In Reflection, The Same

Chapters

Sleeping
Amazing
Mariners
Arrival
Opportunist
Trepidation
Troupe
Ascertain
Research
Rookie
Impossible
Vigilance
Ebb
Savage
Invitation
Nightmare
Gehenna
Obstinate
Found
Tightrope
Horrors
Elementary
Deride
Ethereal
Delirious
So Cometh the King of the Dead
And So Bringeth His Rotted Breath
Questions and Commands
Speaking With Your Past
Oil and Blood
Walking With Your Mistakes
Savior
Screams and Roars
Alone
Frenzy
Entrenched
Tabescent
Magic and Monsters
Yet
Epilogue: A Princess and an Omen
Microcosm
Kindred
Knowledge
Aether
Feathers and Flesh

Sleeping

"Twilight! Twilight! Come on, get up! Hurry!"

Twilight shot up from her bed and nearly toppled over Spike, who had been nudging her in attempt to wake her up.

"What is it spike? What's the matter?" she asked with panic in her voice. This was partly because she was only starting to fully wake up, but as far as she knew, Canterlot was under attack, or some other nefarious villain had kidnapped everyone in Ponyville.

"It's the map, I think it's glitched! Come look."

Twilight stood motionless. Spike ran out of her bedroom and into the hall that led to the map room. She could hear the quiet pattering of his scaley feet echo throughout the castle, even when he was nearly on the other end of the hall from her. That was one of the things that she had yet to get used to with this castle, any sound louder than a whisper was likely to be heard across the entire castle.

She sluggishly looked down at her cutie mark. the spattering of stars that adorned her flank were the same as they had always been; notably unilluminated. She sighed and rubbed the itchiness of sleep from her eyes. Spike was probably overreacting, it was probably nothing to worry about.

She began to trot down the long, spacious hall that led to the map room. Of course the map had to break in the wee hours of the morning. She took a quick glance out of one of the castle's many windows. The sun had yet to be raised, and the moon was obscured by heavy clouds filled to the brim with snow. Due to this, the only thing Twilight could see besides pitch blackness was the occasional snowflake that was close enough to the window to be illuminated by the glow of the castle lights.

It looked positively frigid out there. Sometimes, Twilight wondered how Rainbow Dash managed to live in her cloudominium when it was this cold. There was no way that those clouds were anywhere near insulating enough to keep out a cold like this. But Dash never complained, so Twilight supposed that it couldn't be that bad.

The doors to the map room were already wide open. Spike was pacing on top of the map, his gaze constantly switching between scanning the map of Equestria and staring at one particular spot near Canterlot.

He noticed Twilight walk in and dashed to the edge of the table to meet her. "What took you so long? C'mon, come look at this."

Twilight merely yawned in response. she walked around the map and took a seat at her respective chair, nearly nodding off as soon as she sat down. "Alright, Spike... Where's this glitch you were talking about?"

Spike scampered past the city of Canterlot, over the small village that Twilight and her friends had visited not too long ago, and onto the sea that divided Equestria and the kingdom of Griffonstone. He pointed up north, towards the large ice banks that marked the edge of the great icy land that surrounded the Crystal Kingdom.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first, but when she looked back down at Griffonstone, she noticed what Spike was pointing at.

In front of Griffonstone, in the middle of the sea that separated the two kingdoms, was an odd cube. It wasn't big by an means, in fact, Twilight nearly had to stand up on the table and squint hard to see it, but it was there. She had sworn it hadn't been there before, she would've known if it was, or somepony else would have seen it earlier. As tiny as it was, once she saw it, it was hard to miss. Unlike the soft crystalline blue and purple of the map, this small, insignificant little square was completely black.

"Huh," she let out as she leaned back into her chair. "It doesn't seem to be anything substantial. Maybe it is just a glitch."

"Can we fix it?" Spike asked, hopping down from the table.

"I'm not sure. I might have some spellbooks from the Crystal Kingdom. Does this even fall under crystal magic? Maybe one of Starswirl's old books might have information on enchantments like this..."

Spike grabbed his duster and began to walk out of the room to do his daily chores, but he stopped before he could reach the doorway. Then, he let out a loud, fiery burp. A single scroll burst from from plume of emerald flames and dropped lightly onto the floor. Spike picked up the scroll, then looked back at his now scorched feather duster.

"Well, guess I'll add that to the shopping list." he grumbled.

He brought Twilight the scroll, looking visibly upset. She would have to buy him another duster later, once she figured out what was wrong with her map. But first, why would Princess Celestia send her a letter at this time of day?

Twilight unrolled the scroll and began to silently read it's contents to herself. After a short moment, Spike cleared his throat.

"Oh, sorry Spike," she apologized. She cleared her throat and began again.

"Dear Twilight, My most faithful student, As you must have noticed, the pegasi have done a fantastic job for this year's winter. However, I believe their work may be too good. I recently received a letter from one of our neighboring kingdoms of whom your friends have already spoken to quite recently..." Twilight's eyes sparkled and she let out a small delighted gasp.

"She doesn't mean...?" Spiked asked, though he already knew the answer.

"She does mean! Oh I finally get to go to Griffonstone!" Twilight leaped out of her seat, hovering above the table in excitement. "So many hours spent poring over griffon history, and now I get to experience it firsthand!"

With a squee of delight, Twilight zoomed out of the map room and down the hall back to her bedroom.

Spike let out another sigh. "Guess I better pack her bags before she fills them with books... again..." He grumbled, the pattering of his feet resounding through the hall once more as he followed behind her.

Amazing

"Twilight, for Celestia's sake would you please stop tapping your hooves on the floor? I already had to cancel my morning spa appointment for this trip, and It's giving me quite the unfashionable headache," Rarity pleaded.

"Oh, sorry Rarity. I'm just so excited to finally see Griffonstone after Pinkie and Dash already got to go there themselves."

"Yeah, we know. You've done nothing but ask Pinkie and I questions about Griffonstone all morning!" Rainbow Dash added.

"You should've seen her before she left. It took me twenty minutes to convince her to bring only what she really needed," Spike remarked, looking back at the small mountain of bags, briefcases and other assorted travel cases. "And this," he gestured to the monumentally heavy pile of packed supplies, "Is the best I could do."

"I'm sorry everypony, it's just that I've never had the opportunity to see the Griffon Kingdom, especially as a princess."

"It's alright Twilight, we all understand how exciting this is for you," Fluttershy assured. "Isn't that right everypony?" Fluttershy turned to the other ponies, trying to mend the palpable feeling of tired grumpiness that lingered over the rest of the group.

In vain it seemed, as the general mumbling of agreement from Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Spike did nothing to improve the mood.

"I haven't been up this early since I was back home on the rock farm! Everythings so misty and sprinkly!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with her usual boundless energy.

"It's alright Twilight, don't worry about those grumps. Not everyone can handle bein' up at such an early hour like I can." Applejack assured Twilight. She puffed up her chest slightly as she spoke, a motion that made Rainbow Dash groan.

"I could be a morning person if I wanted to..." she pouted as she grumbled under her breath.

"The morning dew always ruins my mane. Now I wish I'd brought a hat, I can only imagine what it's going to be like out on the sea," Rarity complained, taking a seat on a small line of throw pillows that she pulled out from her own luggage pile.

Twilight couldn't help but to agree. As much as the idea of seeing the Griffon Kingdom overpowered the tiredness in her eyes, the humid air and the grumpiness of her friends, She was hoping that this morning could stand to be a little more picturesque. The dock that the ponies stood on was uncomfortably waterlogged, a product of the cold sea air. The sky was a bleak grey, and the early morning fog that shrouded the entire port made the atmosphere much more dreary than Twilight imagined it would be.

It didn't help that her friends were just as morose. Rainbow hovered in the air, glowering down at all the other ponies.

"Remind me why we couldn't just fly all the way to Griffonstone? We take a train all the way to Baltimare just to catch a boat when we could've just taken a carriage. I could have flown to Griffonstone myself and gotten there before any of you'd have reached the port!"

"Not all of us have got big fancy wings, Rainbow. Some of us have to put in a bit more work to get where we need to go," Applejack retorted. Applejack, despite arguing otherwise, did seem a little more snippy than usual. It wasn't nearly as bad as Rainbow, but it was noticeable, at least to Twilight. She believed it probably had more to do with leaving Sweet Apple Acres for a currently unknown amount of time.

And as if on cue, Applejack, with a humph in Rainbow Dash's direction, walked up next to Twilight.

"Say, Twi? How long do you reckon we're gonna be at Griffonstone for?"

"I don't know. Princess Celestia's just as confused about the whole Griffonstone situation as I am," Twilight responded.

"Well did she give any details? Any little bit saying 'hey Twilight, you were totally supposed to take this carriage I had ready and fly to Griffonstone instead of moping around a wet dock like a bunch of sad sacks.' Anything in there that could maybe explain why this mission was so urgent that we needed to get up this early?" Rainbow Dash fumed, her enraged face slightly obscured by the thick fog.

"Now you hold on one apple buckin' moment there, Rainbow," Applejack scolded her, grabbing Rainbow Dash by her tail and dragging her back down to ground level. "You don't get to mosey around shouting at Twilight just because you're up earlier than usual. She doesn't know any more about this situation than Celestia does."

"What do you care? You probably wake up this early all the time!" Rainbow Dash retorted.

"Darlings please, your arguing is not making this trip go by any faster," Rarity groaned quietly as she gently rubbed her temples with her hooves.

"I'll go get us tickets for the train back then..." Spike sighed as he turned around to head back to the station.

Twilight was trying her best to contain herself as her friends continued to gripe all around her. However, try as she might, she could still feel the shiver of anger shake through her legs. She could feel a small vibration in her ears, and she hoped that she hadn't accidentally burst a blood vessel.

That fear was put to rest a moment later when the unmistakable sound of a crystal flugelhorn cut through the air like a blade. Twilight looked over to see Pinkie standing at the end of the dock with flugelhorn in hoof.

"Pinkie, what are you doing?" Twilight asked. Twilight, given the current circumstances, was not in the mood for Pinkie's random acts.

"I'm calling to the horn in the ocean, silly!" she responded casually. "Watch!"

Pinkie sounded off the flugelhorn again. The other six, silenced by her first call, sat waiting to see whatever it was Pinkie Pie was talking about. After a short moment of silence, Twilight turned back to Spike. She was just about to walk with him back to the station when a painfully loud droning came from beyond the fog. The board of the dock rattled and shook Rarity nearly fell of of her bed of pillows, and Rainbow fell from the sky onto the wet wood below with a dull Thump.

Twilight, Spike and the other ponies aside from Rarity all ran to the edge of the dock, looking for whatever had made such a powerful sound. The faint outline of a boat appeared amidst the misty cloud that shrouded the Port.

Twilight couldn't help but to get excited again. This was it. Finally, Twilight would get to go to Griffonstone.

Mariners

The great wooden ship, emblazoned with the symbol of the Griffon Kingdom, moved through the sea like a heated blade. The ship had barely left the Baltimare dock an hour ago, and was lightly rocking on the calm shallows of the Celestial Sea. Despite that, Applejack was already hung over the deck in queasiness.

Twilight eyed her friend nervously. Hopefully the trip wouldn't take that long, she would hate for everyone to be uncomfortable for the whole trip to Griffonstone.

It seemed that she wasn't the only one who took notice of Applejack's vulnerable state, as a puffy, dark brown griffon floated down from one of the ship's grand sails and landed next to Twilight.

"Is she gonna be okay? She's not looking too fresh," The griffon asked.

"Applejack? She'll probably be ok once we get to Griffonstone," Twilight assured, though she wasn't too sure herself if Applejack was going to pass out before they got there. "How long until we reach it?"

"If this damned ice cooperates, we should be there by sunrise tomorrow," he growled, casting a wicked glance towards the water in front of them.

"Yes, the ice. The note we received said it was a little thicker than usual?"

At that, the griffon let out a hearty laugh. "That's the understatement of the century, princess! Follow me a sec."

The griffon quickly paced towards the front of the boat, and Twilight followed quickly behind. As they reached the bow, the griffon pointed over the edge and down towards the water.

"Take a look."

Twilight took a glance over the edge. The water was still as clear as the fog would allow, but there wasn't a piece of ice in sight. What Twilight did notice were the two sharpened metal slabs that looked like two halves of a snow plow. The bottoms of the slabs were serrated, giving the already imposing Galleon the appearance of having a great, metal-toothed mouth.

"Ah yes. I noticed your interesting hull design when you docked. I assume it's for pushing ice out of the way," Twilight stated.

The griffon let out another hearty laugh. "It does a bit more than that, princess."

"What does that mean?" Twilight asked cautiously.

"You'll see once we reach the Wall. I don't wanna spoil anything for you, but I'll say this: You'll want your coat when you see it. It'll give you shivers like Nobody's business!" the griffon let out a final chuckle, then flew back up above the sails and into the shroud of the fog.

Twilight, thoroughly confused, decided to look for her friends. Rainbow Dash was probably sleeping somewhere below deck, Applejack was currently clinging onto the ship's starboard rail, Pinkie was... still playing her flugelhorn. That left just Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike, and Celestia only knew where they had all run off to.

Twilight took her time exploring the boat to look for her friends. She watched the occasional griffon crewman fly up to the sails above and disappear into the thick, enveloping fog. It was odd to her how small the crew seemed, given the size of the ship. In the time she had spent on deck, she had only seen four griffons come and go as they attended to various tasks. Surely they should have had a bigger crew than this, right?

As she ruminated on the size of the ship's crew, she went downstairs into the lower deck to look for her friends. to her surprise, as she entered the lower deck, she could faintly hear excited chatter coming from a nearby compartment. She found a thick wooden door that led to another part of the ship. She gave it a push, but the door remained stationary. She pushed harder, but with no luck. She attempted to open the door with her magic, but as she focused, she realised the door was held closed by an odd contraption of some sort.

She stood for a moment, trying to figure out just what it was that was attached to the door, but then the door clicked. It clicked again, and with a loud chunk, the door opened. In front of Twilight stood a lanky griffon. Her hair was a frazzled clump of feathers the color of dull lime, and her bottom half appeared to be a lion's, colored an equally dull shade of yellow. Her face when she saw Twilight was one of joyful surprise.

"Ah, so it was the princess messin' with the lock! You fixin' to steal somethin' your majesty?" the griffon squinted at Twilight with joking suspicion.

"Of course not, I would never think of doing something like that! I just heard noises and tried to open this door and-" Twilight attempted to answer, but her explaining seemed to only make the griffon chuckle. She seemed to be really good at making griffons laugh, though the reason why was beyond her.

"It's fine, princess, I'm jokin' wit'cha. This door's a waterproof stormhatch. Griffon designed, able to witshtand the full might of a ragin' Cetus! It ain't really meant t' be easy t'open," the griffon explained.

The griffon stepped back to let Twilight inspect the lock. She looked as hard as she could to find anything that might give her a hint as to how it worked, but besides a few sliding bars and gear-based waterlocks, she couldn't pinpoint exactly how it worked. She was by no means a mechanic, and compared to equestrian craftmanship, this was practically alien, and it fascinated her.

"Wow!" was all she could get out at first. "This is a feat of engineering! I can't imagine what the designers must have done in order to get this to work! so much thought and care was put into this!"

"Well gee, thanks, princess. I'll admit, It's a little weird takin' compliments from royalty, but I could get used to it," the griffon admitted a little abashedly.

"Well of course, something like this deserves... Wait... Did you design this door?" Twilight asked,

"Not just the door, princess..." the griffon stated with a proud smile.

Twilight stood still for a moment. She stared straight ahead at the floor, unable to move her eyes, or any part of herself for that matter. It was as if she had been frozen solid.

"y'alright there, princess?" the griffon asked, genuine concern coating her voice.

Twilight looked up at the griffon slowly. her face was still a blank, unreadable mask, but the shimmer of inquisitiveness in her eyes was all the griffon needed to understand.

the griffon chuckled a bit, stepping back to let Twilight into the galley where Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike stood.

"Why don'tcha come in and have somethin' to eat? I get the feeling ya might wanna sit down."

Arrival

Twilight watched the bow of the ship with waning interest. The once stationary slabs of metal that hung from the hull of the galleon were now extended from two long, jointed metal poles, and cycled back and forth. The twin claws easily tore through the thick chunks of ice that floated on the water as easily as a mole might dig through soil.

The ice had begun to thin as the ship got closer to the shore of Griffonstone. The fog was now gone, having dissipated sometime yesterday, but Twilight could still see the towering silhouette of the Wall behind her. She tried to keep herself from looking at it. Something about it just felt wrong to her. It disturbed her to no end.

Fortunately, the cold, icy peaks of the Hyperborean Mountains just up ahead. They would arrive soon, though Twilight felt they couldn't arrive soon enough. The faster she and her friends were off this boat and out of the sea, the better. Spike had already begun bringing up she and Rarity's belongings. She stood up and followed Spike below deck to lend a hoof.

"Are you excited, Twilight?" Spike asked as the two carried a pair of briefcases up top.

"I... I guess..." Twilight sighed.

"What's the matter Twilight? You were more giddy than Pinkie on her birthday when we left Baltimare. Now you're all... mopey," Spike pointed out tactlessly.

"Gee, thanks Spike," Twilight retorted. Not a moment after she spoke however, she sighed again. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's come over me. I just feel so drained for some reason."

"Did you sleep alright? I packed your neck pillows since I know you tend to throw your neck out when you read." Spike asked.

Twilight let out a small chuckle. "Thanks Spike. Maybe I do need a little rest."

"Well you better get some sleep now then, cuz I'm not carrying you and all of your stuff to Griffonstone," Spike joked, though Twilight had the feeling there was definite meaning behind his words.

"Maybe once we're done moving everything." She replied, placing a few small bags carefully atop the stack of luggage.

Gillian and Gerret were stood atop the masts along with Gaine the brown, puffy griffon while Gelgen, a grass green griffon with bright yellow hairfeathers, stood at the wheel. As the three other Griffons worked to adjust the sails, Gelgen pressed a series of buttons on a dashboard that extended out from the base of the wheel, after which a long, compactible telescope popped out. Gelgen alternated between using the telescope to look out towards the shore, and adjusting the ship's course ever so slightly to reach the dock. Thankfully, with the pace the ship was making, they would reach the Griffonstone port in no time.

Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were all gathering their own belongings. Pinkie Pie stood on top of the crow's nest, staring at the mountain range intently.

"What is she doing up there?" Rainbow asked aloud as she placed her singular saddlebag down next to Rarity's incomparably large luggage pile.

"If I had to guess, I'd say she's still playin' that dang horn," Applejack responded.

"Not anymore!" Gaine yelled out from above.

Without a sound, Gaine landed down next to the group. "I, as captain of this vessel, decided to disallow the use of flugelhorns of any sort after dusk. She'll get her horn back when we dock."

"She was okay with that?" Twilight asked. As much as she was relieved to not her the blaring of that horn, she knew Pinkie well enough that she didn't like not being allowed to do something she enjoyed.

"She seemed pretty alright with it when I talked to her yesterday. But... she has been sitting up there all morning," Gaine noted. after a second of quiet though, he shrugged. "Eh, not my problem," he surmised, flying silently back up to the masts above.

"Well he sure is... eccentric," Rarity muttered, casting a quizzical look towards the small puffy figure above her.

"I'm gonna go check on Pinkie to make sure she's ok," Twilight announced.

She carefully ascended towards the crow's nest. She tried not to interrupt the griffons as they worked, bar a passing wave to Gillian. As she reached the crow's nest. she lightly tapped her hooves on the sturdy wood planks to signify her presence to Pinkie. Twilight felt a pang of anxiety when Pinkie remained completely motionless, like a meticulously carved statue frozen in time.

"Pinkie?" Twilight spoke in a hushed tone.

"Hey Twi," Pinkie responded just as quietly, still not moving.

"Are you alright? I heard Gaine took your flugelhorn, I'm sorry if he hurt your feelings," Twilight spoke. She was starting to feel guilty bringing her friends on this mission with how poorly it was going.

"No... It's not that," Pinkie responded monotonously.

"What is it then?" Twilight worried, walking forward to stand next to her friend.

Pinkie didn't respond, but pointed forward. Twilight stared ahead at the ice laden sea in front of her, but it's oddness caught her attention immediately. In contrast to what she expected, the nearby sea, as well as the very small Griffonstone port were not surrounded by ice. Surprisingly, the ice began to branch off into multiple thin strings that seemed to flow against the current. Some of the strings were traveling north towards the Crystal Empire, other limbs move southward towards the land of the dragons, and some seemed to be turn right around towards Equestria. It almost looked like...

"The ice," Pinkie continued Twilight's thought, "It's moving on it's own."

Twilight turned to look at Pinkie. Her statement hadn't exactly quelled her anxiety. It only worsened when she looked into Pinkie's eyes. She could see the reflection of the cold icy water in her eyes, the thin branching lines of ice like small white cracks in a great blue wall. For a moment, Pinkie Pie's eyes almost looked like the Wall, an endless, unearthly blue void.

Twilight wasn't sure how long she stared at that infinite wall, but all of a sudden, Pinkie let out an excited gasp. In a flash, the void that filled her eyes disappeared, and she jumped up in delight.

"Twilight look! Looklooklook! We're heeeeeere!"

Without a second thought, Pinkie leaped away and bounced down to the deck below as if nothing had happened. Twilight stood still, petrified by what just took place. While she stood, shocked by what had just transpired, Pinkie acted as if everything was fine. What was going on recently?

And what in Celestia's name was wrong with this ice?

Opportunist

Twilight would have laughed, were the situation not so unbelievably absurd as it was. Twilight Sparkle, herself, was speaking to her right now. What did it mean? Why her specifically? It wasn't scientifically possible, that was for sure. Maybe she was hallucinating? Maybe what happened to Pinkie Pie was happening to her. Maybe-

"Please, slow down. Your train of thought is agonizing to listen to," Twilight's own voice groaned from somewhere Twilight couldn't quite pinpoint.

"Where are you? W-what are you? Are you really me? If so-"

"Alright, enough with the hyperspeed thoughts for the love of Boiuna!" the voice shouted. At least it sounded like a shout, but it wasn't any louder than Twilight's... the voice's normal way of speaking. It was almost like...

"Wait... are you... in my head?" Twilight asked out loud.

"Ah, now you're thinking at a speed I can handle. See how much easier it is to piece things together when you slow down?"

Twilight tried to wrap her head around this whole situation, but it still refused to make any sense to her, no matter how hard she thought about it. What made it worse was the fact the she was now unable, or unallowed, to think anything over too hard, lest her own voice yell at her. Was this what it was like to go insane?

"No, uhm... Twilight. You're not going insane, I can assure you," the voice assured.

"Well then why don't you explain to me what's going on then, weird floating voice in my head!" Twilight yelled out into the empty forest. She could faintly hear the sound of rushing liquid, but couldn't tell if it was the stream or the blood rushing to her head.

"Gladly," The voice gurgled, "I am Twilight Sparkle, the princess of the kingdom of Equestria. Using the power of my... uh... ah, friendship, I created a beautiful and expansive kingdom that was dwarfed only the kingdom of the great and mighty Boiuna and her two children, Angont and Pairio," The voice spoke solemnly.

"Oh, is this Boiuna like Princess Celestia or Princess Luna?" Twilight asked.

"Celestia... ah! Yes, though to accurately describe Boiuna, she was more of a queen of queens rather than some self aggrandizing goddess. I find it odd that your timeline holds a strong aversion to queenship, despite your monarchal governing..."

"Timeline? What do you mean?" Twilight questioned.

"From what I can read of your mind, this Equestria is nothing like the home I know. Here, people, leaders, entire kingdoms are gone, replaced with disturbingly vain, friendship obsessed facsimiles. The only explanation could be that Ma Vie sent me to another timeline to prevent me from ever returning to my kingdom..." Twilight could hear the voice's deep, raspy breaths as its agitation grew.

Meanwhile, question began to surge through Twilight's head yet again.

"Wait, how much of my mind can you read? Who is Ma Vie? Why does that name sound familiar? How long-"

"Twilight," The voice warned sternly.

"Right, sorry."

Twilight could hear the voice sigh a low, gargled sigh. "Why don't I answer all of your annoyingly rapid fire questions while you get going back to the cabin. You've been shivering like that for a little while now."'

Twilight looked down, she was indeed shaking quite aggressively. It seemed the prospect of meeting an individual like... herself overpowered the coldness that had been slowly creeping up on her.

"Ok," she agreed reluctantly, "But I need another name for you. I can't just talk to myself, that'd make me look crazy."

"You already look plenty certifiable, but If it helps slow down the cascade of questions you've been throwing at me, so be it," The voice concurred.

"Maybe I'll just call you Twilice," Twilight chuckled at her own joke.

"That is just about the worst name I've ever heard," Twilice growled.

Twilight giggled again as she walked back towards the stream that had led away from the estuary.

"So how did you end up in another timeline stuck in a block of ice anyway?" She asked.

"The questions truly never end with you, huh? I guess since I haven't got anywhere to be..." Twilice cleared her throat, making a low bubbling sound as she did so.

"In my world, Equestria is but a small piece of what we... equestrians called Leudnan Righrean. It was the result of the peaceful coexistence of twelve separate kingdoms, that is until princess Ma Vie decided that Leudnan would be better off with just one kingdom, the Crystal Kingdom...

Twilight could hear Twilice's raspy breathing slowly become more audible as the voice tried her best to stay calm. "We tried to reason with her, to convince her to end the war against the peaceful denizens of Leudnan, but finally, me and my people decided that we wouldn't submit to her without a fight. Try as we might though, she destroyed my home, exterminated my people, then with one last spell, froze me in ice and hid me away so that I would never be able to return to the home I knew..."

"Wow. That sounds awful, Twilice, I'm so sorry," Twilight said in an attempt to comfort her new friend.

"Oh it's... well it's not alright, but my situation has every opportunity to improve. Now that I have a friend like you, I can finally escape this frozen prison and go back home."

"Well.. I can try my best to help, but I've never heard of such a powerful spell before. I only know one object that holds that kind of magic. and it's-"

Twilight was interrupted by a loud gurgling that made her head shake. "Ah... I see you have your own... Crystal Empire. How... interesting."

"Don't worry," Twilight assured, concerned at the sudden tension in the air. "Princess Cadance is kind and gentle and way better than this Princess Ma Vie. Maybe I should send a letter-"

"Twilight, there you are!" Applejack shouted to Twilight from out of one of the cabin's windows. The earth pony slammed the window closed, then a moment later ran up to her friend. "Shucks, I was starting to get worried you wouldn't come back before sunset."

Twilight was confused by this. The grey sky above wouldn't give any signs, but she was sure it was still morning. "What do you mean Applejack, we only got here a little while ago."

Her friend looked back at her with an expression of equal confusion. "Uh, Twilight... you've been gone all day!"

Trepidation

"Wow, have I really been out for that long, I feel like it's only been an hour at most." Twilight asked, perplexed by this information.

"Sure have. I think Spike's right, you definitely need some rest, sugarcube," Applejack breathed.

"No, I'm fine. I've just had a lot on my mind. I think I just need to lay down and read something, take my mind off things."

"Sure Twilight. Although..." Applejack suddenly gave Twilight a wary expression, "you might wanna brace yourself when you see who's showed up."

"Who? The Head of Inter-kingdom Relations? Who are they? Do we know them? Is something wrong?" She started rambling.

"Ugh..." Twilice groaned from within the tumultuous storm that was Twilight's mind.

Applejack, on the other hand, chuckled sweetly. "Don't you worry, Rainbow and Pinkie say they couldn't have picked a better griffon for the job."

"Oh that's... Wait, you don't mean..." Twilight began. She fortunately didn't need to finish her sentence, as when Applejack opened the front door, a brown and white griffon stood on the other side.

"Hey, it's the princess of the dorks! good to see ya!" Gilda exclaimed, giving Twilight a hug as she entered the cabin.

"Good to see you too, Gilda. You definitely seem to be in a better mood than last time we met," Twilight wheezed, feeling crushed by the griffon's surprisingly powerful claws.

"Well you can thank those two over there for that," Gilda said, pointing to Pinkie and Rainbow. "Turns out, spreading friendship throughout the Griffonstone is a pretty sweet gig. And now I'm the ambassador for the whole Griffon Kingdom. It's pretty rad, not gonna lie."

"Well I'm happy for you, Gilda. If Rainbow and Pinkie trust you to be a suitable ambassador for the Griffon Kingdom, then so do I."

"Sweet! I brought some scones from home if anypony wants one." The upbeat griffon offered.

The other three griffons immediately rushed to her side, hoping to get a confectionary treat of their own. The only one who stayed back was Gelgen. Now that they were in the same room together, Twilight could very easily see how old he really was. She was taken aback at how or why such an old griffon was still working. Though she didn't spend too much time ruminating, as when she turned to look at him, the griffon suddenly averted his gaze, as if he were trying to hide the fact that he had been staring at her. It made her uncomfortable, and after the craziness of today, the last thing she needed right now was something else to be upset by.

"You're commendably patient. I must say I'm impressed, princess," Twilice commented.

"Well I am the princess of friendship. I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and not make any negative assumptions based off of one split second interaction."

Twilice's only response was a raspy grumble as Twilight tried to find some quiet solace upstairs.

"How did you rule your kingdom if you find my behavior so surprising, Twilice?" Twilight asked.

"I like to believe I ruled my people justly, but I admit that I was often quick to action. Perhaps it is because of my combativeness that I found myself in my current situation..." Twilice spoke morosely.

"I'm sorry Twilice... I'm still more than happy to help you," Twilight assured the voice in her head. As she walked down the hallway, Twilight noticed that one of the doors was closed, yet the light was still on. Evidently, it seemed that Spike had chosen his room. Then an idea sprang into her head.

