Harmony’s Hate

Chapters

Chapter 3: Prosperity of Greed
Prologue
Chapter 1: Slice of Life
Chapter 2: The Witch
Chapter 4: How Magic Flows
Chapter 5: Ponder
Chapter 6: The Scars of an Empire
Chapter 7: Protocol „Burrow”
Jewel’s first Heartswarming Eve
Chapter 8: On the Hunt
Chapter 9: The Forgemaster
Chapter 10: Don’t kill the messenger.

Chapter 3: Prosperity of Greed

“I hope I’m not being a burden to you. I would be fine just buying something on the way to Ponyville.” Jewel said before taking another bite.

It was about 9:00 AM on a Saturday. Jewel was sitting with his parents at the table eating breakfast, just like they used to until four months before he left. His father made some dandelion sandwiches and porridge.

“Don’t worry about it,” Merryhoof reassured him. “Just enjoy your father’s cooking while you can.”

“Also, Merryhoof, while I still can… I wanted to apologize about what happened back then…”

Four months ago, they had been visited by the guards on patrol duty and were interviewed about the business. The house had been ransacked under the suspicion of salt ownership, but there was no reason for the guard to suspect them.

That was why they believed it to be orchestrated by Heartstrings, a grim reminder that she still controlled them. Jewel had been unable to deal with the stress, which was why he decided to leave for Ponyville in hopes of hiding from her.

That had worried his father greatly. He hadn’t been in a sound state of mind back then because of the circumstances, and he thought it would be better to stay together.

Jewel had said a lot of nasty things to his father, which, in turn, angered Merryhoof. She was always protective of him. She knew what Heartstrings had done to him, but she didn’t know the full story.

She always took her husband’s side. Jewel didn’t blame her, of course; he was but the byproduct of her husband's trauma that he had decided to take under his wing. She had practically been forced to adopt Jewel.

But they still managed to be a functional family, Merryhoof still tried to care for Jewel like for her own son, and she wanted him to succeed in life. She just didn’t understand why Brighthoof would care for a child he had been forced to conceive.

“Let’s leave it in the past, Jewel.” Merryhoof smiled. “We both said some things we didn’t mean back then. And considering what I know now… I think I would do the same.”

“You? Really?” Jewel laughed. “I can’t imagine a world where you would run away from your problems.”

“Before I met your father… I also ran from home.” She said with a solemn expression.

The remark surprised Jewel; she rarely talked about her past. “What made you leave?”

“My parents were quite elitist;, they believed they were above other ponies. I wasn’t allowed to form friendships with anyone they deemed unsuccessful. They owned a major company in Manehattan and wanted me to take over.

“They didn’t care that my cutiemark told me to own a wellness saloon, they just wanted a successor. But I was full of dreams. When I turned 18, I just… left. I managed to earn some money and save it up until I needed it. It was enough to buy tickets and move to Canterlot for a few months.

“I was lucky to meet your grandfather. He offered me a job in this exact saloon, where I learned and improved most of my skills while also getting to know your father.”

She looked at Brighthoof, who was smiling at her. “He may have had some issues, but after working with each other, we somehow fell in love. Still… I didn’t know about his trauma until three years after our marriage.”

“When I suddenly appeared…” Jewel elaborated, to which Merryhoof nodded.

“On the day of his 27th birthday… you came.”

Awkward silence suddenly befell them. No one wanted to talk about that particular part.

“And my grandfather?” Jewel asked.

“Firmhoof moved to Appleloosa soon after our wedding,” Brighthoof answered. “He always loved the aesthetic of that town. He wished to live there for a long time. He left us this saloon.”

“And why didn’t you tell me about him before?”

“We had other problems back then, and you were behind in studies compared to other foals your age. We were focusing on your future.”

Jewel understood. It had been a trying time for him and his parents. Luckily, he was an informational sponge. He learned a lot very quickly, which was the main reason why he managed to succeed in the entrance exam for Canterlot’s Academy of Magic.

