The fair had been going pretty well, emphasis on had. Up until that moment everything had been going swimmingly, the fair was set up in record time, it started without a hitch, and the crystal ponies seemed happy. Now though…

“I didn’t know it was an actual relic!” Twilight exclaimed, flipping through the book, “The book doesn’t say much about it-” She stopped, flipping to the last page, or rather, the lack thereof, only tatters connected to the binding remained, “There’s a page missing!” Twilight gasped.

“It’s okay Twilight,” Cadance reassured, “We’ll-” She trailed off, swaying and stumbling before falling backwards. Shining Armor was quick to catch her.

Twilight rushed forward, and noticed the glow from Cadance’s horn begin to fade, receding all the way to the tip before dissipating completely. The effects were immediate, the shining dome surrounding the city flickered, holes opening up across the surface until it fell apart completely, leaving the Crystal Empire exposed to the outside world.

Dark storm clouds had been surrounding the empire, and as soon as its protection wore off they began to seep in, quickly engulfing the buildings towards the outskirts. Quick on the response, Shining Armor carefully set Cadance down and brought up his hoof to let out another whistle. Twilight flattened her ears, wincing from the proximity.

A moment later there was a rush of air and a chirp, causing Twilight to turn around, only to catch an eyeful of the worm. Recoiling so hard she nearly fell over, she just barely stopped herself from tripping over herself as she shrank back. Shining Armor paid little mind to this display, rather paying more attention to the current situation instead.

“Clear the storm!” He shouted to the worm.

The worm clicked, but hesitated, obviously looking at Cadance.

“She’s fine!” Shining Armor said, then also looked down at her, “I hope,” He said a bit more quietly.

Acknowledging this, the worm cast another glance at the fallen alicorn before flying up, and with a whip of its massive tail, another shockwave passed over them, then the fair, then the rest of the empire. Upon reaching the storm, the dark clouds were utterly destroyed, broken apart and shredded in every direction, and for a moment it looked like everything was well, but then the clouds started to reform, much too quickly for it to be natural.

“Again!” Shining Armor commanded.

The worm chuffed, but once again whipped its tail, another shockwave rang out. The clouds were decimated once more, yet they still reformed like before, faster even. The worm gave an annoyed chitter, and got ready to try again, but was stopped.

Cadance had stood up, rather slowly actually, and she was using her husband as a support. Still, she concentrated hard, and charged her horn, which took some time, but eventually she shot a beam straight up, and another dome began to form. As the walls touched down however, they just barely made it to the edge of the empire, as opposed to reaching further out as they once did. The clouds on the inside were dissipated, and the Crystal Empire was safe once more, for now.

The defiant stand that Cadance took soon faltered, and even with the support of Shining Armor she nearly fell over once more, but the glow on her horn remained constant, and the dome held. Shining Armor then got a determined look on his face.

“I have to find the Crystal Heart.” He concluded.

“No,” Twilight interjected, “You stay here with Cadance, she needs you Shining Armor. I’ll retrieve the heart.”

He gave her a bit of an uncertain look, but then nodded.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “Let’s do this!”

The two quickly left the balcony, heading back into the castle towards the multitude of stairs leading down.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how I’m meant to pass Celestia’s test.” Twilight began, “Retrieving the Crystal Heart must be it.”

“So what about us?” Rainbow Dash asked, flying alongside Twilight as they began to descend.

“There is something else you can do.” She said,

“Name it.”

“You and the rest of our friends have to keep the fair going,” Twilight said,

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked in confusion, “With that thing moving into the empire?”

“The whole purpose of the crystal fair is to lift the spirits of the crystal ponies, so they can activate the Crystal Heart.” Twilight explained,

“Yeah, and?”

“If the crystal ponies find out that King Sombra is trying to take over the empire again, their spirits are going to be anything but lifted. It won’t matter if I find the Crystal Heart, they won't be able to make it work. You have to keep them happy at the fair.”

“Keep the fair going and the crystal ponies spirits high,” Rainbow Dash repeated, “Done and done!”

They descended down the last set of stairs and exited the castle, in the center Applejack sat next to the fake Crystal Heart, desperately trying to keep ponies away. Twilight gave her a nod, and she walked out from underneath the castle as Rainbow Dash flew off ahead of her.

“Twily!” Shining Armor called from the balcony above, causing her to stop and look up, “Be careful.”

“I will.” She replied, before quickly moving into the city.

Dark magic welled up inside of her, and Twilight focused harder, trying to both guide it and contain it. She couldn’t let it overtake her, but she had to use it. A moment later a dark beam shot out of her horn, striking the crystal atop the throne, it then cast a shadow, just like the demonstration that Princess Celestia had shown before.

The shadow stretched across the floor, not just removing its luster but also tinting it darker. Both Twilight and Spike moved out of the way as it continued, revealing a massive hole in the floor.

“What was that?” Spike asked,

“That was a little trick I learned from Celestia,” Twilight beamed. She excitedly walked over to the edge of the hole, but her face dropped upon looking down it.

“What’s…?” Spike began, before he also looked down the hole, “Oh.”

“Stairs…” Twilight muttered, “Why did it have to be stairs?”

Spike looked at her, then the braces on her legs. “Do you want me t-”

“Not a claw Spike.” Twilight reminded, interrupting him

He crossed his arms, but still looked at her with worry, “Then what are you going to do?”

“Umm… go down these stairs,” Twilight answered, “Just slowly, I’ll get to the bottom… eventually.”

Through the many windows in the throne room, both Twilight and Spike could see the dome flicker, revealing an orange sky with the ever-present dark clouds.

