The Crystal Empire had a heavy fog rolling through that night. Granted it was by design, Storm Chaser and Smokey Vines had outdone themselves.

"Ok boss," said Smokey. "That should be enough to provide cover for the next hour." He said while lighting up a small cigarette. "Still wish we had Spectrum here for this. He's far better than any of us at creating a window of opportunity."

"That's why he's in Canterlot right now," said Storm. "Besides, between our special talents, making a fog of sleep is easy enough." He said while puffing out his chest and ruffling his feathers. "How's the third holder holding up, is he ready to act?"

"He's ready to go," said the barely visible unicorn. "Good job on the fog you two. I can hardly see my hoof in front of my face." Random Fact stepped forward, nodding to both of them. "I'll collect the last shard. Make sure you're both ready to perform your roles. I'm expecting we'll have quite a lot of company in the morning."

The two ponies nodded to him before disappearing into the fog, leaving him alone in the middle of the city.

Random carefully walked into the plaza under the crystal castle. He carefully stepped around the sleeping guards that had been caught by the fog as he made his way to his goal. The Crystal Heart.

The ancient artifact glowed as he approached, recognizing his presence. He felt a wave of spiritual pressure directed at him as he pointed his horn at the gemstone, "I know you object to this, but I need that back."

He poured his magic into the refracted surface of the heart. It began to pulse angry colors as it started to spin. A small green light could soon be seen within its facets. Random smiled as he pulled at the light, tendrils of power held onto it as the crystal heart refused to let go of its prize.

The unicorn refused to give up as he doubled his efforts. Shadows started to pour out of the heart and into him as the energy that held onto the light slowly began to fray and snap. With one last concentrated effort, Random pulled the star free of the heart and held it to his chest, tears filling his eyes.

"Finally," he wept as the star and the last of the shadows were slowly absorbed into him, filling him with a sense of rightness. "After all these years, I finally have all the pieces of my soul again." He wiped away the tears from his eyes, one of his pupils flashing red for a moment, "I haven't forgotten. There still is one last problem to sort out."

The light of the Crystal Heart dimmed as he left the plaza, the magic protecting the empire failing as a storm rolled in.

The three princesses waited on the platform as the train pulled into the Canterlot station.

"Are you sure we shouldn't bring any of the guard with us, Princess Celestia?" Asked Twilight Sparkle, looking upon her mentor with concern.

They had taken some time to collect themselves after their little scuffle had left Celestia's office quite trashed. They had discussed a lot of what had transpired over the last week. Celestia was particularly distraught over the media fallout that she had been expecting since the original incident at the cloud stadium. It was less about what ponies were saying and more about that...they weren't saying anything at all.

They had done their best to clean up the wreckage from her office while they talked. Discussion had temporarily stopped when they found a very thick dossier on the solar princess's desk with a note reading, "Here's a record of every media leak I've stopped over the last week regarding our activities. You're welcome, SunButt. -Spectrum."

It was hard to tell whether Celestia looked more tired before or after she found out how thorough Spectrum had been in his efforts. Granted the details he stopped from getting out would've caused her no end of grief, but it was just a little too unnerving how easily he was bypassing every level of security Equestria had.

"I'm sure Twilight," Celestia finally responded after sighing heavily. "I want them to stay here in Canterlot where they can do the most good. Besides, I fear they won't be up to the task of whatever we may find in the Crystal Empire."

The train finished sliding to a stop at that moment and the door was barely half open when Twilight found herself tackled to the ground by none other than Pinkie Pie.

"Twilight!" Cheered the pink party pony. "You're here! I mean of course you're here. If you weren't here, where else would you be?"

The rest of her friends poured out of the train as she stood back up. All of them scooping her up into one big group hug, their warmth filling her up with much needed companionship. "I'm so glad you're here, girls." She returned their affection.

They made small talk right there on the train platform until the whistle blew, at which point they filed back onto the train due for the Crystal Empire.

"So all of you received letters to be here?" Twilight asked as they sat down.

"Sure did, sugar," said Applejack, adjusting her hat. "Shucks, it was the strangest thing too. We all got letters like how we usually see ya get 'em from the princess. Just a puff of smoke and a letter dropped in ma lap."