"Hey Twilice, what if I-"

"No. Absolutely not," the voice interrupted her mid-thought.

"Look, I know you don't have the best reputation with the Crystal Empire, but Cadance might be the only pony in Equestria who has the information you need to get out of that ice."

"Prove to me that colluding with the... Crystal Empire... is our one and only option, then I'll listen to you," Twilice growled.

Twilight sighed. She was gonna have to find some way to prove to Twilice that the Crystal Empire wasn't as bad as she thought, but how was she gonna do that?

"Hey... Twilight? Are you alright?" Spike swung open the door to their bedroom, comic in hand. "You've been talking to yourself outside the door for the past minute."

"Oh. I'm sorry Spike. I've just been thinking-"

"It's fine Twilight. Just don't do it in the middle of the hallway... It's weird." He said, walking back to his small bed in the corner of the room.

The room was decently sized, more than enough room for the three... two of them. Some of Twilight's bags were leaned up against the side of the very comfy looking bed. Without pause, Twilight leaped on to the bed with a long, pacified sigh. It hadn't really occurred to her just how much sleep she needed until she finally laid down. The last few days were mentally exhausting, now was the perfect time to relax and do some reading.

Or better yet...

"Don't." Twilice warned

"Hey Spike, you didn't happen to pack anything on the crystal empire, did you?" Twilight asked innocently.

"Other than that one Abridged History of Sombra and the Crystal Empire that you've read like a hundred times, no."

Twilight huffed, annoyed by both her lack of texts on the Crystal Empire as well as the croaky snickering from Twilice. Feeling thoroughly defeated, she decided to read the book anyway. A hundred and one times couldn't hurt.

"For your sake and mine, just drop the whole Crystal... Empire thing. You seem to be an awfully talented magician, and I should know." Twilice

"What, were you a great and powerful magician in your timeline?" Twilight joked, giggling internally.

Twilice laughed along with her, the raspy, snakelike timbre of the voice's chuckles seeming alien compared to Twilight's sonorous mental laughter.

"Oh Twilight... you have no idea the power I held in my day. It was... beautiful." Twilice tittered.

After gathering herself, Twilight resumed her reading as she listened to her friend. "Heh, if you say so Twilice."

Troupe

Twilight hadn't realized that she had fallen asleep until she heard a knocking on the door. Spike jolted awake as Rainbow Dash flung open the door, but Twilight was slower to rise.

"Good morning Princess... Twilight Sparkle," Twilice thrummed.

"Morning Twilice..." Twilight mumbled groggily.

"Uh, my name's not Twilice, Twilight," Rainbow said with confusion.

"Oh right. Sorry Rainbow," Twilight yawned, taking a moment to stretch as she flopped off of the bed.

"What's going on Rainbow Dash? Usually you hate getting up early," Spike asked.

"Gilda wants us all downstairs so we can figure out how to smash that crummy ice block into a million pieces!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, taking a couple jabs at thin air before flying back down to the main room.

"You coming, Twilight?" Spike questioned.

"I think I'll be down in a couple minutes, Spike." Twilight responded.

Spike shrugged as he walked out of the bedroom, but he quietly closed the door behind him as he left. Now that it was just her, Twilight let out a long yawn and starting began to ready herself for the day.

"So, Princess... have you thought of anything that might aid in my freedom?" the eerily familiar voice of Twilice slithered around in her head.

"I have a faint idea, from something I read last night," Twilight said aloud.

"Ah yes... the history of the Crystal Kingdom... how apropos," the voice gurgled.

"C'mon Twilice, If any spell could get you out of that ice, it's a spell from the kingdom that put you there. Although it might have unintended effects, given it's not the same timeline," Twilight noted as she straightened her hair.

"You... ah, I see what you mean. I don't think that will be a problem, and after all, you couldn't make my situation any worse." the voice reassured her.

"I guess you're right," Twilight sighed. "Alright, let's find a way to get you out of there."

Twilight walked down to the living room where everypony else was gathered. Gilda and Gaine were talking about something, but stopped to look at her as she came downstairs. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight could see Gelgen scowling at her, but she decided to ignore it.

"Morning, doofus! You ready to kick this ice back to where it came from?" Gilda called.

"Uh... I think so. As long as everypony else is ready to help."

Her friends nodded in unison, and the griffons joined in with nods of their own.

"Oh!" Gillian suddenly called out. "I actually took a sample on our trip here, gimme a sec!"

the honeydew griffon dashed upstairs. After several minutes of muffled crashing and banging, Gillian returned, practically tumbling her way downstairs with a clump of ice in her claw.

"Guess I should've listened to you sooner, Dash. Having an egghead for a friend really does have its benefits," Gilda whispered, nudging Rainbow in the arm as they laughed to themselves.

"If that there iceball's been in your room since yesterday, shouldn't it've melted already?" Applejack wondered.

"That's exactly what I was thinkin', So I tried runnin' a coupl'a experiments. Wouldn't 'cha believe it, I couldn't figure out a dang thing about what the hoot this ice's made out of."

"Do you mean to tell us that this ice isn't... ice?" Rarity crooned.

"Well from what I could figure out 'bout it's composition, It's still ice... just not, uh, normal ice," Gillian shrugged.

"Oh Boiuna, I didn't think anyone could talk as infuriatingly as you think," Twilice sighed.

"Be nice, she's one of the people trying to get you out of there." Twilight responded, being sure not to accidentally speak aloud.

"Yes, I know. I just never assumed my freedom would be at the cost of having to listen to you two talk drivel for hours on end," Twilice joked. Twilight tried her best not worry about Twilice's words, but the longer she listened to her new friend, the more she realized just how different the two of them were.

"Believe me, It's been equally odd for me as well. Do you know what it's like to have to wait fifteen hundred years just to hear another voice?" The voice complained.

"Huh?" Twilight said aloud.

"A little foggy headed today I see." Gaine commented sarcastically.

"Today? Try the past three days," Rainbow added.

"Both of you can it," Gilda scorned the two of them. "Twilight, you'll be working with the Gillian. I want you two to pool your eggheadedness and see if you can figure out what the deal with this ice, ok?"

Gillian gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, still holding the completely solid hunk of ice in her other claw. Twilight, having not focused on what Gilda had been saying, simply nodded.

Gilda nodded in return. "Good. Dash, Fluttershy, Garret, Gaine and Rarity will be going with me back to the Wall to see if we can figure out anything on our own, try and find a path to establish a new trade route, and if we're lucky we can bring you back some more samples," She proposed, which made Gillian gasp in excitement.

The griffon turned to the other ponies. "Applejack, Pinkie? You both cool with keeping an eye on the eggheads for me?"

The two ponies nodded, making Gilda huff in approval. She then turned to the elderly griffon who was snoozing in a plush armchair.

"Gelgen!"

The old, green griffon, at the mention of his name, snorted awake and nearly toppled over from the chair he was sat in. "uh, yes ma'am?"

"You're staying here with the ponies in case the eggheads or the other two need something. We'll be back in about two days, so don't do anything stupid, all of you," Gilda stated.

"With all due respect Ma'am," Gelgen tried to hide the venom in his voice, but it was easy enough for Twilight and her to notice. "Who else here knows how to drive Ms. Razor?"

"Oh drivin' her's easy. She comes with a mini manual 'n' basic auto current correction turnin'!" Gillian chimed.

The daggers that floated in Gelgen's eyes might've been able to chisel Twilice free, but Gilda didn't seem to notice.

"You stay here with them. I'm not changing my mind," She said with a tone of finality.

With a turn and a slamming of the door, Gilda, as well as her troupe, were gone. It was just the five of them now. Every creature sat still for a moment of quiet awkwardness, until Gillian finally spoke.

"C'mon Twilight, let me show you what I've found out about this stuff already!"

Ascertain

Gillian threw open the door to her room, and Twilight was immediately overtaken by the hum of machinery and the smell of oil and fruit. All around the edges of the room sat various machines and other apparatus that were most likely used in experimentation. At first, Twilight thought Gillian was skipping her way across the room, but as Twilight followed her, she tripped over one of many thick cables that snaked across the floor.

"Oh yeah, sorry 'bout that, Princess. I didn't really think'a cleaning up beforehand. I don't usually have ponies'n my room," the griffon admitted abashedly.

"Don't worry, Gillian. I, for one, can relate to secluding myself in my studies," Twilight assured her.

"Oh, uh... thanks, Tw-uh... Princess," the griffon stammered, flustered by Twilight's statement.

"Of course. If it's up to us to find a solution to this problem, we should find it together as friends," Twilight spoke proudly.

Twilice, on the other hoof, chuckled hoarsely to herself. "Never since Ma Vie have I met someone so undeniably sure of themself, Princess. It's very entertaining."

Twilight huffed indignantly to herself as Gillian tried her best to maintain her composure over Twilight's words. Trying to hide the awkward atmosphere as quickly as possible, Gillian cleared her throat and placed the hunk of ice on a small metal platform.

"So, uh... ahem I ran some experiments on it. Nothin' complicated, heat retention, compressional 'n' tensional stress, meltin' point... Jus'some cardinal information," She mumbled.

"Have you gained anything of importance from these tests?" Twilight asked.

"Nothin'a much interest. By all means this's pretty normal ice... but..." Gillian paused.

"What?" Twilight squinted at the ice, trying to find whatever secrets laid within it's frozen exterior.

"I looked at the way the ice was formed, and it's completely different from natural ice found back home," Gillian pointed out, pushing a magnifying lense in front of Twilight's watchful eyes.

Twilight looked meticulously at every inch of the small clump. Sure enough, Gillian was right. Instead of the usual crystalline formations that any normal ice block would have normally been composed of, this clump was completely smoothed, and was devoid of any holes, bubbles or pores. It was as if someone had carefully carved the ice down to a microscopic scale.

Twilight turned to Gillian, who was futzing with a panel that was hung from the wall. "You're right Gillian, This isn't right at all. Do you have any idea how it might have ended up like this?"

"Well from what I've seen, it's composition's consistent right down to it's center, so erosion's out. We've already proven that this stuff's pretty hard t'melt, so that's out too. The only explanation that'd make sense's that it formed that way." the griffon explained as she continued to meddle with the panel.

Twilight took another passing glance back at the ice before returning her gaze to the spindly griffon. "What're you doing, Gillian?"

"I'm settin' up a way to see'f there's anythin' off with it chemically. It could be a separate elemental composition or somethin'," the griffon stated absentmindedly as she continued setting up her machine.

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought. "Gillian, have you run any magical tests on it yet?"

"I wish, but I can't say I have. I don't have anythin' to do it with. We griffons aren't very mag-" in an instant, Gillian whipped around with an ecstatic look on her face. "You.. you have magic!"

Twilight let out a sharp laugh in surprise. "I do have magic. Would you like me to-"

"yes! Absolutely, please! Use your magic on the ice!" Gillian scrambled back over to the table where Twilight stood, watching her in eager anticipation.

Twilight giggled at Gillian's enthusiasm, then concentrated. In a flash, her horn glowed with raspberry light. The bright essence that surrounded her horn enveloped the ice, causing it to lift into the air. Gillian watched in complete awe as Twilight's face scrunched in confusion. After a short moment of quiet splendor, the light from Twilight's horn began to fade, and the ice gently fell back into place.

Twilight opened her eyes to see Gillian's starstruck expression.

"That was... so cool! I've never seen anyone use magic before! How was it? what did it feel like? Tell me everything!" Gillian stood up to her full height as she unleashed a barrage of questions onto Twilight. She towered over the purple pony as deranged excitement flooded her face. But then, whether it was because of Twilight's expression, or the realization that she was shouting at royalty, Gillian immediately shrunk back down.

"Oh i'm so sorry, Princess! I didn't mean to come off as so overbearing I just never met anyone who could use magic before I didn't mean to be so forward I should've controlled myself, I'm so so sorry!"

Twilight had to steady herself from the whiplash of watching the griffon change emotions so rapidly, but she put her hoof on Gillian's shoulder once she did. "Hey, it's alright Gillian. It's ok to be curious about new things. I mean hey, I can't tell you how many times I've come to Princess Celestia with a boatload of curious questions. You're alright, you have nothing to be sorry for."

Gillian stood up slightly, trying her best not to stand to her full height again. "Ok... sorry, Princess."

"It's ok, Gillian. Also, you can call me Twilight if that's alright with you," Twilight affirmed.

"Ok... thank you, Twilight," Gillian said quietly.

"Of course. Now, would you like to come and see what I've found out?"

"Y... y-yeah." Gillian whispered.

The two stared at the immobile ball of ice, Gillian with curiosity, and Twilight with a mix of confusion and fascination.

"So did'ja... uh... sense anything weird with it?" Gillian asked.

"Well I couldn't quite place it, but there's a very strong spell on this ice, and from what I can tell, this spell predates any of Starswirl's spells. This spell is... incomparably ancient and incredibly strong. I can't even figure out what it consists of, but One thing's for certain..." Twilight spoke ominously.

"What's that?" the spark of curiosity returned to Gillian's eyes.

"This ice, and possibly the entire Wall, is magic." Twilight spoke.

Research

"So you mean to tell me that that entire glacier's made out of some kind of magic ice?" Applejack questioned.

"Not quite. We think that the ice itself is made of magic, and acts as a sort of protective magical structure." Twilight explained to the her friends.

Applejack, Spike and Gelgen all listened to Twilight and Gillian's with varying interest. Meanwhile, Pinkie was busy baking in the kitchen, her melodic humming just barely sneaking through the thick wooden walls of the cabin.

"Protective? What is it protecting?" Spike asked, taking a quick moment to look up from his comic.

"There ain't nothing to protect out there, it's all just water and fish. Unless, of course, you two think there's something else out there besides the ice." Gelgen eyed the two suspiciously.

Twilight could see Gillian shrink a little in response to Gelgen's harsh tone, but she stood tall, in equal parts to support her friend and to spite the old bird.

"We don't know what this ice might be protecting, nor do we know what might be out there, that's what we're hoping Gilda and the rest are going to figure out. But what we do know is that the Wall holds an immense amount of magic within it," Twilight asserted.

Gelgen snorted, but said nothing more. Instead, he slouched further into his chair with a pout.

Twilight could hear a disorienting low rumbling from within her head. "I think that old fowl had best keep his beak shut before he says something that he'll regret," Twilice hissed.

"Y'know, for an alternate version of the princess of friendship, you're awfully short tempered," Twilight thought.

"...That may be, but I myself would have already tossed this... bird... into the bottom of the ocean already," the voice responded.

Twilight had to hold back a gasp. "Sweet Celestia, that seems a little excessive, don't you think?"

There was a short pause before Twilice spoke again. "...Ah, I guess so. It seems this... timeline's laws are more conservative than mine, so I'll try my best to keep my personal thoughts to myself."

"It's alright, Twilice. I understand this is hard for you, but we're all trying our best to help you," Twilight comforted the voice.

"Well it would be outlandish of me to expect your friends to help me escape my prison. None of them even know I exist," Twilice sighed.

All of a sudden, an idea popped into Twilight's head. "You're right, Twilice..." She turned to Gillian in an excited fever. "Gillian, you keep trying to find out what the deal is with this ice. I'm going to get us some more samples."

Gillian tilted her head at her friend. "What? Where are you going to get samples from? Gilda and the rest have probably set sail already."

"I'm going to down to the estuary north of here to see if any part of the Wall swam its way inland," Twilight stated confidently.

At her statement, everyone else in the room gave her a look as if she were completely insane.

"What?" she asked. "The ice moves on it's own, I've seen it move upstream.

her friends continued to stare at her with expressions of worried confusion, which annoyed her. "I'm being serious! Just ask Pinkie if you don't believe me."

Applejack took a step forward as she addressed her friend with concern. "No offense, Twilight, but you've been acting loopier than a turkey in a chicken coop these past few days. And Pinkie ain't exactly the most, uh, reliable source."

"It's true, I say crazy things all the time!" Pinkie suddenly bounded out into the main room, holding a large metal tray in one of her hooves. She plopped the tray onto a table situated in the nearest corner of the room, revealing an array of icy blue cupcakes. "Like, did you know that the Crystal Kingdom is the second largest kingdom behind Equestria in terms of square milage?"

Twilight felt her head vibrating as the low thrumming returned.

"This place mocks me..." Twilice growled.

"Well thank you for the encouragement, but I'm going to be out for a little while. I trust you all to not burn the cabin down while I'm gone," and without another word, Twilight slammed the door behind her. She sighed heavily, disappointed at her friends' lack of understanding. It was fine, though. She'd get her sample, figure out how to get rid of the ice, and earn back her friends' respect.

"Is the princess of friendship's patience finally wearing thin?"

"No! Maybe... It would be easier if I could just tell my friends that another version of me is stuck in a block of magical ice and now talks to me in my head. But no, that makes me look like some kinda crazy pony, even though everyone already thinks I'm crazy apparently!"

"Don't worry, Princess. When individuals like us stand so far above the common rabble, the lesser folk begin to fear their own inadequacy. It is up to those who hold the power of knowledge to help those less fortunate and create a world that will better everyone, whether they like it or not."

"Yeah... I guess you're right," Twilight replied dejectedly. She let out a long, sad breath, hanging her head low in despair.

"Of course I'm right. I ruled Equestria for hundreds of years before Ma Vie froze me."

Twilight raised ever so slightly her head in interest. "Really?"

"Yes, really. Before Ma Vie, my kingdom was one of the oldest in all of Leudnan Righrean. It was even older than Queen Boiuna's kingdom!" Twilice declared proudly.

"Wow, I didn't know you were so experienced, Twilice!" Twilight cheered, causing her friend to hum with pride.

"Maybe in time you'll be just as powerful as I once was," the voice patronized Twilight.

"Well I have an idea as to how I might get there quicker," she hinted.

"Oh yeah, and what might that idea be, Princess... Twilight Sparkle?" Twilice said in the same way that an old pony might talk to a young colt.

"You could teach me your magic!" Twilight chimed.

Twilice didn't respond for a moment, which gave Twilight a pang of anxiety. Though after a moment, Twilice returned with a raspy chuckle.

"And here I thought you couldn't read my mind, Princess."

Rookie

Twilight practically sprinted to the estuary where Twilice's prison sat. As she reached the shore, she noticed the fresh water of the estuary beginning to show signs of freezing over, despite the water running quite rapidly.

Twilight skidded to a stop to look at the thin layer of ice around the edge of the water. "Oh that's right, the Lunar Solstice!"

"What?"

"Well, when it's time for winter, the pegasi usually bring the cold northern air down to the warmer parts of Equestria to make it easier for Cloudsdale to scatter it's snowflakes. But the way the pegasi do it, the winter group uses their wing power to move the wind down manually, which means the wind slowly moves it's way to Equestria. The Lunar Solstice is when the wind fully reaches Equestria. It's supposed to be the coldest day of the year, and I completely forgot it was happening so soon."

"You control the weather... on your own?" Twilice hummed.

"Well sure. We've done that since Celestia and Luna became princesses. Do you not do that back home?" Twilight asked, momentarily forgetting who she was talking to.

"No... I never even thought of doing that. The potential of coordinating armies to change the weather to our liking... why it's nearly limitless."

"Well, it's more to keep the plants and animals in balance. If it were summer every day, it'd be pretty uncomfortable for our hibernating animals. Fluttershy could probably explain it to you better than me," Twilight attempted to explain to her friend. She hovered over the running stream, trying to find a comfortable place to sit amongst the icy rocks and snow covered grasses.

"Hmm... yes..." was all Twilice could say as Twilight brushed away a small area of snow so that she could sit down in front of the massive hunk of ice.

"So, are you ready to teach me some magic?" Twilight asked with an excited grin.

"That depends on what you wish to learn." Twilice spoke patiently.

"Well... if you taught me how to use that telepathy spell you cast on me, maybe my friends would be able to hear you. If we do that, then we could have the whole team trying their best to get you out," Twilight noted.

Twilight could hear Twilice gurgling in thought. "That is a rather enticing point... Alright, I'll try to teach you."

Twilight clacked her hooves together excitedly "Ohh this is so exciting, magic from another time! I should've brought a notebook to write it all down with."

"Well this spell might end up being more... complicated than you'd assume," Twilice warned.

Twilight nodded, her face full of determination. "I'm ready!"

"Good," Twilice hummed. "Now... hmm... ah, close your eyes, and try to bring forth the Aether so that you may bend it to your will."

Twilight focused for a second, then cocked her head in confusion. "Wait, the Aether? Like the dimension?"

"Exactly. The Aether may be outside of our own realm, but many powerful creatures utilize the Aether to command extraordinarily powerful magics. Much like your... uh... ah, Starswirl the Bearded, many talented magicians know about the power that comes from learning to harness the Aether."

Twilight tried to understand what Twilice was saying, but couldn't quite put it all together. "Well now I really wish I brought my notebook."

Twilice only hummed for a moment. "Hmm... ah! You've used the power of the Aether when... sigh... when you banished... Sombra from the Crystal Kingdom."

"But that was the Crystal Heart. I didn't activate it, I didn't even retrieve it," Twilight explained.

Twilight could faintly hear Twilice grumble in annoyance. "Yes I'm aware, but surely you felt it's magic surge through you when it transformed you into your crystal counterpart, yes?"

"I... think? I remember feeling something pass through me, like a wave of something," Twilight explained.

"Well, try to remember that feeling. Try to hold it in your mind and use it as an anchor," the voice instructed.

Twilight focused on the memory that her friend brought up for her, trying to find a way to latch on to that feeling again. She tried her best to concentrate, even as her horn remained dormant, and her face turned from a pleasant purple to a strained red. Finally, after a time, she gave up with an exhausted breath.

"I can't feel it, I don't know what to do. I'm sorry, Twilice..." she stared gloomily down at the snow around her.

Twilice let out an irritated sigh. "It's... alright. Perhaps it would be better if I demonstrated it for you."

"Ok," Twilight sighed dejectedly.

She looked up at the icy structure before her, waiting for any sign of activity from Twilice. As she peered into the icy veil, she could faintly see a light from within the ice's core. It slowly grew in luminosity until it colored the entire face of the ice block with a bright, piercing yellow. The yellow light then shifted into a spectrum of colors as Twilice plucked the Aether into view.

"Do you see, now Twilight? It's all about harnessing the Aether. Once you learn to hold and influence its powers, understanding, casting, and even creating spells becomes a trivial matter." She elucidated as a rainbow of colors flickered from deep within the ice.

Twilight stared in wonder at the vast amount of magical power that flowed within Twilice's prison. She watched as it's colors ebbed, flowed, and bounced along its walls like an aurora in the sky.

"With the power of the Aether, I can sense the flowing water without having to touch it. I can feel the wind upon my muscles, hear the howling of the wind. I can see your essence from the depths of my cage. I can see animals sleeping soundly underground, and I can-"

Immediately, the light of Twilice's spell fizzled into nothingness, and the ice returned to normal.

Twilight's heart skipped a beat at the sudden change. "Twilice, are you alright?"

"... Something is watching us. It can see you."

Twilight, suddenly panicked by Twilice's ominous statement, whipped her head around frantically to find what creature was intruding upon their conversation. Suddenly, she heard a snap from above the canopy, and she looked up. As she did, something large scrambled through the canopy, running away from the estuary where the two sat.

For a split second, Twilight could've sworn she'd seen the faintest trace of green as the creature crashed its way back into the forest.

Impossible

It was late in the evening when Twilight returned to the cabin. Despite having spent hours sitting in the cold, guided by Twilice's voice, Twilight hadn't made any progress in summoning, or even sensing the Aether. Several hours of concentrated meditation and cold, stoic guidance had left both of them mentally exhausted, forcing Twilight to slowly walk her way through the forest back into the cabin.

After Twilice pointed out that the two of them were being watched, Twilight couldn't help constantly looking around as she walked. She didn't know what was out there, and she didn't want to find out either. She had tried to reason with herself, maybe it was just a woodland critter, maybe Twilice was wrong, but as much as she tried, a voice in her head kept telling her the same thing.

"It is most likely dangerous, your paranoia is justified," Twilice repeated yet again.

"You're not making me feel any better, Twilice," Twilight grumbled. She was much too tired and upset to argue with the voice in her head. "How do you know it's dangerous? You only said you could feel its presence."

"I could sense its presence because I could sense the magical energy within it. I could feel the size of its soul. If it were just a small animal, I wouldn't have told you."

Twilight groaned aloud. "Of course it couldn't just be a bird. It's never a bird. It's always a dragon or some crazy cult leader in the middle of nowhere or a second Twilight from another timeline stuck in a giant magical block of ice!" Twilight's voice rose along with her frustration. "If it were just a bird, I'd be concerned I was missing out on the next creature of the week! I'm actaully so happy that I'm being stalked by Celestia knows what while my friends think I'm out of my mind!"

"You seem upset. Perhaps it would be best if you slept," Twilice patronized.

Twilight's eye twitched in irritation. Sometimes she wished she could have the privacy of her own mind again. "I don't need to sleep, I need to figure out what might be out there so I don't have to deal with another problem while I'm researching."

"well research a little quieter then, because we're approaching the cabin."

"I know, Twilice. I see it. You're looking through my eyes," Twilight hissed.

"You're awfully snippy all of a sudden. Maybe I won't teach you anything after all."

"No, please, I'm sorry!" Twilight begged. "I'm fine I... I just need something to go right today."

Twilight creaked open the door to the cabin, letting it's warmth and light envelop her. As she walked into the empty living room, she faintly heard the sound of chatter from the kitchen. She was much too tired to talk with her friends, especially considering she'd forgotten to get Gillian another ice sample. She made her way to the stairs to wind down, but Twilice tried to stop her.

"Wait. Don't you want your friends to know you're home? You wouldn't want them to worry."

"Ugh, fine," Twilight wheeled back around and strode over to the kitchen. She placed her hoof on the door, but stopped for a moment. Through the thick wooden door, she could hear Gelgen talking frustratedly to somepony else.

"... Why would I lie to ya, ya think I'm doing this for kicks or something? I saw it with my own damn eyes!"

"Well, have ya got any proof. This is a pretty big claim to make, especially about our friend," Twilight could hear Applejack's reply.

"Twilight's our friend, she wouldn't hide anything from us!" Pinkie added.

"Yeah. Twilight might be a li'l weird, but she's been really nice t'me," Gillian chimed in.

"Fine, alright, I get it! If I brought you proof that the princess is using some weird magic on the ice, would you believe me then?" Gelgen asked.

Applejack scoffed. "Fat chance you'll find any, but if ya do, I guess we'd believe ya."

Twilight could hear a slam, presumably coming from Gelgen. "Alright, it's settled then. I getcha proof, and we all agree to confront her about it. Agreed?"

Twilight didn't hear anything more, but the sounds of shuffling made her quickly scamper away from the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom. It was alright, they didn't need to know she was home. They'd figure it out. At least her friends were still supporting her.

Spike, previously asleep in his little bed, snorted awake as Twilight shut the door behind her.

"Mmm... Hey Twilight. You've been out all day, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I was just doing so much ecological research. Local Griffonstone fauna and all that, very interesting," Twilight lied. "You want me to show some of my findings?"

"Uh... No thanks. Just remember to give Gillian those samples you went out to get. She's been walking around the cabin all day saying how great a friend and princess you are. It was really annoying," Spike mumbled, nestling himself back into his sheets.

"Right, ok. Sure," Twilight flopped onto the bed, not bothering to grab a book to read.

"Sigh... I'm the worst."

"Oh? How so... Princess?" Twilice questioned.

"I shouldn't have said those things about my friends earlier. I leave them alone in a cabin with strangers while I go galloping around the forest, all the while I'm being followed by a griffon who has it out for me, and they're defending me. Ugh, I didn't even get anything for Gillian. Maybe I should send a letter to Celestia and let her handle this."

Twilice scoffed. "Giving up already? You think Celestia has any more knowledge about this ice than you or I do? I've been living in this ice for fift-... uh... ah, twenty years."

"Wait, twenty years? That doesn't make any sense, the spell that surrounds the ice is eons old."

Twilice made an odd sound at Twilight's realisation, sounding akin to a hiss and a hiccup. "Perhaps Ma Vie altered it in some way. Perhaps she herself used a very old spell. You're much more experienced in Equus magic than I am."

"Yeah... Maybe. I guess I should wait until GIlda and the rest come back until I ask for help from Celestia. She's probably busy with royal duties," Twilice thought.

"Good," Twilice gurgled. "Also, I'll be waking you up early tomorrow so you can give your friend those samples you promised."

"Don't you need rest?" Twilight asked.

"No, the Aether's all the energy I need to keep myself going."

"Alright, show off." Twilight spoke over Twilice's snake like laughter.

Vigilance

Author's Note

Posting this one on it's own to make sure the chapter numbers are even, then it's back to bunches of two.

Vigilance

Twilight knocked lightly on the door that led to Gillian's room. From the outside, the room was just as silent as the rest of the cabin.

"Maybe she's still asleep, I should come back later," she whispered.

Twilice gurgled vexedly. "Are you the princess of sloth or are you the princess of friendship? You two are the only creatures in this Boiuna forsaken house that might actually be able to release me. Just open the door."

"No, that'd be rude, and I don't want to wake her up if she really is-"

Twilight was interrupted by Gillian opening her door. The second the door opened, a cacophony of clicks, thumps and whirrs of machinery flooded the hallway.

"C'mon in, Princess! Quickly, I don'wanna wake up anyone who's still sleepin'." Gillian said in a voice that was barely audible above the noise coming from her room.

Twilight hurried into Gillian's room, who quickly shut the door behind her.

"You're up early today! Are you excited t'make some new discoveries?" Gillian squealed, casually bounding over to the table where the small ice clump once sat.

"As ready as I'll ever be. I'm actually up early because I forgot to give you these yesterday." Twilight took two large pieces of magical ice from her bag. "Thank Celestia these don't melt, I brought my notebook for us to write our findings in, and I would hate to have it ruined."