“Do you have time for that?” Spike asked

Twilight bit her lip, “You’re right, new plan,” And with that, she leapt into the pit.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted, and he scrambled back to the edge of the hole, only to find her much closer than she should be, falling a lot slower than normal.

“Feather Fall Spike!” Twilight shouted up to him, “One of the spells I studied for the test!”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Spike called back, “Okay!” but he still peered down the hole as she descended.

And descend she did, albeit at a slower pace that she would’ve liked, but it was certainly faster than struggling down the hundreds of steps surrounding her. After about a minute of this, Twilight looked back up.

“How’s it looking out there?” She asked, a slight echo to her voice.

It took a moment, but eventually Spike answered,

“Not good, you’d better hurry!”

Twilight frowned, then looked downwards, the bottom of the whole still wasn’t visible, so she decided to do something risky. Decreasing the power in the spell, Twilight felt the effects of it begin to dampen, and she started to fall faster, yet there was still no end in sight. Lessening the spell even more, Twilight began falling almost as fast as she would’ve without the spell. The motion made her a bit nervous, but the hole just kept going and going.

Then she caught a glimpse of something, a sparkle in the dark, and it was approaching, fast. Eyes wide, she cranked the Feather Fall spell to the max, and grinded to a near halt mid-air. The change in speed was intense, so much so that Twilight barely noticed that she had landed at the bottom of the hole.

Shaking her head, she looked around, and in the light from her horn she saw a simple door. Twilight reached forward to pull the handle, but the door jerked upwards, and then slid along the wall, touching down on the other side of the pit.

“Huh?”

Moving across the hole, Twilight reached for the door again, only for it to slip out of her grasp once more, coming to a stop opposite of her.

She huffed, but went to try again for a third time. This time the door shot upwards, and spun around the room so many times it nearly made her dizzy. Twilight glared at it as it finally touched down where it originally was to begin with, but then she noticed the crystal at the top of its frame, and she smiled.

Summoning another bout of dark magic, Twilight shot it into the crystal, and the door shuddered before opening. Light flooded out of it, and her smile grew wider. Quickly stepping into the doorway, she entered another crystal room, however this one was different. Unlike the bottom of the pit, large blue crystals sprouted out of the walls and ceiling, creating a multitude of uneven surfaces as the room continued forwards.

It was a lot lighter as well, but as Twilight turned around to look back she realized that the doorway was gone, leaving her with no apparent way out. She shuddered, and looked around again, the walls reminded her of the ones in the crystal caves below Canterlot. She shook her head, this was another one of Sombra’s tricks, surely she was still beneath the Crystal Empire.

Right?

The ground trembled once, which resulted in the whole room shaking slightly, several small crystals were knocked loose, clinking to the floor below. Twilight nervously continued forward down the corridor, glancing back and forth often, but then she spotted something on the floor. It was a white feather, which was a strange thing to find deep underground, yet further ahead there was another, then another.

Twilight moved to investigate further, but the ground shook again, giving momentary pause to her actions. Then she heard a grunt, one of pain, and in a voice that she recognized. Rushing forwards, Twilight turned the corner to see something she never expected.

There, laying next to a large crystal boulder, and in a pool of her own blood, was Princess Celestia.

She was breathing heavily, and appeared to be looking around in a state of confusion. There were several large gashes along her body, staining her once pristine white coat, and marring her cutie mark.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed, running as fast as she could up to her,

She slowly turned her head, and stared blankly at Twilight as she approached. Then her eyes focused.

“Twilight.” She half said, half mumbled,

“What are you doing here!? Wha-”

The ground trembled again, interrupting Twilight, it was a lot more intense this time, and more crystal chunks were shaken loose, falling to the floor.

Princess Celestia either did not notice or did not care, so she spoke. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Twilight looked towards her teacher in confusion, “I-I’m looking for the Crystal Heart.”

She snorted, “You wouldn’t find it here.”

“What?” Twilight asked, before shaking her head, “Nevermind that! What happened?”

Princess Celestia looked down at herself, and opened and closed her wing, which only served to further smear her blood everywhere. Her expression hardened, “You failed the test. That’s what happened.”

Twilight sat back in confusion, agape, wondering how and why. Then the ground quaked, and a large portion of the crystal walls buckled and cracked, causing shards and pebbles to rain upon the two. That shook Twilight out of her stupor, and she looked around the cave with worry.

“We better get out of here.” She said, extending a hoof towards Princess Celestia.

She looked at it for a moment, then reached out, only to smack it away.

“You’ve done enough help.” She said coldly.

Twilight recoiled, then watched as Princess Celestia tried to stand up on her own, yet she couldn’t, and Twilight soon saw why. Princess Celestia wasn’t just laying next to a boulder, she was trapped under it, as the entirety of her right wing was crushed underneath, which prevented any attempt to pull away. Twilight gasped, while Princess Celestia just flopped back on the ground.

The ground shook, hard, and more of the walls began to crumble, huge chunks of crystal began to fall from the ceiling, and Twilight started to panic.

“I can help! I can lift the boulder!” She pleaded.

Princess Celestia looked her dead in the eyes. “I’d rather die.”

Those words hit Twilight like a bag of bricks, but before she could do anything else, the ground shook again, and the whole cavern started to rumble. The tunnel she had come through collapsed behind her, and the instability of the ceiling travelled throughout the cave. Twilight didn’t have any time to react as the stone above her and Princess Celestia crumbled and fell.

"Twilight!"

She gasped, but only caught a lungful of rock dust, causing her to cough and sputter. Opening her eyes revealed pitch black darkness, as well as a stinging sensation as the rest of the dust settled. Twilight blinked rapidly, then lit her horn, but that didn’t help much as rock, stone, and crystals surrounded her completely, giving her just a few inches of breathing room.