“So,” Brighthoof exclaimed, “let’s do a once over of the plan. Your mother and I will check out the Star swirl’s Library Archives to look for any information about this ‘Blackheart’ she told you about, right?”

“Yes,” Jewel agreed. “ And I will return to Ponyville to research Prosperheart. I’ve found out that there are ponies who research his works there.”

“Who would have that kind of money?” Brighthoof asked. “Last time I checked, his books were worth quite a fortune!”

“I don’t know how she got a hold of them, and I’m honestly scared of the answer.”

“Guys,” Merryhoof said, “I think we need to hurry up! We still have the afternoon shift.”

“Isn’t it the weekend?” Jewel asked, intrigued., “Also… shouldn’t you take it easy in your condition?”

“It’s Saturday! We still have the evening shift, so if we want anything to get done, we need to go now,” she retorted. ”Also, I’m a fucking earth-pony! As long as I’m not doing the truly heavy tasks or running like a mad-mare, I’m as capable as any unicorn!”

“Alright, jeez!” Jewel put his hooves up in surrender. “I’m sorry. But you are right, we should get ready.”

Brighthoof looked at both of them, somewhat hurt. “So… no pony wants seconds?”

Jewel knocked on the library’s door.

He went there immediately after reaching Ponyville, knowing Twilight probably still had the book.

“Twilight?” he called. “Are you there? I need to urgently borrow a book!”

Nothing… Maybe she was asleep.

It seemed there was no activity inside, which probably meant she was not there at the moment.

He quickly ran to Sugarcube Corner in hopes of finding Pinkie Pie. Maybe she knew where Twilight was.

He burst through the door, startling the only customer inside and the pony serving him, who unfortunately wasn’t Pinkie.

“Hello, Mrs. Cake,” he said. “Pardon the intrusion, but I’m looking for Pinkie.”

“Oh,” she said, “I think you are a bit late for it, Brom. She and her friends went on an expedition. They left yesterday.”

Expedition? So suddenly?

“Which means Twilight got a mission from Celestia?”

“Yes,” she said while she finished the order and handed it to the colt in front of her. “Two bits, please.”

The colt happily paid for the wares and left Sugarcube Corner.

“Do you know when they will return?”

“I’m sorry, Brom, but I don’t know. You know how Pinkie tends to be; giving a straight answer is very difficult for her.”

“Well… thanks for the help anyway, Mrs. Cake,” Jewel said and left for the library again.

I need to find a way to get to the book.

You could break in!

I don’t think that's a good idea…

It’s an emergency; your life depends on it.

…Fine.

He approached the library’s door again and withdrew the locksmithing tools from his bag; he never left his home without it. He immediately started to work on the lock, but he was interrupted by a sound behind him.

“Ehem…”

Jewel turned around, only to find himself face-to-face with the one pony he had tried to avoid.

“Lyra!” he said, sweating. “How nice to see you. Is there a problem?”

Lyra looked at him up and down. “What are you doing to Twilight’s door?”

Shit!

“Uhm…” He looked at the tools already inside the lock, still held firm by his magic. “Twilight was a bit unsure about her locks and asked me to check it out?”

Saying the sky is green would have a better effect.

Lyra looked unimpressed. “Aha… Weren’t you gone for the entire day yesterday?”

“She asked me on Thursday… two days ago. Before I went,” he lied.

“Brom, what do you need from Twilight?”

Jewel sighed. He knew Twilight wouldn’t be able to help him since she hadn’t really researched the subject. She had read just one book she had borrowed… from Lyra.

You can’t trust her!
Who knows how she got the books.

It’s the only lead I have at this moment; it’s a matter of life and death.

“Alright…” he said. “Listen. I heard that Twilight borrowed a certain book from you, and I wanted to—“

“You finally want to research Anthropology with me?” She interrupted him, completely forgetting about the attempted burglary. “Why didn’t you just ask? I can tell you everything I know! Come with me.”

She basically forced him to follow her to her house, sat him on the dinner table, brought out a collection of six thick books and a spreadsheet, and started a presentation.

All in the span of five minutes.

