It was RIGHT THERE in the Title...
The last train to the Crystal Empire was mostly empty, as most tourists had either already come and gone, or were as Twilight and Spike, with personal reasons to visit. Spike flitted up and down the car, getting in some practice with his new wings, while Twilight stared out the windows, lost in thought. After a few moments, Spike noticed and sat beside her.
"What's troubling you, Twilight? You haven't said more than a dozen words since we left Ponyville."
She sighed and looked away from the window. "It's just that...I haven't seen my brother or his family in ages, and their last letter was a bit...troubling."
Spike frowned. "Really? What did it say?" Twilight pulled the letter out from one of the bags with her magic and gave it to him. He caught it in his claws and sat to read it, his expression growing darker as he got closer to the end. Finally, he looked up at her and said, "How...how did things get this bad?"
She shook her head. "Nopony is sure. But they think it might have something to do with the Crystal Heart. It changed color a few weeks ago, and once that happened, everypony started feeling...depressed." She turned and looked out the window again. "It's...it's almost as if...Sombra...is returning."
Spike's eyebrows jetted upward. "Sombra! But...didn't we see him perish during that last fight before Tirek, Chysaliss, and Cozy Glow?"
She nodded. "Yes, but we'd seen him defeated before that...who knows how he keeps coming back?"
Spike put the letter down and grimly smiled. "Well, don't worry, Twilight! We beat him before, we can beat him again...if this is all his doing!" She looked back at her friend and returned his smile after a moment.
"I hope you're right, Spike."
Once the doors to the train opened, they both stopped cold...literally. Snow blanketed the streets of the Empire, and all the buildings had been...changed. Spike spoke in a whisper, "What...is all this, Twilight?" Instead of the usual crystal buildings with their gardens out front, and the smooth streets, there were now rough, wooden, two-story hovels, all crowded together. The streets were now cobblestone, lit by sputtering gaslight lamps. Overall lay a light fog and a covering of soot. Even though there were Hearth's Warming decorations all around, they were muted and dim, with barely twinkling lights, and not at all festive.
Even stranger, there were decorations she didn't recognize...or at least, seemed out of place. For one, there was a depiction of a fat Human in a red suit, riding in a sleigh while being pulled by eight deer. Then, over a shop, she could see a sign had been placed with barely twinkling lights that spelled out the phrase," Merry Christmas!"
Worse yet, all the ponies, instead of their usual crystal selves, were all dressed in heavy wool dresses with bonnets for the mares, and long-tailed suit jackets or frock coats with stovepipe hats for the males. The stallions all had muttonchop sideburns or beards, but all, mares and stallions alike, were walking around with gloomy looks on their faces, muttering to themselves.
Then, several foals came into view. All of them had dirty, smudged faces, and were wearing tattered clothes, with one colt tottering along holding a crutch under one foreleg. All of them began beseeching the passing ponies with variations of the same request: "Pwease, Sir? Give to the orfrwends? Just a tuppence or two, good Sir, an' we'll be warm this Winter!"
But the few ponies that bothered to look at them merely grumbled, "Out of my way, urchins! Can't you see I'm busy being miserable?" or words to that effect. Then, as Twilight and her assistant still watched, astonished, two of the "urchins" slipped behind him and "knicked" his wallet, then melted into the shadows while the others continued their begging.
Spike looked at Twilight. "Urchins?! Since when are there urchins in the Crystal Empire?!" Then he paused, and added, "...and what exactly IS an urchin?"
Equally as confused, Twilight answered, "If I had to guess, I'd say they're pickpockets and thieves" She looked around. "It looks like we're standing in a parody of 'Victorian England'...a bad parody...'"
Spike looked sharply up at her. "Victory-what now?"
Twilight started walking as the drake followed her. "Victorian England, Spike. It was a period on Earth during the 1800s when the Industrial Revolution was starting." She shook her head. "Something is definitely wrong...we're seeing a juxtaposition of two worlds here, from two different time periods...even Sombra wasn't able to do anything like this."
