯t̴͇̐a̶͕̽k̷͎͘e̶̱̕ ̵̲̑t̶͊͜h̷̬̍ẽ̴̟m̴͓̆!"

Resisting the words was no easy feat. With every push I gave, came a shove. This was a battle of the minds and I was quickly losing. Sudden, the whispers stopped and I was taken back to reality with a start, gasping for air, as I was holding an unknown breath. Coughing out my lungs, I got my breathing to a manageable state, my mind trying it's best to grasp what it had just gone through.
I've had mind-control attempts before, but this was completely different. And it scared me. Looking to my hands, I see the tails ends of a dark mist dissipating from my arms. That's not concerning what so ever.

Hearing sighs of relief around me, I look up to see I was inside the dome, safe from the biting cold of the outside world. Scanning the area, I see we arrived in what I can assume to be a simple housing estate of the Empire.

"Fen?"

Jumping slightly and giving out a small growl, my headshot to my right to see Applejack with a concerned look on her face. She took a step back, startled by my sudden movement. Letting a sigh escape my lips, I let my head hang, Glad to see everyone managed to make it.

"Are you ok to walk?" Applejack asks, clearly very worried for my well being, so too were the others.

Nodding, I stand up with a groan. Whatever Sombra did took more out of me than I expected. With Applejack and Fluttershy helping me to my feet, my eyes quickly land on the unicorn Captain. Walking over to him, I simply stared down at him, me being taller by a few considerable inches, before socking him in the face. Hard.

Gasps of surprise sound behind me, the girls and dragon clearly not expecting this reaction, including the Captain. But before any of them could sound their displeasure, I gave the unicorn in front of me a piece of my mind.

"What the krif were you thinking, taking Sombra on your own! You could have been killed! Never, and I mean never, take on an opponent unless you know you're guaranteed to survive." I said, my words clearly hitting the stallion deep.

"I see your reputation is warranted." He said rubbing his nose to minimise the pain. "Yea, I realize now it wasn't exactly the brightest of ideas. Thank you, for saving me, I mean. But the same could be said to you. You didn't need to risk your own life to save mine."

Sighing, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I was tasked with protecting the seven you see behind me. You may not be apart of the group, but as long as your in the presence of this group, I will do anything and everything I can to ensure your safety. That's a promise. That and you have a wife and sister to be alive for." I could see he brightened up a bit when I said that. Of course, I meant every word. "We shouldn't stay here for too long."

"Agreed. Follow me. I'll take you to Cadence and we'll figure it out from there."

"Lead the way alor'ad."

PoV shift: Twilight

"Do you think he's alright?" I heard Fluttershy ask.

I looked over to Fen in front of us, following Shining to the palace. He looked ok, but then again, he isn't exactly one to show signs of injury. And that bothered me. I had learned that lesson the hard way.

"I don't know Fluttershy. I really don't. I'll keep an eye on him" I said, gaining a soft nod from her.

As we continued down the path, I couldn't help but notice that the streets were empty, but the strangest thing was that it didn't look like there had been any sort of rush. Like the ponies had just up and left what they were doing.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, we entered the palace, passing staff as we went, receiving the occasional bow or curtsey. Eventually, we entered the throne room and inside was Cadence, exhaustion clear on her face.

"Cadence!" I took a short jog up to the throne where she sat. "What happened?"

“We found out shortly after we arrived that love seems to be the primary source of power along with light magic. Cadence has been able to use her magic to imitate them to power the empire. But it's taken a lot of energy to do it and she's barely been able to sleep, but has been eating enough to fuel her magic." He said, adopting a downcast expression. "I wish I could help, but there's only so much I'm able to do."

"Shining." Cadence started, smiling at him. "You've done more than enough to help."

"Is there a way to make the shield permanent?" Fen asks.

"If there is, we're unaware of it. We haven't been able to research it or get any information from the crystal ponies. Though not for a lack of trying." Cadence replied, slouching on the throne slightly.

“Crystal ponies, there are crystal ponies?” Rarity asked, gaining an expression from everypony that said 'seriously'
"Apologies, uh, please continue."

“We believe, at least one of them knows how to acquire a means to protect the empire without Cadence having to use all her magic. It's just the matter of getting the info we need." Shining continued.

