A Villain Gets A Second Chance

Once you are led to the cemetery, you look around for a spot to lay him to rest. Seeing a solitary tree away from the other gravestones, you feel as if that would be a perfect spot and head towards it to begin digging.

Seeing you head to the tree, the mare turns around, saying, "I will go find and tell the others, I will return with them in a little while."

After returning to your unicorn form, you dig a hole large enough for the young colt and use your magic to craft a coffin for him. Focusing on your spell, you manage to create a crystal coffin and a lid to place on top with a silver crown etched into one end on the lid's cover. With the coffin complete, you sigh, saying, "Before you are laid to rest, I hope that you are happy where ever you are and with your family. I commit your body to the flame so that you can never rise again. Find peace in the afterlife, Sombra."

A crowd of crystal ponies who have lost family members gathers at the cemetery, watching with sad expressions on their faces as their crystal coats fade away when you set the king's body aflame. When the fire fades away, they watch as you wait for the smoke to dissipate before placing the lid onto the coffin and slowly lower it into the ground.

When the coffin is at the bottom of the hole securely, you slowly cover the dirt pile in your magic and slowly return it to the hole. Once the pile disappears, you pack the dirt down before using your magic to create a slab of grey marble out of nothing and lay it over the fresh dirt.

The crystal ponies watch in awe at the magic you are using, seeing a small orb of liquid appear in the air that slowly grows larger. Moments pass as the liquid takes on the shape of a young pony wearing an oversized royal robe with their hoof pointing up into the air, shocked to witness a large block of liquid crystal form from the bottom of the pony's hooves.

Breathing hard at creating so much after your battle earlier, you raise the heavy gravestone off the ground and move it into place on the grey marble slab. A few moments of silence pass by as your regret deepens, a tear slips down your cheek and falls to the ground below when you straighten your posture and look at the statue.

They listen in awed silence to your beautiful singing, though they do not understand what the words mean. Tears trail down their faces at the sorrowful tone of the song and hold each other close when your short song comes to an end. When you walk away from the stone, they approach it to see what is written upon the stone in silver writing, reading, 'Here lies former king, Sombra.' with the line below it reading, 'Falling in battle after being taken advantage of and corrupted, may his rest be eternal.' As another line of silver writing starts to appear, they look at it, reading, 'Long live the king, may he reign forever. May his strength, fail him never. First in battle, last in retreat.'

The light blue mare from earlier looks at the silver writing with a sad smile as she bows to the gravestone, whispering, "Be at peace, King Sombra." To her surprise, the others follow her gesture and repeat the same thing. Looking at them with a sorrowful expression, she says, "Let's go recover those we lost."

You stand away from the tree and look out towards where the battle was, closing your eyes to pray to the light, saying within your mind, 'Light, I know that I am not worthy of calling upon you for aid... Yet here I am, pleading for you to sanctify this burial ground with your benevolent grace so that those that are laid to rest here remain at rest. I ask this not for myself, but for the sake of their precious souls so that they are never torn away from their families in the beyond.' When you finish praying to the light, you hear a pony walk up and clear their voice, making you turn around slowly and recognize the mare from earlier, saying, "Ready for me to take you to where their remains are?"

Without anyone noticing, a shimmering aura falls over the cemetery and covers an even larger area than was asked. As it seeps into the ground, it purifies and transforms the entire area into holy ground to ward off all evil.

Curious as to where you are, Cadance walks back into the throne room to see Twilight returning from a hidden staircase in the middle of the floor, saying, "Thank you for finding the Crystal Heart Twilight." then asks, "Would you happen to see where Arthas went?"

Cocking her head in thought, Twilight shakes her head, saying, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't. However, I did see a large group of ponies heading West Northwest. Is something wrong with him?"

With a sigh, she says, "I don't know what happened out there, but I watched him tackling King Sombra with Spellmourne thrust through his side. I wonder if he got hurt from falling at such a height, want to help me look?"

Nodding quickly, she hurries up to Cadance and says, "He must have unless he protected himself with a barrier, though I doubt it because of how stubborn he can be."