"Yeah, it scared Fluttershy pretty bad when we got our letters," said Rainbow Dash. "Poor girl fell right out of the bed it scared her so bad."

"And what was Fluttershy doin in yer bed, Dash?" Asked Applejack with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing special," said Fluttershy, blushing slightly and shuffling her hooves together. "I didn't want to be alone that night after we dealt with Smokey, and Rainbow Dash was still pretty weak by the time I got her home, so I stayed with her."

"Wait a minute," said a shocked Rarity. "Fluttershy, Darling? Weren't you still a stallion when you two left?"

Fluttershy started turning even redder after that, and she wasn't alone in that reaction either. Rainbow Dash had also started blushing furiously and was doing her best to appear smaller.

"Ooo hehe, Darling" said a high spirited Rarity, batting her eyes with a mirthful glare. "You simply must share the details."

Celestia and Luna were sitting several seats away, watching Twilight and her friends giggle and gossip.

"Twilight truly is something special, isn't she dear sister?" Stated Luna.

Celestia smiled softly as she looked upon her student, "it warms my heart that she can still bounce back after that little episode. Such is the power of friendship I suppose." She gave a heavy sigh as her thoughts turned inward.

"What troubles you, sister?" Luna shuffled up beside Celestia and leaned into her.

"All these events that have taken place recently. Between the cutie mark thefts, your dreams, and what you found in the frozen north...I guess I'm just worried that it's all connected somehow," Celestia reflected quietly so no one else would hear. "And if it is...Who or what are we dealing with?"

Luna kept her thoughts to herself. She had identified the dreamer, but she feared that knowledge would just burden her sister further. Could he possibly be behind the attacks as well? No pony really knew what he could do since he always played his cards close to his chest, as the modern vernacular would put it.

Luna was about to speak when she felt that itch in the back of her mind that was becoming all too familiar. She realized the dreamer was asleep again as her ears perked up.

Her reaction didn't escape her sister's notice, "is it him again?"

Luna nodded slowly as she stood up, "we do not wish to alarm Twilight Sparkle and her friends in case I cry out again. I shall see if I can not avail myself of one of the sleeper cars."

Celestia placed a comforting hoof on her sister's side before she walked away, "be careful, Luna."

"As always, dear sister," Luna left the passenger car to seek out some privacy.

He awoke with his back on a cold stone surface and a splitting headache, "did anyone see which way that runaway buffalo was heading." He mused aloud as he sat up and rubbed at his head. However when he did so, he heard the very distinct sound of rattling chains next to his ears.

"Huh?" He felt around in the darkness for the source of the sound. His hooves soon found the cold links of metal laying in the bed beside him. He gave them a small tug only to feel them pulling on his legs. He tried to light up his horn to better assess his situation, but a small ring he soon found at the base of the magical appendage made it apparent that he wouldn't be casting spells anytime soon.

He was a prisoner, but where was he? He stood up from the cold surface and felt his way around the room. Eventually he found his passage blocked by iron bars. He used the small amount of slack the chains allowed him to bang his manacles against the bars, leaving a resounding ring to echo down the hallway.

"Is anyone there?!" He shouted. "Hello?! Anyone?!" The darkness refused to answer.

Hours passed like this with nothing but his own thoughts and his dark cell to keep him company. He did manage to find a barred window that allowed a small breeze to creep in.

"What was I doing last?" He wondered aloud as he strained his memory. His thoughts were a bit hazy, but given enough time he could...

Onyx! What have you done?!

I did what you never could, master. I tamed the darkness.

He grit his teeth as he slammed a hoof down on the stone floor. "That's right...my foolish student."

I've told you. The darkness cannot be tamed. Only communed with. It'll take everything if you give it too much!

You're too proud to admit that I'm more talented than you. Watch, I'll show you the darkness isn't something to fear.

"Why didn't he listen to me?" He grit his teeth. "Where did I go wrong?"

Master...It hurts...Help...Me...

"I should have done a better job."

So this is what the mortal world is like now...a bit musty in here.

Give me back my student!

And give up such a willing sacrifice? Not likely.

"Foolish...Foolish...Fool," he smashed a hoof against the wall with each word from his mouth, tears of despair running down his face.

What is this magic? How are you hurting me?!

I will have my student back!

"I almost managed to free him, but then..."

What's that light?

Celestia?! What are you doing here?!

