Cadance The Crystal Princess

"So what do you make of the dreams Cady had been dreaming?" Prince Shining Armor asked.

Amore remain silent as she pondered about her daughter's dreams about King Sombra.

Both Amore and the prince were situated in the room shared by the three royals from the Crystal Empire. Princess Cadance was sound asleep in her bed while the other two talked in the centre of the room.

"I'm not sure." Amore replied after a few minutes of silence.

Shining ’s ears flicked as he stepped closer. "But you think they mean something, don’t you? These dreams… they feel too vivid to just be dreams."

Amore let out a quiet sigh. "Cadance and I have always had a deep connection to the Crystal Heart. It’s possible her dreams are more than figments of her imagination. They could be echoes… warnings, perhaps."

"Warnings?" The prince’s tone sharpened as he straightened, his posture turning more defensive. “Do you think Sombra could—”

"I don’t know yet." Amore interrupted gently but firmly, her expression grave. "But we can’t dismiss the possibility. Dreams tied to magic or destiny often carry weight, even if their meaning isn’t immediately clear."

"I'm glad that the finalisation of the alliance between Equestria & Crystal Empire and Mount Aris & Seaquestria has been finalised. We might need their help." Shining stated.

Amore nodded her head to agree with her son-in-law. "True."

Neither noticed as the Princess of Love’s eyes opened, waking from her revelation filled slumber. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and swivelled her head to see the other two occupants of the room.

"So, we don't know if the dreams Cady had been dreaming are visions or just nightmares?" The prince tapped his chin as he thought to himself.

"Unfortunately no. But we should wait until Cadenza wakes up from her nap. She should be able to tell us if the dreams she been dreaming are visions or nightmares." Amore suggested.

"They are not nightmares. The dreams I've been dreaming, they are visions." Cadance quickly said, surprising both Amore and Shining.

"What do you mean the dreams are visions?" Amore asked her daughter, her eyes widened.

The Princess of Love nodded, her expression resolute. "Sombra in my dreams or rather my visions said something will happen in the Crystal Empire once him and his army of umbrum ponies stormed the empire."

Both Amore and Shining stared at Cadance in shock. "If what you're saying is true, that would mean... Oh, I have a bad feeling about this." The prince stated.

"You're not the one, Shiny." The Princess of Love replied.

As Shining and Cadance talked, Amore just stood there, a dark expression dawning on her face as her hooves caused the flooring to crack beneath the pressure.

"Crystal Empire and the citizens living there are in danger as long as we stay here." The prince said.

The Princess of Love tapped her front hoof on the floor nervously. "What should we do? The Crystal Imperial guards back at the empire wouldn't be able to hold back Sombra and his army."

"We need to get back to the empire before-" Amore's words were cut off just as a knock on the door interrupted her.

"Your highnesses!" Mercury shouted as she burst through the door, followed by two Crystal Imperial guards following her behind.

"Your highnesses." The two guards saluted. "We know you didn’t want to be disturbed, but Mercury the messenger had a important message from Captain Tourmaline back at the Crystal Empire."

"Mercury?" Cadance addressed the messenger. "What is it?"

"A message from Captain Tourmaline of the Crystal Imperial guards." The crystal pegasus said, bowing down and raising up before she handed over a scroll with the seal of Crystal Empire emblazoned onto it.

"What could be so urgent?" Shining said to Amore, as the Princess of Love undid the seal and read the letter out loud.

Dear Princess Amore, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor,

Recently, the caravan carrying packages of crops that was supposed to deliver to Outpost Crystal from the Crystal Empire didn't arrived. At first, I assumed that the caravan was being harassed by blizzards and crystal animals out in the Frozen North, so I opted into waiting for the caravan. But after an hour of waiting and not seeing the caravan, I decided to send a squad to check on the outpost to see why.

I will report you back if anything comes up.

Captain of the Crystal Imperial guards,
Captain Tourmaline.

Cadance looked up from the paper she had just been reading. "Well, as if we didn’t need enough proof that the dreams are really visions."

"We-we need to get back to the empire now!" Amore urgently said, looking at the two Crystal Imperial guards. "You two, go to the rest of the Crystal Imperial guards and tell him to pack up all boxes of supplies and equipment and bring them to the carriages. We're leaving now." She then turned to Mercury. "Mercury, find Commander Hurricane and tell him to "

"We're leaving now? What do we tell Queen Novo and King Crestwing about us leaving now?" The prince asked Amore, as the two guards saluted at Amore while the crystal pegasus bowed down at her before leaving.

"I'll personally explain both Crestwing and Novo about the urgency of our departure. They’ll understand. They’ve faced their own share of threats and know the importance of acting swiftly in times of crisis." Amore continued as she prepared to head to the leaders of the hippogriffs.