"So you think that one of the citizens knows how to get away to protect the Empire from a powerful, paranoid, bloodthirsty unicorn hell-bent on taking over said Empire and then some. Think about that." Fen replied. "And mean, really think about that."

Thinking about what he said, it made sense. Sombra would have most likely hidden or destroyed any way to gain access to any kind of power that does what Shining described. Thinking as hard as I could, I tried to think of anything that could point us in the right direction. But my mind drew a blank every time.

"No one? Does no one know what to do?" Fen asked, looking around everypony present. "Really? I'm surrounded by some of the most intelligent ponies I know and none of you knows what to do?"

"We could always try the library," Spike replied

Slapping my forehead, I couldn't help but feel slightly thick. It made sense. If no pony knows where to start then the library was a sure-fire way of at least gaining a hint, hoping Sombra overlooked something.

"Why didn't I think of that."

"Ok, so we know where we're going. Come on every pony. Let's not waste any time."

"Don't worry Shining, we won't let you down. I promise."

Finding the library wasn't a particularly hard task, but finding a book that would help is a completely different story. We looked for what felt like hours and time was a commodity we were running out of.

"Argh, this is getting us absolutely nowhere!" Dash shouted, only to be shushed by the librarian.

"And you shouting isn't helping us either," I said, getting an irritated sigh from the Pegasus. "Ok, so let's just stop and think. We need a book that can give us an idea of how to generate love and light magic, both on a massive scale. We've tried all the spell books and tomes available. What else could help?"

"What about a book on the Crystal Empires history?" Fluttershy suggested.

"That could work." Pinkie said.

"Shy you're a genius!" Twilight exclaimed, giving the shy Pegasus a quick hug before rushing off to find said history book.

We didn't need to wait long as she came running back with a sizable book in her arms. Letting it go, it dropped to the table with a loud thud. Opening it to the index near the front, quickly finding the right section. Scanning through the pages, we find what we were looking for. And it was hiding right under our noses.

Running as quickly as we could back to the palace, some ponies coming out of their homes to see what the commotion was about. Soon enough, we had gathered a bit of a following. Bursting through the large double doors of the throne room, we made our way to Shining Armor and Cadence.

"Please tell us you found what we need?" Shining asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

"We have. It says here a crystal faire was established by the Empires first queen and quickly became their most important tradition.” Twilight read the book to Shining Armour and Cadence when we returned to the castle. “The faire was held every year to renew the spirit of love and unity among the people of the empire so they may be protected from harm."

Murmuring broke out amongst the crowd behind us, but as it did, a gasp from Cadence silenced it. Looking over her, she looked knackered and would have fallen had Shining Armor not caught her. Her usually bright pink coat now seemed dull and pale. She was losing magic.

"Well. Looks like we have a faire to plan, it seems." I said. "But I don't think eight people are capable of doing such a task alone. We need help."

More mumbling was cast out from the vast majority of the large crowd, somewhat disheartened by the time they had spent under Sombra's regime.
"Are there instructions in that book about the faire?" I ask.

Flicking back to the index and looking it over for a few brief seconds, she flips to the page she needed and smiles.

"Yes. Here." She said, showing me what had to be done.

"Ok. Me, Spike and AJ will do the heavy lifting and you can decide amongst yourselves what you're going to do." I said, walking away from the group.

"Ok Everypony, listen up please!" I shouted, gaining the crowd's attention. "We're going to need your help with this. We cannot do this alone. We need all the help we can get. This is your tradition. And we need you to work with us as a team to get this done. Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. After all, It takes two flints to make a fire. So, please. All I ask you is this: Will you help us?"

One stood forth from the mass. "You have my hammer!"

And another. "And you have my instruments!"

And another. "And my land!"

And with that the multitude before us erupted in jovial cheers, marching out to start preparations. AJ and spike came to my side and Jack patted me on the shoulder.

"I gotta admit, Fen, you know how to rile the masses." She said with a slight chuckle.

"You sure you'll be ok to work?" Spike asked. Knowing what he was referring to, I lightly patted him on the back, nodding my head.

"I'll be just fine Spike, don't you worry about me," I said walking off to prepare for a long day ahead. "Believe me when I say AJ, I wasn't even trying."