“So basically, Anthropology is the research of a series of books that said there was an ancient civilization that lived in Equestria hundreds of thousands of years ago, one that we call humans.”

“Lyra—“ Jewel tried to interrupt her.

“Apparently, those humans had no magic for themselves, but they were able to harvest the magic naturally present in the world around them with their technology.”

“Lyra!”

“And their culture! It’s one of the most interesting subjects you could learn! Did you know—“

“Lyra!” Jewel shouted. “I’m sorry to interrupt your fun, but I’m not here to talk about a fictional race. I’m here to find out about the pony who created the whole concept of Anthropology.”

“Prosperheart?” Lyra asked, a bit disappointed. “Why would you want to research that?”

“I—“ Jewel didn’t know what to say. He can’t tell the truth; that would endanger her…

Danger?
By merely talking to her, you have endangered her!

Telling her about my connections to Prosperheart could make her antagonize me.

If you want information, you need to offer some in return.

…Fine!

“Listen, Lyra,” Jewel said. “Prosperheart… is an ancestor of mine, and something happened within my family that forced me to inform myself about my heritage.”

Lyra looked at him as if he had broken into her home. “Is that why your name is Brom? I’ll be honest, when I first heard it, I thought you were just a fan, but now… is your whole family like that?”

“No need to rub it in, Lyra! And no, I chose that name when I moved to Ponyville. It was a spur of the moment decision, and I didn't even think about it when I chose it.”

“Alright, but…”

“Please, Lyra,” Jewel warned her, “it’s very important, and I don’t want to divulge any more private information.”

Lyra seemed to have many more questions, but it looked like she understood it might be a difficult subject for Jewel. It didn’t stop her from asking one more question though.

“Brom…” she started, “what is your name?”

He sighed. He knew he should stop using his alias; it didn’t change anything about his situation four months prior, and it wouldn’t change anything if he told the whole of Ponyville his name.

“Jewel,” he said, defeated. “Just call me Jewel.”

Lyra nodded. “That’s a nice name. What do you want to know about Prosperheart?”

“Mostly what happened after he was caught… Maybe a bit about how he managed to create the biggest scams in Equestrian history.”

“Well,” she started. “It’s not really well known how he managed to popularize Anthropology; it did happen 500 years ago. What historians did manage to discover however, was that the scam had spread through word of mouth. People joined the community and preached its ‘historical evidence’, which was actually fake all along.

“That way, the community actually grew into a whole cult, believing that Celestia was actually aware of the existence of humans and was actively trying to suppress it.”

“But this makes no sense,” Jewel added., “Celestia is one of the oldest beings in Equestria.”

“Because of this mindset the cult enforced,” Lyra continued, “Celestia was unable to take action against the cult without any proof. It would only strengthen their belief if she did.”

“So she needed to prove their beliefs wrong?”

“Exactly!” Lyra said. “But even that was difficult. The cult managed to garner a big enough following, and some ponies were actually paying to become a high-ranking member of the cult. That way, Anthropology managed to be one of the more financially powerful entities in Equestria.”

“How did Celestia stop it?”

“She basically leaked confidential secrets to the public that showed that the leader, Prosperheart, actually fabricated the evidence of the existence of humans. It managed to cripple the faith of the cult enough for her to be able to take action against him without any dire consequences to her rule.

“But still… Prosperheart had already acquired a massive fortune, which wasn’t entirely recovered either. That, of course, had a massive impact on the economy. Back then, they had additional values below bits—they were called bobs—but after that whole ordeal, the value dropped, and they started using bits for everything. The bobs were discontinued.”

“Now I understand why people actually study Anthropology,” Jewel realized. “It taps into different subjects like mob mentality, economy—“

“Don’t forget literature!” she interrupted him. “The books Prosperheart wrote are still considered one of the most influential works of fiction for many reasons. Mainly because of the cult, but it also inspired a lot of other writers when it comes to world-building. I heard a certain culture present in those books inspired A. K. Yearling for the school system in her ‘Harry Hoofer’ series.”