Then she felt something warm run down her leg, and she tried to move it, only to find she couldn’t. Twilight felt the panic return in full force, and she tried to move the rest of her legs, and only succeeded in moving her hoof, able to just tap it against the stone floor, but nothing else. Then the ground trembled again, and the mass of stone above her shifted slightly, settling further.

"Twilight!"

An immense pressure was set upon her entire body, and Twilight was forced to cry out as her lungs were slowly crushed. She tried to breath back in, but was only able to get half a breath in her constricted chest. She looked around frantically, rapidly tapping her hoof against the floor in an attempt to do something, anything to get her out of this situation.

"Twilight!"

The ground shook once more, which caused everything to settle further, putting more weight upon Twilight, crushing her even more. The last of her breath was forced out of her body, and she could no longer move at all. All she could do now was look, and at the edge of her blurring vision she saw something white. Straining herself, Twilight was able to see the long, white horn of Princess Celestia, completely separate from the rest of her body.

"Twilight!"

Tears from the dust were replaced with tears of hopelessness, and as Twilight’s body desperately tried to suck in a breath, it couldn’t, leaving her there, slowly suffocating.

“Twilight!”

She blinked, and pulled away from the door, breaking the illusion. Gasping for breath, Twilight felt the pressure leave her face, and she looked up to see Spike hurriedly running down the stairs of the pit.

“Twilight!” He shouted again, “I know you told me to stay up there but you were down here for such a long time and you weren’t answering and I got worried so I came down here and you were just staring at that wall and I was calling your name but I couldn’t seem to get your attention and… What were you looking at?” He finished with a question.

Twilight looked back at the doorway, which actually had just a solid wall behind it,

“I mean,” Spike continued, getting closer, “It’s just a wall.”

Just then, the crystal sitting atop the doorway flashed a bit of dark magic, and Twilight noticed Spike’s eyes change color.

“Ponyville?” He asked, “Well how did I get-? No! I don’t wanna go! Please Twilight! Don’t make me!”

Twilight pushed the door closed, and the illusion was broken once again.

“King Sombra’s dark magic,” She deduced, “A doorway that leads to your worst fear.”

Spike wiped his eyes with his claws, and looked at her with still teary eyes. “We were home, you told me you didn’t need me anymore. You were sending me away.”

“A fear that will never come to pass. I’m never going to send you away” Twilight assured, reaching out and hugging him close, “And I’m not going to fail my test!”

Charging her horn with harmonic magic rather than dark magic this time, Twilight shot it into the crystal above the doorway. A faint rainbow seemed to emanate from it, and two lights travelled down each side of the door, cutting through the wall and allowing it to actually open instead of showing falsehoods.

“What’s in there?” Spike asked as Twilight stepped through.

She looked up, and cried out in anguish, “More stairs!”

Fluttershy was sent flying backwards once more.

Luckily there were a few piles of straw placed about to cushion any fall, but after several repeated impacts, they were beginning to wear down.

“And the winner is…” Somepony announced, less than enthusiastically, “Rainbow Dash. Again.”

She gave a victory pose, and basked in the few muted cheers that came from the bleachers for a moment, she then dropped her lance, and went to go check to see if her friend was okay.

“Isn’t there somepony else who can take over the jousting demonstration with you?” Fluttershy asked, exasperated.

“The fate of an entire empire rests on us showing these ponies a good time, but y’know, if that isn’t important to you.” Rainbow Dash said, looking down upon Fluttershy as she lay there.

“It is!” She responded, “It’s just.” She pointed to the bleachers.

Where once every seat was filled, there were now less than half of the original attendees, and they didn’t look very entertained either. Most of them appeared to have left over the course of the last few matches, seeing how it was pretty boring watching the same outcome every single time.

“Yeah this is getting boring.” Rainbow Dash agreed, “We should do something else.”

Fluttershy looked up at her hopefully.

“How about a race?” Rrainbow Dash suggested,

Fluttershy’s face dropped.

“Not with you,” Rainbow Dash quickly waved her off, already knowing the outcome. “I was thinking something more of my speed.” She looked towards the sky.

The relief Fluttershy felt soon turned to worry. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Because um… The worm seems pretty dangerous”

“Pfft, Danger is my middle name.” Rainbow Dash said, standing boldly.

She quickly removed the ornate jousting armor and took off, flying over to a crowd of fair goers.

“Attention everypony!” She announced, “We have something special lined up for you! I, Rainbow Dash, will be racing…” She paused for dramatic effect, “The worm!” She shouted, pointing towards it in the sky.

That certainly got a reaction, those in the crowd talked amongst themselves in excitement, which only further fueled Rainbow Dash’s sentiment, so she flew up higher, intent on racing the worm.

Said worm had risen back up into the sky a fair bit, and was simply wandering the sky again, seemingly bored. Rainbow Dash took this opportunity to fly up close to it, making sure to stop right in front of it.

“Hey! Big guy!” She shouted, “Wanna race?”

The worm paused to look at her for a moment, it then snorted, and flew past her, nearly knocking her out of the sky.

“Wha-Hey!” Rainbow Dash complained, she zipped back in front of the worm, “I promised those ponies a show, so either we’re gonna race or…”

“W H A T?” The worm demanded.

Rainbow Dash stopped, she knew the worm could talk, but she didn’t expect it to sound like that. Quickly regaining her composure, she continued, “Or… I don’t know what, but I wanna race!”

The worm stared at her for another moment.

“N O.”

It flew past her again.

“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, and she caught up once more, landing on the worm’s head.

It chirped, and immediately shook her off, and as she recovered in the air, she smiled. “You don’t like that do you?”