Preparations went about as smoothly as I expected. Since the locals were far more familiar with the faire, they knew what had to be done and how it should be done. And after my little speech, as well as explaining that the six mares I accompanied were the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony, they were more than happy to help.
Applejack, Spike and I were doing most of the heavy-duty stuff, while the rest of the girls did decoration or organising what went where. It was hard work, having to strip most of my heavier pieces of gear not long after we started to prevent tiring too quickly. All in all, I think we did a pretty good job.

While we were doing so, we were helped by a female Lycan by the name of 'Selene', a friendly, well-spoken individual and one that did not leave my side throughout the endeavour, all too interested in the newcomer to leave. Eventually, once the job was done and I was reattaching my armour, Selene started asking all manner of questions. And I was more than happy to share my religion with those who had an interest in it.

"So you can't take your helmet off?" She said, not attempt to hide her enthusiasm.

"It is not a required rule, as it is clan specific, but it is a widely accepted rule for...reasons I won't go over," I said, securing my vambraces in place. "But to answer your question directly. No, I cannot."

"Why is that?" She asked, her interest now piqued at an all-time high.

Smiling under my helmet, I gave the only appropriate answer. One that is synonymous with Mandalorian's.

"This is the way."

"Ok! Now all is left is to set up the Crystal Heart. Rarity and another jeweller had one cut." Twilight said, abruptly, shaking us from our conversation, putting no effort to try and hide her obvious excitement.

I'm not sure why, but for some inexplicable reason, there was something in the back of my mind that told me that something just wasn't right. Something felt off. And it bothered me. It was like the feeling you get in your stomach when you know something bad is about to happen. A feeling I was all too familiar with.

"Twilight, can I see the book for a second, please?" I asked, snapping on the piece of armour in its rightful place.

"Uh...sure." She said, uncertain as to what I was doing.

Taking the book from her hands, I flicked to the index and found where I had to go. Flipping to the section I needed and scanned the page. What I found was less than desirable.

"Can I speak to you guys in private?" I asked, the seriousness in my voice putting the others on edge.

"Well it seems this is going to be rather important, so I'll leave you to it then," Selene said, before leaving, waving as she does.

Without waiting for an answer, I got up from my seat and walked off to a secluded part of the land, away from any prying ears. The group quickly caught up with me, their faces displaying their obvious apprehension.

"Fen. What is it? Is everything ok?" Applejack asked, resetting her Stetson into a comfortable position after the short, but sudden jog.

"No. No, it's not." I said quietly. "I'm not going to beat around the bush with you guys, but we have a problem. A big problem."

Flipping the book around, I showed the page to the ones in front of me, their faces paling slightly.

"Oh dear, this is bad," Fluttershy whispered. "This is really bad."

"So the Crystal Heart is an ancient artefact rather than just a piece of carved stone?" Twilight said. "But where would it be, if even exists any more?"

Not giving a reply, I started thinking of the best way to go about this. The girls started talking amongst themselves, quietly debating the best course of action to take. Eventually, I came up with something. It wasn't the best plan ever, but it would do for now. Not like we had many choices to begin with.

"Alright, here's a game plan. Twilight: you go search for the Crystal Heart. Do anything you can. I suggest getting a floor plan of the entire palace and go from there. Spike, you join her. Everyone else: Do your best to distract the citizens. Keep the faire going for as long as you can. It may not be the best plan, but as I see it, it's the best of a bad bunch."

"Wait, what're you gonna do?" Dash asked as I handed the book back to Twilight.

"I'll aid in the search, but I'll be searching out of palace grounds. That should increase our chance of finding the Heart. In theory anyway." I said, steeling my resolve with determination. "So, you all know what you're doing. Then let's get to work."

Scattering, we left to fulfil our jobs. I headed to the local cemetery. It was a long shot, but it was worth a look. I hope so anyway. Quickly coming across said cemetery by random chance, I found the front gate. Stepping inside, the atmosphere rapidly soured. The dark grey, almost green-stained stone path was ripe with moss, vines and other vegetation. It was clear that not a lot of care was put into the maintenance of this place, as surprising as it was.
Walking between the tombstones, the names altered to the point of being unrecognisable due to the passage of time, I soon noticed the sheer size of the graveyard. There was a chance, a small chance Sombra could have hidden something here. But as the hours ticked by, that chance was swiftly smothered.

