"The Empire is under attack."

Things were going downhill fast. With the discovery of the Crystal Heart being an actual relic, the moral of anyone who discovered that fact fell. And now Cadence's energy gave out, giving way for Sombra to enter the Empire. Shining Armor was the first to respond however, walking up to her and bringing her up to stand. He cuddled up to her, waking her out of her exhaustion for a time, allowing her to concentrate on her magic yet again. And it was good timing if a bit too close, as the barrier re-erected it barely cut off Sombra's entrance, the dark sorcerer roaring in pain. While this was a good thing, Cadence was not looking any better than she once was, and Shining Armor knew that.

"Amity? Hey Amy, Sombra's gone for now." Cali comforted the small girl, seeing her still shake.

"H-huh?" She looked up, realizing what she was doing. "A-Ah! I was not cowering in fear. I-I-I was simply taking cover from... ah..."

"Hey, no need to be afraid." Cali shrugged with a comforting smile. "I've seen my fair share of cowards. I'll keep you safe." Amity looked at the older girl with sparkles in her eyes.

"I have to find the Crystal Heart!" Shining Armor declared.

"No, you stay here with Cadance." Twilight corrected, pointing to her sister-in-law. "She needs you, Shining Armor. I'll retrieve the Heart." Shining took the hint and stood with his wife, knowing that they wouldn't get a second chance. Twilight and her friends all dashed out of the balcony, ready to fight.

"Let's do this!" Rainbow cheered.

"I've been trying to figure out how I'm meant to pass Celestia's test." Twilight thought out loud. "Retrieving the Crystal Heart must be it. But there is something else you can do."

"Name it."

"You and the rest of our friends have to keep the Faire going." Twilight said, getting strange looks.

"Wait, you want us on standby? With that thing moving into the Empire?" Cali questioned.

"The whole purpose of the Crystal Faire is to lift the spirits of the Crystal Ponies, so they can activate the Crystal Heart."

"Yeah, and?"

"If the Crystal Ponies find out that King Sombra is trying to take over the Empire again, their spirits are gonna 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 here at the Faire."

"You make a valid point..." Xavier mused. "But it's still too dangerous to go in alone. I'll follow along Twilight."

"But-"

"I'm sure our friends are more than enough to take care of everything!" Amity said. "You could probably take two or three of us and it wouldn't slow the faire down. In face, I will follow along as well!"

"Y-you will?"

"But of course! I did say that I would do everything I could to help, and until I can no longer walk, I will keep to those words!"

"You're quite a passionate kid, you know that?"

"I am not a kid!" Amity shouted at Cali. "And for your information-"

"Let's get back on topic." Xavier broke up the sidetracking conversation. "Amity, it could get dangerous if you come-"

"And I don't care! I'm not going to sit idly by as Cadenza and Shining Armor are suffering! I'm coming whether you like it or not!" Amity's passion sat with everyone's hearts, managing to get to them.

"Alright. You and Xavier can come." Twilight said. "But you cannot help me look for the heart. This is supposed to be my test."

"I guess that's fair." Xavier admitted. "Alright. We'll provide backup if things get dangerous."

"And as for the rest of us, we'll make sure things stay running."

"Keep the Faire going and the Crystal Ponies' spirits high. Done and done!" Cali and Rainbow added, ready to do their part. As they reached the plaza where Applejack and Alex were staying on guard with the heart, they split up to do their jobs.

"Twily, be careful." Shining Armor called from above.

"I will."

With Cali and Rainbow

With Cali describing the situation to Applejack and Alex, the two decided to act as guards for the "heart" to make sure no pony found out about the fatal mix-up, leaving Cali and Rainbow to explain the situation to everyone else. Rainbow's first stop was the stand where Huston and Rarity were set up where they were making fancy crafts with straw, Spike helping out around their stand, while Cali ran to the petting zoo Fluttershy and Jasmine were working at. As Rarity was finishing up a basket, Rainbow leaned in to whisper the situation to her.

"Huuuuh?" Rarity blurted out, catching the crystal ponies' and her allies attention with confused looks "I... just found out they're offering face painting for the little ones." She said nervously, the crystal ponies paying no mind to it. She then motioned Huston and Spike nearby to whisper what Rainbow said to them.