As they were making their way to the Castle, a bunch of tiny, furry creatures with BIG hair suddenly >popped!< out of a sewer, and started a musical number!
"Celllebrate good times, come ON!...URK!!" as the ponies quickly snatched them up, threw them into their mouths, and swallowed without chewing, while their gloomy expressions never changed. Twilight and Spike could hear the little creatures singing inside their stomachs as the ponies walked away, still muttering to themselves. She exchanged a look with Spike.
"Something is very wrong..."
Passing the sullen guards, Twilight and Spike soon found themselves in the Throne Room, where they faced a very different Shining Armor and his wife. Instead of their usual cheerful faces and greetings, they were met with a wooden, listless, "Hello, Twilight...Spike...welcome to the..." Shining turned to Cadence. "What's this place called again?"
She sighed and leaned back on her throne. "Who cares?"
Alarmed, Twilight said, "What is happening here?! This is all wrong!" Spike stepped forward.
"Is it Sombra? Is he behind all this?" But they both had turned away and were staring out the far windows, completely uninterested. Twilight grabbed Spike, hoisted him onto her back, and fled out of the Throne Room.
"If we're to solve this Mystery, we'll have to do it ourselves! Let's go, Spike!" Galloping out of the Castle and down the now unfamiliar streets, she made her way in the general direction of the Crystal Heart. Only to come up short once they saw it.
Instead of its usual warmth, it was dull, and pulsing out a sickly green light as it slowly rotated in its place. But, things only became worse from there! For, as they both slowly approached the Heart, a Portal formed next to it, and then a figure in a big red and white coat, black boots, and a long white beard stepped through, laughed, and said, "Perfect! This is just what I need!" then grabbed the Heart from its place!
As Twilight yelled, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" it turned slightly around, flashing a single red eye, grinned at her, and then stepped back through the Portal, taking the Crystal Heart with it! "Come back here!" yelled Twilight as she ran forward! But, just as she was about to reach the Portal, there was a swirl of Black Smoke, which quickly coalesced into a familiar shape. Twilight tried to put on the brakes, >SCREEEECH!!<, before she slammed into the shape, but both were carried into and through the Portal before she could stop.
When Twilight came to, she groaned, sat up, and rubbed her head. And immediately knew something was...wrong. Instead of a hoof, she now had...a hand? She looked down at herself. She was dressed in the clothes she usually wore when she had visited Canterlot High School: a skirt, knee socks, puffy-sleeved shirt, and her big, nerdy glasses. Which was a problem, as they were nowhere near Canterlot High School, and it was the middle of winter. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered as a biting wind blew over her, then turned and looked behind herself as she heard another pained groaning.
Her eyes grew wide as she saw a large, dark-red male lying there, with a flowing cape and crown, dressed in black with leather boots that came to his knees. As she watched, fascinated, he slowly brought a hand up to his face, and then his eyes grew wide as he stared at it, and then he screamed like a little girl! "EEEEEEEE!! What devilry IS this?! What has happened to ME?!" Then he looked up, and spotted Twilight, then pointed a shaking finger at her. "Y...You! Twilight Sparkle! YOU DID THIS!! Return me to my true form AT. ONCE!"
Her teeth chattering, Twilight shook her head and said, "I..d..didn't do this to us...S...Sombra..." She looked around at the dirty alley in which they found themselves. "I..d..d...don't even know where...we...are..." She looked around again, and to herself she muttered, "Where is...Spike?" But Sombra wasn't having it.
He tried to rise but fell clumsily back onto his face. "You lie!" he yelled from his prone position, with his butt in the air. "Change me back, or my wrath will surpass your wildest nightmares!"
Pointedly ignoring him, Twilight stood and went to the mouth of the alley. "I...don't recognize this city." She took in the cobblestone streets, as well as the buildings that looked similar to the ones now in the Crystal Empire. A loud 'gonging' could suddenly be heard, and she looked up to see a huge tower with a tremendous clock built into the side of the top. The smell of a river reached her nose (as well as other...unpleasant ones), and she could see a large bridge spanning the river. She wracked her brain for the memory of what she was seeing, but couldn't place it. "But this must be Earth," she finally added, watching other Humans walk past. She was just noticing their strange clothing when she heard, "How..how are you doing that?!" being bellowed behind her. She looked over her shoulder. "Doing what?"