"Don't you have twenty more hiding in those bags of yours?" Twilice pointed out.

"Can it," Twilight thought to herself and her friend. She turned back to Gillian, taking out her notebook in preparation as Gillian excitedly took the pieces of ice in her talons. "So where did we put that other piece?"

"Oh the first one? Well I was gonna follow through on that chemical test I planned t'run. I wanted t'start with th' basics, but I decided t'put it in a case for now so I wouldn't expose it to anythin' accidentally," Gillian hovered in the air, grabbing a small metal box from a metal shelf that nearly touched the ceiling. She carefully minded her footing as she landed, then stood to the side of the table to allow Twilight ample room to work her magic. "I wouldn't want to conduct such an experiment without my friend's help!" She beamed.

"Aww, thanks Gillian." Twilight walked over to the table, trying to ignore Twilice's grumbling.

Gillian's smile grew as she began to open the box. "O'course, Princess! You've been helpin' me with my work, 'n' your magic's been incredibly valuable. I couldn't do it withou-"

The lid to the box flipped open suddenly, and a cloud of sky blue sparkles spewed out and into Gillian's face. She sneezed, then, as the sparkles dissipated, tilted the box to look inside.

"uh... Twilight?"

"What happened?" Twilight leaned in to look into the box, and Gillian obliged, tilting it toward her. It was completely empty. There was no ice, no water no anything. the only sign that anything had been inside it at all were the faint cyan sparkles that had yet to escape.

"I don't understand, I didn't move this box at all since yesterday. Th' ice should be in here."

"Hmm... let me see something," Twilight reached for the box. Gillian handed it to her, and she flipped it upside down. She held it up as she kept an eye on the few traces of magic left. Within a few moments, the last remaining glimmers of magic faded away, leaving the box empty and grey.

Twilight set down the box on the table, her face contorted in thought. "That's not good."

Gillian snatched the box, turning it around in her talons. "What is it? What's th' matter?"

"The ice, it's not melting. It's fading."

Gillian tilted her head in confusion. "The ice's fadin'? How?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight placed one of the ice chunks on the table, "but I want to try something."

Twilight's horn shimmered as she began to cast a spell. The ice that sat on the table suddenly began to float in the air as it became surrounded in a bright purple glow. Twilight focused, and the blurry, gaseous aura around the ice slowly sharpened, until the ice was encased in a magical, violet sphere. It continued to float, even as the glow from Twilight's horn disappeared.

"There, that should keep it from disappearing on us while we figure out what's going on with it."

Gillian wiped the starstruck look on her face. "Right, yeah! OK! So... uh... how d'we do that?"

"We need to figure out what spell was cast, and what it's composed of. If we can find what Base the spell uses we might be able to figure out if there are any counter enchantments or naturally occurring phenomena that might be interfering with it." Twilight pulled out a large, weighty book and handed it to Gillian, who nearly tumbled over from its weight.

The griffon slowly stood back up, heaving the heavy tome onto the table "I'm uh... I'm gonna pretend I understand anythin'a what'chu just said."

Twilight giggled. "It's alright, I just need you to try and find a spell that might be line up enough with this spell in order for me to cast a uhm... an anti-spell, to undo the spell that made this ice. You get it?"

"I uh... think so?"

"Just sift through the chapters and look up anything on shielding or warding and we'll see where we go from there."

"Yes ma'am!" Gillian flipped through the dusty pages with lightning speed, her eyes a blur as they scanned its contents. Her eyes froze on a spell and she pointed to it. "Ah, this oughta be a good start: a spell to encase an object or being in stone."

"Hmm, I remember using that spell on Discord. Guess it's worth a shot to try it."

Deep within her mind, Twilice sighed. "Take your time, Princess. I'm sure I can dig myself out before you two figure this out."

Ebb

Twilight sighed. Yet another spell, and they were no closer to undoing the ice's magic. The remaining piece of ice, now a small, smoothed ball steaming with bright cyan smoke, hadn't so much as budged from any of Twilight's spells.

"I know this spell is old, but I didn't expect it to be so... foreign. This is a completely different kind of magic than anything I know of."

Gillian, who had her head laying tiredly on the table, raised it slightly. "You don't have any other books'r nothing? Nothin' on different kinds'a magic?"

Twilight rubbed her eyes frustratedly. "If I do, I didn't pack it, cuz why would I ever need some foreign spell that some magician made up a hundred years ago?" She let her head fall onto the table with a loud thud. The ice rolled away from its original position and stopped at the tip of her horn. She could feel the coolness of it on her head, and conjured a small blast of energy to push it away. The coolness of her horn refused to leave, however, so she raised her head to cast the spell again. A small spark of lavender energy flowed from her horn and pierced into the ice, where it dug into its core and faded away almost instantly.

"Huh," she uttered. She took the little ball in her hoof, inspecting it closely.

"Somethin' th' matter, Prin-uh... Twilight?" Gillian asked as she flipped through the book in defeat.

"No, I don't think so. I think I'm just gonna get us some more samples to test with."

"Oh. Can I, uh... Can I come... with you?" Gillian asked quietly, trying her best not to make eye contact.

"I don't-" Twilight began.

"Absolutely not. You cannot let her join you," Twilice growled suddenly.

"Why not? I thought you wanted me to bring my friends to you so that they could help you escape." Twilight wondered.

"I will explain it to you once you return to gather more ice, but you will not allow her to join you."

Suddenly, a pressure formed in Twilight's head, her once coherent train of thought melted into a warped, blurry stream of conciousness that made any concrete thought incredibly difficult to hold on to. It made her feel as if a pair of hands were crushing her brain.

"Alright, fine, ok," Twilight tried to think. Fortunately, it was enough to make the force dissipate. She focused back onto Gillian, who look at her with apprehensive confusion. "I think it'd be best if you keep looking through that book to find some more spells we might be able to test on it."

"Oh," Gillian's face fell slightly. "Yeah that makes sense. I'll keep lookin' for ya."

"I'll be back in a couple-"

"An hour."

"-in an hour, I promise," Twilight assured the slender griffon, to little success.

"Ok," Gillian muttered as Twilight closed the door behind her.

The sun shone in Twilight's eyes as she left Gillian's room, she was surprised at how long they had spent trying to figure out the ice's mysteries. Good lot all that did, now it was early afternoon and they might as well have just loafed around with all the progress they'd made.

Deciding not to let her frustration get the better of her, she made her way downstairs and into the main room. She looked around at the empty room when she heard the muffled murmurs of her friends. She groaned as she realised that, yet again, Gelgen and her friends were talking in the kitchen.

She turned to head towards the door, but Twilice's presence coiled around her head.

"Your politeness might befit your status as princess of friendship... but whatever could they be discussing now?"

Twilight growled under breath and, despite her best efforts, she turned around and leaned onto the kitchen door.

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to believe your princess is always this deranged? Is this just some shared pony personality trait?" Gelgen hollered. If Twilight didn't know any better, she'd have thought that he wanted her to hear him.

"Hey, you watch what you say about our friend, buster!" Pinkie snapped back.

"Now hold on, both'a y'all," Applejack interrupted. "Now I don't much appreciate your attitude towards Twilight, but we can't deny that she ain't been acting like herself at all recently."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me about how she acts at night," Spike said.

"At night? What does that mean?" Twilight thought to herself.

"You do have a tendency to sleeptalk, Princess," Twilice admitted.

"About what? Why didn't you tell me about this? How long has that been happening? Why hasn't Spike-"

"Princess, enough! I hate it when you think like this," Twilice snarled.

A pressure invaded Twilight's mind again, but this pressure was softer. Instead of crushing her, Twilight's mind felt slow, smoothed. Nothing seemed urgent anymore, everything was pleasantly soft on the eyes, and her mind slowed until she was almost completely pacified,

"How... are you doing... that?" Twilight slurred.

"Doing what, Princess?" Twilice asked.

The cloud of passiveness receded, and Twilight regained her senses. "That isn't you doing that, Twilice?"

"Princess, I'm not sure what you're referring to. Are you alright?"

"I... I don't know. What just happened?"

"It seems like you nearly passed out from... uh... ah, exhaustion. Perhaps you should grab some samples and sit with me. We can talk and take your mind off things."

"No, no. I need to figure out what the deal is with this ice. I can't waste any more time fooling around and talking to mysterious other versions of myself."

"Twilight, I believe that understanding Aether magic would be paramount to the furthering of your of understanding of this magical ice. Why don't we-"

"No. I need to find out what is wrong with this ice, and I will be doing research with Gillian, and that is final!" Twilight shouted.

"… So be it... Princess Twilight Sparkle…" Twilight could feel Twilice leave her head. Now she was truly alone with her thoughts.

Twilight sighed as she reached for the cabin's front door. "Finally some peace and quiet."

But before she could even twist the knob, the door flew open, narrowly missing her snout and slamming into the wall. Twilight looked at the door in shock, then turned back to see six figures standing in the snow. Deep gashes and reddened bandages covered the brown and white griffon that stood closest to Twilight, as well as an incredibly unhappy expression.

"Princess... get Gillian, get your friends, and meet us outside. We gotta talk."

Savage

Twilight, her friends, and the griffons all stood in a circle, inspecting the creature that lay in the middle. It was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen before. It resembled a starfish, but it was as big as she was, and its incredibly long arms continued to writhe and coil frantically, even though Gilda had assured everyone that it was long dead.

"We were cracking pieces off the Wall cuz we noticed shadows somewhere inside of it. Thought it might've given us a lead on where this thing came from. All of a sudden, the whole thing starts blowing out this blue smoke, and we get attacked by a whole herd of these things. A couple of us would've ended up as starfish food if Gerret didn't put the ship at full throttle and send us all back home."

"I-it w-w-was a-a-awful," Fluttershy stammered. she hadn't stopped shaking since the group had returned, and Twilight noticed that almost everyone who'd gone with Gilda was on edge. Rarity was stroking her mane anxiously, and Gerret, Gaine, and Fluttershy all seemed to be huddled together, their heads turning constantly as they continuously scanned their surroundings.

Gillian, however, began to approach the creature with that familiar spark of curiosity in her eyes.

"Gillian don't-" Gilda warned, but it was too late. The tentacle closest to Gillian thrashed with renewed vigor, tearing itself from its body and wrapping itself around Gillian's neck.

Gillian flung herself backwards as the tentacle tightened itself around her throat. Immediately, Gilda, Rainbow, Gerret and Gaine sprung into action. Rainbow got to the struggling griffon first. In one smooth, rapid motion, Rainbow tore the arm of the creature off of Gillian, flew up high into the air, and tossed the arm far into the forest, where it fell out of sight somewhere far away.

"And next time, keep your grubby tentacles to yourself!" she yelled at the trees.

Gilda helped Gillian back up, though she now brandished a nasty bruise around her neck.

"That's why you keep your distance. It took all six of us just to bring it this far," Gilda scolded the other griffon.

"Th-they're not like any animal I've ever talked to back at Ponyville. they're so m-mean, s-s-so... ravenous." Fluttershy murmured.

"I hope you two have figured something out, cuz there's no way we're going back out there now," Gilda growled.

"We know that it's made from some sort of enchantment, but it's millennia older than any spell I've ever seen, not to mention it might not be equestrian magic in the first place," Twilight explained.

"So not only is this wall enchanted, but it just so happens to be enchanted by a spell that isn't written down in any spellbook, and might be completely out of our ability to fix?" Rainbow Dash chided.

Twilight didn't respond, but it was enough for Rainbow to understand. "Ugh, so then what do we do?"

"I vote we blow it up," Gerret announced.

Gaine rubbed his temples in irritation. "And release even more of those things, or who knows what else is stuck in there? No way."

"Well if we don't figure out a solution soon, that ice's gonna melt away, and we're all gonna have a much bigger, more dangerous problem on our hands," Gillian added in a sinister tone.

"Would it be alright if we moved ourselves inside? I can't bear to look at this creature any longer." Rarity asked, her mane becoming increasingly unkempt as she continued to pull at it.

"Alright, fine. Griffons, help me move this thing somewhere it won't kill us. The rest you can head back inside while we figure out where to toss this thing." Gilda commanded, and the four other griffons reluctantly came to her side.

"You know Princess... There might be a way to end this problem," Twilice's voice returned.

"... Don't tell me, aether magic?"

"You seemed excited to learn yesterday, don't tell me your scared Gelgen might trail us again," Twilice hissed.

"Twilice, I can't do aether magic. I don't have the time to practice when the whole Wall threatens to fall apart. And now that we know that things like that are hiding in there, we can't afford to lose any more time," Twilight yelled in her own head.

Twilice let out a deep, bubbling sigh. "Your mind focuses too much on what is and isn't, and not enough on what could be. There could be all sorts of nightmares in that ice, or maybe not. You might never learn aether magic, or you could learn it, and become the most powerful creature in all of... uh... ah, Equestria, no, Equus. Don't you want that?"

"I want everyone to be safe, Twilice. That's all I care about," Twilight snapped at the voice in her head.

"And they will be... so long as you listen to me."

Twilight thought for a moment. "I might not agree with it, but i'll listen to you."

Twilice's snake-like laughter echoed in her head. "I'm so glad that even in these dreadful circumstances, my persuasion still works."

Twilight rolled her eyes as she followed her friends back into the cabin, but Rarity trotted up to her side.

"Darling, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Oh, sure Rarity. What do you want to talk about?"

"It's about those creatures we saw."

Twilight leaned closer to her friend. Had she finally gained a lead?

"Well, when those brutish monsters were loosed from the ice, not all of them were in peak physical condition."

Twilight turned to look at the Gilda and the others. The four remaining arms of the massive starfish were held taught by the younger griffons, while Gelgen held up the limp body of the creature from its underside. The monster definitely looked dead. It's body was covered in cuts and gashes, but she noticed the occasional hole in its tentacles as they attempted to free themselves of the griffons' gasp.

"What do you mean, Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"Well, some of them brandished missing arms, burns, cuts, scratches and wounds not unlike that one over there. But we hadn't even engaged with them yet. Some of them flopped into the water below and just floated on its surface, like they'd already been killed."

Rarity dug around in her hair to search for something. "When we apprehended that one, several others were lain across our ship, and I managed to gather this from the skin of one of them."

Rarity pulled the item out of her mane, and handed it to Twilight. She grabbed it with a spell and brought it closer to her.

It was a simply made arrowhead, made of some sort of gem, but Twilight didn't need much to figure out what it was. The loud, wet hissing from within her head, as well as the tiny symbol engraved into its surface, told her more than enough.

It was an arrow from the Crystal Empire.

Invitation

Twilight tore through her neatly organised bags, looking for enough to bring with her on her trip to the Crystal Empire. Spike watched in dismay from the hallway as books, utensils and winter apparel flew in every direction.

"I spent so much time sorting those," he whimpered to himself.

"I'm sorry Spike, but I didn't expect to be given an invitation to the Crystal Empire, and on such short notice too! I need to pack light, I need to make this as quick a trip as possible," Twilight responded.

"I thought this was 'packing light'," Spike said under his breath.

Twilight could practically feel her other self pacing anxiously. "Twilight, I still don't think this is a good idea. I urge you to stay here."

"Not happening, Twilice, no matter what you say."

"It's not just about my... distaste for the Crystal... Empire. If you are to travel that far, my telepathy spell will be stretched so thin that I will be unable to converse with you," Twilice explained.

"Will you still be able to hear my thoughts?" Twilight asked.

There was a pause. "...No, I will not."

"Well, then it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make," Twilight said simply, tossing a woolen scarf onto the bed.

"You don't understand, Princess. I can't risk being alone again, not after I've spent so many years in this accursed ice already," Twilight could hear Twilice's shuddering at the thought of returning to isolation.

"I'll be back as soon as possible, Twilice, I swear it."

Twilice only gurgled in response, so Twilight took a small notebook, quill, ink, and her scarf, and hastily stuffed them into an emptied saddlebag.

"I just need a couple more things," Twilight said to herself. She walked past Spike, who entered the bedroom to begin reorganizing her supplies, and down the hall to Gillian's room, where she knocked on the soundproofed door.

Almost immediately, Gillian swung open the door and smiled at her. "Hi, Twilight! What's up, you goin' somewhere?" she pointed to the small bag on Twilight's side.

"Yeah, I'm going on a quick research mission to Crystal Empire." Twilight divulged, walking over to the table and grabbing the purple sphere that still held an intact, unphased hunk of ice.

Gillian's eyes sparked with curiosity again, but the spark faded just as quickly as it had come. She turned back to fiddle with one of the many panels dotting the wall of her room as Twilight closed the heavy textbook and tried to fit in her bag.

"Oh, ok, you have fun then. I'll hold down th'fort and try to talk with Gilda on figurin' out what t'do next."

"I know you can do it," Twilight cooed as she reached for the door. "...Actually, would you like to come with me to the Crys-"

"You really mean it? Of course I'd love to come! I'll pack my bags right now! it'll only take twenty seconds!" Gillian rambled, and without another word, zipped over to her bed and tore open several metal shelves.

Twilight suppressed a laugh as she closed the door to Gillian's room and headed downstairs. As she expected, most of her friends were scattered around the living room. Fluttershy, Pinkie and Applejack were all sat at the table in the corner, while Rainbow dash sat casually on the couch beside the stairway.

Applejack watched Twilight walk downstairs, and eyed her now stuffed saddlebag.

"What'cha doin with that bag, Twilight?" She questioned.

"Cadance sent me an invitation to the Crystal Empire after Rarity showed me that arrowhead she found, so I'm going to head over there to see if I can find anything on this ice."

For a split second, Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked at each other, then back to Twilight.

"Y-you're not thinking of flying all that way on your own, are you?" Fluttershy mumbled.

Twilight shook her head. "No, I'm bringing Gillian with me to help with my search, and I want Rainbow to come with me as well."

Rainbow Dash snapped upright at the mention of her name. "What do you need me for?"

"Flying to the Crystal Empire from Griffonstone is going to take hours. I need someone who can make the trip to and from Griffonstone as quickly as possible in case Gillian and I find something that the rest of our team would need to know."

"Ha, I could get to the Crystal Empire before you even leave Griffonstone, Twi. Just let me get some snacks for the road."

Rainbow leaped off the couch and zoomed into the kitchen while Gillian scampered down the stairs with a bag in her hand.

"I'm ready t'go, Twilight! Are we bringin' anyone else?" she looked at the trio sat at the table.

"Rainbow Dash is going to come as our messenger in case we have something urgent we need to tell the rest of the group."

"Cool! Lemme go tell Gilda where'm goin' then." Gillian looked out the window to look for her kin.

"The griffons haven't come inside yet, I think they're out near the dock," Applejack told her.

Pinkie suddenly rose from her chair and bounced over to look out the window as Gillian headed outside. "They better not be having a snowball fight without me!" she threw open the door and bounded behind the lanky griffon.

"Well, there goes Pinkie," Applejack muttered.

Twilight walked to the now wide open door, and Rainbow Dash bolted to her side with a small bag of assorted sweets.

"Ready to go when you are."

"Alright, let's go tell Gilda." Twilight walked behind Rainbow, closing the door as they left the cabin.

"Good luck with your... research, Princess," Twilice said quietly.

"Thanks, Twilice. I'll make sure I find a way to get you out as soon as I get back."

"I will hold you to that promise, though I have my concerns about how your friends will act while you are away."

"They're my friends, Twilice. I'd trust them with my life."

Twilice growled quietly as she thought of a response. "Then take it from the Princess trapped in a block of ice; A life may not be as valuable to others as it is to you."

Nightmare

The cold winter wind whipped in Twilight's face, stinging her eyes and covering her coat in a thin layer of snow as the trio flew. The trip to the Crystal Empire had barely begun, and yet the sky was already reddening as the sun began to touch the mountains below. Twilight hadn't expected the trip to continue into nightfall, but she had neglected to account for the Wall's sheer magnitude.

For the past five minutes, the trio had been flying along the side of the Wall, all of them not all that entertained by the blueness that surrounded them everywhere but above.

"Uuuuugh, this is gonna take forever!" Rainbow Dash moaned, keeping pace with the other two.

"We've got no other choice. The Wall is too high to fly over, and if we took Gillian's boat, it'd take us days."

Gillian took up the rear, her flapping slightly uneven as she tried to catch up with Twilight. "Um, I know this might not be all that helpful, but I've never flown for this long. I'm gettin' a li'l sore," Gillian complained quietly.

Rainbow Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well we can't stop now, we've got nowhere to land. You're just gonna have to tough it out until we make it to the open ocean."

"I know... I know." Gillian shrank a little, going back behind the two ponies.

Twilight looked guiltily back at the griffon. "We're sure to reach the edge of the Wall soon. It can't be that big. After all, It was pretty small on the map."

"I think the fact that it showed up on the map at all proves how big it is," Rainbow responded.

"It seems so. Let's just hope we're nearing the edge."

The three continued to fly in silence, listening only to the whipping of the wind and the quiet crashing of waves against the Wall down below. Twilight even found herself dozing a little as they continued to fly. Fortunately, Rainbow took quick notice.

"C'mon, Twi. If you can't make the trip across the sea, how can I expect you to make it all the way to the Crystal Empire?"

"sorry, Rainbow. I'm just a little tired." Twilight rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Well knowing how much sleep you've been getting, I'm not surprised."

Another mention of sleep. Was her sleep talking really that loud? Surely Spike would have told her if it were so drastic, and why did it only show itself now? And what in Celestia's name was that horrible noise?

Twilight suddenly snapped out of her trance as she realized that the noise wasn't coming from her head.

"Hey girls... y'hear that, right?" Gillian asked aloud.

"Yeah, and It sounds freaky. It sounds like... screaming?"

"This doesn't make any sense, we're in the middle of the ocean. What could possibly be making that noise?"

"Maybe something near the edge of the Wall?" Rainbow pointed forward, and sure enough, the edge of the Wall was just a little ways away.

"Oh thank Grover, I thought we'd be flyin' forever." Gillian quickly caught up to the two ponies as her excitement to see the shore mounted.

As the three approached the edge of the wall, the cacophonous choir of moans, yells and screams grew louder and louder until it made Twilight's head throb. She held her hooves to her head and closed her eyes as she, Rainbow and Gillian turned the corner towards the back of the Wall.

"In the name of everything good in this world what is that noise!?" Twilight shouted over the symphony of howls.

When she didn't receive an answer, she looked over at her friends. Gillian's eyes were wide as dinner plates as she held her talons to her mouth in shock. Rainbow was equally as shocked, though her face betrayed more a feeling of disgust and repulsion. Twilight turned towards the back of the Wall to see what her friends were looking at, and possibly identify the source of the noise.

But there was no source, at least not a singular source. All along the rear face of the wall, creatures of various shapes and sizes hung from the wall. Large, leathery winged, bat-like creatures flapped frantically as they attempted to escape the ice's iron grip. Dozens of the starfish that attacked Gilda and the others writhed and slithered, and many more of them hung lifelessly, their arms swaying gently in the wind. A giant turtle with the scales of a dragon roared in pain as a serpent with the face of an elephant gnawed at one of its many legs with ravenous thrill. Fish the size of islands thrashed whatever parts of them weren't encased in ice, insects of all kinds tore pieces off of whatever monsters were too weak to fight back, and all along the wall, thousands of other creatures squirmed and clawed and gnashed at the very thing that held them in place.

An odd avian creature with reptilian skin extended a long, boney hand out to Twilight. "Pleassssssse misssssss, I'm trapped... and you musssssst help me! I beg of you, ssssssssspare me a kind gessssssssture and I will forever be grateful!" the beast smiled, it's metal beak clanging and screeching as it did.

Twilight, still in shock, refused to move, and in no more than a moment, the thing exploded in rage. It's metal beak unhinged, releasing a mouth full of writhing, hook tipped tentacles.

"Wretched poniessssssss, I'll feassssssssst upon the flesh of your children and usssssssse your hide asssssssss a new cloak!" It clawed and thrashed at Twilight as it tried to reach for her. She screamed at it's sudden outburst, flying backwards and nearly tumbling into Rainbow, who herself yelled at the sudden unexpected contact.

Upon hearing her scream, the odd elephantine serpent turned its gaze to the three horrified watchers and raised its tusked head at Twilight. It whispered to her in a voice that somehow drowned out the ear splitting screaming of the creatures around it. It stared through her eyes and directly into her very soul as a message pierced through its unmoving lips and found its mark deep in Twilight's head.

"Ah, Sammakött, always the hard worker. Perhaps our goal is not as far away as I believed. Heh, Forzoa will have my head, I'm sure, but I have hope you will give her more than enough to repay my... actions. The army knows, Sammakött. Even if the rest of this putrid world has forgotten, we see you, and we await your command, o great king of the dead."

It's mouth stretched wide in a nightmarish smile, and that was the last thing Twilight saw before she blacked out.

Gehenna

Most of that evening was a blur. Twilight could vaguely trace the memory of her screaming, of the three of them flying as away from the Wall as fast as possible, of Rainbow's subsequent meltdown and Gillian's panic attack. She remembered the relief of reaching the shore, but that relief had long passed.

As the sunset faded into calm night, all of them gathered around a small, pitiful campfire. None of them felt comfortable walking very far into the dark, shadowy forest that surrounded them. Rainbow decided to take any branches within the fire's reach, no matter how wet or green they were. Twilight might have objected, but she didn't care. She couldn't bring herself to worry about anything other than her and her friends' survival.

Gillian attempted to distract herself by scrawling patterns into the dirt, but it only reminded her of one of the Wall's denizens, which only served to exacerbate her anxiety. She hadn't stopped shaking since they'd landed, and her breathing was raggedy and uneven.

Both Gillian and Twilight's anxieties were only worsened by the constant cracking and snapping of the branches above. Every once in a while, Rainbow would toss clumps of fresh, green branches into the fire, each time making Gillian jolt in surprise. After she deposited her kindling, Rainbow bolted back up to the canopy to continue grabbing more branches, despite the fire being more than enough to keep them warm.

"Rainbow, we've got enough firewood," Twilight called out. However, whether she meant to or not, Rainbow Dash didn't respond.

The crackling and snapping of the branches above, now compounded by the roaring fire, caused Gillian to begin panicking again. Twilight flew up to confront her friend. following the sound of cracking limbs, she found Rainbow Dash punching and bucking every branch around her and organizing them into a small pile perched precariously over the bough of one of the neighboring trees.

Twilight slowly flew towards Rainbow, trying her best to not get kicked accidentally. Her friend was facing away from her, so she reached out and grabbed Rainbow Dash's shoulder. The cyan mare whipped around instantly, her face painted with an expression of panic and her eyes full of frenzy. When she noticed who touched her, she calmed down slightly, but her breathing was still rapid and labored.

"Rainbow. Come sit with us. Please," Twilight pleaded.

Rainbow made a face, then opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. She let out a short breath, then nodded silently. The two descended back down to the fire, where Gillian poked at the glowing red ashes with a charred stick.

Rainbow plopped down on the ground next to Twilight, her gaze glued to the blazing fire. For a while, none of them spoke. Twilight stared at the stars above. She watched them twinkle happily in the sky, so far away from the terror of the world below.

She looked back down and noticed her friends beginning to drift off. However, the constant ambiance of the forest was not kind to them. Every time it looked as if they might drift off into peaceful slumber, a twig would snap, a cricket would chirp, or the trees would creak and swish in the wind, causing them to startle awake again.

Tired of watching her friends struggle to stay awake, she walked up to Rainbow and gently tapped her. she turned to look at Twilight, though it was clear she wasn't paying full attention on account of her tiredness.

"Why don't you and Gillian get some sleep, Dash?"

"What about you, princess? I don't want you t'stay up all night for our sakes," Gillian yawned.

"I've pulled more than a couple all-nighters before. I can handle keeping watch if you two want to rest."

"I don't need to sleep, I'll fight anything that tries to... to mess with my f...friends," Rainbow tried to complete her sentence, but the heaviness of her eyes overtook her. By the time Twilight took her seat near the fire, Rainbow was already curled into a ball. Gillian stayed awake a little longer, but eventually, the sweet release of sleep found her as well. Twilight continued watching the fire as her friends snoozed beside her. She watched the roaring pyre slowly dwindled into a small flame, and even further into radiant red embers. Eventually, only warm ashes remained. Twilight was thankful that the moon was so bright, or perhaps Celestia was already rising the sun. Either way, she found comfort in the soft, dull light of the early morning.

She gazed at the forest around her, watching the occasional leaf fall peacefully and slowly down towards the detritus of the forest floor. It was supremely boring, but it at the very least took her mind off of the Wall... and what she had seen within it. She suspected there was something dangerous about the Wall from her first encounter with it, but to imagine it not only hosted such nightmares, but was teeming with them, it terrified her beyond belief.

And now she was thinking about it. Great.

What were they going to do? If those creatures would escape, Equestria, and possibly the whole world might fall into chaos. She had to find a way to stop that ice from phasing away, and considering the rate at which it was dissappearing, she didn't have much time at all. Maybe sending Celestia a letter would be a good idea.

Maybe it's not. Maybe it's a bad idea.

But at the same time, Celestia would definitely want to know about something as dangerous and world-threatening as this.

"Sending Celestia a letter is a bad idea. You think it's a bad idea."

Twilight gasped in surprise at how... audible her thought suddenly was. She turned to see if maybe one of her friends had woken up and said something, but they were still fast asleep. She then turned to the only other option that presented itself.

"Twilice. Twilice, are you there?" She called out in her head. There was no reply.

She couldn't feel Twilice's familiar presence in her head. She was alone in her own mind, and now she was hallucinating. Maybe she needed some sleep after all.

Obstinate

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait. I went on vacation for a week, then I wanted to do some more with my other stories. Chapters will be back and semi consistent, but I'll also be working on my other stories as well, so don't be surprised if the time between chapters is a little longer than before. Anyway, enjoy!