"Celestia!" He pounded on ground as he clenched his jaw. "I told you to let me handle it!"

Something didn't feel right as his heart pounded against his chest. He sat down on the ground and meditated, reaching inside himself to try and figure out what was wrong.

He was broken. Parts of his soul were missing? How'd that happen? He inspected the fragmented edges, hoping that he had just misread something. As he did so though, he felt a wave of despair wash over him like a dive in a frozen mountain stream.

He buckled over. Globs of various fluids churning up from his insides as they splashed on the ground. A dark mist settled over his eyes, letting him see in the darkness for the first time. "Oh that's not good."

A sound came from down the hallway as he heard a metal latch being released. So he wasn't forgotten. He took a minute to concentrate on the foreign entity within him, using one of the oldest techniques he had been taught to lock that corruption inside a metaphysical box.

As the torchlight started bleeding down the hallway, he managed to pull in the last of the corruption and seal it, the mist around his eyes dissipating as he did so. He'd have to deal with his most recent acquisition later, when circumstances allowed.

Hooffalls sounded down the hallway as the light got brighter, his eyes having to adjust to the light after being trapped in absolute darkness.

"Well what have we got here," said a smarmy voice. "I see you're finally awake. You were making quite a ruckus in here."

That voice sounded familiar, "Viscount Blueblood? Is that you?" He asked only to feel a blinding pain cross his vision.

"You will show the Duke proper respect." Said the guard that had pummeled him with the butt of his spear.

He chuckled as he picked himself up off the ground, "hehe, a duke now. Somepony's moving up in the world. What deems it necessary for someone of your station to play warden?"

"Harrumph," Duke Blueblood scoffed. "I wanted to be the first to congratulate you on becoming Equestria first inmate on death row."

"Good one," he laughed. "Equestria doesn't invoke the death penalty. And what did I do to receive such an honor?"

"Read him the charges," Blueblood instructed the guard.

The guard saluted, "at once, your grace." He unrolled a parchment. "For the crime of genocide against Equestria and her allies, and for the utter destruction of the Crystal Empire, the court sentences you to hang at dawn."

His eye's narrowed at the charges, "what...happened?" Any kind of joviality he might've had was rapidly dissolving.

"After your little...escapade with your disciple," Blueblood spat out words like they were something foul. "The Equestrian military mobilized against the Tyrant King Sombra. After a long battle and many casualties, the royal sisters banished him to the ice. But not before he took the whole kingdom with him."

He sighed, it wasn't hard to draw conclusions from this. "And you needed somepony to pin the blame on, and that pony is me. What do the princesses have to say about this?"

"I see that your incarceration has not dulled your wits," Blueblood smirked. "As for Princess Celestia, she has locked herself in her chambers after her victory over Nightmare Moon."

He tilted his head at the name, "Nightmare Moon? Did we have another big villain attack since turning Discord to stone? Have we added another statue to the garden? And where's Luna?"

The smile that crept up Blueblood's face was unnerving, "I suppose we could let you stretch your legs a bit. Guard, bring him."

"But your grace, protocol dictates..."

Blueblood grabbed the collar of the guard that dared to talk back, "I said bring him."

"At...At once," the guard saluted and hastily produced some keys.

He didn't put up any kind of struggle as the guards poured into his cell and after removing his chains from the wall, proceeded to escort him through the castle. Whatever this...Duke wanted to show him, it was clearly something he was taking great pleasure in.

As the entourage traveled through the castle, he took note of several destroyed pieces of masonry. Had the castle been attacked? Did it have something to do with Nightmare Moon? Whoever that was.

They made their way into the royal garden, moonlight visible for the first time as they could finally see by more than just the light of their torches. They stopped in front of the statue garden. Many of these statues were just for show, except for the one of discord. That one was actually an enchanted prison.

"I don't see any new statues here," he observed the lack of changes since he was last here. "What was the point of bringing me here..."

His words caught in his throat as he saw the moon, or more importantly, what was in the moon.

"Luna?" He stared at the equine form that was imprinted into the lunar surface as he felt the blood run cold. He didn't need his magic to feel the pain that was emanating from the moon. His chest tightened as he collapsed to the ground and cried out. Tears streaming down his face as he howled his pain to the world.