"Really? Not good. Sounds like a plan."

"Uh-huh. We can do that. Twilight's doing what?!"

The two gave their own confirmations about the situation, but Spike seemed worried and dashed off.

"He... really... loves getting his face painted. Haha."

As they were all trying to keep the situation under control, Twilight, Xavier, and Amity were walking around the faire, with the humans looking out for anything out of place and Twilight thinking about where the target was. Twilight's mind bounced between different places, but she realized something and looked at the palace again, realizing the answer.

"Twilight, wait!" Spike called out, running over to the three. "I'm coming with you!"

"You can't. I have to retrieve the Crystal Heart by myself." Twilight explained.

"I know. I promise I won't lift a claw to help you." Spike promised, putting his claws under his arms to prove his point. Twilight as about to say no, but Xavier put a hand onto her shoulder.

"Come on Twilight. It won't hurt to have him follow along." Twilight met his gaze, thought about it for a bit, and gave her answer with her magic, bringing Spike up to rest on her back.

"Not a claw, Spike." She said, the dragon looking happy. Twilight then dashed back to the palace, confusing her party as the humans followed along.

"Where are we going exactly?"

"I think I might know where King Sombra hid the Crystal Heart."

"The castle?" Amity asked.

"The king would've been counting on the fact that nopony would dare come looking for it here. They'd have been too afraid to even try." Twilight explained.

"It does make sense." Xavier admitted.

"I hope you're right." Spike said with worry.

"You and me both." Twilight agreed. As they entered the castle, they passed by Applejack and Alex, Rainbow joining the duo to guard the statue. Though she was less than subtle.

"What are you lookin' at?!" She growled at a random passerby, scaring them away. "That's what I thought!"

"Uh, Rainbow Dash? We're supposed to be actin' like nothing's wrong." Applejack said to Rainbow.

"Exactly." Rainbow answered, turning to glare at a pair of ponies, dashing away in fear.

"Rainbow, yer not helping." Alex deadpanned. "Yer just scarin' ponies. We're supposed ta be makin' sure they aren't scared, and yer showin' us that the giant, ominous shadow outside is not needed fer that." Rainbow stared at him, clearly not getting the point. "'Ere's a plan, lass. Why don't ye go an' show yer stuff at joustin' while me an' AJ take care of guardin' the heart."

"Huh. Seeing my awesomeness does have a way of putting ponies into a pretty good mood." Rainbow agreed, flying off to find an opponent to duel, leaving the farmhands to take care of things. And that time would come soon as a pony walked over.

"How are y'all feelin'? Havin' a good time?" Applejack asked as the crystal pony walked over to see the heart.

"The best I've had in over a thousand years!" She answered.

"Well, that's good! Gotta renew that spirit of love and unity if you're gonna power up that Crystal Heart, right?" As Applejack was stalling for time, she blocked the pony's view of the cloth-covered statue.

"I sure would like to see it before the ceremony. It's been such a long time."

"Oh, ay hear ya, but, uh... phew!" Alex joined in, fanning his face. "Gettin' a little toasty out here. Bet you'd like to cool off with some 'o that Crystal Empire nectar!" He turned the pony's attention to the stand nearby, the pony looking at it with interest and walking away. But of course, there were always going to be more of them.
"Uh, you tried the Crystal Empire fritters yet? Made from a traditional Crystal Empire recipe! You're gonna love 'em!"

"Ay ponies, ay hear there's a joustin' match about to start! Ye don't wanna miss that!"

"Come on, Twilight... These Crystal Ponies are more curious than a cat!" Applejack whispered under her breath, getting desperate.

With Twilight and the Others

With the pressure of the empire falling soon, Twilight dashed around the castle desperately in hopes of finding the Crystal Heart. Of course, she was not having any luck in finding it.

"It's gotta be here somewhere. It's just gotta be!" She pleaded, searching a room. As she did, she looked back to see that the humans were simply watching her while Spike- "Not a claw, Spike." Was looking at the carpet, who let go of it bashfully. As she passed the throne room, the humans and Spike stopped at the doorway as Twilight backed up to look at the throne. She entered and stared at the crystal above it.