Obstinate

The thick layer of evergreens below them were soaked in the bright oranges rays of the newly risen sun. The beautiful morning sky reminded Twilight of some of the large paintings that were strewn about the Canterlot library. She slightly wished that she had time to enjoy its beauty, but none of them were in any mood to prolong this trip, though weren't excited to fly back to the cabin either. Twilight hazarded a guess that the three of them just wanted to go home, but the importance of this mission demanded otherwise.

Gillian was silent as the trio prepared to finish their journey to the Crystal Empire, but Rainbow seemed to be in higher spirits. Twilight was unsure if Rainbow's renewed energy was real or not, but it was good to see her attempting to be her usual self. With all that happened yesterday, Twilight would have felt incredibly bad if she'd brought all of her friends on a seemingly harmless mission, only to scar them with visions of nightmarish monsters and titanic walls of magical ice. Well, she already felt bad, but it was at least comforting to see that they were trying to move on from what they saw and focus on the mission at hand.

Twilight absentmindedly watched the sun shift in the sky as they flew. They had taken very few breaks along their trip, stopping only when Gillian requested so. Rainbow already didn't like pacing herself to stay with the pack, but she was keeping it together for the griffon's sake as well as her own. Fortunately, Gillian ensured that their breaks were short and out in the open where they could easily keep an eye out for potential dangers. And although Rainbow was keeping pace as best she could, Gillian and Twilight were both trying to make this trip as quick as possible. However, this came with the caveat of them being completely exhausted by the time they reached the crystalline archway that marked the border of the Crystal Empire.

Twilight and Gillian practically melted onto the crystal road when they finally reached the shining city, both of them sinking from the skies like stones in a river. Rainbow Dash zoomed off towards the castle when she saw her friends on the ground, and in a couple minutes, Cadance, Shining Armor and a handful of royal guards had arrived to pick the two up.

Cadance and Shining rushed to help Twilight to her hooves, while the guards assisted Gillian.

"Twilight, are you alright? What happened?" Cadance fretted.

Twilight stood up on her own as her brother directed her towards the castle. "It's alright, We just exerted ourselves a bit too much getting here." She looked at her sister-in-law, who wore a look of disbelief, and added on, "nothing happened, I swear."

Rainbow Dash huffed. "Well, something did happen, but I guess we'll talk about it later."

Cadance sent a quick glance towards Rainbow, but decided to address Twilight first. "Well I didn't expect you to take such an... unorthodox approach. I know your mission is urgent and all, but I didn't expect it to be this important."

"I didn't either, but we've got a serious issue on our hands right now," Twilight sighed.

"Well it can't be that bad, Celestia wouldn't give you a problem you and your friends couldn't solve on your own."

"Of course, but I don't know if even Celestia knows the full details of the mission she set us on."

"How bad is it then?" Cadance asked, worry returning to her face.

Twilight twisted her head back and forth, scanning her surroundings as they all approached the castle doorway. "I think it'd be better if we discussed this somewhere more private."

Cadance nodded. She turned back to the guards who were following behind Gillian, who was now walking on her own unassisted.

"Alright, you are all free to go now, thank you for your help." She waved to the guards, who promptly bowed, then marched off into the halls of the castle.

Once it was just the five of them, Cadance beckoned the trio forth. The group stood in the middle of one of the Crystal Castle's many halls, but Cadance walked over to a nearby wall with utmost confidence. Twilight tilted her head as she watched her sister-in-law walk right up to the empty wall and lay a hoof upon it. For a second, nothing happened, but then a small portion of the wall sank into the floor, exposing a dim, candlelit hallway.

Rainbow's jaw dropped in shock. "Woah, you have secret passages?"

Cadance and Shining Armor laughed, but the princess put her hoof to her mouth. "Shhh, not so loud. There's all sorts of hidden passages in this castle. We can thank the previous crystal princesses for that. It makes travelling around the castle undetected very easy. Me and Shiny use it every so often when we feel the need to, but I think we might need to use it today." She pointed a hoof at Rainbow. "You can keep this a secret, right?"

Rainbow nodded vigorously. "Well what are we waiting for? I wanna see what other secrets this castle's hiding," She whispered as best she could, zooming into the darkened passage before she even finished her sentence.

Cadance giggled again, turning to Twilight and Gillian. "Shall we?"

"I guess we shall. Are you coming, Gillian?" Twilight turned to the griffon. Gillian nodded lightly, but her gaze didn't escape the floor below her.

A feeling of trepidation came over Twilight as she watched the griffon following quietly behind them. Rainbow Dash seemed to be handling the situation well enough, but she'd seen her fair share of monstrous creatures and villainous ponies. Twilight realised that this might have been Gillian's first experience with such dangerous creatures. She was definitely going to have to talk with her later.

Cadance interrupted her thinking with a question. "I know you sent me the arrowhead, but your message didn't really describe what was so important about it, and how did you even find that?" She leaned forward to look into Twilight's tired eyes, "What's really going on out there?"

Twilight took in a deep breath. This was going to take a while.

Found

The group walked though the winding hallways for quite a while. Every now and then, there'd be a small barred window that peeked into a dining hall, dance room or private study room, almost all of which were empty, but other than that, the tunnel was devoid of anything interesting. This was something that Rainbow noticed early on, and now that they had been walking for so long, her excitement had now faded into tired regret. She now took up the position next to Gillian, grumpily following behind Twilight and her family.

But things were not any cheerier in the front of the procession. As Twilight relayed her story of the Wall, the brittle star that previously owned the crystal arrow, and the abomination that the three of them had viewed on their way here, Cadance and Shining's faces slowly twisted into dark expressions of horror.

"Celestia knows about all of this?" Cadance muttered.

Twilight shook her head. "I don't think so. As far as I know, neither Equestria nor Griffonstone know about the Wall to the extent that we do. We, and now you, are the only ponies who know what's going on in that ice."

"I can't believe this. Why would Celestia not look into the problem on her own first?" Shining Armor rubbed his head with his hoof in frustration.

"You did tell her about this, right Twi?" Cadance asked her.

Twilice grimaced. "Well..."

Cadance's eyes widened in shock. "You... didn't? You, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's most faithful and trusted student didn't send her a letter telling her what was going on?"

"I know, I wanted to, but..."

"But you've staying up all night 'researching' so much that you barely remember your own name," Rainbow interrupted.

Twilight turned to her friend. 'What are you talking about?"

"Applejack told me you've been keeping Spike up all night with your weird ramblings about 'being free' or 'destroying the ice' and 'avenging your kin', whatever all that means."

Twilight was thoroughly confused at Rainbow's declaration. "I suspected I might've been sleep talking, but I didn't expect it to be that bad. But the only night I haven't slept was last night."

Rainbow remained skeptical. Great, now Applejack was making the rest of her friends suspicious of her. That was what she needed on top of Twilice's constant badgering and the Wall threatening to collapse any day now, for all of her friends to think she was speaking madness, which apparently she was.

Cadance could sense the mounting tension in the air, and so spoke out loud. "We should reach the royal library any minute now. If there's any place to look for old, obscure historical texts on the Crystal Empire, it's there."

"Just try not to drool on the books when you get there, Twily. They're pretty old," Shining Armor joked.

"Haha, very funny," Twilight smiled at her brother. At least someone around here wasn't constantly on her tail about this whole mess.

Within the minute, the group had found themselves standing in front of a small indentation in the rough crystal walls of the hallway. It was shaped like a door, but there were no buttons, knobs or levers that might open it. Again though, Cadance was undeterred, and walked right up to the door. For a moment, bright pink light emanated from her horn, and in the next instant, the crystal cracked and splintered, slowly crawling into the wall around it until an open doorway presented itself.

"So cool..." Gillian spoke for the first time in a while. Twilight could see that same spark of intrigue in her eyes, though it was heavily faded. Twilight couldn't help but to feel responsible for that dreary, depressed fog that covered her features. This was all her fault. She really needed to message Celestia.

The group entered the library, and Twilight was taken aback at its size. She had already been to the local library in town when she and her friends battled against Sombra, but this glorified study room wouldn't have been able to fill a single row of that library. In the middle of the room sat a small table, and adjacent to it were two sizeable bookshelves crammed with dusty, well aged books. As Twilight walked up to the shelves to examine the small collection of old texts, she feared they might turn to dust if she touched them.

"What is this?" she turned to ask her sister.

"Some of the local historians say it was an old induction chamber for new rulers; a sort of room to study up on the ins and outs of ruling the Crystal Empire. Now it's more of a relic. All the books are incredibly outdated by modern standards, so we kind of just left the room as it was," Cadance responded.

"Then it's ok for me to look through these, right?"

"Of course!" Cadance smiled.

"Well, Cadance and I have to get back to our duties. If you find anything, be sure to tell us right away," Shining armor stated.

The two turned around to reenter the dark hallway, but Cadance paused before she did. "Oh, and Twilight? Don't forget to write a letter to Celestia about all of this, I think she deserves to know about what's going on."

Twilight nodded. "I will, I promise. Thank you, Cadance."

Cadance responded with another smile, and without another word, the two left the small library. The crystal door clattered closed behind the couple, leaving the three of them alone in serene silence.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Alright, I guess we should get started."

"Yeah, you two have fun with that, I'm gonna catch some Zs," Rainbow layed against the wall, intent not to move for the next few hours.

Twilight sighed. "Fine. Gillian, you're still with me on this, right?"

"Yeah, sure... Fine," the griffon spoke in an almost inaudible tone.

With Cadance and Shining Armor gone, the mood of this room changed rapidly, and in a direction Twilight wasn't entirely comfortable with. But none the less, she had to do this, for the sake of Equestria. And so, with her goal set, she walked up to the bookshelf, and grabbed what was going to be the first of the many books she would read today.

Tightrope

The only sound that reverberated through the small study hall was the delicate flipping of old papyrus pages as Twilight and Gillian wordlessly scanned the many old historical texts that lay before them.

Twilight sighed forlornly as she finished the final page of Crystal Politics: A Royal's Introductory Course, and closed it's thick, grass bound cover with a muffled thump. She magically placed it atop the growing pile of books designated as devoid of any important information, Which currently consisted of every single book they had read. Twilight grabbed another book, labelled Conditioning the Cold, Better For Everyone from the bookshelf, which was quickly beginning to empty. At the rate she and Gillian were going, they would be likely to finish the entire library before next morning.

Twilight sent a quick glance in Gillian's direction. She could only see the jumbled mess of feathers that was her hair, the rest of her face was hidden behind an incredibly thick book. It's title, Learning Crystal Law, was delicately scorched onto the reed woven binding of it's cover. in addition to the scorched title, Gillian had also left a score of small tears along the edge of it as she grasped the book tightly in her claws.

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Gillian suddenly lowered her book, causing Twilight to snap back to her own tome. Fortunately, it seemed Gillian hadn't noticed. Instead, she also let out a sigh as she frustratedly tossed the book on top of the pile.

"Can ya pass another one?" She mumbled under her breath.

"Huh?"

"I need another book." the griffon barked, extending her claw towards Twilight expectantly.

Twilight obliged, levitating a book into her waiting talons. Once she received the book, 101 ways to Govern Your People, she opened it up and slammed it upright onto the table, hiding her face behind it's massive pages again.

Twilight turned back to her book and paused for a moment. After doing nothing for the next minute, she gathered her resolve, sat upright, and turned to Gillian.

She took a deep breath. "Gillian, are you alright? You've been quiet since... ahem, since we left the campfire. It's not still-"

"No. It's not," Was all the griffon snapped out in response.

Twilight leaned back, unsure of what to make of her attitude. Instead of trying to press the issue further, and not wanting to make things worse, she decided to go back to reading her own book.

For the next few minutes, silence reigned again until, surprisingly, Gillian broke the silence.

"...How long did y'know about th' ice?" she muttered.

Twilight looked up from her book and towards Gillian, who was still hidden behind her own tome. "You mean the Wall? I only knew about it a couple weeks ago when Celestia sent me the no-"

"No," Gillian interrupted. "I mean how long did you know 'bout those... things? How long didja know about th' monsters in th' ice?"

"The same day you did. I didn't know about all those things until we all saw it. You were there to pick us up, I never had a chance to investigate it before, and was barely able to do so after we docked."

Gillian merely huffed in response. Twilight again opened her mouth to speak, but Gillian dropped her book to face her.

"Gelgen told me about what he saw. He told me about how you were talking with something 'n th' ice. I didn't believe him at first, none'a us did. He didn'ave any proof at first, but then we saw what was behind th' Wall. That's all the proof I need, so I wanna ask, what th' hell could possibly explain you talking to whatever is in that ice?" Gillian practically shouted the question.

Rainbow snorted and shifted in her sleep, and Twilight quickly cast a small barrier around the two of them. The last thing she needed was Rainbow ganging up on her too.

Once her spell finished, she turned to Gillian. "I Don't know if I'd be able to describe it to you, even if I wanted to, which I do. But I swear to you, everything I'm doing is to make sure this ice goes away and our kingdoms can live in harmony again."

Gillian's face contorted into a look of confliction. "But how can I believe you? I might not know Gelgen that well, but everythin' he said fits together more than i'd like it to. How can I be sure you're telling the truth?"

"I... I wish I had a way to make you believe me, but I don't. All I can ask is that you trust me. Please Gillian, I need you to trust me."

Gillian sat still for a painfully long moment, and Twilight expected her to leave right then, but she nodded lightly.

"I... I trust you. I just hope that you'll tell me what's goin' on eventually though."

Twilight felt another pang of guilt. What harm would telling her do? After all, Twilice could always use the extra hands to help her escape.

No, maybe she shouldn't

but what if-

A pressure invaded her head, making every one of her thoughts melt away like water. Every thought, that is, except for one.

"You will tell her nothing of Twilice and her relation to you. She deserves nothing. Tell her nothing."

Twilight gasped in pain, which made Gillian bolt up from her seat.

She scrambled around Twilight, trying to find anything wrong. "Twilight, what's wrong, are you alright?"

Twilight tried to say something, trying not to make Gillian any more worried, but could only manage out a wheezy mumble.

Gillian, unsure of what to do, held on to Twilight's shoulder. "Do you wan' me to go get your sis?"

Twilight tried to shake her head, but as Gillian put her claw on her shoulder, Twilight felt a sudden surge. A single strand of energy that seemed to come from somewhere within her reached out into an infinite abyss that Twilight couldn't pinpoint. It scrunched slightly as it made impact with something, but the strand pierced through the barricade, and Twilight felt a deluge of energy fly around her. As if another dimension had layered itself upon her own, Twilight could feel the movement of everything around her. The dust particles in the air were suddenly bright comets that drifted weightlessly, and her hooves were mountains of magical energy, raw and untapped. The power surged through the strand, into her very core, and out onto the shield around her. As it happened, Twilight could've sworn she heard the faintest trace of a roar.

She suddenly shot her head up, making Gillian yelp in surprise.

The wiry griffon slowly stepped back from Twilight. "Are... are you alright Twi?"

"Y...y-yeah, I think so."

"Thank Grover, you weren't lookin' too good for a moment there."

"Yeah... I guess," Twilight rubbed her head. The surge of energy began to subside, and with it, her vision slowly turned back to normal. "Let's get on with the next book."

"Oh. uh... sure," Gillian turned back to the bookshelf and grabbed a small book that was surprisingly bound in what appeared to be dragon scales. "Ew, I hope these aren't real. Here, see if this one's any good."

"Sure let me-" Twilight hadn't time to finish her sentence before she let out a loud gasp.

Gillian straightened up in fright again. "What, what is it?"

Twilight stared wordlessly at the book for a moment, her mind clearer than ever. "Gillian, I think I should tell you about the ice after all."

Gillian's eyes widened, and as she looked back at the book, the spark of curiosity found its home in her eyes again. She and Twilight stared at the words carved roughly and hurriedly into it's scaled cover.

Ma Vie's Compendium of Nightmares and Other Abominations.

Horrors

Twilight and Gillian huddled in the lavender sphere that guarded them from the sights and sounds outside.

"Wait, so is Twilice actually another version of you or what?" Gillian scratched her beak in confusion.

Twilight rubbed her temple. Something about all of this suddenly felt off. Why hadn't she thought this hard about Twilice's story before? "I don't know. The more I try and get information from her, the more her story twists and branches. I don't know if anything she's told me is true."

"Well, what's in it for you if ya do free her?"

"She says she's adept in Aether magic, and that if I free her, she'd be able to fix everything, set the ice back where it was."

Gillian squinted as she delved further into contemplation. "That'd be pretty useful if that was actually true, but we don't know if she actually can use Aether magic, whatever that is."

"Well, Gelgen actually saw me as she was teaching me to use Aether magic on my own. Twilice said that teaching me might've been the only way to free her aside from digging her out, which we don't have enough ponies to do so, or waiting for the ice to fade away, and we both know now why that can't happen."

"Right. Well I don't trust this Twilice one bit. I say try and see if you can get'er to contradict her own story. If you can do that, then you'll know she's been lying."

"But if she reads my mind when I'm thinking about it, she'll just use my memories and answer from there."

Gillian sat quiet for a moment. Twilice fiddled with the book's cover as she herself thought of a solution, but Gillian snapped her claw not a moment later.

"What if you just forgot! You could put a shield spell or somethin' around specific thoughts or memories, and then make a trigger word t'reactivate 'em that only I know. Since Twilice can't read my mind, I can be your failsafe. That way you'd know once I say the word and bring back your memories."

"That seems awfully complicated, and are you sure you want me to place such a burden on your shoulders?" Twilight fretted.

"Bah, I wouldn't mind. If it helps you, and gets us closer t'fixing this whole Wall issue, I'd be glad t'do it."

Twilight thought for a moment, her head feeling oddly clearer than it had been these past few days. "Maybe let's see if Ma Vie's book has anything helpful, and if we find anything really important, than I'll do it."

"Works for me, let's read this bad boy," Gillian agreed.

Twilight slowly opened the scaley book, tilting it to allow Gillian to see its contents as well.

Hello there, future or current princess of the Crystal Kingdom. Your reading of this tome is sure to be imperative to the continued survival of both you and your kingdom. Listed in this book is the other eleven lords of Leudnan Righrean, as well as their most dangerous weapons, their most vile assistants and any other dangerous entities that roam this putrid land.

However, as you are most likely aware, These creatures are likely to be trapped in ice, as I have planned to do so for the past years, and hope to execute this action soon after I finish writing, and long before you ever read this tome.

First are the eleven lords, Boiuna, Morvelek, Myjnik, Sammakott, Pairio, Einhyrningur, Angont, Quetzalcoatl, Nian, Melo Milo, and finally, Queen Markinockyonazae.

Each are to be regarded with great caution, but your greatest threats are likely to be Angont, Quetza, Myjnik, Markin, and most of all Sammakott.

All are unreasonable, insociable, and self centered, but the five lords I have mentioned are especially vicious, and seem to revel in the slaughter they cause.

"Wait, right there, Twi," Gillian pointed to the page. " Sammakott, isn't that th'name that snake thing told you 'bout? Go to Sammakott's page."

Twilight nodded, and began speeding through the pages. Many of them held hastily drawn images of the creatures that were described within. Twilight noted the unmistakable metal beak of the odd bird-like beast from before, and definitely took notice of the odd, elephantine serpent. It took her only a couple seconds to find Sammakott's page, and once she reached Sammakott's section, it only made her want to throw up.

But it wasn't the creature's horrifying body, or the words it held within, but one horrid feature. Where a horse's face should have been, instead there was a large, yellow splotch that was compromised of quick, frantic strokes, making it appear as if it were a light.

And it was a light she recognized immediately.

Gillian tilted the book towards herself to continue reading the passage.

Of all the monsters I've ever met, none has been nearly as malignant, insidious, or patient as the king of the dead, Sammakott. His rule over the land of Narok has lasted since before the kingdoms even formed, and his reign expands over a wide area. His armies are as numerous as the amount of innocents he's ruthlessley slaughtered. Worst of all, his eye possesses natural Aether magic, and can melt and mold the minds of all who gaze upon him as if their brains were molten magma. This, paired with his cold, calculating demeanor and his lack of restraint makes him a top priority threat. It will take all of my effort to defeat him, and if he is ever to be freed from his prison, may the cold, uncaring universe have mercy on your soul.

The two sat in stunned silence for a moment, and only after a sufficient pause and a deep, calming breath did Gillian speak.

"You... you don't think...?"

"I don't think. I know it's him," Twilight said with utmost certainty.

"But you said you saw th' light, and you're not mind controlled."

"Not fully, but she... he has full reign over my memories, and I should've known it was him that was giving me those headaches."

"Wait, like the one ya got earlier?"

As Gillian said it, Twilight growled in frustrated grief. "Ugh, I should've known he was also lying about that too. Of course he's still in my head!"

"Is he there... right now?"

"No, I don't know what happened, but he's gone... for now. Which means this is our only opportunity to wipe my memory."

"Are... are you sure you want to do this?" Gillian asked nervously.

Twilight nodded, then she spoke. "I'm gonna need a paper and quill."

Elementary

"I'm sorry you three couldn't find anything of substance. If you'd like, You're all more than welcome to peruse any of our local libraries, maybe they'll have the thing you're looking for," Cadance hummed.

She, Shining Armor, and the trio sat around a small table, each of them enjoying a well prepared late afternoon supper. Twilight poked her food dejectedly. She was surprised to have learned that she passed out all of a sudden, only for Gillian to wake her and state that. yet again, their work was for naught. At least the thin, honeydew griffon seemed in better spirits than when they got here. Though as much as she was relieved to see the effects of seeing the Wall's inhabitants weren't permanent, She couldn't help but grow increasingly anxious at the ever encroaching inevitability of its collapse.

Her recent unconscious episode, which was already odd on its own, was only the tip of the iceberg of weird circumstances. Ever since the three of them left the study, Gillian was constantly glancing in Twilight's direction. Rainbow seemed to be the same, but she seemed... confused? She and Gillian had been whispering to each other almost the entire time during dinner, and Twilight's paranoia continued to climb.

She couldn't remember anything from the past few hours. Had she blacked out or something? What if she started sleep talking again? Maybe she did something worse.

No, that couldn't be it. They would have told her if she did something wrong, wouldn't they?

Of course they wouldn't. They didn't trust her. They feared her.

But Rainbow Dash wouldn't think that way, why would she-

"They hate you. You know they hate you. You believe this completely."

Twilight had to hold back a gasp. Her thoughts were becoming a lot more intrusive than she would have liked. Her head felt so cloudy recently, and she couldn't for the life of her understand why. Maybe she needed some sleep...

The sound of Gillian's voice snapped Twilight out of her contemplation. "It's really no problem, Miss... uh... Cad'nce. I know Twilight's gonna send a letter t'Celestia 'n then we'll be headin' back to Griffonstone tomorrow," The wiry griffon turned her head towards the absentminded princess, who's only response was to blink and nod.

"It's alright, Gillian, was it? I understand that this situation has taken a toll on my sister's health, more so than I or Shining Armor are comfortable with, but I also understand this mission's importance," Cadance turned to Twilight, her eyes brimming with purpose and resolve, "Just remember that we are here to help you, no matter what. We will always be here to guide you Twilight, so don't be afraid to ask for help."

Twilight nodded silently again. She didn't have anything to say, and she certainly wasn't going to ask for help just yet, especially not from her.

Wait, why not? She loved her family, and with what little knowledge she had, it might be a good idea to-

The same choking pressure snaked its way across her train of thought, thus declaring that this particular argument was already over. She rubbed her head as the painful feeling She hated this feeling, and yet it seemed to become more malicious as the days went by. She desperately hoped it didn't have anything to do with the ice.

All of a sudden, the other four creatures rose from their seats, with Gillian having nearly thrown herself into the air with the speed at which she stood up. The griffon's wing fidgeted slightly as she turned to the crystal princess and as Gillian's wing twitched, Twilight could swear she saw the corner of something hidden under her pale green feathers.

"Oh, before we head t'sleep, would y'mind if I had a quick talk with you in private, Princess?"

"Oh. uh, I don't see why not," Cadance uttered in surprise.

"Thanks. Rainbow, you can uh... escort Twilight to 'er room, right?"

"Yeah, I got it covered." Rainbow swirled into the air and hovered next to Twilight as she slowly rose from her chair. "C'mon Twi. I'm sure the guest bedrooms have plenty of books for you to read before you go to sleep."

Twilight watched as Cadance, Shining Armor and Gillian walked away into the castle's shining crystal halls while her friend ushered her towards her bedroom. There was something off about what was going on, but she couldn't place every bit of it. Instead she decided to confront the oddity that lay before her.

"You seem oddly concerned about my wellbeing," Twilight spoke tactlessly.

Rainbow's eyes widened in shock. "I'm always concerned about your wellbeing, Twilight, especially now."

"Well you've been kinda... distant since we started this trip. You've been keeping to yourself for the most part, but now you're talking with Gillian and escorting me to my own room. What's happening?"

"Well Gillian-" Rainbow suddenly paused, stopping in place as an anxious expression graced her face. Her eyes darted around at nothing in particular for a moment, then she spoke again. "Gillian uh... talked some sense into me. I didn't really take this mission very seriously at first. I was really only excited to see Gilda again, but then I saw the Wall. It was that, and Gillian told me about how worried she was about you. I never saw it until now, but I do want to help you Twi."

Rainbow landed next to her friend and offered her a hug. Twilight accepted, and the two stood embraced for a moment in the silence of the crystal halls.

Twilight stepped back from Rainbow, relieved that she still had friends that cared about her. "Thanks Dash."

"Of course. Do you know where your room is?"

"Yeah, I can make it from here. Have a nice night."

"You too," Rainbow Dash waved to her friend, then bolted into the air and down the hall.

Twilight watched with scrutinous eyes as the cyan mare zoomed away until she could no longer see her. She let out a snort. To think they could fool her, there was no way they really believed they could pull it off. they were up to something, but what it was she didn't yet know. But by Boiuna she was going to find out what they were up to, and when she did, not even Celestia would save them then.

Deride

Twilight hummed in joy as she took in the pleasantly warm air of the Crystal Kingdom. If ever there were a place to vacation during the winter, it would have to be the always sunny skies of the Crystal Kingdom, and she might've been tempted to stay another week if a small, barely noticeable voice in her head nagged her to get back to work. Oh well, vacation at Cadance's would have to wait another day.

Rainbow Dash walked up beside her as she stood waiting for her remaining friend. When she approached, she granted Twilight a quick smile, which she immediately returned. All the while, her mind stayed resolute in its conclusion. She and Gillian were up to something, but what could it possibly be? It frustrated her to no end to be left so in the dark, and by her own companions. It made her miss the consistency of Twilice's accompaniment. Thank Celestia she'd get to hear her voice again soon.

The two ponies stood patiently, watching the fluffy clouds above swirl and shift in the sky. It was a while until Gillian finally showed up. Twilight could hear the scratching of her claws on the crystal pavement, and was reminded of Spike back at her own castle. It was a thought that made her sad for a moment. She wanted to go back to sitting with Spike and her friends in her castle and reading a good book.

But she would get that back once she finished her job. She would get to see life's simple joys again.

And all she had to do was listen to Twilice's every word once she got back to the cabin. Simple enough.

"Hey guys, I got some good news!" Gillian's voice rang clearly throughout the open crystal streets. Twilight hadn't realized until now just how scratchy and high pitched her voice was. her voice oozed with a curious enthusiasm that, to Twilice, was quickly becoming an unbearable nuisance.

Why was she thinking this now? she hadn't felt this way about her voice before, so where were these feelings coming from? Perhaps it was due to the knowledge that she and Rainbow were plotting against her, that they both saw her as nothing but a madmare with nothing but ice on her mind. Maybe she was, but that didn't allow her to judge her so harshly so as to concoct some hack kneed scheme against her.

Twilice let out a silent huff. "What's the news?"

"Princess Cadance's comin' with us," Gillian squealed, "the crystal princess herself!"

A cloud wrapped itself around her mind again, but this time she accepted it willingly. The cloud filled her every thought and feeling with an indescribable rage mixed with a burning hatred. A hatred for that Wall, a hatred for the Crystal Kingdom, and most prominently, a hatred for her so called "friend". Now this disheveled misshapen avian abomination roped her sister into this whole scheme, and worst of all, there was nothing she could do about it.

Twilight tried her best to remain stone-faced as Cadance joined their party. She flew down from one of the castle's high windows to greet the group. What surprised Twilight more was that she was clad in a set of bright cerulean armor. Her crown was neatly fastened into a bright, sky blue helmet emblazoned with a symbol that was completely different than the one that marked the arrow.

"Uh, what's with all the armor?" Rainbow Dash wondered.

"I have to look presentable for the citizens of Griffonstone if I'm going to be meeting them in person." Cadance replied sweetly.

"D'you really think that's..." Gillian gulped, "gonna be necessary?"

Cadance's expression suddenly twisted into a hollow, somber mask. She flicked a quick glance at, no, through Twilight, seeming to look at something within her. "Only if circumstances deem it so."

The red hot cloud of rage continued to swirl, only riled more by the princesses words. So they were colluding. She knew it. Well, it didn't matter any more. It wouldn't matter once Twilight freed her other self and staved the ice. Then everyone would see her as she was truly meant to be seen. And this putrid Crystal Kingdom would rue they day they ever thought to rebel against her.

Geez, Twilight was really starting to think like Twilice all of a sudden. That was odd.

Cadance cleared her throat. "Are we ready to fly?"

Rainbow lifted herself into the air, and Gillian gave the princess a thumbs up. Twilight only gave her a slight nod. She would be perfectly happy if she never had to speak to this thing ever again.

As Twilight readied her wings, she suddenly came to a realization.

"Hey Cadance, if you're coming with us, who's keeping charge of the Crystal Kingdom?"