He must have cried for several minutes before the guards started to nudge at him with their spears.

"Oh stop that babbling," Blueblood said cheerfully. "Ponies everywhere will be celebrating their beloved princess's defeat of Nightmare Moon. Now I think it's time to get you back to your cell. Our beloved princess will eventually recover from her wounds and raise the sun again and then we can finally get on with our lives. Well...most of us will." He said after giving him a devilish smirk.

"Where is Celestia?" He said in a cold voice.

"On your feet prisoner!" Shouted the guard.

He didn't move as he looked deep into the Duke's eyes. Blueblood saw no fear in those eyes, only fierce determination and anger.

Blueblood took a step forward and struck him across the face, "prisoners don't get the luxury of gazing upon our goddess. Know your place."

He didn't even blink as he stood up and took a few steps toward the insolent whelp that dare think himself somepony important. The guards holding his chains tripping over themselves as their efforts to hold their charge in place met little success.

He reached inside himself for the power he stored away a long time ago. He wasn't so foolish that he'd use that corruption he just finished locking away, especially in his charged emotional state. It only took a moment to realize that he wouldn't be able to bring his full might to bear with his soul being fractured the way that it was.

"What are you fools doing?!" Shouted Blueblood. "Restrain him!"

"We're trying, your Grace!" The guards continued to be dragged along as he stepped forward. The ring around his horn glowed and hummed loudly as his magic fought against the restraint.

"The convict has proven to be a threat to the crown! By my authority as Duke, carry out his execution now!" Blueblood was quickly backpedaling as he shouted orders.

More...He drew upon his broken self for whatever it could give him. He needed more.

The guards dropped the chains he was dragging them by and drew their spears as they surrounded him. A few more armed guards poured into the courtyard and took up positions around the prisoner.

At a signal from their captain, they all stepped forward, thrusting their weapons with the hopes of taking down the furious unicorn.

Just before the sharpened metal would've pierced his skin, the restraint around his horn shattered and his magic cascaded outward like a shockwave. The force of magic pushed outward and picked up all the guards, throwing them backwards across the the yard and smashing them into bushes and statues. Some of them got some air and smashed into walls, and some unlucky few got blown straight through some of the more damaged walls.

He rushed forward. Light crackling down his fur as the remains of his manacles broke and fell away as he barreled toward the foolish duke.

Blueblood tried to cast a shield spell, but due to either his pampered upbringing or the sheer magnitude of what he was trying to stop, the unicorn shattered his shield as he charged straight through it. Blueblood's vision flashed white as he was picked up from the ground and soon found himself slammed up against a wall.

"Where is Celestia?!" He roared at the foolish pony through pointed teeth.

Blueblood looked down at his captor and was one step away from soiling himself as he looked down into those blazing green eyes that had focused into vertical slits. "I...I..."

"Put him down! I'm right here!" Shouted the voice of authority from behind him.

He leaned next to Blueblood's ear and hissed, "if I ever see you again, this night's going to look like sunshine and rainbows. Have I made myself clear?"

The duke hastily nodded his head, not once taking his eyes from the monster than held him.

"Good, I'm glad we can be reasonable adults." He lovingly patted the side of his face before dropping him hard to the ground. Blueblood scrambled upright and wasted no time fleeing once he had his hooves under himself again.

He turned to face Celestia from across the courtyard when his eyes fell on her mane. What he saw taking some of the heat from his rage, "oh poor sweet child, what have you done?"

Celestia stood before him with bags under her puffy red eyes and her mane, while messy, wasn't its normal pink color. Instead it had taken on several pastel hues. "I...I didn't mean to...It was just..."

"You used the Elements of Harmony against your sister," he narrowed his eyes while pointing an accusatory hoof at her. "It's as plain to see as the hair on your head that the Elements have left their mark on you. I'll even bet they've also turned to stone after being used so callously."

"I had no choice!" Celestia shouted back as tears rained down around her. "Luna refused to lower the moon and then she turned into that...thing."

He sighed, "Nightmare Moon I believe they're calling her now..."

"Don't call her that!" Her voice broke as she screeched, her hooves slamming over her ears as she broke down. "It killed me on the inside having to go along with the nobles plans of having you take the fall for the Crystal Empire, knowing how it would affect her. Sniff...she loved you, you know."