"Twi? You okay?" Xavier asked.

"Of course!"

"Argh! What? Did you find it?" Spike and Amity questioned.

"No. Because this isn't King Sombra's castle." Twilight answered, getting confused looks.

"What? Isn't this where he lived when he was in power?" Xavier questioned.

"It is. But it didn't look like this." Twilight began to use her magic, but it was different from any other time. Instead of the deep purple magic she would use, it was now black, changing swiftly into purple-green as even her eyes began to let loose some purple flames through her closed eyes. She then released that magic, hitting the crystal from before and changing it from a light purple to jet black. And with that change, a shadow was sent out and in front of them, revealing a square hole with a spiral staircase.

"What the-" Xavier took a step back alongside Amity. "W-was that black magic?"

"Where'd you learn that spell?" Spike asked.

"That was a little trick Celestia taught me." Twilight answered as she began to walk down the stairs. As the others were about to follow her though, she peaked her head back up. "You stay here."

"Huh, if you insist." Spike replied, the other two agreeing. After a bit of time, they decided to check in.

"Can you see what's down there yet?

"Not yet. I can't even tell how far down this goes!" She answered, a pause coming after. "Can you see outside?" The trio went over to the window to look out to see if there was anything going on. They began to worry however as they saw the crystal gateway that they first entered turn black.

"Oh no." Xavier stated. "Sombra's magic must have infiltrated the empire! He's turning things into his own!" They watched for a bit, but then looked back over when they heard a bunch of grunts and oofs from the staircase.

"Are you okay?" Amity asked as they ran back over.

"Yes..." Twilight replied. There was a bit of time after her response, and it was quiet. Too quiet.

"Something is weird..." Xavier noted. "Hey Twilight? Everything okay?" No response. "That's not a good sign." Xavier began towards the stairs.

"W-wait-"

"I said I would protect Twilight if anything happened. She's not responding, so I'm going in." Xavier began to walk down the stairs, the others following along. The stairwell was insanely deep, but Xavier never slowed down. It took a bit, but he could see the bottom, and Twilight was there staring into an empty doorframe.

"What the- Twilight!" Xavier shouted, Twilight seeming to snap out of her stupor and look at the trio coming down. "Sorry Twilight, but you weren't responding to us. Had to make sure you were safe."

"There's nothing down here?" Amity wondered, looking around. "All there is down here is that weird door."

"What were you looking at?" Spike wondered, staring at where Twilight was. "I mean... it's just a wall." Suddenly, Spike's eyes went green. "...Ponyville? Well, how did I get... No! I don't wanna go! Please, Twilight, don't make me!" Spike began to spout worrisome words out, causing alarm to the humans. Twilight slammed the door closed, which seemed to snap Spike out of whatever was happening.

"King Sombra's dark magic." Twilight reasoned. "A doorway that leads to your worst fear."

"Worst fear?" Xavier looked at the door with curiosity.

"We were home. You told me you didn't need me anymore. You were sending me away..." Spike explained sadly.

"A fear that will never come to pass." Twilight said, hugging Spike close. "I'm never gonna send you away. And I'm not gonna fail my test!"

*creak*

Looking back at the door, they saw that Xavier opened it and was staring into it, his eyes green as well.

"XAVIER!!!"

"...Huh? Where is this?"

Opening his eyes, Xavier was not expecting what he was looking at. He was expecting to see his family's workshop admittedly, thinking he'd see his family again. What he saw however was a forest, though it was not looking pretty. It was brown and orange, like it was dying. And yet, there were still leaves growing, or at least clinging, onto the trees and bushes. What concerned him however was something that was... unnatural. It clung to things like branches all the way down to the ground, and looked like a spiderweb, bit it looked like black slime, and even more disturbing was that it was pulsating and twitching. Almost as if it was... alive. Suddenly landing nest to his feet was some sort of spike. When he looked at it, he shuddered when he saw that it was some boney spike that looked rotten. Then he heard something bone-chilling.