"Kingdom? that's an odd way to put it," Cadance chuckled quietly. "Shining Armor will be taking my position for the next few days while I help you with your mission."

Twilight nodded again, and ascended above the crystal streets into the open air. That didn't really seem like a very tactically sound decision. With how unstable the Wall was looking, if even one of it's more dangerous occupants found their way to the Crystal Kingdom, she wasn't sure if they'd be helpless to stop it. After all, from what she'd seen, the crystal ponies didn't use aether magic anymore... with one obvious exception.

Twilight turned her head around to look behind her at the small crystalline podium sitting directly under the great crystal castle. There, the crystal heart floated peacefully, without a care in the world. She could feel her hair blowing in the wind as she continued to eye it's flat, geometric edges and soft blue glow. Twilice smiled as she looked at it, and as she turned her head to look back at the others, her rage subsided. A calm, pleasant aura surrounded her as a mental image burned itself onto her brain. It was all she could think of on the flight back to the cabin in Griffonstone.

That crystal heart would make a great centerpiece among a throne of bones.

Ethereal

The familiar cold of the Hyperborean mountains kissed Twilight's face and hooves as she landed in the snowy bank in front of the cabin. It's cozy frame would normally comfort Twilight, but she had a mission that was much too urgent.

"Welcome home, your... majesty," a gurgling voice spoke.

"Hey Twilice. It's nice to hear your voice again," Twilight sighed.

Twilice chuckled a snake-like laugh. "The feeling is mutual my dear. Are you ready to practice your aether magic?"

"... As ready as I'll ever be... I think."

"Don't worry, Princess, I'll be here for you when your friends turn their backs. I am your friend," Twilice comforted her.

Twilight shook her head, trying disregard the voice's words. "Well we can't do it now, everypony would be suspicious of me if I just walked into the forest for no reason."

"As intuitive as ever, Princess. In that case, take some time to relax and research if you must, but remember that top priority is learning aether magic."

"Of course Twilice. I won't forget," Twilice assured.

"Oh I know you won't forget. I'll make sure of that."

Twilight huffed in exhaustion. She creaked open the door to see the rest of her group gathered around the living room. The griffons were playing a card game along with Pinkie, who appeared to be winning by a mile. Applejack watched the game from the couch, and Spike sat neatly on the table in the corner, munching on a cupcake of sorts.

Gilda eyed Twilight as she walked in. "Hey princess, Find anything helpful?

Twilight shook her head somberly, which made Gilda frown. "Well that really sucks." She brushed her talons through her hair feathers. "Guess we've gotta figure out another way to fix this, huh?"

"Don't worry Ma'am," Gillian suddenly blurted out, startling Twilight, "We brought someone who might be able to help us with out!"

Gilda, as well as the other girffons, immediately stood to attention as Cadance strode into the room.

"Your majesty, I didn't expect they'd convince you to fly all the way out here," Gilda bowed deeply, her beak nearly touching the floor.

"Well this problem turned out to be much bigger than any of us expected, and please, you can just call me Cadance," the crystal princess spoke sweetly.

Gillian nodded, and motioned towards her companions, who raised from their own bows.

The Princess offered a quick smile, but her face returned to a somber state a moment later. "I'm afraid I didn't come here for pleasantries though. We've something important that we all need to discuss... about the Wall."

Twilice hissed "What does this conniving crystal muncher even know about the Wall? I would bet that scrawny griffon told her."

"How do you know about that?" Twilight asked.

"Please, Twilight. I can see your memories, it wasn't hard to figure out which ones were new. Although, that old study at the Crystal Castle does interest me."

"Twilight, why dont'cha write that letter to Celestia while th'princess catches everyone up?" Gillian recommended.

Twilight stared at the griffon, holding back a look of suspicion as best she could. With nothing more than a subtle nod, she walked up the stairs towards her room.

"Should we listen in?"

Twilice released another long, hissing chuckle. "As much as I admire your drive, I have a better idea."

Twilight was about to ask, but as she opened the door to her room, the cool breeze of the outside swept around her. The window was wide open.

Twilice smiled slightly. "Am I thinking what you're thinking?"

She could practically hear Twilice's wide grin. "Undoubtedly, your majesty."

Twilight grabbed the pillows that lay on her bed and stuffed them under her sheets. "There, now they won't bother me."

"Good, now we have all the time in the world to practice."

"I dunno, Twilice. If I haven't gotten aether magic yet, how am I gonna get it now?"

"Do you think I would be pressing it so hard if I believed you hadn't the capability to use aether magic? I see it within you, we just need to unlock it."

The snow below Twilight made a loud crunch as she leapt out of the window. She looked around quickly. Fortunately, both the cabin and the outside kept their peaceful silence, so she began walking towards the river.

"So how do we trigger it then?" Twilight spoke, free to speak her mind out loud now that she was properly isolated.

"I couldn't tell you. I was born with my connection to the Aether, but you... I don't think your kind has seen much aether magic for thousands of years."

"what makes you say that?"

"When I sensed Gelgen's presence, and your own as well, I could see the faintest shimmer of the Aether within you, but it was so... dim, as if it had been snuffed out slowly over eons."

"Oh..." Twilight's head lowered.

"Don't despair, Princess. Your flicker may be dim, but once we activate it, the entire Aether will be at your disposal. Power untold and incomprehensible, all at the tip of your horn!"

"And the ability to fix the Wall?"

"With the Aether in your grasp, you could turn the Wall, and everyone within it, to dust."

"That seems excessive. How do we know there aren't innocent creatures trapped in there with... everything else..."

"Your doubt is present, and I can understand why. All those within the Wall are nothing but verminous monsters whose only wants are to feed and destroy."

"well when you put it like that, you make it sound like the Wall is just a hotbed of evil."

"That it is, which is why it's important that you destroy it as soon as possible."

"What, is the Wall just an obstacle at this point?"

"A nuisance for the likes of me, but an obstacle you must overcome on your own if you want my continued assistance."

"But you'll still teach me, right?"

"Of course my dear, but this must be done by your hand. How else will I know if you're worthy of being under my tutelage?"

"...Ok, yeah. I'll do it. I'll stop the Wall."

"Good, because this will only be your first obstacle. We will have much to do afterwards..."

Delirious

Twilight skipped through the dead grass at her hooves. The ice stood resolute among a wave of purple fire was now beginning to fade into mauve embers, but Twilight didn't care. She'd done it, she unlocked the Aether!

"Oh Twilice I did it! What do I do now? What can I do now?"

"Twilight..."

"How can i get rid of the Wall now? I can't just explode it. Maybe I can move it somewhere, or maybe..."

"Twilight."

"Ooh, what If I sealed the Wall in a portective barrier to keep anyone from getting out, or I could-"

"Twilight, I'm getting motion sick from sitting on the swaying sea that is your brain, so for a moment could you quiet down?"

"oh, right... Sorry Twilice, I'm just so excited to see what new possibilities this magic provides me!"

"Yes, we all are, but there are still two monumental problems we need to solve before you go experimenting with the Aether, alright?"

"Right, of course."

Twilight stared at the towering pillar of ice. All along its surface, tiny cracks continued to form, like the slow building of a spider's web. It made no sense to her. The ice's spell be breaking on its own for what appeared to be no reason, and she could chip pieces off of it with no problem, yet a concentrated Aether assault did nothing but change its color? Surely there was something she was missing. If it was a defensive spell, it was unparalleled in its strength. But surely no single pony could have made such a powerful ward, even with the Aether at their disposal.

Twilight scratched her chin. "Hmm... what if..."

"You're thinking of something. I'm not sure I follow, Princess."

"What if the ice isn't a protective spell, what if it's something else?"

"What alternative do you have in mind?"

"I'll try and show you. I'm gonna cast a stoneskin spell on it, which should cover its surface in rock. If this does work, sorry."

"Wait Twilight let's think this over first-"

Twilice didn't have time to finish her sentence before the spell was loosed, a thin beam of purple energy flew out from Twilight's horn and into the ice. Small bits of slate sloughed off from the thin laser as it made contact with the air. Once the laser found its mark, the ice began to glow a bright plum. Twilight held the spell for one second, two seconds, then five, then twenty, until she could no longer sustain it. She collapsed to the ground in front of the unchanged ice, which was now slowly returning to its default shade of blue.

"Well... at the least, I am not contained in a prison of ice and rock, though I'm still not sure what you're trying to accomplish."

Twilight slowly rose to her feet without a word. Within the span of a second, she loosed another spell into the ice, to the same result. Again and again she threw spells of all kinds into the pillar, and every time it gave her the same thing: nothing.

Twilight panted heavily as she stared the block down. It stood unaffected by her efforts, mocking her with its face covered in miniscule cracks that weren't even from her. With one last burst of energy, Twilight released one last spell.

It was a miniscule spell, it's glow was faint, and it shimmered as if it were going to fizzle out at any moment. Slowly, it shoved itself off of Twilight's horn and sluggishly floated its way towards the ice. The two Twilights watched with bated breath as the humble light embedded itself into the ice. A small bubble of purple began to glow on the ice's surface as the spell dug itself deeper into its surface. But after a moment, the glow disappeared, and the ice was back to normal.

"...What was that?"

"A mending spell, to fix the cracks."

"Well it seems to have been unsuccessful in doing so."

"Correct, and now I know what spell might this ice is made from."

"Really? Do tell."

"it's not a ward, It's not a shield. It's a magic sponge. It doesn't reflect magic, it absorbs it and disperses it. That must be what that glow is, it absorbs magic, crushes it to nothing, then releases it back into the air."

"Well look at you... You figured it out. I knew you were a keeper."

Twilight beamed widely as everything began to click into place. "That must be why it was blackened out on my map and in the Aether. It wasn't malfunctioning after all! The map couldn't see it because it was devoid of magic!"

"So... what are you going to do with this knowledge?"

"I need to tell Cadance, and Gilda, and my friends! I can't believe I finally figured it out, they'd need to know."

"Well... hold on now, let's focus on freeing me-"

Unfortunately for her friend, Twilight was already galloping back to the cabin. The princess could feel the cool wind, now compounded by the blow of the Aether, brush across her face. Once a deluge of magical energy, the Aether had sufficiently calmed down as it evened itself out, allowing Twilight full awareness of her surroundings, and a little more. As such, it caught Twilight by surprise when she looked up into the sky to see... the rising sun?

Twilight skidded to a stop as she looked up at the still dark sky. "How... how is this possible? Dash and I got back by early afternoon, There's no way we..."

"What, spent all night throwing hundreds of spells at a block of ice? I'm sorry to say, Princess, but your little experiment was quite time consuming."

"But that's-no, I've never been this bad with time. Why am I so unpunctual all of a sudden? What's happening to me? Is it-"

"Watch it, Princess."

"...It's been the same with these headaches too, they only show up when you disagree with me."

"Princess, enough. Now is not the time for-"

"What, are you gonna give me another migraine, deprive me of another night's sleep? Huh?"

"Would you stop arguing about nonsense problems and pay attention to-"

"Of course it's nonsense to you, you don't care about anything I'm doing if it doesn't involve you-"

"No! Look out for-"

Twilight didn't hear the end of her doppelganger's sentence, for she was suddenly pushed down into the snow by a pair of feathery talons.

"I got 'er here! Hurry!" Gelgen shouted out, and not a moment later, the rest of the cabin was at his side.

Twilight squirmed and thrashed under his vicelike grip, all while Princess Cadance approached her with a pained look. She opened her mouth to say something, but she clamped her eyes and mouth shut. She lowered her horn carefully towards Twilight's head. Twilight noticed, and thrashed harder, her horn nearly gouging Gelgen's eye.

She continued to flail, though she had lost all agency of her own body. She couldn't feel anything, even as her head slammed into Gelgen's beak, and her feathers ruffled and bent as she flapped her wings wildly. But no matter how hard she tried to pull away, Cadance's horn grew closer, until it brushed her cheek, and her muscle immediately gave out.

As her consciousness faded, the last thing Twilight could hear was Twilice's panicked roars.

So Cometh the King of the Dead

Twilice watched helplessly as the group dragged Twilight's unconscious body back towards the cabin. He could faintly hear the muffled sounds of arguing from within Twilight's head. After trying his hardest to glean something... anything from their barely audible bickering, Twilice finally gave up.

He was so, so close. He could taste freedom... and those crystal loving, grass munching, kingdom crashing, life ruining wretches took it from him again! Of course it was that disgusting crystal princess and her mindless drones that were going to do him in again.

He must have been blinded by Twilight's mind not to see it sooner... yes, that was it. Never in his countless years of living had he met an entity with as labyrinthine a mind as hers, and it was only made worse by this Boiuna forsaken ice. A wily mind wasn't difficult to conquer were Twilice at full power, but it seemed this ice would stand tall to its last second. How infuriating.

Of course Twilice had figured out the ice's power of absorption many years ago, but the true difficulty came from wearing the spell down. No spell was perfect of course, there were always small mistakes present in even the most practiced incantations. A slip of the tongue, a wrong pronunciation, even a crack of the voice was enough to provide a point of weakness in your average spell, but Ma Vie's spell was anything but average. If he didn't know any better, Twilice might have thought Ma Vie had cast her spell perfectly, but he did know better. The weak spots that were present in her spell were minute, incomprehensibly so to all but the most powerful aether magicians. Fortunately, Ma Vie had gifted Twilice, as well as the others within the Wall, never ending life, so long as they stayed within the ice's protective embrace. This might have been torture to anyone else, a fate worse than death, but to Twilice, it was exactly what he needed. With all the time in the world now at his disposal, Twilight spent his time probing every micrometer of his cell, looking for any weak link, no matter how small.

It took what must have been hundreds of years for him to find every weak link, and thousands more to wear down the ice, weakening the spell until now, where it was nothing more than a shadow of its former self. To Twilice, this was a hollow victory. Ma Vie had gotten what she wanted: Time. Twilice might not have been upset by this if the ice hadn't started weaking his already cast spells. All the thousands of individuals under his thumb slowly faded away as his hypnosis spell wore off. Year after year, his connections dwindled, until all he had left were those too mindless and animalistic to try and fight against him.

Now, in addition to escaping from his prison, Twilice had to create a whole new army, try again to convince the other lords to join his side, and exterminate any threats who might stand in his way. Only then would he be able to finally take revenge on the rotten little insects who trapped him here in the first place.

But then a memory swam into the great black ocean that was his mind. Wasn't it Twilight who told him about the Lunar Solstice? That's right, the pegasi of Equestria ban together to bring about a great winter storm. Perhaps it was due to his imprisonment, but Twilice had never heard of ponies being able to control the weather so easily. Sure, the Akampeshi controlled rain and thunder in the old days, and there were plenty of creatures who thrived in storms, but creating one at will? That was something that interested Twilice greatly.

Twilice gurgled as he imagined the chaos he could wreak with an army like that at his disposal. A fog to hide his approach? a blizzard to freeze his foes? Perhaps a bolt of thunder to set a village ablaze? The possibilities were too numerous to count, and far too useful to pass up.

But of course, before he did any of this, Twilice needed to do something else first.

How disappointing it was to have Twilight taken away so soon. If she had paid more attention, she would have seen them coming. Maybe it was for the best, Twilice was in no condition to use his hypnosis spell again. Using it once proved ineffective, and of course he had to try using a malfunctioning hypnosis spell on the single most neurotic pony in all of Leudnan Righrean, or "Eek-west-ree-uh".

What a disgrace of a kingdom, held together by the power of "friendship". This "Equestria" was nothing more than the cumulative mistake of thousands of little morsels. The only reason these morsels weren't wiped off the face of his kingdom, was because one of them got cocky enough to freeze him in some rancid magical sheet of ice! Oh how he wanted to scream and roar and tear at the world around him, but his jaw was still frozen, locked in place for who knew how long. So were his claws. he tried to wiggle his fingers, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and even his thumb, but none of them moved an inch.

Well, if Twilight wasn't going to help him, it looked like he was going to have to improvise. And what a pity too, with the mind of a princess completely in his control, his takeover might have been much easier. But, as usual, the crystal ponies ruined everything. No matter, he would fix his pawn's mistake. And maybe, if things went his way, he could kill two princesses today.

But no matter what he did, he would do it today. Today would be the day that Twilice freed himself from his tomb. Today would be the day he took back his kingdom from the rotten hooves of those princesses.

Today would be the day that all of Equestria would remember, whether they liked it or not.

And So Bringeth His Rotted Breath

The early morning air brought with it a crisp coldness as it swirled through the leafless trees. It was a crispness that ruffled the feathers of sleeping birds and woke their hearts. The small jays and cardinals flapped awake, commanded by mother nature herself to start the day as the sun gently nudged awake the few animals that, for one reason or another, had not hibernated. All through out the underbrush, the chill wind nipped at noses and toes and tails, and slowly, the forest came to life.

All around, birds began to tweet their songs. rats scurried throughout their little snowy tunnels, and small rodents basked in the sun, taking in as much warmth as they could before scurrying back into their snow covered bushes. Squirrels hopped from tree to tree, leaving their homes and exploring the icicle laden branches around them.

A small family of beavers emerged from their dam. There was a new leak that needed to be repaired, or else their home might flood. They got to work as the sun continued to rise, it's luminance and warmth increasing with every passing moment. The biggest of the beavers began gnawing at a nearby tree, and the others followed suit, finding their own sources of wood to gather. However, the biggest beaver was surprised when, after only a few seconds, the tree already began to fall. The beaver scampered away to a safe distance, and watched as the tree collapsed in on itself. With a final crash, the tree crumpled into a cloud of purple-black dust. The beaver cautiously pitter pattered towards the pile of ash that stained the tranquil white snow. It sniffed along the ash, looking for a piece of wood still durable enough to work as a repair material. Fortunately, a sizeable twig jutted out from under the darkness. The beaver grabbed it quickly in its jaws, then scampered back to the dam to make quick work of the hole.

It didn't take long until the dam was repaired, and the biggest of the beavers cozied up back inside as the others continued their gnawing. As the day progressed, the rest of the family gradually returned to the den as well, until all of the beavers were huddled up together, warm and safe inside their dam. Slowly, they drifted off to sleep.

...drip... drip... drip...

The biggest beaver raised its head as it heard the subtle sounds of dripping water. It looked around the small burrow, trying to make out its origin through the darkness.

...drip... drip... drip...

The other members of the family began to wake. In the corner of the burrow, a small puddle was forming from the liquid that had snuck through the seams and collected in their home.

...drip... drip... drip...

The first beaver to enter the water resurfaced with little issue, but as it broke the surface of the water, it stared back at the dam it and its family had built. It was covered in a thick layer of ooze that floated on top of the water like oil. It was an incredibly dark, unreflective black, making it appear as if the dam and the riverbed had been swallowed by an unstoppable darkness. a smaller beaver rose from the water, but the ooze was spreading quickly. It polluted the water, making it darker and thicker by the second. It stuck to the smaller beaver's fur like glue, and as the two beavers made their way onto dry land, it refused to wash or rub off, despite the beaver's best efforts to scratch it away. The two waited for some time for the rest of their family to join them. The sun was high in the sky by now, casting the entire river in an unfitting warmth as the tar ceaselessly absorbed everything in its wake. The rest of the beavers had not come up for some time now, and it was only when the dam collapsed under the weight of the wave of black liquid that it became obvious that the other beavers were gone. The two sat quietly, waiting in vain for the tar to pass so they could return to their home.

However, the beavers weren't allowed even the slightest moment to grieve or rest. The second the biggest beaver laid its head down to rest, a thunderous CRACK sounded through the forest. Fearing for their lives, the remaining beavers darted off into the snowy forest, far far away from the tar, from the dam, from their family.

Another CRACK echoed through the woods. Birds flew away in a panic. Squirrels huddled together in their trees, and the sonorous song of the forest began to die out slowly as every living thing ran from the cacophony. In the middle of the pitch black river, on a small embankment lined with oil covered rocks, A pillar of ice stood. It sat silent, along with everything else around it. The only noise that could be heard was the timid creaking of the nearby branches as the wind fearfully bristled past.

Until the ice stirred again.

CRACK!

CRACK-KOOM!

Like a bolt of lightning, a grand explosion sounded through the dead forest. The ice, once tranquil and still, now exploded to life. A titanic crack formed down the pillar's center, and a moment later, it split apart. One half, no longer tethered to its other side, broke off and fell into the river beside it. It slammed loudly into the oily water, crushing what was left of the dam in one unceremonious instant.

The other half stood tall. From it, a tidal wave of tar spewed forth, knocking down nearby trees and drowning any bushes caught in its path. Black steam billowed from the block's core. For a second, the wind stopped, as if shocked by the sight it had beheld.

From within the core, a single, lanky arm fell. It tumbled onto the dead grass below it, where it remained motionless for a second. Then, it twitched, lightly at first but increasing in ferocity until it slammed into the ground. Seven long, knifelike fingers dug into the frostbitten ground with ease, owing to a sharpness honed over countless generations. The hand scraped its way through the dirt until it rose into the air, tracking small bits of dirt and frost with it. Another hand snaked out from the darkness of the mist to join its companion, and both of them speared themselves into the frosty soil.

The two arms tugged and tugged, pulling something out from within the ice. In a short while, a gnarly visage began to expose itself from the darkness. A pair of massive hooves thrashed from within the mist, kicking and bucking at the ice below it. The hands, giving up on tugging the rest of their owner out, instead clawed and scraped at the ice around them, cutting through it as if it were butter. With quick, smooth motions, the claws began to remove chunk after chunk, all while the hooves continued to break and shatter the ice that had rooted the pillar to the ground.

In time, the mist began to dissipate, and the oil evened out. Though it had still created a wide pond around the ice, which made what remained of the pillar look as if it were floating through a starless void. Within the mist, the silhouette of a figure became more apparent. The hands continued to slice, slowly freeing more and more of the great beast that was held within. Finally, after hours of work, a head revealed itself.

a long, emaciated snout escaped from the mist first. A lipless mouth loosed another cloud of black mist, and long, pale teeth chittered as the monster clacked its toothy jaws. It's oily nostrils flared, and the monster raised its head, extending its long neck until its entire front half escaped from the darkness of the fog.

The creature paused for a moment, then it began to retch. It choked and sputtered and gagged, and its throat swelled with some unseen substance. The claws reflexively held the creature's neck in place, trying to force up the blockage. Finally, the monster expelled one last deluge of black fluid, some of which billowed into the air like smoke.

After a couple sputtering hacks and coughs. The creature's long arms relaxed. They brushed the snow below them, for they were easily able to reach the ground due to their impressive proportions. By this time, the beast had managed to release it's hind hooves with one rough motion. It stumbled and wobbled as it tried to keep balance.

Trees toppled and snapped as the monster put its full weight against them, and its head constantly scraped the top of the canopy. The beast looked at its surroundings as it regained its footing. The trees and bushes and streams all around appeared to dead. It was almost as if time had stopped completely. For a moment, the creature was as still as the woods around it. Then, a sound flowed through the forest, like the gust of a hurricane or the flapping of a monumental bird. It's nostrils opened up like two bottomless pits, and it's maw gaped wide.

Finally, for the first time in fifteen thousand years, Sammakott, king of the dead, breathed fresh air.

Questions and Commands

Gillian paced around the already cramped living room in an anxious daze. The other griffons had perched on high shelves, and Gaine even stuck himself to the ceiling, but she was too busy worrying. This plan wasn't going the way either of them had intended at all. Gillian was willing to admit this was partially her fault, she should've asked a couple more questions first. Maybe she just got caught up in the heat of the moment. It was surprisingly difficult to focus on what the princess was saying when her eyes were filled with sparkle, which made sense, she was princes Twilight Sparkle.

But this whole plan was going downhill fast. Sure Gillian had the book on all those monsters from Grover knows how long ago, and Sam didn't know a lick of it, but was it really worth it when Twilight nearly let Sam loose? It really didn't seem like it. And now, Twilight was unconscious, tied down to a chair. Was she supposed to give her the note now? No, she said only when it was the right time. But how was Gillian supposed to know when the time was right? She couldn't predict the future, and based on what was happening now, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to. Either way, she needed to figure out a solution.

Gillian had told the rest of the party about the situation, and about Sam, but she didn't tell them everything. She didn't tell them about Twilight's apparent lessons with Sam, nor about the note Twilight had written for her to keep. And she certainly didn't tell them about the memory wipe. The less they knew about that whole situation the better, lest one of them accidentally trigger the spell and ruin their plan.

Gillian continued to pace, flicking Rainbow in the face with her tail as she spun around. With each passing second, the ice was getting weaker, and Sam was one second closer to escaping. She really hoped that the explosion from earlier wasn't him escaping, but then again, what else could it have been? This was bad. This was really bad. What were they gonna do?

Twilight stirred lightly in her restraints, and everyone present stopped in an instant. After an overly long, completely motionless minute, the group continued to devise a plan of interrogation. Gillian, meanwhile, kept a steady eye on the windows. The hum of Cadance's protective spell was nearly drowned out by the chatter around her, but Gillian could still see the pink veil of the protective bubble that surrounded the cabin. It's glow made everyone else feel safe, but Gillian had a sinking feeling that it wasn't enough. Not by a mile.

Gillian walked over to where Twilight's friends were gathered, listening to Cadance discussing something. Gillian leaned over from behind the couch, pushing Pinkie's mat of poofy hair down to allow herself to see.

"Now all we know is that this... Sam?" Cadance looked towards Gillian for an answer.

"Uh... y-yeah. Sam. That's it."

"So we know that Sam is stuck in the estuary five miles north of here. Gerret is keeping watch for now."

Applejack raised her hoof suddenly. "Uh, sorry to interrupt ya, Princess, but we're sure Sam's still locked up in that ice of his?"

"Yeah, we all heard that big kaboomey last night, what if he got out?" Pinkie added.

"If Sam really did escape, Twilight'd be iis first target for sure, So he'd come here first 'n' foremost," Gillian spoke up. The suspicious stares from the rest of the party quieted her quickly, though, and she shrank down into the pillow that was Pinkie's hair.

"What does he want with Twilight anyway, can't we just talk this out peacefully?" Fluttershy whispered.

Rarity spoke up first. "Well, if Gillian is correct in assuming Sam has mind controlled Twilight, having a princess under your thumb would be quite the useful tool for manipulating the masses."

"Well I say we go out there right now, kick the snot out of this guy, and get our friend back!" Rainbow shouted, rising from her seat.

"Hold on Rainbow Dash," Cadance interrupted. "We don't want to start a fight when we don't know what Sam is capable of. If he mind controls the right pony, what do we do then? What if he uses Twilight as a weapon?"

"Oh... right," Rainbow drifted back down to her spot on the couch with a frustrated look.

"You said something about his eye, right? That that was how he mind controlled everyone?" Gaine murmured.

Gillian shrugged. "I.. I think."

Gaine nodded. He dislodged his claws from the ceiling and clambered down to join the rest of the group.

"so what are we to do if Sam does show up?" Rarity peeked out the window cautiously.

"Keep him and Twilight away from each other at all costs. We might be able to fend off one of them, but if they work together, we won't be able to stop them."

The group began to shift and move off the couch at the finality of Cadance's words. Twilight remained still, so they would have to wait for Cadance's spell to wear off before they interrogated her. Gillian made a mental not to ever listen to one of Twilight's plans again.

Gelgen spoke up, disturbing the silence that clung to the cabin's walls. "Uhh, Where'd Gaine go?"

Before anyone could answer, a loud, muffled boom pierced through the walls of the cabin. Quickly, the group of ponies and griffons scattered in every direction, preparing for the worst. Gillian stood frozen in fear. It happened. It really happened. Sam was free.

Cadance shouted out behind her. "Gillian, stay and watch Twilight. Stop her if she makes any sudden moves. We can't afford to let Sam get what he wants!"

"Yes ma'am!" Gillian shouted amongst the chaos.

The rest of them funneled out of the small doorway. Pinkie leapt her way out of a nearby window, and her lighthearted "wheee!" was the last thing Gillian heard before the cabin returned to panicked, paranoid silence.

Gillian twiddled her claws nervously, the book still stashed safely under her wing. Then, just when she believed things might have calmed down, she heard a slight creaking from behind her.

Twilight was waking up.

Speaking With Your Past

Cadance rushed out the door along with her ragtag group of defenders. Had she the option, Cadance would have taken an entire platoon of her finest soldiers along with her to the cabin. Unfortunately, Gillian's description of current events made the accruing of any large amount of soldiers nearly impossible. Twilight was in danger, held in the iron grip of an unkown danger. As such, this was a matter that needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Spending time trying to gather an army together might have been a safer option for her and the griffons, but Cadance didn't know what she'd do if some hulking beast ran off with Twilight in tow.

The group looked all around for the source of the noise. It wasn't difficult to deduce, however, as a rather large tree lay crushed on the edge of the protective bubble. She had felt it when it had made impact, but it still shocked her to see such a large tree tossed towards their cabin like a javelin. The creature was nowhere to be found though, which was both reassuring and terrifying.

"Gaine, Gaine! Where are ya?" Gelgen shouted into the sky, to no response.

Cadance turned to Gerret. Were it not for the tinge of red in his feathers, he would have blended in perfectly with the off-white sky. "Gerret, did you see Gaine go anywhere?"

"Can't say I have, ma'am. I thought he was with you."

"He was, but he ran off. Now we've got a missing griffon and an unconscious princess to worry about."

"Princess, there!" Applejack pointed towards the forest.

From somewhere deep within the woods, Cadance could hear a quiet crashing. It was almost imperceptible at first, but as Applejack pointed it out, she noticed the canopy sway and shift as trees were pushed out of the way of some unseen entity. Flocks of birds ascended from their perches and into the sky. The quiet crashing began to escalate in volume. What once sounded like a quiet shore now sounded like a rolling storm as Cadance watched a titanic shadow slice through the canopy.