Sombra had struggled to a sitting position and was now using a trash can to try and get to his feet, with little success. "Walking!" He pointed at her legs. "That...that's unnatural! Ponies have FOUR legs, not two!" Twilight shook her head, then looked back out of the alley.
"We're not ponies anymore, Sombra." She wrapped her arms around herself again, looked back at him, and added, "...and we're going to have to work together if we're going to get out of here and back home."
"NEVER!!" he screamed as he wobbled in place, his knees wavering back and forth as he clung to the trashcan for dear life. "I will NEVER sully myself by working in tandem with the likes of YOU! You are not fit to be scraped off my boots, you worthless, undignified..." and then he stopped as his stomach gave a mighty growl. Twilight gave him a flat look as his face turned a deeper shade of red. In a small voice, he said, "I...hunger..."
"And we're both lost, I'm cold, so we need each other." She held out a hand. "Lend me your cape, and the first thing I'll do is get us something to eat. Then, we need to work on finding that creature, getting the Crystal Heart back, and finding that Portal."
Sombra drew himself up proudly. "This cape has the sigil of ROYALTY, Twilight Sparkle! You are not FIT to..."
"Do you want to eat or not?!"
He stared at her for a moment, then grudgingly removed his cape and tossed it to her. "I only do this under duress." His brows lowered as he watched her wrap it around her shoulders with a contented sigh. "But know this: I shall HAVE my REVENGE—"
"Yes...yes, I know, 'horrible retribution, total revenge, unyielding wrath'...got it." She smiled at him. "Now, the sooner you get the hang of walking on two legs, the sooner we can get started." She looked around again. "From a cursory examination, I'd say we're looking at the same thing that happened in the Crystal Empire: a juxtaposition of our two worlds; some parts have bled over to the other, merging the two...this isn't going to be simple..."
"Well...I suppose that's one way of getting food in a hurry..." said Twilight as she looked fearfully over her shoulder at the ruined restaurant while they walked away. The place was in shambles, with overturned tables, broken windows, and cringing staff staring out at them with frightened eyes. Sombra rubbed his stomach, belched slightly, and picked at his fangs with a toothpick as he walked beside her.
"I told you: I hunger."
Twilight shook her head sadly and replied, "We don't have time for distractions." She looked around. "I seem to recall seeing pictures of this place in my Human history books, so this might be London, circa 1800...so why do they have Hearth's Warming decorations displayed everywhere? This makes no sense!"
Sombra side-eyed her. "Of course it makes sense, my feeble-minded foe. You mentioned how things were in the Crystal Empire, and we can see the same changes here. Whatever affected there has happened here...we need only to CRUSH the ENEMY that has done this, and then return to Equestria!"
She looked back up at him. "...OR...we could find him, discover why he did this, and hopefully find a peaceful solution."
Sombra snorted. "Crushing is better."
She looked around. "In ANY case, the first thing is to find him." She stopped and stared around her at the vast city. "And just how are we supposed to do that?"
Sombra gave a wicked smile. "That's easy. Follow the Crystal Heart."
She glanced sharply at him. "What do you mean?! You know where it is?" He shook his head.
"No, but I can sense it." He closed his eyes and turned in a slow circle, then stopped and pointed. "That way," indicating a huge building far off in the distance. Twilight's face lost color as she recognized it.
"Buckingham Palace?"
Unfortunately for them, the guards here were not quite as listless as the ones back in the Empire. "Halt! State your business!" ordered one, lowering his weapon as the pair approached. Twilight stepped forward.
"Please, good Sir! We're on a mission of mercy! An object of immense power has been stolen, and we need to retrieve it!" We—"
"Enough of this!" roared Sombra, rushing forward. "Get out of my way, PEASANTS!!"