"NYAHAHAHA!!!!" Turning around, he saw something truly and utterly disgusting. The humanoid figure shambled over like a zombie, but it wasn't that. It was its appearance, almost like it was rotting. Parts of its body had very small but significant chunks out of it's slightly tan skin, those chunks having some black slime inside. Then there were the limbs. Its right arm was shaped like a giant, corroded blade, both sheet metal and bone sharpened like teeth on a saw. Its left was a strange cannon shape, slime dripping out of the barrel. And its face, the bottom jaw was missing which left its long tongue to drift and bounce alongside its walk. And the worst part, it cackled nonstop like it was enjoying its miserable existence. "NYAHAHAHA!" It pointed its arm forward, firing off another spike. Right as it was about to land however, the world went white.

"GYAAAH!"

Falling backwards, he landed on his rear onto the crystals he and the others were, similar to what Spike and Twilight went through. Looking up, he saw that Amity slammed the door, and she looked panicked.

"Are you okay Xavier?" Twilight asked, also worried.

"I-I..." Xavier stuttered, but got his act together. "I'm fine."

"Did you see... you know?" Spike asked.

"...In all honesty, no. It was not."

"It wasn't?" Xavier got up and looked the unicorn in the eyes.

"No, I'm surprised too. I don't know what I saw, but it may be the worst thing I've seen." Xavier's statement sent chills down the non-humans spines, the human looking confused.

"Am I missing something here?"

"Yeah, but that's a story for another time." Xavier said, turning his attention back to the door. "For now, Twilight has a mission. Do you have a plan?"

"I do have one. I just didn't go through with it because you opened the door."

"Sorry. Please go on." Twilight took a step forward, using her magic to light up the crystal above the door with rainbow light. With the new magic, the door opened, this time into an actual room. Walking inside, Twilight looked up and groaned.

"What's in there?" Spike asked.

"Stairs." Looking inside, the bipedal creatures looked up to see the massive spiral staircase surrounding them. And it was even taller than the ones they descended to get there. "Lots and lots of stairs." Taking a few steps up them, Twilight looked behind her to see that the trio were standing still. "Maybe you should come with me this time." Lighting up, the trio complied and followed the unicorn. After a bit, Amity looked up at Xavier.

"Can I ask you what you three were going on about earlier?" She asked.

"What would that be?"

"You know... 'seeing that'?" Xavier flinched, but sighed.

"I guess if you want to know. You'll probably be interacting with us all after this."

"But of course."

"It's a sad story though. You sure you're okay with that?"

"Hmph, you underestimate me. It takes a lot to cause me to feel such terrible emotions!"

"WAAAHHAAAAHAAAA!!!"

Suffice to say, she was crying like she was taking lessons from Pinkie with literal waterfalls of tears. It's been a bit since the group started climbing the stairs, and they were nowhere near the top. It was enough time for Xavier to tell his story to Amity, and she was not taking it well.

"You've been though so much and are still so noble!?" She cried.

"Yeah..." Xavier side-eyed, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"*sniff* Alright, I've decided." Amity pointed up at Xavier with a determined look. "I will be following you back so that I can help you learn!"

"...What?"

"What if this is just more of his magic?" Spike caught the humans' attention, panting as he looked up to talk to Twilight who was a flight above them. "He makes a door that leads to your worst nightmare. Why not a staircase that goes on forever?"

"...Hold on to me." Twilight said as she used her magic to bring the trio up to her level, putting Spike onto her back.

"What are you planning, Twi?" Xavier asked, seeing her cast another spell. With a bright light, the group did a 180 and were now standing on the bottom of the stairs. For a second at least, as now they were sliding down (up?) them like it was a slide.

"Whoooooahahaha!" Twilight cheered, the others looking shocked and a bit out-of-balance. "I actually studied gravity spells, thinking it might be on my test! Turns out I was prepared for this! Wooo-hooo!"

Meanwhile at the Faire

Unfortunately for everyone, the holes in their plan were starting to crack and reveal that everything may not be sunshine and rainbows. As the sky began to blend the blue sky with the unnerving orange from before, the crystals of the town began to dawn black corruption. And due to this, everyone manning the faire were using more supplies and effort, and they were not prepared for how much they were using, and Rarity and Huston went over to the heart where many crystal ponies were gathered to try and see their precious relic.