“And what happened to Prosperheart when he was caught?” Jewel asked.

“From what I heard, Celestia sentenced him to 20 years in prison and tried to force him to return all of the money he had earned… but before she managed to make him cooperate, he committed suicide in prison. The money was never found.”

Seems familiar?

He probably already had a successor ready and had left the instructions for the fortune to them. Which means the money was kept by the family and was used for their plans!

But if they had the money,
Using it would put them back in the economic circulation.
The value wouldn’t drop as much as it did!

All of this money is still with the family. It has been inherited. To the public, the money is still gone because the Hearts have been carefully growing their fortune in secret, slow enough for the changes to remain unnoticed. It forced Celestia to mint new coins to replace the stolen ones, and the family had slowly reintroduced the stolen money back into the economy, making them, in turn, drop in value after 500 years. That was not the work of Prosperheart alone, he was just the one who built the foundation for future generations to grow in influence.

You must applaud the amount of cooperation
needed to pull something like that off.

Explains why Heartstrings feels so proud of him in particular… he exploited the flawed economy of Equestria, allowing her to use that fortune for her own operations!

“Thanks, Lyra,” Jewel said. “I think my understanding of Prosperheart and Anthropology evolved.”

“No, problem.” She smiled. “If you need to know anything else about it, just come straight to me, Bro— I mean, Jewel.”

“Have a nice day.” He left her house and went straight to his workshop.

However, he didn’t manage to get to it, because a certain flash of pink caught his eye.

It was Pinkie Pie.

Looks like they came back from the mission…
I should probably go and greet them.

He started following Pinkie, knowing she would probably host a victory party to celebrate.

And it looked like he was right. Pinkie went inside Sugarcube Corner and assembled the things necessary to make a small party. She then proceeded to gallop to Twilight's library, where the rest of her friends probably waited.

He contemplated if he should join. He didn’t consider himself as close to Twilight as the other five. He worried that his presence wouldn’t be appreciated.

Still, they must’ve learned quite a lot on their adventure. It wouldn’t hurt to talk.

He knocked on the door, before opening it to see the whole group about to toast with their cups filled with cider.

“Hi. I hope I’m not intruding,” he said.

“Oh, Brom?” Twilight caught herself before saying his real name. “Is there something you need?”

“Oh… no, Twilight. I just came here to talk and even congratulate you on your quest.”

“How’d you know ‘bout it?” Applejack asked. “Ah thought ya had some awful important business in Canterlot and ya left b’fore us.”

“Oh, yes… Mrs. Cake told me about it. Sorry I wasn’t there to wish you all luck.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, Brom.” Rarity took a small sip of her cider. “And besides, it was a very important test for Twilight. And SHE PASSED,” she sang.

Twilight seemed to be uneasy with Jewel's presence, which he noticed.

“I’m happy for you, Twilight.”

“…Brom, listen, I’m sorry about what happened on Thursday,” Twilight started.

“Don’t be… I was the one who overreacted. You were worried. Even though I didn’t like you snooping around my family history, I appreciate your feelings towards my well-being.”

“Still, I overstepped, and I feel like I should have been more tactful.”

“Okay, hold up!” the raspy voice of Rainbow Dash called above them. “What the hay happened between you two?”

“Uhm… Rainbow?” Fluttershy said softly. “I don’t think we should pry…”

“It’s no big deal,” Jewel reassured them. “Twilight just realized my name is not Brom.”

“WHAT?!” everyone except Twilight —who was too shocked to say anything—shouted.

“Seriously, the last two days couldn’t be more surprising,” Spike said. “Like, first the Crystal Empire reappeared, then King Sombra returned, and now this?”

“Waitwaitwait…” Jewel put his hoof up to interrupt him. “The Crystal Empire? AND SOMBRA?”

He looked at the ponies present. “What on Star Swirl’s beard have you seven been doing?”

“You first!” Pinkie shouted. “What has been happening between you and Twilight? And what is your real name?”