When they arrive at the graveyard the group of ponies were heading, they find signs that you were there as Twilight says, "He has certainly been here alright, only he would be capable of creating something as marvelous as that gravestone." She then looks around for signs of where he went and spots a trampled path of grass, saying, "Hey there's a trail leading away from the Crystal Empire, it appears that the large group of ponies I saw earlier headed this way next."

Following the trail to the outer edge of the empire, they arrive to see that a horrendous battle took place during their time trying to save the empire as Twilight backs up into Cadance's forelegs, saying, "I know that he studied magic to use in battle, but to think that he is responsible for all this...horror?"

Looking around with sorrow on her face at so much death and scattered bodies, she holds her close, saying, "I know how you feel, Twilight. Even though I know his past, I had no idea that he was given a task as hard as this. I worry for how he will cope with what he has done here in order to save the empire." As she uses her magic to search the area, she discovers that the area retains traces of dark magic being used in battle here and says, "No normal magic spells caused all this, a spell revealed to me that he used dark magic to fight against Sombra. I only wish that I knew of the existence of an army..."

You cast your eyes across the battlefield littered with the corpses of crystal ponies lost to Sombra's control, hearing the wails and cries of those that have found their loved ones as others gather the scattered and dismembered bodies. Wishing you could help them, you sigh at remembering how the light blue mare named Autumn Gem forbade you from doing anything further.

When Cadance spots you in the distance, she gasps and says, "I see Arthas up ahead in the distance, but he does not look good."

Before Cadance is able to stop her, Twilight takes off running at hearing that, saying frantically, "I must go help him!"

Hearing someone shouting your name from a distance, you turn your head to see Twilight rushing towards you with tears streaming from her face, smiling back at her with what strength you have left.

As she finally reaches you, she hastily begins looking your body over for obvious injuries, asking frantically, "TELL ME WHERE IT HURTS!"

While she circles around you, examining every inch of your blood-stained coat, you smirk and say, "My face hurts quite a bit."

Snapping her attention to her face, she moves her face within a few inches of yours and thoroughly looks it over when you surprise her with a kiss.

Deepening the kiss, you get her to relax a little as a moan escapes her lips, then pull away asking, "I Feel better already."

Hearing a soft mur of delight leave Twilight's lips as she nuzzles against your blood-stained neck, Cadance giggles, asking, "Apologies, but am I interrupting something?"

Returning to standing on her own hooves, Twilight blushes lightly, saying, "Not really, I was just really relieved at seeing him in one piece."

Cadance looks at your once-beautiful white coat now tainted by bloodstains and sighs, saying, "Let's get you freshened up, shall we?"

Knowing a spell for that, Twilight eagerly says, "OOH I KNOW A SPELL FOR THAT!" She then closes her eyes and recalls the spell, then casts it with her magic, and opens her eyes to see that your coat, mane and tail are back to their original colors.

Looking you over closely with a scrutinizing eye, Cadance sees how you are sitting and asks, "How bad are your injuries, Arthas? Can you even walk?"

Huffing at how observant she is, you roll your eyes, saying, "I think I broke my right front leg and my left hind leg along with a rib or two"

Sighing as she can't rely on her magic to support you, Cadance turns to Twilight, asking, "Twilight, could you think of a way that we can carry Arthas back to the empire for treatment?"

Not wanting to be treated as an invalid, you rock yourself back and forth to get enough momentum to push yourself up, saying, "Nonsense, I am fully capable..."

As Cadance watches you attempt to push yourself up with your good leg and fail, she watches you try and fail a second, third, and a fourth time, raising her eyebrow curiously and asking, "Could you use some assistance yet?

When you keep trying and failing to stand, Twilight has tears in her eyes at the seriousness of your injuries and can't stand it anymore. Rushing up to you and wrapping her forelegs around you, she pleads in a desperate tone, "Please just put your pride aside for once and let us help you!"

Hearing her sobbing against you, you sigh and hold yourself up saying, "Very well, but you better find a cart or something else besides a stretcher. I refuse to be laid on that bouncing torture device people claim to save lives."

Giggling at hearing your remark, Twilight looks around to see a hay cart nearby and approaches it. Looking inside to see that it is empty and free of bloodstains, she looks around and calls out, asking, "Excuse me, is anypony using this cart!?"