"Nothing. Damn it. I better start looking somewhere els-"

My small monologue was cut short by a sound. A sound I'd recognise anywhere. Explosions. And screaming

Moving as fast as I could, I burst through the front gates of the cemetery, sprinting full speed through the now-abandoned street, which didn't help my state of mind.

Rushing as fast as I could, I soon came to the faire grounds. My haste coming to nothing. I was already too late. The scene could only be described in one word. A massacre.
The bustling streets of the area were now littered with the bodies of the once jovial Crystal Ponies, their faces contorted in an expression of pure fear. Blood splattered the crystalline ground as their organs spewed onto the floor with reckless abandon. Craters littered the ground haphazardly. Bone was snapped, poking out of the skin and fur of the ponies, their flesh sliced to ribbons, fresh blood leaking from the newly made wounds.

Pushing back the foreboding feeling, I look up, now noticing something painfully obvious. The shield, once protecting the city, was down. How did I not notice that before? Snow now fell lightly to the ground, the blizzard overhead now gone. How could all this happen so quickly?

"So he finally arrives."

Whipping around on my wheels, I spotted the last person I needed to see. Sombra. Or at least a shadow of him.

This one was similar to the one we encountered out in the open but was vastly different. This one had a more humanoid visage, the mist appearing to act something akin to a robe, the ends twirling up as they disappear. His eyes were pure white orbs casting off trails not dissimilar to the rest of him. This was a magical projection.

"So, this is what you are truly like in the flesh? I must say, I am not impressed." He said gliding around me. His voice was deep, almost intimidatingly so, with a slight growl in the background of it.

Looking at the tyrant in the eye, I stood my ground, standing as tall as I could. This gained only a what appeared to be sneer from the shadow, clearly not impressed with my display. As he came about my front, he stared blankly into my eyes before resuming his circling glide.

"What have you done with my friends? What happened here?" I asked, my patience and composure slowly slipping.

No reply was made, only a piercing gaze. I could physically feel his eyes inspect every inch of my body. Letting out a hum he finally stopped his analytical survey. His calm demeanour putting me on edge, flinching slightly when he spoke at last.

"In time, you will know." He said before slowly dissolving, leaving only me and the destroyed faire ground.

Silence. That was all I was left with. An eerie, ear-splitting silence. My breathing as my only company. I just stood there amongst the rubble and debris, unsure of what to do. Hearing shuffling behind me, I spun around, pulling my rifle off my back as I did so, only to be greeted by a sight I least expected. Selene.

"Is he gone?" She asked in a low tone, a small group of ponies forming behind her, most likely those who survived this apparent surprise attack. Nodding, I let my stance go more neutral, doing so slowly as to not scare them any more than they already are.

"What happened here?" I asked, steadily putting my rifle away, calming the locals slightly. "What happened while I was gone?"

"It happened so fast. There was a bright flash of blinding light, then they came in a blur. There was so much blood...there was nothing we could do to defend ourselves." Someone said, stepping forward from the posse. "We did all we could to save those of us that survived, but we still lost a lot of ponies."

"Where are the Elements of Harmony?"

There was a brief silence, the group gaining a look of trepidation suddenly. whether for fear of how I would react, or something else, I'm not sure.

"They were taken to the palace by some of the ones who attacked us," Selene said, pointing to the large crystal building.

Turning around, I looked up to the palace, the colour slowly draining from it, the once bright blue colours were now turning dulled and grey. It was an honestly depressing sight. To see what was considered a beacon of hope for its people, now to be reduced to a shadow of its former self.

I knew what had to be done, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it and come back alive. The possibilities were decreasing the more I thought of a way to save them. My hopes were receding. But I had to give it my all for there were no other options.
I was tasked with protecting them and I'll be damned if I failed them now.

Author's Note

And another finally done.
Apologies for the delay, I hit a bit of a writers block with this, but I'm happier with how this one turned out more than the last one
Hope you enjoyed it
please point out any mistakes I may have made
constructive criticism is always appreciated

Also I thought with Fen being a Mandalorian, he would at least know the language, so there'll be a few words sprinkled here and there, just though I'd let you know before hand

until next time, TTFN!

P.S How do you guys feel about Selene's introduction? I feel it felt a bit forced, so please let me know if you feel the same

Edit: grammatical changes