“First and foremost, Pinkie,” Jewel said, “I don’t like when ponies ask too many personal questions. Second, I will explain the situation with Twilight once you tell me about the quest. And third, my name is Jewel.”

Twilight sighed, realizing she wouldn’t win the argument. “Alright… it all started when I got a letter from the Princess right after you left…”

Prologue

Author's Note

This is my first attempt on “serious” writing.

Every other time, I just made a chapter -or two if I was motivated- and left it at that.
The stories here inspired me, so I hope I might be able to contribute to the Fandom.

I hope for a lot of constructive criticism and feedback to improve my writing.

Prologue

If Harmony is what makes the world revolve

Then why does entropy exist in a world of order?

Why does Harmony hate?

The month after Discords defeat were very hard in Ponyville. The magic of chaos was very potent, and it affected everypony in some way or form.

Fluttershy spend most of her time in her cottage, taking care of the animals that were still shaken from the events that transpired.

She only came outside for groceries and her weekly visit to spa with Rarity.

Applejack was making herself busy on the farm. The mental toll Discords magic had on everypony, caused the demand for alcohol to rise, so AJ had her hooves full of work making cider.

Twilight checked on her regularly, to make sure she doesn’t overwork herself again. Which, to her relief, was never the case.

Rainbow Dash decided to spend most of her time training. Her stunts becoming even more reckless than usual, which worried her friends. They sometimes came to see her, hoping the next time won’t be in the hospital.

Pinkie Pie was also working hard, in her own way. She decided to help those deeply affected, frequenting the psychiatric ward in Ponyville to cheer up the patients there. Often bringing pastries from the Sugar Cube.

Rarity spend most of her time in the Carousel Boutique. She confessed to Fluttershy on their weekly trips to the spa, that she lacked inspiration. She frequently got distracted by unimportant things, sometimes ruining the sketches she was working on, which worried her deeply.

They all decided to meet up regularly to spend time with each other and talk things out every week. Which was going well up until four days ago. When Twilight got obsessed with solving a friendship problem, in order to report to princess Celestia, which ended with one fourth of Ponyville brainwashed by a love spell, making them love a doll.

Luckily this whole ordeal ended well. No one was terribly hurt, and Celestia managed to calm down the affected ponies.

She told them that all of this was caused by a spell gone wrong, even though she didn’t explain what the intention behind the spell was, saving Twilight from being publicly shamed.

Yet everypony was obviously quite unhappy with this accident, which added to Twilights guilt. So she decided to lay low in her library, rarely going outside and leaving the groceries to Spike.

On this fateful Saturday noon she was cleaning while Spike was out shopping, when somepony entered the Library. It was a matte blue colt with a long beige mane flowing down his neck.

Twilight may not know everypony in Ponyville, but she was sure this person was not from here.

He walked in with a trained grace she only saw in Canterlot, eyeing the shelves with a curious look. For some reason he seemed familiar to her.

“Hello, and welcome to the Golden Oak Library,” she greeted the unexpected visitor, “Are you looking to borrow a book?”

She realised that the colt had a bunch of small bags and a simple faded-red cape. She felt the magical current flowing through them, hinting at a possible enchantment.

Twilight noticed that she and the colt were staring at each other in silence for long enough to become uncomfortable. Why was he looking at her like a scientist examining a new species of frog? She didn’t like it.

“Umm… do you need help with something?” she asked, uneducated on how to deal with the situation.

“Are you—“ he started unsure of himself, “is your name by any chance, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Umm… yes?” she answered, now sure she has seen this pony before, “do we know each other?”

The colt smiled, embarrassed. “Well, not personally,” he said, “we went to the same class in the Academy. I was sitting at the desk next to you.”

Now it was Twilights turn to be embarrassed. Back then she wasn’t really keen on bonding with her classmates. And even now she has problems in making new friends.

But now to be confronted by someone who knows her better than she does him… it was uncomfortable.

Fortunately for her the colt noticed it, and laughed a little, clearly trying to lift the mood. “Oh don’t worry about it. We never really talked, so the only reason I knew about you, is because you are Celestias pupil. It was difficult not to know about you,” he reached out his hoof, “My name is… Brom, by the way.”