Walking up to another body, the light blue crystal pony mare looks over to see the pony from earlier that asked her questions and turns to face her, answering, "That is my cart there, but no, I am not using it now as I am still looking for the rest of the family I lost. Why do you wish to use it, do you have a long-lost relative here?"

Approaching the mare she recognizes from earlier, Twilight replies, "I don't think I do, but I was hoping to use it to carry a really close friend of mine, the stallion beside my alicorn sister-in-law over there to get treatment for his injuries."

Looking over at the mentioned stallion, she realizes that she is talking about the one who ended Sombra's reign, saying, "I saw that he had blood all over his body, but I never noticed any external injuries. He was walking fine earlier, what is wrong with him?"

Twilight then sighs saying, "Well he fell and broke two of his legs, and because he sat down...he lacks the ability to stand up anymore."

Nodding her head hesitantly, she then says, "Alright, you may use it to transport him to the medics, but please bring it right back so I can bury my family members once I find them. I am shocked to hear that he forced himself to show no signs of injury while carrying the former king's body and searching for the cemetery."

Keeping her smile from getting to wide, she nods her head thankfully to her, saying, "Thank you so much for letting me use it, I don't think my magic is strong enough to carry him there myself."

Smiling faintly, she watches her head to the wagon and hook herself up to it, saying, "Your welcome, I hope he gets all the help he needs."

As she starts walking away with the cart in tow, Twilight says, "So do I, and I will bring it right back."

Timeskip covering the events over a week

After being put into the cart and taken to get treatment, you find yourself once again restricted to a hospital bed. Wanting to help organize the search for lost ones, Twilight gathers more volunteers and arranges the remains into neat rows. It takes just over a day to gather the scattered remains of dismembered bodies, however, it only takes a few hours to identify which surviving member the piles of ash littering the field belong to.

In the end, a handful of bodies along with a dozen ash piles have no surviving relatives to go to, so a long discussion takes place about how to bury all of the fallen soldiers. It is decided that it would be best to cremate all of the bodies and bury them underneath a monument with all of their names written on it to serve as a place to pay their respects, though a few ponies choose to hold onto their ashes for sentimental reasons.

With all the lost ones accounted for on the fourth day, Rarity leads a group with Twilight and Applejack's aid to cleanse the land of all signs of battle. With the girls being mostly preoccupied with reparations and cleanup, you notice how the crystal ponies begin to show you too much respect as several of them leave gifts of various kinds. Some of the gifts given to you are way too much for you to accept, so you politely give them back while telling them you appreciate the thought.

It only gets worse from there as you hear the crystal ponies start referring to you as their king, making you turn to the girls for help as you fail to convince them otherwise.

Timeskip ends

After finally managing to convince the doctors to let you ride in a wheelchair with six shattered ribs on your right side, you escape to the Crystal Empire's throne room with Twilight's help. Looking up at Cadance and Shining Armor with a hopeful expression, you say, "Thank you for helping me come up with this idea, you two. In time, I know that the Crystal Ponies will understand my decision."

Pinkie Pie whines as she says, "But think of the party we could throw at your coronation!"

With a chuckle, you wince and say, "Perhaps you will get to throw one whenever the princesses coronate me as a royal against my will."

Rarity then sighs and says, "I do wish we could stay longer, but I have outfits to make as well as keeping Sweetie Belle out of trouble."

Nodding your head, you turn to the others and see Rainbow returning with a smirk and ask, "Did you spread the word?"

Nodding triumphantly, she then says, "Of course! I spread the word to every crystal pony within the city, shouting, "Attention everypony young or old! Gather in front of the castle balcony for an important announcement from His Majesty, King Arthas!"

Groaning in annoyance at how the crystal ponies have been calling you 'King Arthas', you say, "Thank you for being so diligent in spreading the word, Dash."

Getting the chance to tease you, Rainbow bows her head to you while saying, "Your welcome, Your Highness."

Narrowing your eyes at her in irritation, you say, "Go stuff a cloud." Your comment only makes her and the others snicker as you turn to Spike and ask, "How's it looking out there, Spike?"

Spike looks over the balcony to see a massive crowd of crystal ponies gathered outside, turning his head back to you and runs back inside, saying, "It looks like a sea of sparkling ponies out there, I think that every pony in the city is outside!"