The ghastly echoes of momentous hooves clattered into the sky like the applause of death. Distant, grisly snarls followed in tandem, tearing apart any semblance of silence with rancid, jagged jaws. Coal black flowers of smoke danced through the sky in stark contrast to the dull grey of the clouds above. Cadance prepared herself for battle, assuming a low stance. Her comrades followed suit, with Rainbow and Gerret soaring into the air to get a bird's eye view, though they were careful not to leave the border of Cadance's spell.

Moments passed, though they felt like hours. The symphony of flesh and wood stopped just short of the clearing that the cabin called home. Cadance watched as the shadow slowed its approach, until it stood frozen at the forest's edge. Moments turned into minutes as the group waited for something to happen. The only noise now was the disquieted wind flowing softly through the feathers and manes of the cabin members.

After a while, Fluttershy spoke up. "...Do you think he's come to talk?"

"I ain't going nowhere near that thing, no sir," Applejack shook her head.

Cadance eyed the dark figure. "I... I can try and talk to him."

The crystal princess cautiously approached the edge of her barrier. "Hello. Sam, is it? I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crysta-"

"I know... who you are..." A voice slithered upon the wind like an eel. It was smooth, but held a hint of wetness to it, as if the speaker had drunk a bottle of honey. Above all, it slithered and writhed, and every fiber of the creature's voice was stuffed with an incomparably dense malice. "You're... the crystal princess... from that woebegone hive you call a...kingdom."

Cadance stood strong, trying her best not to be affected by the creature's tone. She blinked slowly, and when she opened her eyes, the shadow was gone.

However, the hissing voice stayed. "Sam, what a degenerate name. To think that Twilice was a better alternative, HA!" A splatter of something viscous sounded behind Cadance. she quickly flew up to the roof, and the voice caught up with her instantly. "Do you know who I really am, Princess? Who I really was back then?"

"I can't say I do. Would you care to teach me?" Cadance scanned the treeline, looking for any clue as to where it went.

The voice wriggled out from the forest, louder this time. "Gladly, your repulsiveness.

The wind picked up hastily, bringing tendrils of snow into the air along with it. From the shivering cold wind, the voice hissed. "I was once a lord, a king among kings. I was once the powerful leader of a race of incredible beasts...

Another tree flew into the air from Cadance's left. It descended from the sky and slammed into the dome with a powerful THUMM! All the while, the voice continued its speech. "But then, one rotten little pony princess decided her kingdom wasn't enough for her. She wanted Lue... Equestria... all to herself. So do you know what she did?"

THUMM! Another tree exploded against the bubble's smooth pink surface. Cadance winced at the strain of holding back the assault.

"N-no, I don't," she responded, sweat beginning to line her brow.

"SHE SLAUGHTERED MY KIN!

THUMM!

"SHE TORE MY KINGDOM ASUNDER!

THUMM!

"AND THEN,

THUMM!

"SHE FROZE ME IN A BLOCK OF ICE FOR FIF-

THUMM!

"TEEN-

THUMM!

"THOU-

THUMM!

"SAND-

THUMM!

"YEARS!

The assault stopped, and Cadance hadn't noticed her eyes were squeezed shut until she heard the voice again.

"Open your eyes, Princess. Open them, and see what has come from your ancestor's failure."

Every fiber of Cadance's being told her not to, that what she would see would make her regret listening to the voice. But, fearing the livelihood of the other cabin members, and hoping not to make the creature any angrier than it already was, she slowly opened her eyes.

She took one quick glance at the creature, then her eyes grew as big as dinner plates. She was so focused on what stood before her, she didn't even hear her own scream.

Oil and Blood

"Gillian, let me go right now!" Twilight thrashed about wildly in her restraints.

Gillian paced faster to stop herself from listening to Twilight's command. "Sorry, Princess, but I can't."

"Gillian, please! I can talk to Twilice. I... I need to talk to her!"

The griffon's lanky talons clacked on the polished wooden floor as she stopped her pacing and turned to the tied up princess. "And why d'you need to talk to 'er exactly?"

Twilight fought desperately against the ropes that bound her, to no effect. "I'm nothing without her! If you kill her, I'll have nothing left! I'll end up the failure I know I am!"

Gillian winced. Sam had dug his claws much further into her head than she expected, and in such a short time frame. All this only made Gillian feel more guilty. She should've stopped Twilight when she had the chance, but it was far too late for that.

Something changed in Twilight's expression when she saw Gillian's face. The griffon couldn't quite tell, but somewhere among the nebulous sea of stars that were Twilight's eyes, something flickered. Perhaps it was the ember of empathy, or a small spark of realization, but Twilight's demeanor twisted.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me," She said quietly.

Gillian's heart beat fast from equal parts anxiety and outright panic. She carefully positioned herself behind the small coffee table in the corner and sat down. Never taking her eyes off the unicorn, Gillian rested her hands upon her face with a tired groan. "You need to stop listening to her. She's using you, Twilight."

Twilight didn't answer, leaving the room in awkward silence. Suddenly, the cabin shook, tossing small speckles of snow off the roof. An audible THUMM reverberated throughout the small home.

Twilight stared up at the ceiling with a quiet gasp. "She's here..."

As if called upon by an unseen force, Twilight spasmed and twisted in her chair as she violently tried to escape her bonds. Her face turned to a dark purple as her muscles pulled taut in strain. Her horn began to glow a soft violet, and Gillian immediately dashed towards the couch, ducking behind it.

Twilight's horn continued to glow, but she neglected to cast any spells. Gillian peeked from behind the couch as best she could without exposing to much of her head. It seemed Cadance's pacify spell was still in effect, but it wouldn't be there for much longer. Gillian had to do something, but what?

Gillian opened her mouth to speak, but a snarl from Twilight stopped her in her tracks. Fearfully, she peeked her beak out from the top of the couch.

"Twilight, please calm down."

"Don't you understand what's happening? I need to talk to her!"

Gillian frowned. "Do you understand what's happening? What do you think Twilice is here to do, give you some pointers on how to be a better princess?"

"How would you know? You've never even talked to her, you don't know what she's like!"

"And why don't you tell me what she's like? Tell me one thing she did to help you during this trip."

"She... she's been moral support, and she was the one who told me about Aether magic in the first place! She's done more for me than any of you have! The only thing the rest of you have done is talk about me behind my back! Some friends you are!"

THUMM!

"And were we supposed to let Sa-Twilice know about the fact that we didn't trust her one bit, and that she was messing with your head like she is right now!?"

"The least you could have done was try and be there for me! The only one who's supported me this whole time has been Twilice!"

THUMM!

Gillian raised herself from behind the couch. "...is that really what you think?"

Twilight leered at Gillian with a frenzied expression. "It's true! None of you have been there for me for the entire trip! I've had to do everything on my own! At least Twilice was there to keep me going when the rest of you weren't."

THUMM!

Gillian's expression calmed as she stepped away from the couch and towards the rabid princess. "Twilight... We've always been here for you. We're doing this because we want you t'be safe. This was never done in malice, we're trying to help you.

THUMM!

Twilight's irate face persisted, so Gillian continued, edging closer and closer to her. "I can't speak for ev'ryone else, not your friends nor th'other griffons. But Twilight, I would gladly call you a friend. And I, for one, would never leave my friend behind, 'specially not for some freaky ice princess."

THUMM!

There it was again. Once more, Gillian saw that wayward star in Twilight's eyes. It flickered and sputtered before descending into infinite pools of dark matter.

Twilight's horn darkened as the magic faded from its grooves. She let out a pained, tired sigh.

Gillian cautiously reached her hand out until it reached Twilight's shoulder. " I guess we shoulda told y'this earlier, but we do care about you... alot. I know your sister does, I think that's th'only reason she came in th'first place."

"Yeah... I know..." Twilight mumbled quietly. She raised her head to stare the griffon in the eyes. "What's Twilice's name?"

THUMM!

Gillian stood back, taken aback. "W...what?"

"When we put the books in the study room back, after I fell asleep, One was missing. I saw you holding something yesterday, which you showed to Cadance that convinced her to leave the kingdom and help us. Not to mention you seem to know alot about Twilice, despite me never telling you about her."

Oh dear Grover. Gillian froze in place. Was she supposed to tell her now? What if she was still under Sam's spell? There were too many unaccounted variables. There was much too high of a risk for it to be worth telling her.

As Gillian stood petrified, a barely audible scream squeezed through the thick wood of the cabin's walls and reached her ears. Twilight seemed to have heard it as well, for when she looked at Gillian again, her eyes were full of pleading. Unlike before, however, her eyes were devoid of any of her previous rage.

"Gillian, please, you have to tell me! What's Twilice's name?"

Gillian gulped. "It's... It's... Sammakott!"

Twilight nodded as a single quiet "Thank you" escaped her lips. With a quick spell, her ropes were undone, and fell slack on the floor instantly.

Walking With Your Mistakes

Cadance stumbled as the snow gave out from under her and slid down to the ground below. She vainly hoofed the smooth wooden roof until her hoof caught on its ridge. Her breathing was uneven and cold as she tried to calm herself down. Never, in all her years of ruling the Crystal Empire had Cadance ever laid eye upon such a creature.

The figure leaned on the protective sphere, causing it to make a loud, low pitched buzzing as it strained to keep itself intact. It peeked over the roof of the house where Cadance hung, flashing a toothy smile at her stuggles.

With a voice like a spreading disease, the figure spoke again. "What's the matter... Princess? Was it the fear of knowing you failed that sent you tumbling down? Or maybe... it was the idea that you can't defeat me. That would have been quite the astute observation... if only you'd known sooner."

Cadance looked away from the creature's immense shadow, trying to scrub the image of Sam's face out from her head. The voice tittered a raspy laugh that oozed hatred as well as tar.

"Oh... don't tell me you're just scared of my face. Such ignorance, fretting over such childish semantics...

Cadance felt the wind rush by her as the creature dashed around the cabin. It stopped behind her, though she didn't dare to look. She could hear everyone else below her shouting and running around as the creature moved.

The voice whispered, though it was as loud and clear as a bullhorn. "I am much more than an unsavory complexion. You'll figure that out soon enough, though. Besides, what good is showing my face to you if I don't show you what I'm really capable of?"

Cadance flapped her wings wearily, but she was running out of energy. Sam slammed his palm against the barrier again, causing the entire bubble to wobble and malform as Cadance tried with all her might to keep the spell running.

"you know, I know about you... and your husband. How convenient that Shining Armor just happens to be the brother of my favorite pawn, eh?"

Cadance struggled to regain her footing as she rolled herself back onto the roof. "Is that another thing you tricked Twilight into telling you?"

Sam snickered, emitting a sound that was more akin to a woodchipper than anything a normal pony would be able to make. "No, if that may surprise you. You were all much more complacent then I could have ever prayed you'd be..." Sam turned his massive head away from Cadance, and though appearing not to have any eyes, he stared at Spike. "Especially you... little dragon. So many restless nights spent listening to my scrying, and all the while you said nothing, hoping the storm would pass and your friend would return to you..."

"So that sleeptalking was you just messing up Twilight's head?" Rainbow nearly bolted out of the bubble, aiming straight for Sam's head. She was stopped by Gerret just seconds before she made contact with the bubble's border. She kicked and pushed against him, her eyes still glued to Sam.

"Of course not, impudent one. Your friend's status is much more important to me than whatever bile sloshes through her brain, but her overactive mind is good for one thing...

Sam leaned his full weight against the bubble, causing it to cave in around his form. Panic ran amok amongst Cadance's allies, and all the while Sam continued his slithering dialogue. "You see, spending fifteen thousand years without a single glimpse of the outside can leave one feeling... ignorant of the goings on of the modern world. Scrying her head allowed me first row seats into the inner machinations of your culture. A lifetime's worth of experiences, lessons and unspoken rules all collected in just a couple nights. Very convenient."

"And I doubt you told Twilight any of this," Cadance stood tall, boosted by her increasing hatred for the titanic beast.

"Perhaps I did. It doesn't matter either way, She'd still listen to me...

A small slit began to form on the crown of Sam's head. Like a zipper, it slowly grew until Sam's entire face, from the top of his scalp to nearly the end of his snout, was scored by a single thin, black canyon. "Twilight's mind is nothing but wet clay to me now, free to be molded and warped to my liking. I say it won't take me more than a month before every last one of her memories is erased from her vile little mind.

The slit began to peel open. Thin strands of sickly black fluid oozed out from within, though Cadance could see a faint trace of color within. She watched in disgust and terror as Sam gently placed his hands upon the bubble, his blank, emotionless face somehow managing to stare into her soul.

"I will take great pleasure in watching her forget your existence. It is a shame though, I did hope to have two princesses under my command...

Slowly, the slit continued to widen. The falling streams of oil were now nothing more than light trickles as a yellow globe turned and shifted from underneath the veil of black blood. "But your people have caused me too much pain already. Keeping you as a pet would only serve to torture me, the temptation to slice you to ribbons would be far... far too enticing.

With a single slow blink. A monstrous yellow eye emerged from the top of Sammakott's head. It flicked back and forth in its socket, examining the small morsels on the ground below it, then focused on the weakened princess. "But don't fret, Princess. It would be wasteful to kill you now. After all, I've far too much pent up aggression to simply kill you: fifteen thousand years worth of aggression to be exact."

Cadance tried to turn her body, to move her hooves, to do anything, but she was stuck in place. Her eyes could barely focus on the chaos around her, they were entranced on the glowing yellow spotlight before her. She could feel tears sliding down her face, but she didn't feel sad or afraid. She felt empty, as if her whole life had been meaningless up to this one moment. It felt as if her soul had been missing a chunk all her life, and she finally found her missing piece.

Cadance hadn't noticed the barrier melt away like molten steel at Sam's gaze, nor did she hear the screams and shouts of her companions. All she could hear was Sammakott's slimy voice as his massive claw reached out for her.

"When I'm done with you, even death won't be enough to free you..."

Savior

Twilight quickly but quietly opened the cabin door. Her head snapped in many different directions as she kept a lookout for Sam.

Gillian quietly stalked behind her. "D'you see him?"

"I don't hear him-"

Twilight was quickly interrupted by the scream of one of her friends. Not bothering to stay quiet, she rushed out into the open field.

Rarity was yelling at something, staring wide eyed into the sky. Fluttershy held her face in her hooves, huddled into a ball and leaning along the cabin's wall. Gelgen stood on his hindlimbs, staring in slack jawed horror with one of his talons clinging tightly to his chest. Applejack and Rainbow were shouting commands at one another, trying to figure out something, all while Gerret was motionless in the sky, save for the strong beating of his wings. Gilda and Spike didn't move, petrified by something unseen.

Twilight felt a shaky claw poke her shoulder. "Uhm... T-Twilight?"

Twilight turned her head to look at Gillian, but stopped halfway. Just over the roof of the cabin, she could see movement. Through the chaotic noise of the crowd around her, she noticed a low, rough humming that she could faintly remember hearing before.

Twilight, with a single flap of her wings, soared into the sky to see just what was on the other side of the house. She gasped as she saw the horror that awaited her on the other side.

Sammakott was abhorrent in every aspect of the word. What twilight first thought was oddly patterned skin was actually exposed muscles, tightening and slacking as he moved his titanic body. All along his form, blood vessels carrying pitch black blood covered him. Like a great black squid, his veins and arteries grew and shrank before digging back under his muscles.

Sammakott's body was mostly equine. He had the hooves, head and body of a horse, but an odd slab of flesh and bone protruded from his back. Attached to it were two long, twig thin arms that ended in a pair of seven fingered, razor sharp claws. Where eyes should have been, instead there was a wide, expressionless slab of interwoven muscle fibers Split apart by one singular yellow orb. He easily dwarfed any of the nearby ponies, and could easily stand taller than the cabin if he were at his full height.

But he wasn't. Instead, the massive creature was hunched over, tearing a wide hole into the side of Cadance's bubble with one claw, and reaching out to something with the other. Twilight looked down below her to see Cadance standing perfectly still.

Twilight squinted her eyes, trying not to pay attention to the bright yellow beckon. She called out, but her voice was nothing more than a drop in an ever churning ocean. She screamed and hollered and shouted, trying to break through the wall of humming and shouting, but her voice was yet again lost to the cacophonous wind.

Then, there it was again. That same little spark, that same spear that guided her before. She felt as it glittered along an untraced path, unsure of it's necessity now that it had shown her the way. The spear came to a stop at the gently swirling mark it had left before, and refused to move any further. Twilight stood beside that spear, waiting for it guide her, but it deemed otherwise. Finally, she laid her hoof upon the spear, and was pulled gently along as it approached the vibrant void beyond. She walked idly beside it until it stopped again, its point inches away from the Aether that laid beyond the veil.

She watched the void. In all its swirling chaos, it's unpredictable spontaneity, something remained. She watched as layers peeled and stretched and covered. Her eyes widened as she watched a hundred different rivers intersect and overlap, each of them moving in a different direction in time and space. She gasped when she saw what she had been lead to see. Everything in the Aether seemed to move of its own volition, but no matter what, everything eventually circled around to one point. Somewhere both infinitely far away and right in front of her, a singular point that was as incomparably large as it was impossibly small revealed itself. It winked closed in a split second, and opened again within the span of a million millennia. Twilight reached her hand out to caress it, only to see the spear still stuck to her hoof. She watched as the Aether bent and flowed around her hoof as she made a single quick motion. She pulled back her hoof, only to see the spear had gone, and what was once a flawless swirling sphere now sported a small but significant blemish in the form of a single small slash mark.

Then Twilight blinked, and the swirling vortex of fear, snow and magic engulfed her. She noticed Sam beginning to lean back, extending his neck backward and opening his maw wider than should have been allowed. She could hear the various pops and cracks as his jaw clicked out of place. In his outstretched hand, Cadance was still as paralyzed as she had been. His other hand was dug firmly into the snowy soil in anticipation. Now was her time to act.

Twilight listened to the roiling waves of the Aether. She laid lackadaisically upon their current, listening to the quiet thrumming that followed their movement.

Sammakott let out a long, raspy breath. Twin pillars of black fog escaped from his mouth and flew high up into the air, where they swirled and danced like obsidian roses.

Twilight felt the currents shift to accommodate the disturbance of the once untouched web of flowing magic. She could feel the Aether move around her as easily as she could feel its magic build within her horn.

Behind the long, flattened teeth that were stained and darkened by oil and blood, row after row of long, needle thin teeth unfurled themselves from the darkest corners of Sam's mouth. Like porcupine quills, they were numerous and needle sharp. They quivered and shook as the Crystal Princess drew closer.

With the vibrant void on her side, Twilight lifted the veil, allowing the Aether to flow freely through her. With that, she felt the writhing abyss fall all around her, and the cumulative force of an entire dimension slammed itself upon Sam's outstretched arm.

Screams and Roars

Gillian doubled over as an earsplitting screech blasted across the snow covered clearing. A pillar of oil-stained flesh fell with a loud CRASH! Black globs of viscous, oily blood splattered onto the ground, where they melted snow, burnt grass and hid away deep into the soil. The titanic claw slowly went slack and opened as the last drops of oil pooled onto the ground, leaving the severed limb as nothing more than a dull red statue.

Gillian loosened the grip on her ears just a little bit. When the wailing had assuredly come to an end, she stood up and ran around the house to check on the rest of the group.

Twilight descended from the sky to come to Cadance's aid. the crystal princess's orb had finally given out in the chaos. Fortunately, a new orb, glittering with opalescent violet pigment, had been summoned to take its place. The other griffons had gathered around Sam's arm. Though they watched it bubble and twitch with grim interest, they kept their eyes on the spot where Sammakott had once stood. Twilight's sphere, which was doing a fantastic job of keeping Sam's magic out, also prevented any of them from seeing outside of its border. The faraway tree line, bright blue sky, and giant monster that waited outside were now invisible and soundless, which rightfully festered a feeling of paranoia.

For now, however, the only thing that mattered was the princess. Gillian walked towards the crowd, mindful of the now stagnant puddle of ooze that surrounded Sam's severed limb.

"Is everyone alright, Ma'am?" Gillian asked her superior.

Gilda looked Gillian in the eyes, then tossed a quick glance towards Twilight's direction. "What's going on there?"

"O-oh, right..." Gillian shrank a little. This would be difficult to explain. "Well, me 'n' Twilight kinda made up a plan b'forehand 'n' I-"

"Let me stop you right there, Fluffs," Gilda held up a claw to silence her compatriot. "You were supposed to keep her inside no matter what. That was an order from the princess, ok? Not only did you directly disobey an order from the princess, but you also withheld information from both of your superiors."

Gillian shrank more. her wings drooped to her side, and she could feel her tail begin to cool as it went slack and fell into the snow. "...Sorry."

Gilda grunted. Gillian was unsure what it meant, but Gilda hadn't shouted at her yet, so that was a good sign. "Well, what's the deal with her then? Is she cool or not?"

Gillian turned to the two princesses. "She uh... She probably won't be affected by Sam anymore, which is good..."

The brown and white griffon watched Twilight as she helped her sister to her feet. "Seems good to me. Alright boys, stop poking the arm and let's have a chat with the princesses."

Gillian stuck to the back of the pack as the griffons walked up to the small herd. Many of them were huddled together closely. Rarity sat, brushing Fluttershy's hair with her hoof in a vain attempt to calm her down. Rainbow and Applejack stood back from the rest of the group, their attention alternating between the bubble, the arm, and Twilight. Spike remained at Twilight's side, trying his best to get the hand to open fully. Unfortunately, the massive, scythe-like fingers didn't budge. After a minute, Spike gave up with a restrained sigh and slumped down into the hand's massive palm.

Cadance blinked slowly, the effects of the spell still lingering in her mind. "Ughh... Tw... Twilight? What... what happened?"

Twilight held Cadance upright with her wing, slowly guiding the weary pony away from the lifeless hand and the pool of viscous fluid that surrounded it.

"It's alright Cadance, you're alright now," Twilight comforted her sibling.

"But... where's Sammakott? Why can't I... remember... what happened?"

"He's... well..."

"He's still out there," Gilda interrupted, "and we need to stop him before he comes up with another plan."

Rarity looked up from her friend to confront the griffon. "Well we certainly can't put a stop to him ourselves. We're much too understaffed! With one princess out of commission, and the other being a tad unpredictable, no offense darling, our options aren't as numerous as we'd hoped."

Twilight stared at the pearly mare for a moment, annoyed, but quickly returned to helping Cadance down onto the snow. "I agree with Rarity, but we don't have a choice. We need to make sure he won't threaten us again, and the only way to do that would be to send him to Tartarus."

Gilda stood in place for a minute as she took in Twilight's words. Her mouth hung agape in perplexity. "...Tartarus? Are you for real right now? We need to kill that... thing right now!"

"And how do y'all expect us to do that?" Applejack asked.

Gelgen stepped forward this time, his already raggedy features looking worn from stress. "Well little miss magic here aughta be able to figger something out. I mean, she's all of a sudden able to pull off all these fancy spells and whatnot when we coulda used it earlier. Or didja just not want to use your magic before, 'Princess'?"

Spiked suddenly popped up from behind Twilight and climbed onto her back to stare the elderly griffon in the eye. "Hey, stop blaming Twilight for everything when we already figured out that Sam was mind controlling her since we got here."

Gelgen stood his ground against the little dragon. "Are you gonna make that demon go away, ya shrimpy little termite? Didn't think so!"

"Alright," Twilight shouted above the group's arguing, "Fighting with each other is only going to waste more time if we want to stop Sammakott. I can probably trap him in another bubble spell like this if we keep him in one place for long enough... and if he isn't already dead."

"Seems fine to me," Gilda grumbled.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever the 'princess' says," Gelgen added.

Twilight huffed in finality. She closed her eyes in focus, and an odd, wriggling, violet light began to snake around her head. Gillian watched with boundless interest as the little magical sliver rapidly uncoiled itself from the princess's horn and flew up to the roof of the bubble. Upon hitting it's mark, a wave of magical energy careened across the sphere's surface, turning the opaque purple surface into a light mauve glass.

"Alright, let's see if he's-" Gilda started, but stopped as she looked ahead.

Another much larger pool of tar lay just beyond the bubble's reach. Sammakott was nowhere to be seen, but a trail of tar stained the peaceful snow like a long dormant scar. The trail of black blood painted the ground until it finally stopped at the forests edge, where a wide path had been carved through the woods. Trees were overturned and half buried in the disturbed snow.

Gillian, along with the other griffons, looked at the scene with unshakable terror.

"Twilight, open that bubble now!"

"Gilda wait, before we jump to action-" Twilight tried to speak, but was interrupted by Gilda's screaming before she could finish.

Gilda pointed to one of the faraway mountains. The path that Sammakott had made was aimed straight at the closest one. "Twilight, don't you get it!? He's headed for Griffonstone!"

Alone

The snow was pristine, and utterly lacked any semblance of disturbance, which was beginning to become frustrating for Twilight. How was Sammakött able to hide so easily? He was the size of a building, surely he'd leave something behind to show where he went.

Twilight tossed an uprooted bush out of the way, only to see more of the same. Guess not.

She looked up to the branches above. "Found anything yet, Rainbow?"

"Nothing yet," came a voice from somewhere above Twilight. "But I think I-" Rainbow Dash suddenly went silent, giving Twilight another spike of anxiety.

"...Rainbow", she called out to the sky. "...Rainbow, are you there?"

There was silence for a moment. Rainbow spoke up against the whistling of the wind after too long. "Y-yeah, just thought I saw something."

"Well did you?"

"...No, I don't think so."

Twilight stared suspiciously up at where Rainbow probably was. She would have liked her friend to stay on the ground where she was less likely to be caught by Sam's light... and so Twilight could stick more closely to her.

In the darkness of the forest, Twilight couldn't help but accept the building fear within her chest. Everyone was so spread out, and with Sammakött seemingly having vanished into thin air, Twilight wasn't so sure of their collective safety. Was Sam even able to teleport? She didn't know, but considering how much she was able to do with Aether magic despite discovering it only a couple days ago, she had a feeling that a vengeful spirit with fifteen thousand years of free time to practice his magic would be much more capable than her. And speaking of Aether magic...

Twilight took in a deep, cleansing breath. Though she had followed the griffons to the edge of the Hyperborean Mountains, she was still maintaining both the bubble back at the cabin and her own mental ward. This was more handleable when she had adrenaline rushing through her system from the thought of losing somepony she loved. However, now that her terrified energy had run its course, her wards were quickly becoming quite the task to uphold.

...Wait... Why hadn't she put a ward on her friends?

Twilight brimmed with renewed energy once again. "Rainbow!" she shouted, "Rainbow, get down here!"

In the blink of an eye and a gust of wind, Rainbow skidded through the snow to stand next to her friend. "What, what is it? Did you find Sam? Where is he? Did he see you?"

"No, no. I want to give everyone a protective spell to prevent Sam from affecting us."

Rainbow's eyes flicked up to the canopy. "Can you do that?"

"I haven't tried, but I don't see why I couldn't."

"Well c'mon then, let's tell Gilda and the others so we don't get all mind controlled."

"What are you telling Gilda?" The short griffon asked aloud. She slinked her way out of the canopy's shadow like a snake. The other three followed her movements almost perfectly, their faces all unchanging slabs of stone.

Twilight restrained a gasp. "Oh, hey Gilda. You startled me."

The griffons didn't respond. They stood as still and as intimidating as statues. "You had best be careful of hiding anything more from us, Princess. Our trust can only stretch so thin before it snaps." Gerret spoke lifelessly.

"Enough, both of you," Gillian snapped. "Come with us, Princess. I believe we've found a clue as to where Sammakött might have run off to."

"What, did you find footprints? Alright let's see em!" Rainbow trotted forward, but was quickly stopped by Twilight.

The princess sauntered slowly forward towards the statuesque flock. "What did you find, Gillian?"

The griffon frowned. "The trail of blood seems to veer eastward. We believe that Sammakött has decided to take a more diagonal path. Perhaps he has decided to take a path around the quarry instead of over it? We thought it would be prudent to seek your counsel on this matter, as you know Sammakött the best out of all of us."

"That I do... Gillian..." Twilight's expression was just as stalwart as the griffons'.

Twilight kept her eyes locked onto them, watching carefully for any sudden movement. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Rainbow start to piece things together. The cyan mare walked forward, standing next to Twilight. She could see that Rainbow was having a hard time keeping her composure, but the griffons didn't seem to notice.

Rainbow spoke up, her voice cracking slightly in her anxiety. "Hey, I-ahem-I think I found something as well, do you want me to show it to you?"

"Feel free to show us, if your words really are true," Gerret droned.

"Sure," Rainbow growled. In a split second, she flapped her wings as hard as she could, sending a cloud of snow high into the air and into the faces of the stone-faced griffons.

Gilda roared in frustration, and began to furiously claw all around her, missing Twilight's snout by a hair.

"Run Twilight, now! I'll keep them back!" Rainbow shouted. Not a moment later, Gerret launched himself towards her. She swerved out of the way, ascending into the air as Gillian clawed at Rainbow's hooves with rabid vigor.

Twilight stood frozen in shock as the snow began to settle, It was only the loud crunching of the trees in front of her that convinced her to sprint away as fast as she could. She turned to run, only to be slammed by Gilda's shoulder into the frosted ground. Rainbow noticed, and rushed over to the two, tackling the frenzied bird and throwing her across the snow.

The crunching of wood grew in volume, now adjoined by a low, gurgling growl. With a fresh dose of panic setting in again, Twilight scrambled upright and sprinted further into the forest. She didn't dare look back as she heard a deafening roar cut through the empty forest with ease. She looked down at the snow below her, terrified to look up when she saw a bright yellow light illuminate the foliage around her for the merest moment. With that flash of light, Twilight came to a grim realization. Now in the middle of this frozen forest, she had no one to turn to and nowhere to go. There was nothing she could do now except run.