“What is she doing up there?” Rarity asked,

“Ah don’t know, but it sure is makin my job easier.” Applejack responded, gesturing across the plaza, where most if not all of the crystal ponies in the area were paying attention to the spectacle in the air, as opposed to wandering near the fake Crystal Heart.

“I hate to admit it, but she’s making mine easier as well.” Rarity said, “I am running out of weaving materials for the traditional crafts booth, I just made a hat out of three pieces of hay and a drinking straw.” She pointed it out in the crowd, “I made it work, but still!”

“We have to do everything we can to keep this thing going.” Applejack said, “Ah guess Rainbow Dash is doin just that.”

“I suppose, but what does she hope to accomplish with the…” Rarity paused as she looked up. “Oh my goodness!”

“What!?” Applejack demanded, also looking up, “Oh…”

Up in the sky, a rainbow streak repeatedly struck the worm, obviously aggravating it, but every time it tried to snap back at it, it would nimbly evade. There were a few oohs and ahs in the crowd as this continued for a few seconds, however it was clear that the worm was quickly getting fed up with the annoyance. Purple flames lit up along its body, growing and spreading out much further than they should, enveloping the entire area in a blazing fireball.

Apparently Rainbow Dash wasn’t expecting this, as soon enough a smoking form fell from the sky. Ponies gasped at the sight, but then the form stopped, and streaked back upwards into the dissipating smoke.

An echoing screech was heard throughout the empire, and a moment later Rainbow Dash tore out of the smokescreen, soon followed by a much, much larger form. Both Applejack and Rarity stood there slack jawed as the race officially began.

Spike clawed his way up the next step, clearly winded, he took a moment to catch his breath before moving forward to tackle the next one. Twilight wasn’t faring much better, only being a few steps ahead of Spike as they both climbed the seemingly perpetual staircase.

“How do we know that this isn’t another one of Sombra’s tricks?” Spike asked, swallowing a bit as he crested the next step. “I mean, a door that shows you your worst fears? Why not a staircase that goes on forever?”

Twilight looked back at him, then down the massive spiral they were ascending. They were clearly making progress, just not very fast. She then looked up the staircase, trying to see the top, which was actually visible, just really far up. Twilight then tilted her head, and noticed the flat slope that was the underside of the stairs. It would be much easier to go down rather than up, and with the help of a gravity spell that would be possible.

Then Twilight looked at her braces and immediately shot down the idea. It would be incredibly hard to control her descent, even without them. There wouldn’t be much to stop her from falling off, and while Twilight was confident in her abilities to possibly catch herself, Spike was there as well. It just wasn’t worth the risk, but perhaps a gravity spell could still help, just not the reverse gravity spell.

Enveloping both Spike and herself in magic, she weaved together the spell and cast it, and all of a sudden they both felt a whole lot lighter.

“Woah.” Spike said, not expecting the sudden change.

“C’mon. We just have to keep going.” Twilight called out, bounding up several steps at a time.

Spike jumped, and was able to clear a lot more steps than earlier. He landed and had to catch his balance, but soon got used to the decrease in downwards pull.

“Cool.” He said, before following Twilight around the spiral.

“Missed me!” Rainbow Dash taunted, pulling back and watching as the worm continued past her.

It roared, and turned around for another go at the infuriating Pegasus. Dashing forwards with surprising speed, the worm only felt air as Rainbow Dash moved out of the way yet again.

“Too slow!”

The worm grumbled and clicked, and then a purple blaze shrouded it once more. Rainbow Dash sat there hovering, waiting for its next move. The next moment it came barreling toward her through the smoke, which she had expected, yet she still just barely managed to dodge it. The worm was moving fast, far faster than it was earlier, and as it turned around for another run, Rainbow Dash realized why.

The armorless, and much more streamlined body of the worm charged forwards with reckless abandon, and Rainbow Dash barely had enough time to get out of the way.

“Now this is getting interesting!” She said, watching as the worm turned once again.

In an instant she was moving, flying away as fast as she could, with the worm soon following.

More and more ponies joined the crowd as the two ‘racers’ continued, soaring through the air at blinding speeds as they made their way around the empire again and again. A few cheers came from the crowd as they viewed the high paced action going on above.

It was at this point that both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie made their way to the center of the fair, seeing as how a majority of the crystal ponies were now preoccupied with the race. They joined the other two underneath the castle.

“Woah! Look at them go!” Pinkie Pie commented, following the pair above with her eyes.

“That doesn’t look very safe,” Fluttershy added on.

“Yeah well it’s workin,” Applejack said, “Though I’m not sure for how much longer, let’s hope Twilight gets here with the real Crystal Heart soon.”

The others gave some murmurs of agreement, and they continued to watch the spectacle above them.

Rainbow Dash remained ahead of the worm, but it looked to be keeping pace with her quite well, and as they zipped around the empire they went both high and low. That is, until Rainbow Dash led the race down to the streets, flying low and in some cases, between buildings. Then Applejack noticed them level out along one of the main streets, which led straight to the castle.

“She isn’t seriously thinking of doing that is she?” She asked,

They began to make their way up the street, flying fast and low, with no intentions of pulling up. Applejack realized what was about to happen, and she jumped into action, running towards the racers waving her hooves, desperately trying to stop them before they ruined everything, but it wasn’t enough.

In the blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash streaked through the space underneath the castle, and a moment later the worm rushed through. Wind whipped over the crowd, hats were blown off, and traditional crafts were sent soaring through the air. Applejack was just barely able to keep her Stetson from uncovering her head, but not the other thing that was supposed to stay covered.

The flag used to obscure the fake Crystal Heart was torn away, immediately tipping over the pedestal it sat upon. The poorly cut crystal was sent flying, it arced across the plaza before landing and sliding until it lightly tapped a crystal pony on the hoof. They, along with several other crystal ponies who had noticed the commotion, stared at the heart as it cracked and chipped.