With a sigh, you look over your shoulder at Twilight, saying, "Okay Twilight, let's get this over with once and for all."

As Twilight takes hold of the handles of your wheelchair in her magic, she turns to the others and says, "Okay everypony, to your positions."

You watch as they begin walking out and line up on the balcony, with Pinkie taking her position just to the right of the rightmost door and Spike on the opposite side holding his Flugelhorn in his claws. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor stand just inside the doors while Rarity and Fluttershy line up on the left side of the open doors, soon joined by Applejack and Rainbow on the opposite side.

Once Rarity closes the doors with her magic, Twilight lets out a nervous breath, asking, "Do we really have to go through with this bogus ceremony?"

Preventing yourself from chuckling, you snort instead and say, "Of course we do. Did you notice how strange some of their customs are compared to the ones from Ponyville or Canterlot?"

Nodding her head, she groans and says, "Yeah, they really stick to their antiquated ways of rulership."

With your point made, you then justify it by saying, "Yes, which means that this ceremony is the only way they will accept my wishes."

Releasing an annoyed huff, Twilight begins walking towards the doors while pushing you along in front of her. Stopping short of the doors, she extends her magic to the door handles and turns her ears away from them in preparation of Spike and Pinkie blowing their Flugelhorns.

As you watch her pull the doors open, you turn your ears back just before you hear the cacophony of the two Flugelhorns. Rolling forward slowly as Twilight pushes you forward, you make your way toward the balcony and stop just in front of it. As the crowd below begins cheering wildly at seeing you before them, Twilight angles your chair to be close enough for most of the crowd below to see.

A mixture of feelings well up inside you at hearing their cheers, but don't take the time to prolong the announcement and raise your hoof in the air to call for silence. The cheers of the crowd below swiftly die down, letting you lower your good foreleg as you raise your voice and call out to the crowd in a loud, clear voice, saying, "My humble and recently freed subjects, it warms my heart that you all chose me to be your new king after what you experienced under Sombra's rule. I must be honest with you all now and tell you that ending the lives of King Sombra and the soldiers that were firmly under his control has taken a great toll upon my heart. I had experienced life as a villain in the past, and was soundly defeated by a hero who surpassed my expectations of him. When I found myself here, I desired to redeem myself for my past attrocities."

As you let your words sink in, you prepare the next part of your speech when you are inspired by what your mentor Uther taught you and smirk briefly before resuming a stoic expression, saying, "Long ago, I learned that one must always show compassion to others, regardless if they are friend or foe. The best way to face evil is with courage and determination. You must have the wisdom to differentiate justice from vengeance, for it is a fool's errand to seek revenge. Remember to always fight with honor, for if you forsake it you shall become that which you fight against. As long as you maintain faith in yourself and your abilities, you will never lose sight of what is important no matter how daunting the task ahead of you." With a regretful tone, you then say, "In the past, I lost sight of what was most important and forsook my honor and faith for vengeance, which is why I lack faith in myself and am not worthy of being your new ruler."

Hearing them start to protest, you raise your hoof to call for silence, saying, "Let me continue, please."

Shocked at how well you fit the role, Shining Armor watches with awe at how the crowd quickly quiets down, whispering to his wife's ear, "I am surprised at how convincing his act is, what is his story?"

Cadance smirks and whispers back, "Oh it is quite a long one which I can't share with you here, but I will tell you later in private."

As you lower your hoof again, you raise your voice, saying, "However, there is one here who is far more worthy of the mantle. Allow me to introduce you to her now..." Looking through the open doors at Cadance, you nod your head to her, saying, "Come forth so that they can meet you, milady."

When she makes her way to you and stands to your right, you look out at the crowd and say, "This alicorn to my right is known as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I have heard how she pushed herself hard to maintain the barrier without food or rest to safeguard the empire until a permanent solution could be found. She went so far for your sake that she completely exhausted her magic as the search continued for the Crystal Heart, however, the only thing I did to help is spend my time battling King Sombra and killing his soldiers due to my lack of a way to cleanse them of his magic. Therefore, my actions were deplorable since I was quick to violence, my place is on the battlefield...not on a throne ruling over others. Because of my past sins, I am unfit to be your king. I step down from my position, and hereby name Princess Mi Amore Cadenza as your new ruler."