"Excuse me, pardon me..." Rarity apologized as she and Huston pushed through, going up to Applejack and Alex who were struggling to keep the ponies at bay. "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!" They all looked over to see said hat on a pony's head. It was ridiculous, but the farmers kept their cool. "I made it work. But still!"

"You're not the only ones struggling." Cali said as she, Flint, Zenix, and Jasmine walked up. "We're almost out of food for the stalls."

"And souvenirs." Zenix groaned. "It's a crime for a merchant to run out of stuff to sell!"

"We gotta do everything we can to keep this thing goin'." Applejack encouraged, though she wasn't looking all that confident either. "The Princess isn't lookin' so good. I can't imagine her magic is gonna last much longer. It's gonna be fine. These ponies are gonna power up that Crystal Heart when the time comes, and we won't be needin' her magic anyway."

"I sure hope that time comes soon! Even I can't keep this party going forever!" Pinkie said, dressed as a clown and balancing on a ball, juggling flugelhorns. Then she began to tetter, losing her balance and falling. While the flugelhorns bounced off her head, the ball went in the direction of the heart and before anyone could intercept, smacked it. This caused the heart to get sent flying, and as the heroes felt their blood run cold the heart landed in front of the crystal ponies. And to ad insult to injury, chipped a bit.

"This isn't the Crystal Heart." A crystal pony said, panic setting in.

"Oh, of course it isn't. The real one is–"

"On its way!" Applejack said, trying to stall.

"I was going to say 'being polished' to buy us some more time?" Rarity whispered, getting a sheepish look from Applejack.

"Oops."

As if things couldn't get worse, the laughter of the unicorn king rang out, causing mass panic.

"It's... It's him!"

"Now we really need to hope they're on their way!" Huston said with worry, helping the others push past the crowd to reach the royal couple. "Or we're not going to have a second chance." Dashing up to the balcony, Zenix pulled out a whistle and flashlight, blowing into the whistle and swinging around the flashlight.

"What's going on?" Shining questioned.

"Cover's been blown." Flint explained. "How's the princess." Even though he asked, he saw how terrible she was. It was only a matter of time.

"We're here!" Rainbow called, carrying Fluttershy over to them with her speed. "Did they-"

"Yeah. We're in trouble!" Jasmine worried.

"Now, don't ye worry yer pretty little Crystal heads!" Alex called down to the crystal ponies, trying to keep the last strands of faith together. "The real Crystal Heart will be here any second!"

"I don't know if they believe you..." Cali mentioned.

"Don't know if []ay believe me..." Cadence began to struggle, and everyone watched as her magic trickle away like water out of a cup. And in a moment, it was all gone, leaving the barrier to fade away for a tyrant.

"He's back! I can't take it!" A crystal pony panicked, running off in fear. She wasn't looking ahead and ran into a crystal though, but looking up she saw her worst nightmare. "King Sombra...!"

"My crystal slaves..." He spoke, voice like a snake.

"Crap, we're out of options!" Cali screamed.

"HEY GUYS! WE'VE GOT THE HEART!" Looking up, the heroes all saw that at the top of the palace, Amity and Spike were at the top. And in the human's hands were what they were waiting for.

With the Search Party

The group have been sliding for a while, but it was much more efficient than climbing stairs. And it was worth the speed, as they made it to the top, even though the ended up falling onto the floor when Twilight canceled the spell. When they got up though, they all saw their target. The true Crystal Heart. The group were in awe at its shine.

"Wow, no wonder the crystal ponies were so attached!" Amity beamed as Twilight walked up to collect their prize. But as she stepped onto the circular crystal the heart was floating on, it glowed black and sent out a loud noise. Looking out, everyone realized that Sombra would have an alarm.

"Twilight!" Xavier shouted as he dashed over to her, tackling her with a grab as black crystals erupted around the two, creating a cage. The two got up, and Xavier flinched, grabbing his right arm and seeing blood trickle. "Gah, must have scrapped me."