“Uh oh…”

Rainbow Dash was having a blast, the wind was in her mane, the crowd was cheering, and the air was alive with electricity!

Wait a minute.

Quickly rolling to the side, Rainbow Dash looked just in time to see a lightning bolt strike where she once was. Looking back, she was met with the sight of an apex predator closely following her, one that she had provoked earlier, and looked to be only a few seconds behind at all times. It was then that she realized that maybe this wasn’t the best of ideas.

Pushing herself faster, Rainbow Dash flew even lower, weaving through buildings, zipping past corners, and frequently changing directions in hopes of maybe losing the worm. However none of it seemed to work, as the worm just didn't care, it followed her relentlessly, entire buildings were torn asunder in its chase, and the two continued around the empire once more.

Every so often Rainbow Dash would dodge another lightning bolt, and every time she did she had to rush forwards to keep her distance from the worm, which was on her tail the entire time. She could already feel the strain on her wings, and she began to frantically look around for a place of refuge from the worm.

The castle!

Rainbow Dash ducked down low, diving underneath another bolt as she began to pick up speed. The castle was straight ahead, but there wasn’t any place for her to enter it without slowing down, which was worrying. She’d have to somehow shake the worm for a few seconds before going inside. Perhaps she could use her size to her advantage.

Another bolt of lightning struck past her, and she redoubled her efforts, Rainbow Dash flew back down to the bottom of the castle, and entered the space beneath it again. This time however, she looped around the supports a few times, hoping the worm would get tangled within.

Ponies below dove out of the way as the both of them swooped past. Rainbow Dash turned inwards and outwards, only catching glimpses of the worm behind her as she weaved through the castle supports. After a few seconds of this, she broke away, flying high up and towards the balcony where Princess Cadance was.

Glancing behind her, Rainbow Dash did not immediately see the worm, so she began to slow a bit, angling herself to dash into the castle. She would be coming in fast, but there was more than enough room inside to account for that, she just needed to get there first.

As soon as she moved to enter the castle Rainbow Dash realized her mistake. The worm had indeed been slowed by the complex movements under the castle, but that only gave it the perfect opportunity to intercept her from below.

The worm rocketed upwards, giving her only a split second to react, not that she could've done much. There was no way for her to ascend in time, nor could she move away enough so that the worm couldn’t account for it. She was done for.

“STOP!”

Surprisingly, the worm stopped, and so did Rainbow Dash, only for her to tumble onto the balcony a moment later.

“Rainbow Dash!”

She turned to see Cadance looking at her with a bit of a miffed expression.

“Don’t antagonize the worm.” She chastised.

She nodded rapidly, quickly picking herself up from the floor.

“And you mister!” Cadance turned, staring at the worm.

It very obviously shrunk back from her gaze.

“We don’t kill ponies.” She said sternly.

The worm chirped weakly, while Rainbow Dash just stared wide-eyed at the possibility.

“We need to-” Cadance stopped mid-sentence and swayed a bit.

Shining Armor was quick to run up and support her, but that didn’t stop Cadance from dropping to the floor as her legs gave out from under her. In a flash of purple fire, the worm also landed on the balcony and quickly rushed to check on Cadance as well, mainly by nudging her and chittering. It was hardly effective, and soon enough the soft glow from her horn disappeared entirely, and did not come back.

The sky reverted to a pale orange color, which clearly caused distress in the ponies gathered below. In the outskirts of the empire, more and more crystal structures were corrupted and darkened, forcing any straggling crystal ponies towards the center. The rest of Twilight’s friends soon barged in on the balcony.

“We’re out of time!” Applejack said,

“We noticed.” Shining Armor said, still holding Cadance, “Has Twilight gotten the Crystal Heart?”

“She hasn’t come back yet.”

Shining Armor grunted, “Then try to keep the situation under control.”

Applejack gulped, then walked to the edge of the balcony along with Rarity. By now quite a large crowd had gathered, and the mood was quickly changing from happy to panicked.

“Now don’t you worry your pretty little crystal heads,” Applejack called out, forcing a smile. “The real Crystal Heart will be here soon.”

“I don’t know if they believe you.” Rarity whispered,

“I don’t know if ah believe me either.” Applejack whispered back.

The situation was becoming more and more dire, and ponies were starting to run around in a panic. Dark crystal outcroppings began to pop up around the entire area, effectively herding the crystal ponies to the last bastion in the Crystal Empire. They wouldn’t last much longer.

“Hey guys! Up here!”

They all looked up.

“I have the Crystal Heart!” Spike shouted down from the top of a spire.

Before anypony else could respond, a deep voice called out.

“That’s mine!”

The ground shook as massive black crystals shot out of it, shaking the foundation of the castle. Spike teetered at the top of the spire, then was pushed off as crystals grew all around him. Everypony gasped as he fell, the real Crystal Heart slipping from his grip, but then Cadance got a glint in her eye.

“Go!” She commanded, pointing at the falling objects.

Ponies shielded their eyes as a blaze of purple flames erupted to her side, and the next moment the worm launched from the balcony, soaring through the air directly towards Spike and the Crystal Heart. In an instant, the two were jerked to the side as they were caught by the worm midair. It banked around the crystal spire, Crystal Heart within its maw, and Spike clinging on to it for dear life. Below them, jagged crystals shot up from the ground, surrounding the castle and every pony in it, trapping them. A few of the larger outcroppings then broke apart, the large shards angling themselves towards the flying pair before shooting off in an attempt to intercept them.