Looking over the silent crowd, you watch as their heads drop and lose their crystal coats. Needing to remedy that, you then call out, saying, "HEAR ME!" causing their heads to lift up and look at you intently before continuing on, "Do not be sad with my abdication, you have a great deal to celebrate this day. You have returned and were freed from King Sombra's tyrannical reign of misery for one, and you have also gained a new hero to give praise to, Spike, the baby dragon. With my speech at an end, I shall bid you all a good day and take my leave back to Canterlot."

Cadance smiles and waves at the crowd princessly as they begin cheering loudly and thinks, 'When we head to the train, you and I are going to have a talk, mister.'

A day passes as they accept their new ruler, with Twilight sweet talking the doctors to allow you to transfer to Canterlot Castle's royal medical wing. On your way to the train station, being pushed along in your wheelchair by Cadance of all ponies, you hear her huff and say in an irritated tone, "You just had to go and leave such big shoes to fill and make me the new ruler while you were at it..." Looking down at you with a sickeningly too-sweet look, she smirks and says, "I sure hope that karma comes back around to get you."

Looking up at her in confusion, you then say, "I wasn't intending for them to take my speech that well, you know? I just wanted to get out of a position where things could go catastrophically bad due to my past history, so I decided to leave the kingdom in the hands of someone that could handle it with the help of her husband to re-establish their guard."

Letting her annoyance with you pass, she then sighs saying, "I know that, but you could have made things a little bit easier." Wanting to get to her second reason for offering to push you along, she leans her head forward and whispers to your ear, "I hope that things go well between you and my sister-in-law, but if you break her heart...my husband and I will make you pay."

A cold shiver runs down your spine at the promise coming from the princess of love, saying, "I w-wouldn't dare let myself hurt her like that." With the fact that she is the new leader, you then smirk and say in a lowered tone, "Since you are the new ruler of this Empire, its going to need a royal family. Perhaps you should consider having a foal of your own..."

Brightening back up with a smile, she nears the ramp and hears her husband callously say, "Relax, it's just a test. I'm sure that she will let you retake it."

Letting out a sigh of exasperation, you think, 'You have no idea how much of a bookworm she is, that was a little thoughtless of a big brother to say.'

With a sigh, Twilight takes over for Cadance and pushes you along while hanging her head saying, "I don't think she's going to give me a new test..." Getting back on the train, she makes her way to the back and sits on the mattress and leaves you in the aisle with an upset sigh.

After arriving at Canterlot and disembarking from the train, Twilight pushes you along and asks a guard to help her carry you up the stairs despite your claims of being able to handle stairs on your own.

When you and Twilight head inside as the others remain behind, you notice how she still doesn't say anything while traveling on and sigh, saying, "Twilight, I know how much you want to be the one that saves the day all the time, but you have to realize that you can't always do that. What truly matters is the big picture, which is the fact that the Crystal Empire has been saved, so you should feel a little good about being part of that."

Her mood lifts a little at hearing your words and sighs saying, "Your right, I should be proud of that fact. Thank you."

With a smile, you say, "Your welcome." then pretend to be annoyed and huff, saying, "Jeez, took long enough to cheer you up...if only a little..."

Realizing you are teasing her, she rolls her eyes saying, "Uh huh, don't you have your own report to give to the princess?"

Groaning as you approach the doors, you say, "Oh you just had to remind me, didn't you?"

Pushing you to the side of the throne room doors, Twilight then says, "I'm going to report back to the princess, then I will come back and push you inside."

With a nod, you agree and say, "If you insist, warden." then watch her head to the doors and open them.

She walks in and closes the door behind her, saying, "I have returned, Princess Celestia."

As you wait outside the doors, you overhear snippets from inside when you are drawn back into your memory from a few days ago when you see yourself charging into battle with a smile on your muzzle. Shocked and slightly worried, you shake your head clear of the image and sigh as your mood sinks.

Twilight makes her way out of the throne room with a smile on her face at hearing that she passed and then turns to you, saying, "Alright, now it is your turn to report to her."

With a groaning sigh, you then say, "Alright, let's get this over with so we can return to Ponyville so that I can heal."