Frenzy

The crunch of snow and the whistling of the wind was all Twilight could hear for some time. She didn't know how far into the forest she had run. She was miles away from the cabin, from the ocean, and was now lost in the middle of the woods with a group of mind-wiped griffons and an ancient lord from eons past. At least she thought she was lost. She could always fly above the trees and check, but that ran the risk of being seen by Rainbow, or any of them for that matter. Either way, it was too risky now. She was all that stood in Sammakött's way, and if she failed now, Celestia knows what havoc would follow.

Twilight breathed in and felt a sharp pain in her side. She hadn't noticed how exhausted she was from running. Surprisingly, running away from an ancient nightmare was slightly higher on the priority list than stopping for a breather. Now, however, she couldn't bring herself to take another step. Resigning to take a short breath, she hid behind a large, dead tree. Her breathing was labored and raggedy. She didn't know if Sam was chasing her, or if he'd decided against it. He probably would have caught up with her by now, or at least sent Rainbow to do it for him, but Twilight hadn't heard anything from either of them since she was back at the clearing.

But she couldn't run forever. If Sam wasn't after her, there were two options left. He either decided to take the path to Griffonstone, or went back to the cabin to finish his job with Cadance. Oh, what was she going to do? Was there really no escaping this? There was always a solution that showed itself to her when she tried hard enough, but it seemed that there was no easy option now. Not with Sam.

As Twilight's breathing slowed, the noises of the forest began to surround her. The quiet creaking of old branches and the sway of foliage in the wind created a calming symphony that, under any other circumstances, would have Twilight lulling to sleep. As she rested though, another sound broke through the calming atmosphere. It was a sharp, sudden noise that startled her and forced her to attention.

It was the snapping of branches above her.

Instinctively, she began to bring forth another spell, ready to blast whatever was above her to ashes. Her horn hummed with power, glowing in various shades of violet. She was just about to loose her spell upon whatever was above her when she noticed two fuzz-covered claws held out defensively in front of her face.

"Waitwaitwait it's just me, It's Gaine!" the dark brown griffon blurted out in panic.

Twilight dispelled the energy that enveloped her horn, staring up at the griffon in confusion. "Gaine, what in Celestia's name are you doing up there?"

"It's a bit of a story," Gaine scratched the back of his neck abashedly. With a grace that only came with lengthy practice, Gaine silently leapt from the branches above and skillfully dove through the branches of the canopy and down onto the ground with nothing more than a barely audible crunch.

"Wow," Twilight gaped, "How are you so quiet?"

"Tawny Owl genes. It's a hereditary thing, comes in handy pretty often." Gaine admitted. The small, prideful smile that crossed his beak as he explained quickly faded when he remembered their current situation. "Are you alright? I stopped following Sam once the others got... caught."

"Wait, you've been following Sam this whole time?"

"ehhhh, partially," Gaine shrugged. "When Sam arrived, and everyone started panicking, I thought that maybe having all of us in one place where all he'd need to do to stop us was blink his eye was a bad idea. So, I decided it might have been a good idea to lay low in the forest."

"In other words, run away and hide?" Twilight gave him a judicious glare.

Gaine laughed nervously. "I thought it was a good idea at the time. And to be fair, if I'd followed Gilda and the others like I was supposed to, I wouldn't be here to help you right now."

"I guess that's true," Twilight admitted, "But what do we do now? Sam's got nearly everyone, and if we try and head back to the cabin, he'll hypnotize the rest of us and... and kill Cadance."

"Maybe not."

Twilight stared at Gaine with a suspicious look. "What do you mean?"

"Well I was out in the open when he arrived, yet he didn't notice me at all. It only made less sense when I remembered Gelgen telling me about his 'Aether sense'. Maybe Sam's not as perceptive as he'd like to believe."

"Or maybe he was too focused on something else... When he hypnotized Cadance, he didn't notice me until I cut his arm off."

"Quite the exploitable character flaw, eh?"

"We might be able to use that to our advantage. If you distract him long enough to make him forget about me, I can trap him a bubble and send him to Tartarus."

Gaine's face twisted in skepticism. "Tartarus? Really? Doesn't that seem like a bit too light of a punishment for the likes of him?"

"Oh go preach it to the griffons," Twilight growled.

Twilight began to sit back down, her legs aching from her earlier marathon, when Gaine's head suddenly snapped to attention. His eyes widened, and he turned towards where Twilight had just run from.

"Gaine... what's wrong?" Twilight stood up with a sigh. She gently peeked her head around the thick tree, but there was nothing there. The only thing she could make out was a distant howling, like rushing wind.

Twilight turned back around towards Gaine, only to find she was alone yet again. She nearly called out to him until she heard the rushing of the wind again. It grew louder and louder, as if the wind itself were being pushed forward by some unseen force. It approached with a rapidity the likes of which only one pony could contend with.

The realisation clicked with Twilight not a moment later. Immediately, she ducked behind the tree and covered her ears as a titanic sonic boom exploded through the woods. She could feel the dead tree creak dangerously as a whirlwind swept past her.

Once the wind quieted down, Twilight looked up to see a familiar cyan mare scanning the surrounding forest in an attempt to find her.

"Twiiiiilight," Rainbow cooed, "We... I... know you're here..."

Entrenched

Twilight creeped her way around the tree as quietly as possible, trying her best to stay hidden from the hypnotized pegasus.

"Come on out, Twilight. Sammakott wants to talk. We're all reasonable monarchs, aren't we?"

A distant tree creaked in the wind. It only took one second for it to be smashed to bits. Twilight held in a yelp as she watched Rainbow zip left and right throughout the forest.

"What's the point in hiding, Twilight?" Rainbow barked, the rage in her voice evident. "He'll find you anyway. Even if it takes another fifteen thousand years, he won't stop until he takes what's rightfully his!"

Twilight could hear the flapping of more wings. Behind them was another, more sinister sound. Concealed slyly behind the buzzing of the Griffons' wingbeats, the clopping of monstrous hooves drew closer and closer.

Twilight sunk lower to the ground, her face half buried in the snow. All the while, Rainbow continued to speed around the nearby woods. Twilight hoped Gaine had a plan, because it was only a matter of time before Rainbow found her.

The blue pegasus spoke up again, her malignant voice floating on the air like oil on water. "Your elusiveness is beginning to become frustrating. No matter, Sammakött is coming. Once he arrives, he will find you, and then all that will be left to do is free his army and slay that crystal princess."

Twilight listened as the griffons landed one by one. She was still safely hidden behind the tree's wide trunk, but the sound of Sam's hooves edged closer by the second. It wouldn't be long now until he found her, especially with five extra sets of prying eyes scanning every inch of forest around her.

From above, she could see a silhouette move silently among the treetops. The situation was quickly becoming dire, and if she didn't do anything soon, they were all doomed. With no other options, Twilight stood up to face her friend.

The pegasus heard the crunching of snow almost immediately, and Twilight struggled to stand still as pieces of wood flew past her face. When she opened her eyes again, Rainbow remained, hovering over the pulverized remains of the once great tree.

Twilight faced her friend with courage, for if she didn't, who else would? "And what if I stop Sam?"

Rainbow laughed a single, loud barking laugh. "You are nothing compared to him! What is one anxious, placeless princess compared to the king of the dead?"

Twilight could feel the warmth of Rainbow's slow, almost robotic breathing as she drew closer. The whites of her friend's eyes writhed with dozens of thin, yellow ribbons. Like maggots they wriggled and twisted about, hungrily reaching for her vibrant, magenta irises.

"You had so much potential, Twilight. You still do. Join us, join Sammakött's army, and become the ruler you always hoped you could be."

"What do you know about my hopes?" Twilight snapped.

"Twilight, dearest princess, I know everything about you. I've seen every corner of your manic, uncoordinated mind. I've seen all of your hopeless anxieties, all of your deepest fears. I know that you lie awake at night, terrified that you'll wake up in the morning, only to find that the world has turned against you. I know you read and read, hiding away in your library because you're terrified that if you do something wrong, everyone will hate you. And maybe, just maybe, if you read enough, learn enough, know enough, that'll never happen."

Twilight trembled slightly. She could hear the griffons stalking closer, surrounding her on all sides as Rainbow continued. "He... I can make that all go away. Listen to me, follow my commands, and you won't ever have to fear your own inadequacy again. You could command a great legion, be a part of something fantastic. You could be the princess of a kingdom that will span all of Equus, free of fear, and of strife. You could rule a city all your own. Imagine that, Twilight City. No one would call you a failure then. And all you'd have to do is listen... to me."

Twilight pulled her gaze away from Rainbow's burning yellow eyes. All around her, the griffons bore wide, heartless smiles.

"Such freedom, such potential..." Gilda's voice slithered.

"All the power in the world, in the sole of your hoof..." Gerret hissed.

A pang of guilt stabbed Twilight's heart as she looked at each of them. This was all her fault. If only she'd tried harder.

Gillian was last. The tallest of them all, the only part of her that wasn't silhouetted from the mid day sun was her scorched, dandelion eyes.

The wiry griffon spoke in a tone that made Twilight's heart hitch in pain. "The princess of a kingdom larger than Equestria could ever hope to be... and a kingdom all your own."

The others nodded and whispered in agreement at the griffon's words. Twilight's face swirled into a mask of disgusted rage. She tried to believe that everyone deserved a second chance at redemption, at trying to be a better individual, but Sam's actions were quickly becoming inexcusable.

Twilight flew into the air, meeting Gillian eye to eye. "And what if I don't listen to you? What if I used my Aether magic and blasted you back to where you came from?"

Gillian matched Twilight's vicious expression with interest. "Then you will die as you lived, as nothing more than vermin, scampering about in your own filth."

"Then maybe I'll keep you in Tartarus forever, and let you wallow in your own delusional megalomania. Admit it, You're just as scared of failure as I am, because then, all those thousands of years of careful planning and practice would have been for nothing. That's why you're too scared to face me yourself, because you know I could beat you, and prove just how much of a failure you are."

"Bold words from such a small creature," Sammakött's voice boomed from behind Twilight. She spun around to face the titan, his single yellow eye a burning sun scored with a lone slash of Aether energy. "Why don't you prove yourself then, Princess. Prove to me just how much of a lord you truly are."

Tabescent

Sammakött loomed over Twilight, his eye a harsh spotlight upon her.

"Has freedom from my persuasion emboldened you so completely that you no longer fear my face?"

"I wouldn't say I was ever terrified of your face, more incredibly disgusted," Twilight snapped back.

"Ha! What have you done with the princess, impostor? Never would she ever be this stupidly brazen to me of all creatures!" Sam leaned down, lowering himself to the ground. Twilight watched nervously as his remaining claw dug deep into the soil, tearing through dirt and root all the same. "Hell, I didn't think she could be this confident against a piece of wood! What has caused such an abrupt change?"

"Maybe I'm sick of seeing you use my friends like they're your toys. Maybe I stopped listening to your hateful words."

"Hmm, perhaps..." Sam rubbed one of his front hooves against his emaciated chin. "Or maybe... that little griffon friend of yours gave you false hope."

Twilight's eyes widened, and Sam responded with a wide, toothy smile that nearly split his face in two. "Don't look so surprised, I saw his aura just as I saw yours. What did he tell you? That everything would be fine? That 'if we work together, we can defeat him once and for all'?"

Sammakött leaned in towards Twilight. The black fog of his breath surrounded her. It smelled and tasted like burning and rot, and caused Twilight to retch at its potency.

"You remind me a lot of Ma Vie, you know," Sammakött gurgled quietly. The dark shapes of the griffons, hidden behind the smoke, appeared to spasm and shake as he spoke. "She was just as bold, just as stupid. But you, you are not her. She was a queen, you are no more than a puppet. She was a threat to all of Leudnan Righrean, and you couldn't even threaten one of my weakest subjects."

In a flash of movement, Sam snatched Gelgen from within the shadows. The old griffon hung limply in Sam's grasp, lifelessly awaiting his master's command. His once grey eyes were now accented by slithering worms of yellow.

"Look at him," Sam jeered, "look at this pathetic excuse for a member of my kingdom. To think you couldn't even confront this old bag of feathers. Unbelievable," with a frustrated sigh, Sam casually tossed Gelgen away, where he landed on the snow with a painful thump.

"You are dirt underneath my hooves, and when I'm through with you, I'm going to tear that griffon apart, find your friends, and sacrifice your sweet older sister in front of all of Equestria!"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Twilight shouted at him, her rage growing stronger with every word. "Why don't you finish me off now then if your so sure of yourself?"

Sam hissed another laugh. His needle teeth rattled in entertainment from within his monstrous jaws. The swirling, toxic fog followed him as he stood to his full height, cracking and pushing away branches with his muscular head. The griffons and Rainbow Dash backed away as Sam inhaled deeply.

"I've given you time to reconsider, courtesy to allow you the choice. I taught you Aether magic. All I've done to make you into a better ruler, and this is how you repay me? What a waste.

Sam's eye began to glow a bright pink as the Aether swirled around him. "But I would like to retain my chivalry. You will be allowed the first strike."

Twilight scoffed. "Chivalry? Is that one of the things you picked up while stuck in the ice? Because last I heard, you were nothing but a ruthless, disgusting, psychotic beast who murdered thousands of weak and innocent creatures just because he felt like it. How's that for chivalry, Sammaskit?"

Sam's muscles rippled as he tensed in rage. The griffons shivered, and Sam's eye burned a piercing fuscia. "You dare stand before me to insult me when you know NOTHING of my past or my people? Did you find an old book from that sow, Ma Vie, and find it enough reason to mock me? Is that it?!"

A branch cracked somewhere above the canopy, but Sam didn't notice. Twilight tried not to look at it. "I found it out on my own, if you must know," She spoke bravely. "But that wasn't the only thing I learned, Sam."

"And what would that be, Princess?" Sam snarled, his muscly hide twitching irately.

Twilight saw a brown figure gliding silently among the treetops. "I noticed you're very easy to distract when you're angry."

"Excuse me?"

Another, louder crack echoed around them all. Sam growled, and turned to face the noise. By the time he turned around, however, it was too late. There was nothing he could do to stop Gaine as he bolted down from the treetops with a large branch in his talons. To Twilight, it felt almost as if the world was moving in slow motion. She saw Gaine streak through the air, and watched as his branch pierced through Sam's eye with ease, lodging itself firmly into his head.

Sammakött's resulting scream was deafening. "MY CONNECTIONS! MY TETHER! IT'S LEAVING MEEE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

Sputtering fountains of black oil spewed out of his face and onto the snow. Sam clutched his head with his remaining claw, trying to tear out the stick still bored through his eye.

Twilight, seeing her chance, focus the Aether around her. Sam stumbled over himself in his agony, knocking over trees and nearly stomping Gaine. With a single, light breath, Twilight released her spell. A thin laser of Aether energy loosed from her horn, and hit Sam square in the chest. The explosion that followed toppled nearby trees, and sent Sam falling to the ground with a mighty THUD!

He lay motionless, a mountain of red among a sea of black. He remained stationary, even when Twilight crept towards him.

"Is he... dead?" Gaine asked, keeping a safe distance from Sam's body.

"I'm not sure..." Twilight muttered. "How is everyone else?"

Gaine turned back to the griffons and Rainbow. They were slouched, some of them on the ground, but all of them were moving. "They're... alive, so that's good."

Twilight chuckled. "It is. It really is."

Magic and Monsters

Gillian slowly lifted herself from the harsh embrace of the snow below her. It felt like every part of her was on fire and frozen solid at the same time. It was certainly a unique experience. Was this how Twilight had felt for the past week? If there were any more reason to sympathize with her...

Gillian could feel countless bent feathers within her undercoat. Sam's doing to be sure. She doubted that brute had ever flown before, much less knew how to manage or control anything that actually could fly. It was going to take forever to wash and preen her feathers until they were back to their former state. What a chore.

Around her, the others were stirring. Twilight was helping a groggy Rainbow Dash to her feet. Gaine was explaining something to a very upset Gilda. Gerret and Gelgen were carefully inspecting Sam's body, the older one doing so with a noticeable limp that no one seemed to acknowledge. Well, at least Sam was gone... hopefully.

Gillian quietly walked up to Twilight and the griffons. "Did... didja really do it? Is 'e... dead?"

"He'd better be. I'm not hauling that thing back to the Griffonstone dungeon," Gilda grumbled.

Rainbow shot up with newfound interest. "You have dungeons in Griffonstone?"

"Dungeon is a generous way to describe it," Gerret explained. "It's just a bunch of holes bored into the bottom of the mountain. No one's really been sent there in a while, so some griffons just use them as storage rooms."

"I found an Arimaspi skull in one of those rooms once," Gaine interrupted.

Gilda responded to the brown griffon with a glare. "No way you found an Arimaspi skull down there, and you're still not off the hook for running off into the forest, coward!"

"Aw c'mon! If it wasn't for me, all of you would still be hypnotized."

Gilda's glare refused to waver. "Mhm, we'll see what the old windbags at the council think when we tell them about your little story."

"Well, he was pretty helpful in breaking Sam's spell. I couldn't've done that," Twilight responded.

"ha!" Gaine barked a laugh, pointing a feathered talon in Gilda's face. "I just got approval from the princess herself! Let's see you and the council fight against that!"

Gilda leaned closer to Twilight. "Princess... I'm saying this with all due respect, and I appreciate what you've done for us, but I will punch you... right in the nose."

Gillian giggled. Their talking quieted, however, when Gerret and Gelgen joined their numbers.

The old griffon slowly made his way to Twilight. "So what're we gonna do about that 'berg, then?"

"Oh..." Twilight's smile faded slowly as the realization came to her. "We, well I spent so much time worrying about Sam that I forgot about the rest of the Wall."

Gelgen scoffed. Gerret looked back at Sam with a disgusted expression before turning back to the group. "Well, how much time do you think we have till it... y'know... Boom!"

"Not long at all... I predict," A gurgling voice answered him.

Gillian snapped to attention, along with the others. From among the sea of black oil, an undulating, crimson mountain rose.

"Stay down Sam," Twilight commanded. "I don't want to have to-"

"Shut it!" Sam swiped wildly in the direction of Twilight's voice. several gasps escaped the group as his unearthly claws seemed to split the very air in twain. "You don't get to speak a WORD about what you "don't want". If you never wanted this, You would have never done it!"

"You gave me no choice, Sam! What was I-" Twilight tried to speak out.

But Sam shouted over her again. "Even now you mock me! Is it not enough that you've robbed me of my armies, my magic? My very sight? What sort of vile creature are you!?"

"The kind that'll toss you into the bottom of the ocean if you don't stop yammering!" Gilda roared.

Terrifyingly, Sam's anger disappeared in a second. A wide, manic smile ran across his face. His long, thin teeth were now polka dotted by splotches of the oily blood that still poured from his eye. He laughed a low, bubbling laugh that could easily have been mistaken for choking. It escalated in volume and speed, until it sounded like Sam might have hocked up his own lungs in a second.

"I don't think that would be the best idea..." he hissed. "Pretty soon, it'll be chock full of things that are going to prove much more dangerous than I. And there will be... millions."

A voice in Gillian's head screamed for her to do something, say something, but she remained frozen, as if she were still hypnotized.

Sam, however, continued all the same, his disturbing grin never leaving his face. "I didn't want to do this so soon. So much planning, so much waiting, and for what? Fifteen thousand years of precise, pinpoint deduction, of deciding the perfect time to break free, of combing the ice's weakpoints down to the very flake. And all of it done for one little princess... to wreck... EVERYTHING!"

Sam's roar lifted snow off the grass and the group off their feet. Never had Gillian heard such unfettered fury released on such a massive scale, and in such a miniscule moment.

Sam's deep, gurgling breath marked the end of his anger spell. Calmly, he spoke again. "But... if one is to be prepared for the worst, they must be prepared for the unexpected. As such, I took careful consideration in assuring my armies would know when the time was right, despite my connection to them having become more strained with each passing day. It was a failsafe, and an enchantment to add insult to injury, but it seems that this measly little bell might finally be rung after all..."

Sam raised his hand ominously into the air, where it remained. It stood like a thin, red tree amongst the grey, cloudy sky.

"Behold, Princess. Behold upon the army of Narok, the army... of Sammakött."

As the final word left his lips, Sam snapped his fingers. A shockwave rattled the nearby forest and brought every creature to their knees. An explosive plume of snow blossomed forth from the stagnant soil, blinding Gillian.

She could vaguely hear the sound of magic being cast, of hooves crunching in the mid-winter snow, and of low, patterned gurgling. In a moment, the snow began to calm. The griffon rubbed her eyes, and as the frost settled, Twilight, Rainbow and the griffons still stood, perplexed and scared and ready to fight as they were.

Only one figure was missing. Sammakött was nowhere to be found. The only evidence showing that he had even been there was the black pool and a set of hoofprints, marking the ground like the killing blow on a corpse.

Yet

Twilight was dumbfounded at Sam's words, and even more so at his mysterious disappearance. He left without a trace, no widely carved path of destruction, no trail of black blood, not even footsteps in the snow. She didn't even know he could teleport.

"OK," Gelgen shouted out, breaking the stunned silence. "Can we, for the love of Grover, please go back to the cabin!? I expected to die a little later, and in a much warmer environment."

Gerret blinked back to consciousness at Gelgen's whining. "But what about Sammakött? What if he's still out there?"

"He is still out there," Gilda snapped. "But... as much as I'd like to chase him down and shove his own claw down his throat, we've got other things on our plate."

Gaine's eyes widened in shocked confusion. He scrambled over to Gilda, his words jumbling on the tip of his tongue. "wha--I mean--but you--what--but--well... I mean c'mon, you're just letting him get away after all he's done, all he could do?"

Gilda turned away from him, throwing herself into the sky with a powerful flap of her wings. Desperate, Gaine turned to Twilight for assistance.

"Wh-I mean y-... Twilight, you think we should go after him, right? Gilda's crazy, right?"

In the sky above, a voice floated down. "I can still hear you, Gaine. Pick your answer carefully, Twilight."

Twilight gulped. "I... I-I don't know."

Gaine groaned. "Come oooon! What if Sam attacks Griffonstone, or any of the other kingdoms?"

"He won't." Gillian suddenly spoke up. She walked up to Gaine, easily towering over him. the puffy griffon nearly toppled over himself, trying to make eye contact with her as she approached. "He said it himself. He's got no magic, no arm, no way to see, and no hypnotized army. He had to use a failsafe enchantment just to keep us from finishing him off. What we should be more worried about is whatever other effects that enchantment might have."

Twilight blinked. "You... caught on to magic pretty quickly, for someone who hasn't seen it much before."

Gillian froze for a sec, and her feathers frizzled a little bit before she answered. "Oh... well I uh... I dunno, I kinda just picked it up as I went along. It wasn't too hard I guess. I mean... I uh... You did help with some of that, casting all those spells and giving me that book on magic."

Twilight smiled warmly at her new friend. "well I'm happy to help."

"Hey, if you two are done having a tea party down there, could the princess get up here?" Gilda shouted from the skies.

Twilight took no time soaring up into the clouds above to join Gilda.

"What's happening, Gilda?" Twilight asked. "Do you see Sam?"

The griffon shook her head. "Out there, egghead. Tarface taught you about his crazy magic, right?"

Twilight turned to where Gilda was pointing. her talon pointed firmly in the direction of the distant Celestial Sea. Anxiety building, she answered. "Uh... I know a little bit about it."

"Then could you tell me what's going on with that glow out there?"

Twilight looked out towards the ocean again. Among the sea fog, a soft, pink glow creeped through. With a fresh dose of panic beginning to set in, Twilight felt out for the Aether again. When she opened her eyes, she gazed upon the vibrant, ever swirling realm around her. The trees thrummed with life, the snow glowed with colors Twilight could barely comprehend. Every time she looked into the Aether, Twilight was always astounded by it's beauty. Even the distant Wall, usually a foreboding black, glowed and swirled with life!

Wait... Oh no... Ohhh Celestia...

"Gillian It's the Wall!"

"What about it?"

"It's about to expl-"

KRAK-KOOM!

The eruption that followed sent a cloud of ice and snow rocketing high into the sky. It's peak pierced through the veil of the clouds, and ascended into the starry void above. The rest was tossed in all directions. The cloud of smoke that remained was easily larger than any of the nearby mountains, despite how distant Twilight was from its epicenter. Spirals of Pink-purple energy wound and swirled throughout the air, and dark clouds began to rise from above the waves, like many swarms of distant insects.

Gilda and Twilight could only watch as all of Leudnan Righrean was released upon the unsuspecting kingdom of Equestria.

The swarms of black began to spread until they became a singular thin blanket that spanned the entirety of the ocean. Even from this distance, Twilight could just barely make out the shape of some especially large creatures gliding on wings that were longer than any ship she had ever set sail on. The ocean sloshed and crashed from the force of the explosion, sending great waves hurtling in all directions, including the cabin.

After an eternity of watching the Wall fall back down to the ocean below, Gilda spoke up.

"W-we should get everyone out of the cabin. Quickly."

"Agreed."

"Oh Grover... What do we do?"

"I don't know."

Gilda turned to her. "Well we can't just do nothing. We might need Celestia's help for something like this."

Twilight took a deep breath. "Gilda, I need you to get the other griffons together. We need to get Cadance and the others out of here and back home as fast as possible. We can drop everyone off at Baltimare. Once we get there, you need to go back to Griffonstone and tell your council everything."

"Including the weird hypnosis and releasing an angry oil monster out into the world?"

Twilight nodded. "Everything."

"I... Ok, if you say so. I'll get the griffons moving. Shouldn't be too hard, no way they didn't hear that explosion too."

"alright, Good."

With that, Gilda flew back down to the forest floor. Twilight could vaguely hear her shouting as she ushered the other griffons into action. She didn't pay much attention, her focus was turned towards the ever thinning swarm of creatures. She watched as mighty winged beasts made their way towards far off mountains or forests, looking for something gone long ago. In the water, countless figures swam like schools of ravenous piranhas.

Twilight gulped in anxiety. She was going to have to send a letter to Celestia. She was going to have to tell her everything.

Epilogue: A Princess and an Omen

Celestia sat on her throne, patiently watching the day go by. Usually, Raven had her up to her crown in paperwork, but today was quiet. That was odd. Even when there were no public matters to attend to, there was always work to complete. It wasn't particularly enjoyable, but she was usually able to occupy herself with her work. However, on days as slow as this, things quickly became unforgivably boring. But, whether she liked it or not, she still had to keep appearances, so on the throne she stayed.

Although... Raven hadn't showed herself for maybe an hour now. Maybe she could get away with talking a walk around the castle. It wouldn't be a lot, just enough to keep her legs from atrophying. She had a meeting with some lovely ponies from Las Pegasus later today, and until then, it seemed her schedule was wide open. Nobody would care if she just took a casual jaunt around, right?

The sun was shining bright through the stained glass windows that patterned the throne room. Through them, the room was bathed in a myriad of distinct and beautiful colors. Celestia always liked those windows, showing the accomplishments of her, her sister, and most incredibly of all, her star pupil. It warmed her heart to see how far Twilight had come. She was capable of so much, all she had to do was see it within her. Celestia stared at the glass facsimile of her student. What was she up to now?

It was slightly concerning that Twilight hadn't sent her a single letter throughout the whole week, despite being sent all the way to Griffonstone. It was her pupil's favorite kingdom, and Celestia wasn't even sent a notice of arrival. Maybe Twilight was hurt. Maybe it would be a good idea to send her a letter to see if she was alright.

No, it would do no good to worry over nothing. After all, what was the worst that could happen. If Griffonstone was in any serious danger, they would have asked for Celestia directly. It was just an iceberg, all she needed to do was establish a good connection, figure out what the griffons needed, and listen to them. What if she missed a step? What if the griffons didn't accept her help? Maybe it would be a good idea to send a letter after all.

Celestia's hoofsteps echoed throughout the empty halls. With the exception of the guards placed here and there throughout the castle, no one was present. They didn't usually make for good conversation. She guessed they must have been trying very hard to do their jobs well, and she couldn't help but appreciate it, even if it did make the atmosphere rather stale. What was odd was the lack of any other ponies. Her sister was likely asleep at this hour, so that wasn't a surprise, but surely there would be delegates or assistants roaming the halls, attending to various tasks throughout the castle. Even the cleaners were gone. Did something happen that she missed? Was she meant to be present for an event after all?

As the doors to her balcony swung open, Celestia felt a pleasant wind sweep through her hair and across her face. However, after a moment, the crisp chillness of the wind quickly turned into a freezing gale. Even considering today was the Lunar Solstice, this wind was exceptionally cold. Down below, she could see dozens of ponies going about their day, standing by Cafés, restaurants and various goods stores. Come to think of it, why weren't they moving? Everyone and everything seemed to be standing still, as if someone had played an elaborate prank and painted a fake Canterlot below her. It was a little unnerving, though Celestia would hate to admit it to herself.

The sky was remarkably clear, in stark contrast to the grey dreariness from earlier this morning. Now, the sky was a brilliant blue, and accompanied by the occassional white, fluffy clouds. But as she looked into the sky Celestia noticed a single large shape riding on the frozen wind. It warped and swayed as it moved, but It moved too fast to be a cloud. Were the pegasi doing something with it? It was dark enough to be a storm cloud, but one so close to Canterlot, and so late into the winter? It didn't make sense, and she certainly wasn't told that there would be a storm in the coming days.

Clack!

Celestia turned to the source of the odd noise. A pair of thin, metal claws secured themselves to the railing of her balcony. The creature, draped in a cloak made from it's own thick, leathery wings, stared at Celestia with wide, curious eyes.

"Hello there," she greeted the being calmly. "Who are you, little one?"