A few missed, and most that hit simply bounced off of the worm’s chitinous armor, but the few that managed to pierce through it embedded themselves deep within the worm’s flesh. Then they began to grow, the dark crystals expanding and tearing further into the worm’s body, no doubt causing it a lot of pain, and restricting its movement. It bellowed, and thrashed around, managing to shatter some of the infestation, but that only seemed to worsen the effects, as the infectious shards were pushed deeper inside.

Seeing this, and with some newfound vigor, Cadance jumped up on top of the balcony’s railing, she teetered slightly, but then leapt from it, spreading her wings

“Here!” She called out, shakily gliding through an opening in the newly formed crystal wall and landing inside.

The worm turned in an instant, and shot towards the base of the spire, however more crystals began to grow from the wall, reinforcing it, hoping to stop the worm from returning the Crystal Heart. However it seemed that Sombra severely underestimated both the strength and digging capabilities of the worm, as it blasted right through the crystal wall, showering the ponies inside with shards and debris.

A particularly heart shaped crystal along with an incredibly disoriented dragon were also launched across the plaza, skidding to a halt near the far side of it. Cadance watched as Spike slowly got up, trying to find his balance, then she turned and looked to the impact zone, and saw the worm embedded in the wall, with more crystals growing around it, holding it in place. It struggled a bit, but stopped as purple blood began to flow down the crystals. Cadance cringed at the sight, and moved to maybe try and help free the worm.

Just then, the walls shifted, and an opening was made, allowing a single form inside. One that was almost ethereal, intimidating, and only seemed to cause fear and panic in the crystal ponies. Sombra was here. He looked across the crowd of fair-goers, each one shrinking under his gaze, until he locked eyes with Cadance. They stared at each other for a moment, before he moved on to the Crystal Heart behind her.

Cadance also glanced back at it, she was closer than Sombra was, but even then she wasn’t sure she could beat him to it, and a quick look back revealed he had come to a similar conclusion as well. For another moment they stared at each other, before both of them broke off into a sprint. Cadance turned and dashed towards the heart, intent on getting to it first, but her fatigued body protested, and she could already feel herself slowing down. Meanwhile Sombra had already passed most of the distance, and was about to pass her completely.

“Spike!” Cadance shouted as she was passed, “The heart!”

Spike looked at Cadance, then the Crystal Heart by his feet, then at the dark stallion charging towards him with murderous intent, and with some effort, he lifted the heart, set it on his back, and began to run along the crystal wall. Obviously he couldn’t outrun Sombra, but it gave Cadance an opportunity, she turned and ran to where Spike was heading, hoping to intercept him before Sombra could.

With a snort, he leveled his horn, and a dark crystal jutted out from the wall in front of Spike, he just barely avoided smacking into it, and instead turned and began to run in the opposite direction, only for another crystal to appear and block him from doing so. Spike then turned back towards the center of the plaza, and dashed towards Cadance just as a third crystal sprouted from beneath him, catching his feet and tripping him.

The crystal heart soared from his grasp, landing on the ground and sliding between a few crystal ponies before coming to a stop at Cadance’s hooves. She quickly picked it up in her magic, and while it was a bit hefty, it resonated well with her, and she held it up high. A number of crystal ponies gasped at the sight.

“It’s the true Crystal Princess,” One of them stated,

They were quickly shoved to the side by Sombra as he tore through the crowd. He stopped right in front of Cadance, and reached out with his magic, attempting to yank the heart out of her magic. It clearly resisted Sombra’s magic, and even in her tired state Cadance didn’t have to do much to hold on, so much so that a moment later Sombra gave up completely, a bit winded. But that didn't stop him, and he leaped forward and checked Cadance, sending her to the ground and the Crystal Heart flying once more.

Wincing from the impact, Cadance felt Sombra step over her, and from her position on the ground she could see him walking towards where the heart now lay. She pushed herself up slowly, and stumbled her way towards the heart as well, but Sombra was already there. Just as he was about to pick it up however, there was a crack of thunder, then an explosion as a bolt of lightning struck the heart, launching the now smoking crystal across the plaza.

It once again landed near Cadance, seemingly drawn to her, a quick look up revealed the origin of the lightning, as the remnants of an electric charge dissipated from the worm’s mandibles. Sombra snarled angrily, and the crystals holding the worm constricted further, more blood began to flow freely down, but the worm held strong, erupting into purple flames, and a moment later disappearing from view, leaving a hole in the crystal wall.

However before it could do anything else, black crystals shot out, quickly covering up the hole, effectively sealing it. Sombra then turned back towards Cadance, and they both glanced at the Crystal Heart once more. A second later they both jumped into action, gunning for the heart, trying to outrun the other, it would be close this time.

Time seemed to slow as they both drew nearer and nearer, Cadance could already feel the fatigue, but she pushed herself through it, leaping forward in an attempt to clear the remaining distance. It seemed Sombra had a similar idea as well, as he surged forward as well, opposite of Cadance. They both reached out, and they both touched the heart, and in a flash of light, they both disappeared, leaving only the slightly charred Crystal Heart on the floor.

Cadance opened her eyes, revealing a seemingly endless expanse of white in front of her. She frowned, and got up from the floor, or at least what she thought was the floor, considering it blended perfectly with the horizon. Blinking, she realized that she no longer felt any tiredness, the aching feeling in her mind was gone, and she didn’t feel as sluggish anymore.

Glancing around the void of white, Cadance realized it was not as empty as she once thought, as the Crystal Heart sat in what could be called the middle of it, it hovered slightly above the ground, spinning slowly. Cadance approached it, and as she reached out the heart stopped, allowing her to touch one of its facets.

It blinked once, and as Cadance pulled back, it started to spin once more. She looked at in confusion for a moment, before taking another look around, only for her eyes to land on another figure, Sombra, and he looked absolutely furious.