Pushing you into the room and leaving you a little ways in, Twilight leaves you there, saying, "Good luck!"

As you exhale, you then say, "I'm going to need it."

Celestia turns away from the window to see that you are in a wheelchair and pulls you closer to her, asking, "I'm sorry to see you in such a state, was the battle against his forces that difficult?"

Shaking your head, you say, "His forces were not the cause of this, but let me tell you how things went for me." You then proceed to tell her your story from when you arrived, then reach the end of the story, saying, "After that was settled, we made our way to the train."

A happy smile crosses her face as she kisses your cheek affectionately and pulls away to prance cheerfully, saying, "Oh thank you, Arthas, you saved me from three months of hard work! You don't know how much this means to me, but I will make it up to you."

Cocking your head in confusion, you say, "You mean, you aren't upset about it at all?"

Celestia shakes her head with the smile still on her face as she says, "Not one bit about Cadance being the new ruler, because I was planning on making her the new ruler myself." With a sigh, she then drapes her wing around the back of your chair saying, "However, I am quite upset at how far you had to go in order for them to succeed in their task. How are you holding up after the fight?"

Looking up at her, you then consider lying to her, but shake that out of your head and say, "I am appalled at myself for how I let myself slip so easily back into my violent and bloody ways, I see myself watching myself on the battlefield in my memories...with a smile on my face as I decimated Sombra's forces." Tears well up in your eyes as a sob escapes you, saying, "I fucking smiled Celly...what kind of a monster am I!?"

She pulls you into a loving hug as she feels guilty for being the one who gave you the task, saying, "You are not a monster at all, Arthas. It is my fault for giving you such a cruel task, so please blame for what's happened."

Your stubborn pride makes its presence known as you shake your head, saying, "No...you are not to blame for that, I let myself fall victim to bloodlust as I faced Sombra and his soldiers. Once I saw how he cursed his own subjects, I saw myself in him and fell into a rage. So I chased him down the road after the barrier fell and decided to end his reign by driving my sword through him, but after he died... I saw the heart cleanse him of the darkness and I saw that I had murdered a foal no older than Applebloom."

Celestia pulls you tighter as you break down into incoherent sobs, shedding tears of her own as she says, "We are here for you, sweetie, so let your tears flow."

It takes you a few minutes to regain your composure as Celestia releases you, sighing and saying, "I completed your task, but in doing so...I fear I may have received my Cutie Mark."

Smiling slightly at hearing that, she says, "It pleases me to hear that you have finally earned your butt tattoo." She then snickers behind a hoof until she remembers what you said earlier, and purses her lips together in thought, saying, "The Crystal Dragons were all slain by Sombra's army, so it is quite a shock to me that you were able to return one back to life."

Looking off in thought, you then say, "I didn't know that Crystal Dragons existed, but I am clueless as to how it happened...it shouldn't have happened. What truly scares me, is that I somehow resurrected Sindragosa into the ancient Crystal Dragon's remains." Trying to figure things out, you then think, 'Her soul should not have been part of mine... So what the hell happened?'

Celestia looks at you and says, "The Crystal Dragon's were a noble race of dragons before they perished, do you know anything about Sindragosa?"

With a sigh, you shake your head and say, "Apologies, for I only know that she is powerful and used to be a member of the Blue Dragonflight a great many years ago, then perished during the War of the Ancients which was 10,000 years ago. I only learned that latter bit a few days ago. I do know that she hates me a great deal for raising her and her kin, somehow miraculously finding reason to spare me."

With wide eyes, she says nervously, "So...she is far older than my sister and I combined, and she hates you and would tear you apart if she felt like it." Taking a calming breath, she asks, "How would you recommend dealing with her if she were to cause problems?"

Letting out a thoughtful sigh, you say, "I would prefer to avoid a fight as she rivaled me in strength when I was Lich King, and I can only reach that level by channeling dark magic. Even then, it would not be easy as her magic was strong enough to earn her the title of Malygos's consort up to the point where she was gravely wounded."

Groaning in annoyance, Celestia sighs, saying, "Wonderful, you just had to give me something else to worry about..." She then looks at you, asking in an annoyed tone, "Is it too much to ask for you to be a little more considerate towards my sister and I?"