“Pretty… unique name if you ask me,” she said, “but you do look familiar… didn’t we work on an assignment together?”

“Yes.” He smiled sheepishly. “We had to research the transmutation spell and then make a presentation on how it worked. Luckily they didn’t ask us to actually perform it.”

“Oh yeah… I remember that! Which reminds me,”—she turned towards a drawer near a book stand—“I still haven’t gotten to learning this spell. I should put that up as a reminder on my timetable.”

While Twilight was busy planning, Brom took the liberty to look around at the shelves adorning the walls of the hollowed-out tree.

It wasn’t as grand as the one used by the academy, but it had its share of useful titles: research on most aspects of magic, nature and beasts. There were even some fiction novels like Daring Do and Harry Magehoof.

“Anyway, what brings you to Ponyville?” Twilight said after she finished, “a Canterlot pony isn’t a common sight here.”

“Mostly a change of scenery. It wasn’t really thrilling to live in Canterlot so I decided to move to Ponyville. I already bought a place not far from here. Say, do the ponies here have a need for a specific profession?”

This was a weird question to ask. Normally ponies knew what they were best at, and searched for a job based on their talents.

Twilight tried to see Brom’s cutiemark, but it was obscured by Brom’s clothing. Actually she doesn’t know if he had his cutie mark yet, when they attended the same class.

“Well, what are you good at?” She asked, “I’m pretty sure whatever it is, you will be able to find a job. The ponies here are always ready to welcome a helping hoof.”

“Well… what if I say, I’m a pony of many abilities and a quick learner?” he inquired further, “I… really want to make a difference in Ponyville.”

Twilight thought for a moment. Using Brom’s criteria, every job seemed acceptable. But she herself didn’t know what was in demand in Ponyville, and Brom seemed very hopeful for her answer.

Why was it this important to him?

“ I mean… there are a lot of ponies that would appreciate some help, but I personally don’t know. I’m still relatively new to Ponyville myself.”

Brom seemed distraught upon hearing her words. She may not be the best at reading others, but she could say that Brom didn’t come to Ponyville out of his own volition.

She was about to ask him about it, when the pink tornado of confetti that was Pinkie Pie, barged through the door.

“Hi, Twilight!” She sang. “I wanted to ask, if you know a construction spell or something? The roof of Bon-Bon’s and Lyra’s house just broke down, and they need help repairing it right now.

“But Applejack is really busy and she won’t be able to deal with it right now, so-“ she gasped dramatically, “o-my-Celestia-is-that-a-new-pony?! Hello, welcome to Ponyville new friend! I’m gonna need to bake more cupcakes, do you like cupcakes? What is your favourite colour? Do you-“

“PINKIE!” Twilight interrupted her, “You’re trailing off again. What happened?”

“Oh, yeah. I was prancing around Ponyville, making deliveries, when I passed Bon-Bon. She was distraught so I quickly asked her what was wrong and told me that the roof above their bedroom has broken down, leaving a gaping hole.

“So I told her ‘Don’t you worry, I know somepony who can help’ and I went to look for Applejack, but she told me she is too busy right now and won’t be able to help, so I went straight to you to ask if you know a spell that might help.”

She grasped for air after her lengthy monologue. “And that’s why I’m here!”

“I’m sorry, Pinkie,” Twilight apologised, “but I never took the time to learn those kinds of spells. You may need to—“

“I know them.” Brom barged in, surprising both of the mares. “I’ve studied all kinds of magic when I was in Canterlot.”

“That’s… weirdly convenient,” Twilight answered, “Normally when something like this happens, we either hire a company from Canterlot -which can become quite costly- or ask Applejack for help.”

Brom’s eyes sparkled with newfound hope hearing this. “So your town doesn’t have a handypony? That’s wonderful news. Since this ‘Applejack’ is busy most of the time from what I understand, and that means you have no pony to take care of the plumbing and renovations?”

“Well, no,” Pinkie answered, “AJ does most of this kind of work in Ponyville.”