"Well, THAT was a bad idea..." muttered Twilight from her side of the prison cell. She sat and gazed forlornly at what the guards had left of her companion: missing teeth, broken nose, TWO black eyes, a swollen lip, and what would probably be a permanent limp.
"...I shall...have my...revenge..." he groaned, as he tried to sit up.
"Yeah...yeah...I know..." she sighed, as she placed her chin on her hand. "So...what do we do now?" Then, she sat up as she heard the creaking sound of the door to the far end of the dungeon being opened, and then the approaching footsteps. It was two of the guards, but her eyes grew wide at the dog standing with them.
"SPIKE?!"
He smiled, and said, "I knew it was you as soon as I heard the report of "two strangers apprehended at the gate," and your descriptions. He quirked an eyebrow. "You both kinda stand out."
She jumped up and tried to hug him through the bars. "Spike! You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" She looked over her shoulder and added, "...how glad we both are!"
"...speak for yourself, miscreant..." grumbled Sombra, as he leaned back on the bench and held a wet cloth to his eye. He peered over at Spike and growled, "I suppose you've come to release us? Do not expect my gratitude, canine."
Spike grimly smiled. "That's fine by me. I could just get Twilight out...but you don't belong in this world either, so...there's no choice." He looked up at the guards. "Let them out."
"As you wish, Sir Talking Dog.'"
"So, what happened to you after we got separated?" asked Twilight, as they made themselves comfortable in a much nicer room, courtesy of the Crown.
Spike sat down on one of the chairs opposite her and grinned. "It was quite the adventure! At first, I was scared because I didn't know where you were. Then, I started asking people if they'd seen you!' Both he and Twilight broke out into gales of laughter at this, as they pictured the looks on the Humans' faces when a dog started talking to them! Sombra merely rolled his eyes and grunted. Wiping the tears from his eyes with a paw, Spike continued.
"As I was considered an "oddity," someone decided that I should be brought before the Ruler of this land for Her Amusement. As I was entertaining Her Majesty, I noticed a very familiar-looking object adorning one of their 'Christmas' trees'." He leaned forward."And that's when I discovered the Crystal Heart had been brought here." At this, even Sombra took notice.
"You have? Where is it?!" He stood shakily to his feet. "IT MUST BE MINE!"
"Sombra!" yelled Twilight, "...that's not why we came here! We have to bring it back to Equestria, in order to correct both world's imbalances!"
He dropped his eyes. "Of course, of course...that's what I meant to say..." Then he slowly turned away from them, rubbed his hands together, and muttered, "Soon, it shall be within my grasp, and my Revenge will be Complete!"
The room had gone deathly still, so he turned back to face them. "You do know we can hear you, right?" asked Spike with a flat expression.
Sombra's eyes darted left and right. "Hear what?"
Spike and Twilight sighed together. "Never mind..." she said. "Let's get that Heart!"
"One thing puzzles me..." said Sombra as they all were walking, "...if you knew where the Crystal Heart was, why didn't you simply grab it and spare us all this effort, dog?"
Spike stopped and looked up at him, then raised and waggled a paw. "Take a guess, genius."
Sombra stared blankly down at him. "I don't follow." Spike looked at Twilight (who shrugged) then put his paw down and continued walking. They soon found themselves in the Royal chamber that he'd mentioned earlier, the one with all the decorations, including the Crystal Heart.
But, it was gone.
Spike ran into the room and looked frantically about. "I don't get it! It was right there!" he said, pointing to the top of an elaborately decorated tree.
"Calm down, Spike!" said Twilight. "And don't worry!" Turning to their temporary ally with a confident smile, she added, "Sombra here can sense the Crystal Heart, so we can soon find it!"
But he gave them both a cagey look. "I could...for a price..."
Twilight gasped. "Sombra! You...you...idiot! Don't you realize that if we don't find it, we'll probably never make it back to our world?! OR repair the damage already done?! What could you possibly want?!" Her face had gone red while she was shouting, but Sombra was unmoved.