"The Heart..." Twilight panicked, seeing that the heart wasn't with them. "Where's the Crystal–"

"Here!" The duo heard Spike call to them. Looking though a crack in their prison, they saw him and Amity by the heart, though there were black crystals creeping over. "It rolled over to me when you dropped it!"

"Don't move!" Twilight commanded, stopping the two. Though they looked quite uncertain seeing the creeping crystals.

"You can move, just not toward us!" Xavier corrected, giving the two the opportunity to hop back. Twilight tried to use her teleportation to get out, but the prison sent her right back inside.

"How could I have been so foolish? I was just so eager to get it! Then when I saw what was going on outside, I..."

"You have to get out of there, Twilight!" Spike said. "You have to be the one who brings the Heart to Princess Cadance! If you don't, you'll fail Celestia's test!"

"King Sombra is already attacking the Empire. He could reach the Crystal Ponies at any moment... reach Princess Cadance, my brother, my friends. There may not be enough time for me to find a way to escape." What she didn't see was that one of the crystals closing in almost reached the heart. At least before Amity grabbed it and tucked it under her arm, turning to walk out

"Amity!? What are you-"

"Saving the Empire!" Amity shouted, shocking everyone. "I don't know what you're going on about with a test, but I'm here to help Shining Armor and Cadenza! Who cares if you fail, what comes first is that the empire doesn't fall to evil!" Everyone stared in shock. "If Sombra takes over, there is no second chance! For a test, for the empire, for us! So I'm taking it whether you like it or not!"

"Amity, calm down-"

"No, she's right." Twilight said, cutting Spike off.

"Twilight?"

"You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the Faire." She said, getting a nod from Amity.

"Not like you could stop me from doing so." She said, running to the window, Spike following.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." As the deliverers ran to the window, they saw that everyone was gathered by the palace, friends included.

"HEY GUYS! WE'VE GOT THE HEART!" Amity called, raising it up.

"That is mine!" The two suddenly heard Sombra shout out, and looking around they saw him dive into the ground.

"Maybe I should have waited..." Amity said sheepishly. She didn't have time to harp on the idea though, as the creeping crystals were speeding up with no way out. At least until a giant crystal spike shot up, leading to a pseudo-staircase to climb, the two not wasting time climbing it. As they descended however, the pillar shook from an impact caused by the evil sorcerer, which caused them to lose balance and fall. While Spike as panicking in fear, Amity was reaching out the Crystal Heart, seeing Sombra close in on them in hopes of grabbing it before anything else could. Just as the two sides were about to collide though, something zipped by them and the only one left was Sombra. Turns out, Shining Armor threw Cadence, and now she was using her wings to glide down like she did at the wedding, using what little magic she had left to hold the heart, Spike on her back and Amity clinging onto her legs. Once they landed, Amity fell on her rear and Cadence, landing on and smashing the fake heart, looked at the crystal ponies.

"The Crystal Heart has returned." Cadence announced, the crystal ponies coming to attention. "Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not." She used her magic to send it over to where the fake heart stood, and two crystal spikes popped up, grabbing the Crystal Heart like a magnet. The crystal ponies all lit up, and this time their coats actually shimmered like crystals, and with a bow the streets below them shined with a comforting blue.

"What? No... No! Stop!" Sombra demanded, terrified at what he was seeing. They didn't listen though, as the city streets glowed and created a snowflake pattern. The light then went inwards, gathering within the Crystal Heart, spinning like a top and suddenly sending out a bright light. Similar to the wedding, this light passed by everyone harmlessly, but the difference was that it caused the Equestrians to shimmer just like the Crystal Ponies (it even came with a change in hairstyle, and Rarity was all over it) Sombra tried to resist the light as it covered him, but the shadow that he was began to crack and fall apart, and with a final scream, he exploded out with the light, nothing left but the bright blue sky, and with one last burst, lights were sent out into the world, giving Equestria a glimpse of pretty lights similar to northern lights. Joining up with the others, the heroes all surrounded Cadence, Spike, and Amity happily. Though Spike looked up with a guilty expression, remembering what he and Amity did. Though up at the top of the palace, the two were simply looking down happily, knowing it was all over.