"Sigh...I knew," he sighed. "She was already hurting with the way ponies were not appreciating her night," he reflected. "You had to know adding anything else to her burdens was going to hurt her immensely," he continued to direct his ire at her. "You mean to tell me you couldn't keep those nobles controlled?"

"You're right," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Wait? I am?" Something about the way she said that unnerved him greatly. Celestia never agreed with him.

"If only I had a little more control," Celestia lifted her head slowly and cocked her head at him slowly. He looked into her eyes which had shrunken to pinpricks but other than than showed no emotion, and that smile...that smile was unnaturally wide as it stretched across her face.

"I should have more control...heh...heh heh," her chest bounced a bit with every chuckle that escaped her lips. "Heh, my little ponies can't be trusted with their own well being. They need to be taught, like a mother who looks after her foals, and who better to teach them than the sun itself! Heh...heh heh...HAHAHAHA!" She started laughing maniacally.

The sky started to lighten at that point, the sun starting to peek up over the castle walls and pour it's light into the courtyard.

"Celestia, you need to calm down," he tried telling her as he watched the clear signs of something disastrous beginning.

"Celestia!? Who's that?!" The solar princess snapped her attention to him as small flames started to lick off her coat. "Celestia was a weak little pony who let her subjects tell her what to do! Celestia was a sorry excuse of a sister who banished her own sister to the moon!"

Celestia narrowed her cold eyes at him. "Celestia was a pathetic little ingrate who let a silly little unicorn stand against her instead of doing what she should've done all along."

The light from the sun blazed down upon her in that moment, enveloping her in a pillar of fire. The flames poured out over the courtyard, incinerating most of the plant life and scorching what remained. He had to put up a shield to keep the flames from washing over him as well.

As the flames died down, Celestia stepped out from the pyre she was standing in. Her pastel mane and tail were now a blazing inferno, her eyes had turned pitch black except for the yellow irises that now filled them. His gaze met hers and she smiled at him with the jagged teeth of a predator.

"Celestia, what have you done?" He back away slowly, fear guiding his actions as a cold sweat started to run down his face. He was not ready to deal with an insane alicorn.

Celestia looked around her like he was talking to someone else, "oh you meant me?" She said with a measure of joviality and just a pinch of lust. "Celestia is dead! She couldn't do what needed to be done! Now there is only...DAYBREAKER!!!"

Flames erupted from the ground as she announced herself to the world, "now where was I? Oh right." She smiled manically at him as concentrated beam of sunlight poured from her horn and headed straight for him. He dove out of the way, just barely making it, except for the last couple inches of his tail, which were cleanly burned off.

"Celestia! Remember yourself!" He shouted as he desperately raced around the outside of the room, collecting the spears dropped by the guards when he tossed them away.

"Oh how cute," she watched him gleefully. "Think you can handle me with a few sticks. And don't forget, its Daybreaker now!"

"I'm not calling you that!" He shouted back as he threw one of the spears at her, which she casually knocked away with a brush of her feathers, the metal of the spear glowing a cherry red as it struck the ground.

She breathed a gout of fire at him that he slid underneath and had to immediately pad out the flames at the tips of his ears. He returned fire with two more spears which she deftly stepped out of the way of.

"It's all your fault you know," she said. "If Luna had never met you, she would've been much happier. She would never have had to feel that loss." She nonchalantly tossed a few fireballs at him that detonated when they hit the ground and sent a shower of stone shards in his direction.

He took shelter behind one of the pillars to guard himself from the explosion, a piece of shrapnel still managing to leave a shallow gash across his back. "That would've been no way for her to live and you know it!" He peaked around the corner and threw three more spears, he threw them wide though and she didn't even have to dodge.

"Your aim is getting worse," said a bemused Daybreaker. "Are we getting tired? I'm just getting warmed up!" She shouted as she let loose another stream of flames from her maw.

He jumped into a corkscrew as he leapt over it, throwing one of the last two spears he had at her. Daybreaker opted to catch this one in her magic and she eyed him menacingly as she charged at him.

Just before hitting the ground, he teleported to where she had just been standing. She quickly spun around and vaulted high into the air hoping to bring the spear down on him as she sailed right at him.