With a nervous chuckle, you then say, " It's not like I'm actively going out of my way to make things harder for you two."

Grabbing hold of your wheelchair, she nods her head and huffs, "Yeah, but I swear that you are a trouble magnet sometimes. Congratulations on completing your task and getting your Cutie Mark, Arthas, I look forward to seeing it after you are healed."

Meanwhile, in Versa's personal dimension

Versa watches your soul begin trembling as one of the fractures grows bigger with a loud crack, causing her to act quickly when another fracture deepens and threatens to split your soul into two. Using her magic to keep your soul from breaking any further, she grunts with the effort it takes to stabilize it, saying, "Ugh...not this again...when will you stop running away?!"

Hours pass by as noon passes by and the sun starts to sink towards the horizon when she hears a much deeper sounding crack come from your damaged soul, causing her eyes to snap open and see that your soul has split into two pieces. Shocked at losing ground, she pushes forward and puts more strength into keeping your soul from completely shattering and falling apart.

Sweat trails down Versa's forehead as she stares at your soul, shaking her head at not realizing her mistake, saying, "I can't believe I combined another's soul to yours in my haste to save you... How could I have been so foalish and make such a stupid mistake!?"

The trembling gets more violent as your soul continues to fracture, with Versa realizing that your guilt has grown to be too much for your weakened soul to take. She takes a moment to think of a way to reverse the damage when yet another crack is heard, saying, "UGH! I'm gonna have to turn to them for help..."

Without any other choice, Versa pulls back some of her magic and channels another spell while trying to reach out into Equus's dream realm, saying, "I sure hope they can do this..."

Moments later, inside the Dream Realm

As Luna wanders to another dream to fight a nightmare, a sudden voice sounds all around her, whispering, "Luna..."

Gasping and looking around for the source, she asks, "That is my name, who are you?"

The voice is heard again, saying, "Luna...come..." and echoes through the realm.

Spinning around to look behind her for the voice, Luna sees nothing but empty space, saying, "Come where?"

The voice then comes again, saying, "Need...help...the door."

Confused, she starts to look around worriedly and shuffle her hooves in nervousness, saying, "What door!? I don't understand."

The voice returns, saying, "Follow...the snowflake."

Looking all around nervously for it, Luna spots a glittering snowflake drift down into view and walks towards it. When the snowflake starts to move away from her, she continues to walk towards it.

With each step she takes towards the snowflake, it moves away at a quicker pace. Soon, she is galloping after it when she is forced to take to the air as a cloud of deep blue smoke. The temperature begins to plummet as she continues following the snowflake when she spots something in the distance, eventually coming close enough for her to identify clearly with a gasp, saying, "Those dark, frozen doors surrounded in snowdrifts..."

Something appears on the snow, glowing a blinding white color, saying, "We meet again, Princess Luna, guardian of the Dream Realm."

Gasping as she recognizes the creature as the alicorn from before, she says, "YOU! Who are you and what do you want?"

The form looks on at Luna and sighs saying, "You are not ready for this, but I have no choice and require your assistance."

Luna watches the alicorn curiously, asking, "With what, why am I not ready? What's going on?"

Remaining mysterious, she smiles at the young alicorn, saying, "The one beyond this door is in trouble, but you cannot face it alone. Gather the six, your sister, and the alicorn of love. Gather them all and return with them here, for the door will be much closer next time. The dragon must remain behind as he is too young and impressionable, so go now while the night is young. Equus's fate hangs in the balance." She then calls forth a howling snowstorm to drive the alicorn back.

With no choice but to turn back, she returns to her body in the throne and hastily jumps out of the throne and hurries towards the door. Throwing them open roughly, she turns and canters towards her sister's room, loudly saying to her sister's ear, "SISTER, YOU MUST WAKE, THERE IS TROUBLE!"

Waking up with a start, Celestia gasps and shouts, "IS IT SINDRAGOSA?!"

Shaking her head, Luna says, "No, sister, it is the alicorn I saw a few months ago. She requires aid in the Dream Realm, asking me to gather the elements, you, and Cadance before returning to the Dream Realm."

Getting up with a groan, she grumbles, "Ugh...if Arthas has anything to do with this, he's going to be on diaper duty for two months."