"Sticks and stones, "Princess." I did not become a Supreme Ruler by compromise, but by taking whatever I wanted!" He grinned wickedly down at them, showing his fangs. "Now then, it seems you both need me more than I need thee, so I'll have your answer!"
Twilight stared up at him, still shaking, until Spike gently laid a paw on her hand. "It's alright, Twilight...once we get the Heart, we can find that Portal and go back." He grimly smiled up at Sombra and finished with, "We beat this loser before, we'll do it again!"
Sombra smiled back. "We'll see..." He clapped his hands. "Excellent! Once we find the Heart and defeat the One who took it, you will allow ME possession of it, to do with it as I please! Are we agreed?"
Twilight held up a hand. "ONLY after we repair the rift between the two worlds, and save Hearth's Warming...monster...." Now he fully showed his fangs in a wicked grin (minus a few teeth).
"Done!"
The Being held the Crystal Heart in his lap, running his hands lovingly over it as he admired its glow. His true Enemy, that one these Humans called Saint Nick, had never commanded such power, such influence, so as to affect two worlds and disrupt their Holidays! He'd known of the Equestrian version of 'Christmas' long ago, and had found it as intolerable as his own...all that "Happiness" and "Giving" and "Peace!" Faugh! It was enough to make one retch! But now, after all these centuries of being cast aside as the "Anti-Santa," he would finally have his Day!
He stood, held the Crystal Heart aloft, and cried out, "And this time, NO ONE can stop me!"
"We can."
The Being spun around, and his eyes grew wide as he stared at a girl, a dog, and a menacing tall, red male who was cracking his knuckles. "Who are you?! HOW did you find me?!"
"That would be telling," gloated the male. He advanced and said, "Now, hand over my prize peacefully, and as a reward, I will make sure your end is quick and painless..."
"NO!" the Creature cried, clutching the Heart to Its chest. "I have suffered for far too long to lose now!" Spinning about, it raced away from them, holding one hand before It as It screamed an Incantation. The air before it began to shimmer and waver, as the Being became insubstantial.
"After him!" yelled Twilight. "He's forming another Portal!" The trio leaped through the rapidly closing Opening, and then everything went dark.
Flurry Heart toddled up to her parents and looked up Shining with big, tearful eyes. "D...Daddy? Why is ewyone so...sad? Will we...ewer be happy...again?"
Shining managed a weary smile for his daughter, then held his hooves out for her. "Come, climb up on Daddy's lap, sweetie, and I'll tell you a secret." She smiled back, flitted up to him, landed on his lap, and smiled up at him with her huge, innocent eyes. He chucked her under her chin, smiled back, and said, "No. You will never be happy."
Her bottom lip began to quaver. "N...nehwer...?"
He shook his head. "No, sweetie. Never, ever, ever!" He set her gently back down on the floor. "Now, go play, and—" he stopped as a bright light appeared in the Throne Room, and then a Portal opened. Within seconds, a strange Being tumbled out of it onto the center of the room, who was soon followed by Twilight, Spike...and Sombra! Both Shining and Cadence jumped to their hooves. "You!" shouted Shining, pointing at the Being. "What are you doing with our Crystal Heart?!"
"You mean MY Crystal Heart!" shouted Sombra, now fully returned to his pony form. He lit his firey red horn and began to cackle with a mad gleaming in his eyes. "NOW, miscreant! You shall suffer the FULL wrath of my MIGHTY—URRRK!" as he was blasted off his hooves from behind.
Her horn still smoking, Twilight stepped forward and said, "We had an agreement, Sombra." She deftly surrounded the Heart in her magic and plucked it from the Being as It protested.
"Hey! That's MINE! Give it back!" It shouted, reaching futilely for the Heart.
"...quiet, you..." said Twilight, as she studied the Artifact. For good measure, Spike ran over and sat on the Creature, as Sombra shook his head and slowly climbed to his hooves. Shining and Cadence came forward as well.
"What is going on, Twilight?" She looked over at the Being Spike was sitting on. "Who is he?"