Later

After the gang collected Twilight and Xavier, patching up the latter, they did one last check-up on the state of affairs involving the Empire. Fortunately, all seemed to be well as each of the crystal ponies were now living their lives nice and comfortably. And because of that, everyone could go home.

"See, I told you!" Amity said proudly as the group were walking back to the train station. It was much easier than walking from since the blizzard was dead.

"What did ye say?" Alex asked.

"I said to the princess that we would succeed, save the Empire, and walk away as heroes!" Amity declared, light shining on her like a spotlight. "And I made good on that promise!"

"That you did." Cadence replied happily. "Thank you." Amity raised her shin proudly.

"I do so wish it was permanent. Did you see how my mane just absolutely sparkled?" Rarity commented, talking about the shimmering coats the Crystal Heart gave them that ended up fading after a while.

"But... good things are better when they're a rarity." Applejack said, getting a happy giggle out of the pony.

"Oh, that reminds me." Huston suddenly shouted. "I completely forgot to give you this at the wedding." He moved over to Zenix, digging around in his bag, much to the ire of the owner.

"Wha- hey! What are you doing?!"

"I stashed it in here when you weren't looking so I could give it to them." Huston said, finding what he was looking for and pulling it out. It was a painting, and showing it to everyone it was the moment when Shining Armor and Cadence embraced when they were about to release their spell. It was a very beautiful painting that left everyone in awe.

"Woah." Rainbow let out.

"I got the inspiration at this moment, and I managed to finish it before the wedding." Huston explained. "The problem though was that I forgot to give it before you left for your honeymoon." Walking over to the couple, he handed it of into Cadence's magic, who took her time to admire the painting.

"It's incredible." She said, smiling at the painting. "We'll treasure this gift." Huston let out a sigh of relief and happiness, knowing that he pleased the couple. Even if the mood was overall happy, there was one pony who was more worried to think about it.

"Everything's gonna be okay." Shining Armor comforted Twilight, trying to lighten her mood. "You've gotta stop saving my rump like this. It's starting to get embarrassing."

"Wasn't me who saved you in the end. It was Spike." His sister said, not biting.

"It's just a test. Maybe she'll let you retake it."

"I don't think she's gonna give me a new test."

"In that case, you'd better make this one pass with flying colors!" Amity declared, a proud expression on her. "After all, there won't be a need to get another if you pass this one!"

"Amity, I don't think you understand." Huston interjected. "Her test was for her alone to save the Empire with Cadenza and Shining Armor. Because you and Spike brought the heart, she failed."

"Yeah, but she save the empire, right?" Amity shrugged. "I mean, it was ultimately her who got all of us to the heart with her magic. Even I have my limits." Everyone had a sweat-drop at her boasting, and she noticed with a slight nervous flinch. "B-but I digress, she did the most of the work."

"Amity-"

"Everyone's complicating things." Amity continued. "Right now, she did what was needed to save the empire. If it's like any test, giving it your best should be enough. Was for me." Everyone didn't know what to say about her point of view, after all they weren't expecting such a blunt response from someone who was so dramatic. It was blunter than that someone like Cali or Rainbow would say.

"...Maybe she's right." Xavier spoke up. "Maybe we are just overthinking things."

"Glad you see things right." Amity smiled. "No need to worry."

"She's totally gonna lose it!"

It wasn't enough to calm their nerves though. After a train ride back to Canterlot, everyone was now sitting around the entrance to the castle, many of them nervous about the results.

"I thought I said to calm down!" Amity said irritated, as evidenced by the tic mark on her head. "She'll do fine, I know it!"

"Not everyone is as chill as you though." Alex grumbled, leg twitching as he sat cross legged.

"Yeah, can't expect everyone to stay calm over something so important." Rainbow agreed.

"It'll be fine!"

"No, Amity's right!" Spike said, stopping his pacing. "Keep it together, buddy... Gotta stay strong... for Twilight...!" Suddenly, he was knocked out of the way by the door opening. The one who opened it was Twilight, though her silence was worrying.

"I passed!" She announced happily. Everyone began to cheer, happy that everything did work out. As things calmed down, Rarity stepped forward.