Daybreaker had forgotten about the last spear he was holding though. He cocked it back and emerald light lanced through the spear as he aimed it at the sun goddess. He threw the arcane lance with all the might and magic he had left, however, a grin broke across Daybreaker's face as she casually used her wings to push herself out of the way. The magically imbued lance sailing past her head and through her mane as it sailed up into the sky and out of sight.

She brought down the spear she was holding and pierced him through his shoulder. She kept her momentum going as she pinned him to the ground, leaving him on his back and looking up at her. Pain becoming evident on his face as the scorching lance seared his flesh.

"Didst thou really forget that I could fly?" Daybreaker grinned down at her prey as she licked her lips for a moment before snarling at him again. "She would have still been here if it wasn't for you!" She relished having him underhoof as she twisted the spear, taking joy from making him squirm and sweat from the pain she was causing.

To his credit he didn't scream out, but he...smiled at her? "Well this was fun...heh heh...ow." He flinched and coughed up a bit of blood when he tried to laugh. "What do you say we call it a draw?"

"HAHAHAHA!...haaaa, very amusing my little pony." She looked down at him hungrily, savoring the kill to come. "What makes you think there will be a next time?"

"Next time...I'll be ready for you." He smiled a savage grin at her as the last spear he had thrown impacted the ground several feet away from them. The emerald light it gave off started to the fly through the air like a verdant fountain. The light of the spear connecting with the other six spears he had thrown and began to trace a circle around the two combatants. Next thing they knew, the light interconnected between the spears and left the flaming alicorn standing in the middle of a seven pointed star.

"What is this?!" She wondered aloud as she felt something invisible impact her and left her feeling woozy as she staggered back from him. "What did you do?!" She demanded in confusion as she tried to jump forward at him, but her hind legs had stuck to the ground and as she turned to look at them, she could see them slowly turning to stone.

He reached over and pulled the spear from his shoulder, unpinning himself from the ground. "Ow..." Blood pouring down his foreleg as he sat up and looked at her. "That right there is the best I could do on such short notice."

She breathed fire at him as he stood there, but they only came out as a few embers. "I demand you release me!" She shouted in rage, half of her barrel having turned to stone at this point and the change was climbing up her wings.

"Oh don't be such a baby," he said as he conjured up some medical bandages, guess he had a bit more magic after all. He groaned as he bit down on the haft of the spear and floated the bandage around his injured shoulder. With one last force of will, he tightened the makeshift tourniquet around his open wound. His eyes almost popping out of his skull from the pain as his teeth dug into the wood of the spear.

With the bleeding sufficiently staunched, he looked back up to his opponent. Most of her neck had taken on the grey of the stone by this point. "You'll be back to your grumpy self in about a day or so. Although, I'll be long gone by then."

"How dare you do this to your princess! I am the sun! I am Daybre..." Her words were cut off as the stone fully encased her.

He limped up the hillside, still favoring one leg over the other. The grass rustled a bit off to his right and he sighed deeply, "ok Luna, how much of that did you see?"

"So that was Daybreaker," Luna said as she faded into view. "I've been here since you awoke in the cell."

"So you saw everything then," he laid down on the grass and kept his weight off the injured leg. "Any questions?"

"That would depend on whether we are to play the same games of the other night." She stated very cleanly, not even giving it the chance to be taken as a question.

"No games, I'm too tired," he said as he steadied his breathing.

"Ever since I found you that first night, we've been having trouble with ponies going around, stealing magic, and getting away in fantastic methods that redefine what the tribes can actually do." She took a deep breath before continuing. "And if that wasn't bad enough, we just got finished dealing with a changeling that forced Twilight Sparkle into a position where she had to attack her own teacher. Didst thou have anything to do with that?"

"Heh," he laughed, and then flinched from the pain of his shoulder. "Old Spectrum got you girls good did he. Yes Luna, they're mine. All of them," he said with resignation.

Luna's eyes narrowed as she took a few more steps forward, "what exactly art thou planning?"

"You'll find out tomorrow," he said calmly. "That's when everything ends. Be careful though, I sort of started a blizzard and it's not the kind of storm that only needs us to chase off a few windigos.

Author's Note

A bit longer than I intended.
Definitely a more aggressive a chapter than I originally intended.

(Fluttershy? What did you do to Rainbow Dash? I turn my back for one minute and ponies start stirring up trouble.)