Twilight spared the Creature a glance and said, "If my Human history is correct, that is most likely Krampus, judging from his appearance. But why he would steal the Crystal Heart is beyond me." She narrowed her eyes as she focused her magic. "Give me a moment..." The Heart began to vibrate, then to spin, and then as they all watched, including Sombra, it burst forth back into Its true colors! Healing light RADIATED out from the Heart, cascading the Throne Room in vibrant colors! All within felt Hope, Joy, and Peace fill their Hearts! Even Sombra felt his cold, cold heart fill with a Joy he'd never felt before, as a single tear freed itself and rolled down his cheek!
...and then the Crystal Heart fizzled back to a dull, grey, BORING color again, everypony (and Creature) slumped back into their indifferent states, and one soldier in the back could be heard mumbling, "...aw, crap..." before shuffling off, dragging his spear behind him.
Twilight's mouth dropped open. "That...didn't work?! But...but I was so sure..."
"Hah!" laughed Krampus, "I told you it was mine! Now, get off of me, and hand it back! I have PLANS!" He shrugged his shoulders, throwing the diminutive dragon off his back, and stood.
"...no..."
Krampus spun around. "What did you say?!" giving a death stare to the one who had spoken.
The little Alicorn drew herself up to her full (tiny!) height and said in her lisp, "No! You are bad!" She flew up to the window, opened it with her magic, and yelled out, "Come inside, all of you!" There then began a low rumble, that grew louder...and louder...as all the adults looked around uncertainly.
Shining was just beginning with, "Flurry, honey, what did you—" before the doors BURST open, and every colt and filly within a mile came running into the Throne Room! With Flurry in the lead, they grabbed the Crystal Heart from her Auntie Twilight in their little hooves, held it aloft, and began singing! Louder and brighter they all sang in one accord, as the Heart started glowing, faintly at first, and then getting stronger and stronger! Then, they released it, and it floated up toward the ceiling, spinning, glowing ever brighter as they continued to sing until it BURST forth once again, but this time bathing the entire Empire in Its healing Glow!
Within moments, all was restored to normal: the "Human" style buildings disappeared, the crystal ponies became themselves again, and all the Hearth's Warming decorations became bright and merry once more.
Krampus sat heavily down on the floor and muttered, "Curses! Foiled again!"
Sombra stared moodily over at him and said, "Welcome to MY world." He then turned to Twilight, shouting to make himself heard over the cheering. "What about our agreement, Princess?"
Twilight smiled at him and then gestured with a hoof. "It's right there! Help yourself!"
Sombra looked at her, then around at all the children, and then up at the Prince and Princess. He then glowered back at Twilight and growled, "You win this round, Sparkle. But you could not have retrieved the Heart without my help!" He began to dissipate into smoke, but just before he completely disappeared, he shouted, "Remember that!"
Then, Twilight, Spike, and her Brother and Sister-in-law looked at the villain still among them. "Now, what are we to do with you?" Twilight asked. Rhetorically.
He grinned sheepishly. "Umm...let me go?"
Twilight simply smiled.
Once Krampus had been hauled off to the dungeons, and then eventually to Tartarus, Twilight and Spike sat down to Hearth's Warming dinner with her family. "So, how did the Heart become corrupted before that creature appeared?" asked Twilight.
Shining passed her another glass of eggnog, then as one they all looked into the camera and said, "We'll NEVER KNOW..."
The End...?
Celestia looked up as a >pop!< sounded behind her. She sighed, removed her reading glasses, and without turning around said, "Good evening, Discord...to what do I owe the pleasure?" The Lord of Chaos sat comfortably down in the seat he'd conjured in front of her, then smiled his snaggle-toothed grin.
"Just wanted to give you a Hearth's Warming gift, my dear, dear friend!" He snapped his fingers and created a huge, gaily wrapped package, then set it before her. She ignored it.
She narrowed her eyes. "I know that tone, Discord. What have you been up to?"
He waved his hands. "Nothing, nothing!" Then he swallowed, and added, "...but if you hear about any shenanigans happening at the Crystal Empire, know that it was all in fun!"