You were prepared to do your best
Had what it takes to pass the test
All those doubts you can dismiss
Turns out you were

Prepared for this!

You clearly have just what it takes

To pass a test with such high stakes

We knew for sure you would prevail

Since when does Twilight Sparkle ever fail?

Leaving the city, Twilight's pony friends (and Amity) sang their praise for Twilight, the other humans watching with smiles.

All those doubts that you can dismiss
Trust yourself and you cannot miss

Turns out you were

Turns out I was

Turns out you were

Turns out I was

Turns out you were

Prepared for this!

Yeah, I knew everything was going to be fine.

"And welcome to your new home for a while."

Once everyone got home, the heroes went their separate ways, the humans taking Amity to her new home. Looking around, Amity nodded.

"Hmm, yes. This will be an excellent place to start my legacy." Amity commented, looking like she was plotting something. "Yes, the origin of the number one human idol in Equestria!"

"Heh, not like you've got much competition." Huston mentioned.

"Unless the next one is a famous person." Zenix thought out loud.

"I hope there isn't many more." Xavier sighed. "We're starting to run out of available rooms."

"At least most of the house is big." Alex shrugged.

"There is one thing that I need to take care of." Amity said. Before anyone could ask though, the diva swiftly turned and pointed at Cali. "You! Why have you been staring at me this entire time!?"

"Huh?" Everyone looked at Cali, confused at what was happening.

"Don't play dumb. I know you've been watching me ever since we met! So spill it!" Cali looked nervous, but gave in.

"Okay. If you must know, it's your choice of head wear."

"Hey!" Amity clutched her head, more specifically the aviator helm. "I'll have you know this is an old helmet my father once wore when he was flying around!"

"It's not the hat at all... it's just... I feel like I've seen it before." Cali finally admitted, Amity lowering her guard. "It was strange, but it was like some... vision." Upon the finishing word, many of the humans looked shocked.

"Wait... did it feel too real to be some hallucination?" Xavier asked, Cali looking at him like he said he was a dragon.

"Y-yeah..."

"Should... I mention that I also felt like that?" Huston asked. Others who felt the same way voiced their opinions.

"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Flint asked.

"...I don't know." Xavier admitted. "But I think we need to talk about this."

In the Empire’s Blizzard

As the heroes went home to Ponyville with cheerful joy however, something ominous was seen in the blizzard that surrounded the empire. In it was what appeared to be a cloaked figure, but it was different from the others as the cloak was both darker and worn down with a few holes dotted on it, though the bottom of it was much more worn. Speaking of the bottom, the being under the cloak wasn’t walking, but floating like a ghost. The thing that made it ominous however was the thin, black fog that surrounded them, leaving the snow it floated over blackened like soot, alongside the large scythe that floated alongside the figure, dripping and leaving red spots in the snow once in a while. It stopped however, floating in front of Sombra’s horn as it hummed lightly. The fog around the figure created a tendril to grab the horn, raising it to meet two glowing, red dots in the hood.

Suucch a strrongh passsion. The figure spoke, their voice cold and drawn like someone uncaring about anyone. Yoou try too ffightt deestinny, buut faaill to botthh sstoop iitt aand ffuffill thhaat reaaliity. Buutt yyourr ffailuuer iis viittal for tthe plaann to wworrk. Oof ccouurse… Looking at the scythe, a drop of red falling yet again. Ttheere aaree thhosse whoo aarre aggainnsst ddesttiny, andd thheyy arren’tt wellcomme hheree. Ccomme, itt’ss onlly a mmaterr off timme uuntiil yyou meeett a ttruue king. Underneath the figure, the snow beneath them sank to reveal a swirling, black portal-like hole underneath. The figure began to sink in, bringing Sombra’s horn along with them. Once they entered the portal, it closed up like they weren’t there. The only evidence being the black and red dyed snow that they trailed, but that evidence was covered quickly by the raging blizzard.

Author's Note

Why must life cause problems?
Two distractions. One was my internet being a jerk. The other being a new game that consumed my thoughts (not the one I made a blogpost about) But here it is, the final part of the "Chapter of Crystals". Have a good one, I need to grind
Koops out!