Cadance tensed, and got into a defensive stance, flaring her wings, but Sombra just stood there, looking at her menacingly.

“It’s over,” Cadance stated, “Don’t try anything.”

He snarled, and Cadance noticed the Crystal Heart behind her begin to spin faster, but then Sombra forced himself to calm down, which also appeared to calm the heart.

Growling, he spoke, “I know when I am beaten, Love-spawn!” He spat.

Cadance frowned at the insult, then Sombra continued.

“As infuriating as it is, I will not attack you, as apparently I still have a purpose here.” He said, turning to look out into the endless white expanse,

“What do you mean?” Cadance asked,

Sombra turned back towards her, scowling. “Where do you think we are?”

Cadance also glanced at the pure white horizon, then back to the Crystal Heart behind her, the only other thing here with them.

“The Crystal Heart?” She guessed

“Perceptive,” Sombra remarked snidely, “We are indeed in the Crystal Heart, and there is only one reason I can think of why.”

“Why?” Cadance repeated

“It wants us to talk.”

“Talk?” Cadance asked, “About what?”

“Is it not obvious?!” Sombra snapped, causing the Crystal Heart to speed up again, he forced himself to calm down again. “The crystal ponies have accepted you as their rightful ruler, I can see that now.”

“Me?” Cadance asked in surprise, “Their ruler?”

“Yes you!” Sombra exclaimed, “The resemblance is almost uncanny! You are the spitting image of her.”

“Who?” Cadance asked, thoroughly confused.

Sombra stared at her in disbelief, “Her!” He shouted, “Your progenitrix! Your ancestrix! The previous ruler to the Crystal Empire! Do you know nothing of your family lineage?!”

Cadance recoiled at the outburst, but then matched it, “No I don’t okay!” She also exclaimed, “I don’t even know my real parents!”

Sombra’s expression hardened, “Then this will not be easy.”

This time Cadance forced herself to calm down. “Then talk,” She said, “Tell me what I need to know to rule the Crystal Empire.”

Sombra snorted, “You do not need me for that information, most of the empire’s history before my rule was well documented. Your new subjects can help you with that well enough.”

“Then what are we supposed to talk about?” Cadance asked, a bit exasperated.

“I can only assume that the Crystal Heart wants me to tell you what happened after my rule.” Sombra explained,

“Wait.” Cadance said, “You mean the Crystal Empire didn’t just vanish into thin air?”

Another look of disbelief, “Do you really believe that an entire empire simply stopped existing for over a thousand years? That is preposterous!” Sombra almost cracked a smile, “No, the Crystal Empire was merely on another world, and only now has it returned to its origin.”

“Another world? Why?” Cadance asked,

Sombra exhaled, and had an almost somber look on his face. “I knew my rule over the empire was unstable,” He began, “And that it would only be a matter of time before it was taken from me. So using the magic I had gathered from the empire, I tried to take it to a world where I would not be seen as a tyrant.” He spat that last word.

Cadance just listened cautiously.

“Unfortunately the magic seemed to have had a cruel sense of humor, and while the empire made it across the divide, I did not. I was trapped between worlds, the king of nowhere, unable to act but able to view, and the things I’ve seen…” Sombra trailed off.

Cadance cleared her throat, “What about the empire?”

Sombra looked back to her, and the scowl returned to his face, “I was forced to sit and watch as She undid my work.”

“My ances-trix?” Cadance asked.

Sombra just grunted.

“What was her name?”

“She went by many,” Sombra answered, “But the one I was most familiar with… was Amore.” He said, voice filled with malice. “I don’t know how she escaped my imprisonment, but she tried her best to turn my empire back to the way it was, though even with the help of an archmage, she didn’t get far.” Then he got an evil grin on his face, and Cadance felt the Crystal Heart begin to spin faster behind her, “I think it was rather befitting what became of her.”

“What…” Cadance was almost scared to ask, “...Happened?”

Sombra looked her right in the eyes, “She encountered a worm, much like yours, and paid the ultimate price for it.”

“You know about the worm?” Cadance asked,

“Not yours specifically,” Sombra said, “But I know of their species, and I will tell you this. They are a bad omen.”

Cadance gulped,

“Not that you need to worry about that much longer,” Sombra continued, causing her to look at him in confusion.

He lowered his horn, concentrating hard before a pillar of dark magic erupted from it. A large shadow spread across the white void with darkened crystals beginning to grow, threatening to overtake the entire area. The Crystal Heart began to spin even faster, so fast that it started to blur, Cadance turned just in time to see it emit a bright light.

Her body was lifted, and her vision flashed, and the next moment she was back under the castle, the crowd of crystal ponies staring at her in awe. The awe soon turned to horror however, as a dark mist began to spread around them. Turning around, Cadance saw Sombra take form, the Crystal Heart held within his magic.

He began to laugh, and more black crystals began to sprout from beneath him, but Cadance just gave him an odd look, and reaching forward with her magic, she easily wrenching the heart from his own. In that moment of confusion, she pushed it towards the center of the castle, where two stabilizers shot out to catch it, completing it.

“The Crystal Heart has returned!” She announced, “Use the light and love within you to ensure that Sombra does not.”

“What?! NO!” Sombra shouted, but it was too late.

The crystal ponies were already bowing, charging the heart with their magic, the streets began to glow blue, and their coats returned to their original, sparkly color. Sombra yelled out in a rage, and he surged forward, but was stopped. The Crystal Heart spun, creating a sphere of positive magic, which began to expand rapidly.

Cadance felt a wave of relief wash over her, literally, and that same wave passed over Sombra as well. He tried to push against it, but it was too much, his body started to crack, light pouring out of each one. He roared, but the light had completely engulfed his body, he was torn apart, and blasted backwards in pieces, which broke through the crystal wall he had summoned earlier.