"Do you want me to come with you, mom?" The Princess of Love asked, still holding the letter.

"No, Cadenza. I want you to go with Shiny and help him and the others to ready the carriages. I will be back once I have inform the situation about Sombra and the Crystal Empire." Amore stated.

Cadance wanted to protest, but found herself unable to come up with a counter argument with her mother and can only nodded her head.

"Alright, mom." The Princess of Love turned back to Shining and motioned for the prince to follow. "Shiny, come with me. I’ll need your help."

"You got it." Shining replied as he moved to follow his wife.

< < < < < < < < < 💙 > > > > > > > > >

Frozen North

Skystrike was almost out of energy as he continued to trudge through the relentless blizzard. His wings still remained folded to shield the injured Florence from the blizzard, who was barely conscious as her eyes were half opened due to the injury on her belly.

The snowstorm howled around them, and each step was a battle against nature’s fury. But the crystal griffon’s resolve didn’t falter as he knew that if he gave up now, both him and his friend would perished in the Frozen North due to them froze to death.

"Just hang in there, Florence. We are almost there." Skystrike tried to assure his friend, though he wasn't sure if he was close to the empire or not.

The crystal bat pony groaned weakly. "If you tell me that one more time, Sky, I swear I’ll punch you… if I don’t freeze first." She rasped, her voice faint but tinged with dry humor.

The storm raged around them, but the crystal griffon pressed forward, refusing to give in.

"We’ll make it, Florence." Skystrike whispered, though whether he was convincing Florence or himself was unclear.

As the crystal griffon continued to walk through the snow and the blizzard, he glanced back at his friend and noticed the bandages on the crystal bat pony's belly soaking with blood again. He knew that her wound need a change of bandage to prevent infection, but unfortunately, he had used the last bandages to bandage the wounds on his friend.

Skystrike knew that the only way to save Florence was to get to the Crystal Empire and get her to the hospital for serious medical emergency treatment. But he also knew that if she doesn't get her treatment fast, she will die due to the loss of blood.

As the crystal griffon trudged on, his gaze darted to the horizon. The unending white of the blizzard blurred everything, but then—a shape. At first, he thought it was his imagination, a cruel trick of the storm. But as he squinted through the swirling snow, hope sparked in his chest.

The spire of the Crystal Palace emerged from the chaos, piercing the storm like a beacon. Relief coursed through Skystrike, banishing the fatigue that had threatened to drag him down.

"Thank the crystals! Florence! The Crystal Empire! We are almost there!" The crystal griffon shook his friend to let her know.

"Skystrike, I swear to Amore, I will literally skin you alive." Florence weakly growled.

"I'm not lying! Look!" Skystrike pointed his claw at the spire, prompting the crystal bat pony to look up.

Florence squinted through the swirling snow, her gaze following her friend's gesture. Her tired eyes widened ever so slightly as she saw the unmistakable silhouette of the Crystal Empire’s centerpiece. For the first time in what felt like hours, a flicker of hope shone in her expression.

"You... weren’t lying..." The crystal bat pony whispered, her lips curving into a faint smile before her head drooped again.

The crystal griffon tightened his grip around her, determination surging through him like a lifeline. "Hold on just a little longer. We’re almost home."

With renewed strength, Skystrike pressed forward, the distant spire guiding him through the storm like a lighthouse in the endless white void.

As the crystal griffon was pressing forward, two silhouettes of ponies and two silhouettes of creatures approached them before they noticed him and his friend.

"Hey! Over here!" One of silhouettes shouted before they moved toward Skystrike and Florence.

< < < < < < < < < 💙 > > > > > > > > >

Crystal Empire

Maxilla and Radiant Hope disguised as Strawberry Dusk continued to patrol the East district of the empire, occasionally greeting the citizens who happened to pass them.

"So, after this, where do you want to go, Strawberry?" The crystal changeling asked his companion. "I hear there’s a new bakery in the market district."

"Sure. No problem." The crystal unicorn said with a forced smile, sweats appearing on her forehead.

Maxilla nodded his head before turning his head back to the task, not noticing that Hope was igniting her horn.

"I'm sorry." The crystal unicorn said, before unleashing a knockout spell on the crystal changeling. The spell hit directly on the changeling's head, knocking him out of cold. She then walked toward the unconscious changeling and nudged him with her hoof. After confirming that he is unconscious, she turned and began to trot back to the palace.

'Just wait for a while, Sombra. Soon, I will get the Crystal Heart to you to cure your darkness.' Hope thought before putting on her determined face as she sped up her trotting.

A few minutes of trotting, the crystal unicorn arrived near the palace, her eyes landing on the spinning Crystal Heart.