"Am Keek. Son of Kro. Am one Kor. Part of Kor army. Serve Sammakött. You see Sammakött around?"

Celestia blinked, confused. Not only was this Kor... Keek, unlike anything she'd ever seen before, but it was also referring to a... Sammakött? She was beginning to worry that she really had missed out on something important. Were these Kor a delegate from another kingdom?

"Uhm, I'm afraid I haven't heard of such a name. Sammakött, you said?"

"Correct. Sammakött. Is lord. Has plan. Plan to bring back home."

"oh, are you far from home? Is your home someplace nearby?"

"Maybe. Not sure. Maybe missing. Maybe gone. Maybe dead."

Keek's words were rapidly becoming as confusing as they were concerning. A dead home? a lord she'd never heard of? How could this be?

Not sure what else to say, Celestia addressed the Kor again. "Well I'm sorry to hear about that, Keek. If you need a place to stay, Equestria welcomes you and your family with open arms."

Keek's face did not change. Celestia wasn't sure if he had the ability to smile. "Keek thankful. Very generous. Keek will tell Kor. Kor will remember."

The Kor unfurled his wings, revealing an underbelly made up of several rows of thick scales. It flapped its wings, allowing them to extend to their full length, then looked back at the princess with it's piercing gaze.

"One last question. Keek must ask, then Kor will leave. Kor will go find home."

"Of course, Keek, ask away."

"You crystal princess? Know Crystal Kingdom? Can you tell where Crystal Kingdom is?"

Celestia froze for a second, unsure of how to answer Keek's question. "Uh... what business do you have with the Crystal Empire?"

"No!" Keek shouted. As he yelled, the scales on his stomach glowed a pale green. "Keek no mean Crystal Empire. Keek mean Crystal Kingdom. You know Crystal Kingdom?"

"Oh... Uh... No, I don't think I've ever heard of this... Crystal Kingdom."

Keek squinted his eyes. His underbelly shined a subtle pink that blended in with his tan, leathery wings. "If you say so. Keek will trust you. Keek will tell Kor of Crystal Empire. Thank you for help. What is your name?"

"Oh, you can call me Celestia, if you wish."

"thank you Celestia. Kor will not forget your name."

"Nor I yours. Happy flying, Keek."

With a slight screech, Keek released his claws from her balcony, and flew away towards the rapidly moving cloud. As Keek flew away towards his kin, he shouted behind him.

"May dead lord cherish your soul."

Microcosm

"So why is a griffon of your talents working in such... rustic conditions? Surely such monumental works would send you to the top of griffon society," Rarity asked.

"Oh it did. I'm the chief of engineerin' for the whole griffon kingdom!" the griffon stated proudly.

"Then why are you working as a mere deckhand for one of your own ships, darling?" Rarity inquired.

"Well, besides those lugs up above, I was th'only one who agreed to be a part of th' trade route reconnaissance team. Everyone else's too scared to even look in the direction o' the sea now. Must'a been a week ago when one o' my engineerin' assistants comes up to me and says, 'Hey Gillian, you wanna meet the princess of friendship and test out your latest construction?' and I'm like 'absolutely'!" Gillian crunched into an odd fruit that Twilight had never seen before. It was a deep vibrant red, with large, leaf like folds of skin that ended in a green tip.

"Well I'm flattered that you were excited to see me. Sorry I'm not all that interesting," Twilight muttered.

"Ah, don't sell yourself short, princess. You've been makin' good comp'ny so far." Gillian forced out through her mouthful of fruit, spattering its white flesh on the table. Twilight could hear Rarity's gasp of disgust, though she attempted to hide it.

"Why are all the griffons so afraid of the ice anyway?" Spike questioned, sitting comfortably on a barrel that most likely held more foreign fruits.

Gillian took a moment to chew as another griffon walked into the galley. This griffon was almost the exact opposite of Gillian. He was bright white, with a plume of vibrant red feathers decorating his head like a crown. In stature, he was closer to a yak than any griffon Twilight had seen before. Though if she were honest, she'd only really met one.

Gillian, upon hearing the distinct sound of her door, turned around to look at the other griffon.

"Hey Gerret, come sit with us! We're talking about the Wall, your faaaaavorite."

"Ugh..." the big griffon let out an exhausted groan, as if he had heard it all a hundred times before. "What do they want to know?" he groaned.

"They wanna know what it's deal is. Y'know, why everyone's freaked out by it'n all that. You've been gawking at that big ol' block alot more'n I have, tell 'em about it!" Gillian teased.

Gerret groaned again. he walked over to the barrel Spike was sitting on, and nudged him lightly. The little dragon obliged, hopping off the barrel to sit next to Twilight. Gerret popped open the lid to reveal it was full of a bunch of odd, yellow, star-shaped fruit. He grabbed a handful, stuffing them into his face.

"Some griffons think the ice is cursed. I've heard of farmers losing their entire farms to some unkown disease, or having all their livestock go missing in the blink of an eye. I heard from a fisherman that about a week after the ice showed up, he goes fishing only to see some snake the size of Mount Griffus come pouring out of the wall like water. Scared the poor guy so stiff he had to get his son to escort him around after that.

"Wierd... where did the ice come from, and how long has it been here?" Twilight wondered out loud.

"Well 'sfar as we know, th' ice showed up... maybe a month ago?" Gillian guessed, turning to Gerret.

"I'd say about a month. And in that time, we've lost half our total livestock, a quarter of our total food reserves, and over 100 square miles worth of farmland."

"Goodness, that sounds awful. All those poor hungry griffons and lost animals," Fluttershy lamented.

Gillian nodded. "Worst yet, that damned wall has been blocking our most important trade route. If we don't find a solution for this ice, we're gonna end up frozen and hungry before the winter ends."

"Well you can be sure Equestria will do all it can to help you. We would hate to lose such charismatic and talented friends."

"Well aren't you just a sweetheart?" Gerret joked. "Y'know, some of the griffons back home told me you were obnoxiously bright-spirited, but You all seem pretty alright to m-"

The clicking of the door signified the arrival of another creature, but it seemed they were in much more of a rush. As they rushed through into the galley, Twilight recognised them as the puffy griffon from before.

"There you two are! The ice is starting to roll in. Gerret, I need you to help me with the sails. Gillian, go get the motor running! Posthaste!" He shouted

"Yes sir!" they spoke in unison.

Gillian and Gerret dashed out of the Galley to their respective positions, but the dark brown griffon stayed a moment longer.

"Princess, Would you like to see the Wall now?"

Twilight nodded fervently. She trailed right behind the griffon as he flew back up towards the main deck. To Twilight's surprise Applejack was no longer kneeling over the edge of the boat She was now stood upright, staring at the sky with a look of equal parts fascination and horror. It didn't take Twilight long to realize why.

To describe the Wall as big, titanic, or tremendous would be an understatement. The incomprehensibly large sheet of ice seemed to stretch into infinity in every direction. It soared into the sky, where the shadow of it's peak leaked through the thick mist. Behind the ship, she could see the beginning of the great glacier begin to fade away into the obscurity of the mist, but in front of her there was only more ice.

The brown griffon wasn't kidding either. As she stared at the glacier, she shivered violently. It felt as if the glacier were staring back at her with the contempt of a million dead spirits. The whooshing of the wind sounded like whispers of wicked plots and murders of the vilest sort. By all means this glacier was the opposite of everything Twilight felt within her. It felt like this ice didn't belong in this world. It wasn't magic, it wasn't normal, it didn't even feel real.

It was nothing but a chilling blue void.

Twilight stood enamored for a while as the griffons attended to their tasks. She snapped out of her trance when she heard the familiar patters of her assistant's feet.

"Hey Twilight, I brought you your coat since it's getting colder," Spike called out to her. "Is it just me, or did it get a lot colder really qui-"

Spike stopped in his tracks next to Twilight as he stared up at the Wall.

"Woah. That's a lot of ice."

Kindred

A long metal plank extended from the deck of the galleon and landed on the humble wooden dock with a heavy thud. The griffons continued making final adjustments to the ship's sails while twilight's friends hopped of the boat with varying levels of excitement. Pinkie bounced her way down the plank, flugelhorn now happily in hoof. Applejack practically sprinted off the boat, no doubt grateful to be off the water and back on to dry land. Rainbow stayed back with Rarity, Spike and Fluttershy, carrying as many of her friends' luggage cases as she could.

Twilight lagged behind, carrying her own assortment of bags down to the dock. The image of what had just transpired between her and Pinkie was still crystal clear in her head. Was everyone else just as weirded out by the ice as she was, or was she just paranoid? It couldn't have been just her, she'd never seen Pinkie act that way unprompted. A sharp pain suddenly coursed through her head, forcing her to drop her belongings. Great, now she was getting a migraine. That was just what she needed right now.

"Twilight, are you ok? You look tired." Fluttershy asked, picking up one of Twilight's bags with her wings.

"Yeah, I think I just need some more rest. I've got such a bad headache," Twilight responded quietly.

"Well the cabin is only a short walk away, princess." Gaine suddenly spoke from behind Twilight, startling her. "The griffon Head of Inter-kingdom Relations will be here later today, so feel free to take a nap once we get there."

"Wait, cabin? I thought we were staying in Griffonstone!" Rainbow dash yelled.

Gaine let out a chuckle, though the look on Dash's face convinced him to contain it. "This is Griffonstone, not one of your pretty little pony cities. You get what you get."

"So we're gonna have to stay out here... n-near the water?" Rainbow dash fumed, though she stumbled over her words when she spoke about the sea, shooting a quick, worried glance towards the ocean. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash's glance, and felt the slightest bit of relief despite her friend's feelings. At least she wasn't the only pony who found that ice uncomfortable.

"That's how it is. But... if you really wanna try renting a house in Griffonstone, I'm sure that one of our lovely homeowners would be willing to let you stay for a couple hundred bits."

"A couple hundred!?" Rainbow put down her friends luggage and flew up in a flash. "Meet you guys at the cabin!" she called down, and with a fwoosh, she was gone.

"Dag nab it, Rainbow," Applejack muttered, picking up Rainbow's dropped bags.

The walk to the cabin only took about half an hour, and Twilight was relieved that her headache had managed to dissipate in that time. The cabin was more than large enough to accommodate all eleven of them, and from the singular light in one of the upstairs rooms, Twilight had already guessed which room Rainbow chose as hers.

Twilight set her bag down near the front door as her friends inspected the house with curiosity. Spike was also carefully setting down her luggage, so she walked up to him.

"Why don't you figure out which room you and I will be staying in, ok Spike? I'll be out for a little while."

"Where are you going, Twilight?" Spike asked with confusion.

"I think I'm just going to take a short walk, clear my head a little bit," Twilight responded.

"Ooh, that's a good idea, Twilight! Nature always calms me down when I'm stressed." Fluttershy remarked.

Twilight exited the house with a passing wave, then began to walk off into the nearby forest.

Behind her, she could hear Gaine shouting, "Don't go too far, princess. We don't want you getting eaten before you fix our ice problem!", followed by his echoing laughter.

The forest was quiet and serene as Twilight walked. With many of the animals already in hibernation, Twilight only had the calm wind and delightful crunch of snow under her hooves. The trees, though stripped of their leaves, still held a sense of beauty as the simple browns, dull greens, and all encompassing whites gave of a feeling of cool tranquility. Twilight walked on into the forest, the stripped canopy beginning to thicken as the leafless tree branches began to overlap one another. Twilight let out a long sigh. She didn't have to think about that ice, or any jerky griffons, or the seemingly impossible problem that she would soon have to face. It was just her. Alone.

Twilight picked up the faint sound of a running stream nearby, and decided to investigate. Walking purposefully through the snow, she found a small stream that flowed towards the sea. With nothing better to do, she followed the stream, seeing if she could find it's source before the cold convinced her to head back. To her surprise, it didn't take very long at all.

The small stream was one of many connected to a large, slow flowing estuary. Some of the smaller streams were frozen over, and it looked like the estuary itself was already showing signs of freezing. Twilight pushed away the snow in front of her, sitting down to watch the stream flow gently along. For a moment, she sat, watching the water flow past her, when something caught her attention.

Further upstream sat a tall chunk of ice. There was no way it could have ended up here from the Wall, which was miles away in the middle of the sea. Nothing seemed immediately out of place, although this particular chunk seemed impressively smooth, as if it had been eroded... or melted.

She walked towards it to further inspect the anomalous piece of ice. There wasn't anything interesting about this piece of ice, and it didn't give her that same hopeless feeling that the Wall did. However, as she looked into the ice to try and see inside, she noticed a faint yellow light from deep within it's center. She squinted her eyes to get a better look at this mysterious light, and it's radiance increased in response. It continued to increase in brightness until it was easily visible, even as Twilight backed away. She stared at the glacier as the yellow light revealed the faint, blurry silhouette of something inside. Then she looked back down at the light, and in the blink of an eye it disappeared, and the block of ice returned to normal.

Twilight breathed heavily, her voice wet, as if she had come down with a debilitating illness. She continued to breathe, even when she realised the sharp, ragged sounds of her breathe didn't match the slow, even movement of her chest. Something was off about th-

"Hello?" A voice called from out of nowhere, causing Twilight to jump in surprise.

"Hello," it spoke again, "I can hear you. My name's Twilight Sparkle, and I need your help!"

Knowledge

"Under no circumstances are you to contact that vile kingdom! I will not allow it," Twilice roared, as she had been for the past thirty minutes while Twilight stayed in her room, trying to maintain composure.

"Twilice, for the last time, This is the biggest discovery we've made yet. The fact that this ice might have connections with my Crystal Empire could push us in the right direction! Frankly, It's kind of annoying that you won't let me send even one message to Cadance with a discovery like this."

"That kingdom is vile, and the very fact that they would choose such a despicable vermin as Ma Vie as their queen proves it," Twilice hissed irately. Ever since Twilight looked at the arrow that bore the symbol of the Crystal Empire, the familiar sound of Twilice's enraged gurgling hadn't left Twilight's head, and was beginning to give her a headache.

"You don't even know this Crystal Empire. You and all of your freaky starfish friends aren't even from this timeline, or so you say," Twilight snapped back.

Twilice's gurgling suddenly stopped. "... What are you saying... Princess?"

"I'm saying, why would an arrow from our Crystal Empire be imbedded in the arm of a starfish from your timeline, Twilice?"

"... It would be in your best interest not to use such an accusatory tone with me. You don't even know that that arrow is one of yours. Perhaps our timelines are more alike than you knew."

"Well I guess we'll find out, won't we?" Twilight scorned. Ignoring her other self, she began writing a note to Cadance.

"Twilight... That is enough."

Twilight could feel the pressure begin to form again, but she continued to write, even as its unbearable influence began to weigh her mind down. She finished her writing after what felt like an eternity, and promptly fell limp onto her bed.

"Spike!" she shouted.

She could hear the familiar pitter patter of her assistant's feet as he rushed to her aid.

"What's going on, Twilight? What's wrong?" Spike looked all around the room, looking for danger.

"Note... Cadance... Send it!" She tried to say as the pressure in her head increased in ferocity.

Spike walked over to the side of her bed and picked up the note. "Twilight, this note's barely readable Are you sure-"

"Yes! Send it!" she pleaded, pushing the scroll and a ribbon towards him.

"Alright..." Spike rolled up and bound the scroll.

"Wait!" Twilight pushed the arrowhead towards him as well. "That... too."

Spike picked up the arrowhead and stared at it with interest. "ooh, that's a pretty gem."

"SEND IT!" Twilight screamed.

"Arlight alright, ok." Spike took a deep breath, then, in a blossoming curl of flame, sent the scroll away. "Done. Are you ok, Twilight?"

"Headache! Need rest... alone please!" She moaned.

Spike took the hint and left just as quickly as he arrived, closing the door quietly behind him.

The pressure slowly began to fade away. Twilight felt only relief as its agonizing grasp finally released itself from her mind.

"Princess, are you alright? What happened?" Twilice asked with as much concern as she could muster.

"I'm fine, Twilice. I don't know what these headaches are about, but at least it's passed."

"Oh good. I would... hate for any harm to befall you. You have too much potential to die by a burst blood vessel or lack of sleep."

"Thanks... I think?" Twilight lay flat on her bed. Her head still throbbed in pain, enough for her to not want to move.

Twilice sighed from within her head. "I guess we really do have no other choice, do we? This is what we've come to."

"Don't worry Twilice, Cadance is probably the nicest, sweetest, most caring pony in all of Equestria. If anyone is gonna try their best to help someone in need, it's her. She's nothing like Ma Vie, believe me," Twilight reassured her friend.

"Hmph... I've nothing else left to believe it seems."

"I'll show you, you just watch."

As if on cue, a wisp of green smoke slithered its way through Twilight's window and right into her hooves, where it formed into a scroll marked with the same symbol that marked the crystal arrowhead.

"Hmph. My argument still stands, open it," Twilice ordered.

Twilight unrolled the scroll, mindful of the same arrowhead as it fell onto the mattress in front of her. She carefully nudged it to the side, and the two Twilights proceeded to read Cadance's note.

Dear Twilight,

This arrow is very much from the Crystal Kingdom, but the origins of this arrow are a mystery to me, even with this kingdom having been gone for so long. If you wish, you may return this note to me and I will have my top historians investigate it for you.

However, the nature of your note concerns me. I know you can tend to be anxious in times of stress, and I fear this situation may be a bit too much, even for you. That is why I am inviting you to the Crystal Empire to delve through our libraries yourself, as well as take some much needed time off with your sister-in-law!

The choice is of course yours to make, and I would understand if you couldn't make it. Celestia has told me of the situation with Equestria and Griffonstone, and it must be quite the undertaking. All the same, I encourage you to visit your family here in the Crystal City!

Love,
Cadance.

"Huh. She does seem sweet. Sickly so in my opinion, but a welcome alternative to Ma Vie," Twilice admitted.

"See, I told you so!" Twilight stated proudly. "My sister-in-law is the best!"

"Hm... I'll refrain from arguing with you for both our sakes. Either way, what are you thinking about her invitation?"

Twilight was already raising herself up from her bed to grab another piece of paper. "Are you kidding me? Of course I'm going to go see her!"

She rapidly scrawled another note, then walked to the door to the hallway, even as Twilice began gurgling in annoyance again.

Aether

Twilight faced the block of ice that imprisoned her other self. The once great chunk had shrunken significantly over the past few day, and she could see faint traces of a dark figure within the ice. Various cracks and dents perforated its surface, and a pool of a pitch black, sludge like liquid pooled around its base.

"Alright," Twilice bubbled, "now close your eyes again and try to feel that flicker within yourself."

"I'm trying." Twilight scrunched her face as she tried to imagine what the Aether looked like. Her focus on trying to feel the so called flicker within her was doing a well enough job of distracting her from the cold, but she still felt no closer to understanding what Twilice was talking about.

"You... probably haven't heard of this, but in my time, I heard that individuals... like Ma Vie... who wanted to police their aether power would store it away, allowing their power to only be accessed by the use of certain triggers. Perhaps that is what you need to jumpstart your magic: a trigger."

Twilight peeked open her eyes. "A trigger? Like what?"

"I'm not sure. You're the Aether inept, you would be more likely to know than I. You'll have to deduce the trigger yourself."

Twilight closed her eyes and tried to think. What did Twilice mean by a trigger? She racked her brain to think of something that might have helped her tap into her... self? All she could feel was nothingness. What was she meant to find? It all seemed like nonsense the more she tried to think about it. For all of Twilice's encouragement, she just couldn't get a grasp on it.

Twilight stood up suddenly with a frustrated groan. "I can't do this, Twilice! It's no use, I can't do it."

Twilice's low growl rumbled through Twilight's head. "Again with this... Do you doubt me?"

"No, of course not, but this isn't working! I don't feel anything. There's nothing there, Twilice!"

Twilice sighed, her familiar gurgling echoing around Twilight's mind. "Then perhaps this... You... have been a waste of my time."

"W... what?"

"Well if you can't use aether magic, how can you expect to destroy the wall? How could I expect you to do something so trivial as free me from my tomb? I thought you might've been worthy of being my student, but if you can't do it, I will have to find my out way to fix this mess."

Twilight began to panic. "Y-you can't do this, please! How can I stop the Wall if you don't help me?"

"I have been helping you, Twilight, but You've rejected everything I told you. You're just going to have to tell your friends and your precious Princess Celestia that you failed."

"No, please Twilice, I'll... I'll do anything!"

"...Anything? Then break my prison. Do that, and I'll listen to you."

"B-But how do I-"

"I gave you an ultimatum. Take it, or leave me be and go tell your friends of your failure."

Twilight slowed her breathing in an attempt to calm herself down. "O-ok... I'll try."

"I hope you will," Twilice remarked sarcastically.

Twilight focused her energy, trying to think of a spell that might counteract the ice's apparent resistance to magic, but her mind blanked yet again. She could feel Twilice's judgemental presence carefully comb her every thought, which only put more pressure on her. With each second that passed by, she only grew more and more desperate as she felt the aura of Twilice's dissapointment invade her every conscious thought.

Suddenly, an image appeared in her head. She remembered what Rainbow said in the Crystal Castle. In her head, Dashe's voice rang like a bell, blowing away all of Twilice's presence, all of her malice with one sentence.

"I always care about you, Twilight, especially now."

Then something clicked. From somewhere within her that she had never seen before, a single arrow loosed into a sightless, invisible void. It collided with a wall, pierced it through, and soared into a vibrant abyss beyond. In one incomprehensibly short moment, the hole the arrow left behind collapsed under the newfound pressure, and the everswirling abyss of the Aether all came crashing down upon Twilight.

She gasped, and tasted the air of ages unremembered and times forgotten. Worlds upon worlds stacked on top of themselves like papers in a book, completely open to be explored and digested. All around her, birds, hibernating animals, and even the trees swirled with magic and life all their own. Everything around her, living or inanimate, blinded her with its clarity, as if she could see everything and nothing at the same time. And she could, for in that one moment where everything rushed around her, Twilight could see the Aether. All of it.

She tried to speak, and a million voices lifted from her quivering mouth. "T-T-Twilice. I-I s-s-s-see it."

the faint glow of a beating heart brightened from within the incongruous black cube that was Twilice's prison. "You can? You see the Aether?"

"I t-t-think I s-see... e-e-everything."

"Then do it now! Use your magic and release me!"

Twilight tried to focus her power, but the winding river of aether that surrounded her threw her off, and she struggled to keep focus.

"Release me! I command you!"

Twilight could faintly feel the presence of her horn, but it was if her nerves had all melted away in a magical tsunami. She tried to close her eyes, but the blinding colors of the Aether remained. Her head throbbed as she tried to concentrate the aether around her into a spell. Slowly, the essence that slammed against her began to shape to her will.

"RELEASE ME NOW!!" Twilice's voice pierced through the thick ethereal ooze of the Aether like a barbed spear.

The Aether itself folded and bent around Twilight's horn as a million different realities intersected into one point. With the spell held firmly in her hoof, she loosed the spell at the pitch black ice cube.

The resulting boom was deafening. The trees, once covered in snow, snapped and cracked from the force of the explosion, and the snow around the two of them was melted away immediately. Bushes were flung up into the sky, water from the surrounding estuary was launched high into the air, coming back don as bitter cold rain. Whatever hadn't been thrown asunder by Twilight's spell was either evaporated or burned. The trees nearest to her were now completely singed. They were covered in, along with charcoal, a dark purple sheen that shone an opalescent glow.

Twilight, having stood her ground, looked back up at the ice block hopefully, a little afraid that she might've scorched her friend. But to her horror, the ice hadn't changed a bit. The last traces of her lavender magic sunk into the cracks of the ice, as if it were drinking it. The last traces of aether magic faded from its cold, blue face, and the ice returned to its motionless, unchanging state.

"H-how...how?" Was all she could mutter out.

Twilice sighed, though this one was not dripping with malice as it was before. "It's quite alright Princess. I expected this to happen, it's not your fault."

"But... I failed."

"You might not have freed me, but surely you feel the Aether roiling within you now. That's good. That's very good."

Twilight smiled at her accomplishment. "So you're still going to help me?"

"Of course, Princess."

Twilight uttered a sigh of relief. Thank Celestia she still had her friend. What would she do without her?

Unbeknownst to the poor, ignorant mare, miles away in the middle of the ocean, a noise echoed through the waves of the Celestial sea.

It was the sound of cracking ice.

Feathers and Flesh

Gillian's heart pounded in her chest, its rythmic beating nearly as rapid as her wingbeats. Beside her, the other griffons, along with Twilight and Rainbow Dash, raced along the wide path left in Sam's wake. Splotches of oily fluid peppered the overturned trees and crushed bushes that continued on towards the Hyperborean Mountains. The thick, acidic ooze stuck to everything, Which made it easy to track Sam, but he was proving to be extraordinarily fast for a creature of his size.

The edge of Griffonstone was about a half day's walk from the cabin, but at the pace Sam was keeping, he would reach the city's edge in two hours tops. The city wasn't prepared for an attack from something like him. The griffons were hungry, cold, and sick. Even those that managed to stay healthy wouldn't dare to even look in the Wall's direction. If Sammakött attacked, they wouldn't stand a chance. It would be a slaughter the likes of which Equestria had not seen for thousands of years.

Gillian's mind bounced and spiraled as she devised a plan to slow him down. He was on rougher terrain than they were, and they had the added benefit of being able to fly. Rainbow Dash could easily catch up to Sam with her noteworthy speed if she was told to. Could Rainbow maybe slow him down somehow?

No, that wouldn't work. Sam would be too much for her. Even the slightest exposure to his hypnosis spell would mean game over, now that the protective filter of the ice was no longer present.

Perhaps Twilight could teleport them to him? If they were smart enough, they might be able to cut him off before he even exited the forest.

No, that wouldn't work either. Only Twilight currently held teleportation magic, and she was the only individual capable of trapping him. If she exhausted herself by teleporting so many creatures so far, she might not be able to cast her bubble spell, which meant game over for all of them and Griffonstone.

Gerret spoke up, nearly shouting over the whipping wind. "What do we do if we catch up to him?"

Gilda responded bluntly, not looking behind her. Her feathers whistled as she soared through the air at blistering speed. "Twilight traps him, we kill him."

Gillian saw the faintest bit of movement from the corner of her eye, she turned to see Twilight mumbling something to herself. Her words were indistinguishable over the loud whining of the air around them, but Gillian could see that the princess was quite upset over the idea of having to kill a sentient being. The celadon griffon debated over comforting the mare for a moment, but quickly shook off the thought. Her town, her kin were in danger. Ethics would have to wait until later. Now was the time for planning.

Would it be better to send Rainbow Dash to Griffonstone to warn everyone? Perhaps if she got there, the griffons would... No, they'd never believe her. And even if they did, it would do nothing but instill panic. If Griffonstone was going to square up against the likes of Sammakött, the last thing they needed to be was panicked and confused. Though honestly, Gillian would have preferred that Griffonstone didn't have to square up against the likes of something like Sam. Perhaps if they bargained with him for the Crystal Empire...

Gillian's planning was cut short when she nearly flew straight into a wall of rock. She stared up, scanning the area around her for any signs of Sam. Oddly, the trail he had left stopped right at the jagged quarry that led to the base of Mount Griffus.

The other griffons flew around the rough forest trail, looking for any signs of a diverged path or change in direction. Gerret flew up next to Gillian, looking up at the high ledges that covered the face of the mountain.

"You don't think he was able to climb up all that, do ya?" he asked.

Gillian's eyes were a blur as she scrutinized every inch of the cliff above her. "No, at least not that quickly. He may be fast on th'ground, but there's no way he could climb all the way up to the top with those hooves."

"What about those claws of his? They seem like they'd be able to get the job done."

"Sure, but they looked like they were on a ball socket, no shoulder blades. Not t'mention his center o' gravity would be too low. He wouldn't've been able t'hoist himself up using only his claws'r else he'd dislocate 'em. He'd have had t'use both his claws and hooves, which would be much more exhausting and slow. Keep in mind we were at most a minute'r two behind him. No way a build as cumbersome as his made it all th'way up this ridge in two minutes."

"Which means?" Gilda blurted out behind Gillian.

Gillian turned to face the rest of the party. "Sam's gotta be nearby. Look for clues, but keep your eyes to th'ground. We all know what'll happen if you see yellow."

Gillian descended into the forest below, and the party followed suit. The others overturned rocks, moved plants and kept their noses inches away from the snow as they looked for any sign of Sam.

Gilda walked up to Gillian with a surprised look on her face. "Well, now your in working condition again? Where was that Gillian the past few days, huh?"

"Whaddya mean?" Gillian absentmindedly watched her friends scan the underbrush.

"I don't wanna be blunt... actually, I do. Gillian, I hired you for that big ol' egghead of yours, but these past few days, you've been acting like a total fuzzbrain. What's up with that?"

Twilight gracefully strode deeper into the woods until she was nothing more than a silhouette in the distance. Gillian tensed a little as she looked down at the White brown griffon before her. "Oh I dunno, just nerves I guess. Probably something with all that's happening. Real stressful 'n' stuff."

"...Uh huh, sure," Gilda rolled her eyes, possibly realising she wasn't going to get anything more out of her.

Gillian sighed in relief. As Gilda walked back to meet with Gerret and Gelgen, Gillian scanned the snow for any footprints. She thought she noticed something when the snapping of wood echoed from somewhere in front of her. Gilda and the other griffons turned, hearing the noise as well.

Gillian squinted hard, trying to discern any outlying shapes. Another snap sounded, and the griffons grouped together. They stared at the darkness of the forest for a moment, until a small yellow slit cast a haunting, dandelion glow around the nearby forest.

The griffons didn't have a moment to turn away, to scream or escape. They were barely given the opportunity to blink when a great yellow eye emerged from the shadows and blew away their every conscious thought like smoke in the wind.

"Good," Sammakött gurgled, "just two to go..."