The wave of magic continued, undoing all the hate and malice that had been seeded into the Crystal Empire. Outcroppings of onyx and obsidian were shattered, curses were broken, ancient spells were undone, injuries were healed, and love and light were once more spread throughout the city, then all of Equestria.

It was over.

The Crystal Empire was safe, returned to its original world and restored to its original glory. King Sombra was defeated, and his influence over the crystal ponies was gone. Certainly, this was a cause for celebration.

The crowd gathered around Cadance bowed to her once more, and she looked over them all awkwardly, but then Shining Armor exited the castle along with the rest of Twilight’s friends.

“Cadance!” He shouted, quickly running over to her

“Shining Armor!” She responded, “You look so sparkly!”

He laughed, “So do you.”

Cadance looked down, and noticed that her coat was just as crystalline as everything else, if not moreso.

“So.” Shining Armor continued, “What happened?”

“We won,” Cadance said, looking over to the Crystal Heart, which spun steadily.

“That’s great!” Shining Armor exclaimed, and he reached forward to hug her.

Cadance readily returned the embrace, and they both held each other for a moment. When they finally separated, she looked over each of Twilight’s friends, and quickly noticed her absence, but before she could say anything about it, a flash of purple light caught her attention. Turning, Cadance expected to see Twilight standing there, not the large form of the worm as it coiled up, the last few wisps of flame burning out along its body.

Still, Cadance was also glad to see that it was alright as well, considering the injuries it sustained earlier. That, and it was a bit funny to see such a menacing creature look so sparkly. She went to approach it, but stopped as it went rigid. The worm then looked around frantically, waving its massive head back and forth before it screeched, loudly. Everypony in the immediate area covered their ears from the noise, the next moment there was a rush of wind, and the worm was gone, leaving everypony in a state of confusion.

“What was that all about?” Rainbow Dash asked,

“I don’t know,” Cadance answered, looking towards the horizon with a bit of worry.

The worm flew faster, following the trail of smoke that only it seemed to notice. It led all the way out of the Crystal Empire, eventually touching down to the ground a fair distance away in the snow, where a certain red tinted horn lay. Descending quickly and losing its crystal sheen, the worm began to closely inspect the area, hovering just barely above the snow.

It started to growl, the smoke trail receded, and several wisps began to coalesce around the horn. The worm pulled back, poised and ready to strike as the smoke continued to gather, the top most layer of snow shifting from the movement. Then the horn started to move, jittering slightly from the smoke before it was lifted up into it, together they raised a bit higher. Small arcs of electricity began to dance between the worm’s mandibles.

There was a hiss, and steam began to emanate from the ground, all the snow in the immediate area started to melt, and the smoke grew turbulent. There was a rumbling, and the now uncovered stone ground cracked, and split, the snow and runoff that flowed into it was vaporized instantly, with large plumes of steam soon billowing out of it.

Heat radiated from the crack, which had begun to glow orange, and more of the surrounding snow and ice began to melt, creating more steam. Along with the steam however, more smoke began to spew out of the crack, adding to the total mass above it, which began to darken considerably. Dark purple cloth fragments then flowed from the hole in the ground, joining the mass of smoke. They patched together to form a single, complete cloak, which the smoke soon filled, creating an almost solid form. Six glowing purple eyes lit up the hood, and the worm growled louder.

Its growl was matched with another, and as the clothed entity finished forming, it evolved into a more of a voice.

“...what a waste.” The wraith spoke, turning the horn fragment in its claws, inspecting it. “Someone like that would’ve had a lot of potential.”

“L E A V E.” The worm spoke.

“So this is where you’ve been all this time.” The wraith continued, ignoring the worm, it carelessly flicked the horn off into the snow. “Back with these ponies.”

“L E A V E.” The worm repeated, getting more agitated.

“And I see you’ve made some new friends.”

“L E A V E.”

“Do you remember what happened the last time you tried to do that?” The wraith asked in a sinister tone.

The worm had had enough, a bolt of lightning shot from it, but the wraith simply teleported out of the way. In the next moment it reappeared next to the worm, and several bladed tentacles whipped out from underneath the cloak, stopping just inches from the worm’s neck.

“You’re lucky I was only sent here to find you!” The wraith sneered, “I’d much rather kill you myself, but that’s not what The Master wants.”

The worm froze,

“Do not think your disappearance went unnoticed! The Master is less than pleased with your absence, even moreso now that you have broken your pact.”

The worm tried to shift, but the tentacles closed in, just barely touching the unarmored skin in between its plating. Then in a flash of purple flames, the worm shrunk down slightly and quickly pulled out of the wraith’s grasp, it then turned to face it before growing back to its original size.

“So you’ve learned a new trick.” The wraith observed, “But that won’t save you.”

The worm charged, mandibles crackling with electricity, and its body now alight with flame. It hit the hooded figure, and it exploded back into smoke and cloth fragments.

“Your impending doom approaches…” Was spoken as the wraith receded back into the crack in the ground.

Then it was gone, with only the crack remaining, the heat that emanated once before had dissipated, leaving only a small trace that something was even there to begin with, and it would just be covered up come next snowfall anyway. The worm just hovered there, staring at the crack.

It chittered nervously.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

This was more fun to write than the previous chapter, also it's longer. I have finally figured out how I want the past to go, and that affects the future, funny how that works. That also gave me the idea to maybe create a prequel of sorts, explaining what happened beforehand a bit better. Also, while writing this, I felt that I was maybe laying on a little too thick, but then I realized that not everybody who reads this will know the Calamity lore, so these mentions won't do much, but for those who do get them...

Yall know what's going on