“That’s great! Now I’ll only need to turn my home into a workshop and I can start my new career here. May you please bring me to those ponies… uhm…”

“I’m Pinkie Pie, Nice to meet you! Ieeeeh I can’t wait to throw you a welcome party! It gonna be FANTASTIC! Oh what’s your name? I’ll need it for the cake.”

“It’s Brom,” he said, “but you know you don’t have to do this, right? I’m fine just moving in with no fanfare and I don’t want to burden you with it.”

“Don’t be silly, everyone needs a welcome party! It’s the best way of meeting new friends!”

“But—“ he tried to politely object once more before being interrupted.

“Don’t bother,” said Twilight, “she does this for everyone, and you won’t be able to stop her. Also if you need any help, don’t be afraid to come to me or Pinkie.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to.” He gave her a friendly smile. “Oh, and thanks for your help”

“Anytime”

Brom nodded thankfully before leaving with Pinkie towards Bon-Bon and Lyra’s house. While Twilight turned back to her books, unaware of the newly-formed friendship.

Chapter 1: Slice of Life

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 2: The Witch

This is madness!
You left Canterlot to run away from her.
Why are you heeding her demands?

She warned me years ago that once she gets caught my turn will be next. I have no other choice but to talk to her. I need to gather as much information as I can if I want a fighting chance.

The midday sun was shining upon Canterlot warming the residents. It’s a warning for the upcoming summer.

Jewel was dressed in a gray suit with a red tie, it was long enough to cover his flanks. He had bought it as soon as he read the news yesterday. It was unfit for the weather but he needed to look presentable, if he had to infiltrate the office as a lawyer.

He felt a little bit guilty for leaving his workshop for an entire day, hopefully no pony would need urgent help while he was gone.

Maybe I can order the materials for Vinyl while I’m here to make up for it?

You’re stalling.

He quickly calmed himself well enough to enter the Canterlot Patrol Office, where he was supposed to find the detained criminal.

The reception had the same architectural design as the rest of Canterlot. White marble walls decorated with colorful rugs and curtains. From what he remembered when studying engineering and architecture from books, the insides of the walls had insulation installed to keep the temperature inside unaffected by the weather outside. This did explain how it was much cooler inside.

He walked towards the pony attending the reception desk, separated from visitors by magically reinforced glass. She was a neon-green mare similar of age to Jewel, she was clothed in a blue uniform and only the helmet on her head that informed other ponies she was part of the guard.

“Hello, what can I help you with?” she said nonchalantly, not even looking up from her paperwork.

“Hello,” Jewel greeted her, putting on his best posh accent, “my name is Clearword, I came to meet with mrs. Heartstrings.”

The guard looked up at him in surprise. She motioned for him to follow her and took him to a cell designed for questioning. It was bland, a small room with blueish-grey walls and a single table with two seats. The only way to see inside was through a small glass slit—barely a window—on the door.

“Please wait for a moment mister Clearword,” she said, “your client will be here shortly.”

Jewel was left alone for a moment, making him question his surroundings.

She didn’t even ask me for my license! How could she know I’m her lawyer?
Maybe the disguise worked too well?

Or maybe it was her doing.

Fortunately for Jewel’s psyche, he didn’t have to wait long for them to bring in his ‘client’. She walked in gracefully, her golden eyes immediately locking on to him. She didn’t wear any clothing, possibly in order to keep up the appearance that she has been detained.

“Thank you dear,” she said to the stallion that escorted her, “may you please leave us be for a moment? I think we need some… privacy.” She suggestively shook her flank at him which was adorned with a cutie mark of a puppet on a string. If somepony didn’t know better, they would have thought she did puppet shows for a living. Which isn’t so far from the truth.

I feel like throwing up.

The stallion just scoffed at her—already used to her tactics— and left them alone.

It’s as if she owns this place.

“I’m here Heartstrings,” Jewel said once he was sure the guard was far enough, “now tell me what do you want?”

“Is that how you greet your own mother?” she said, acting as if she had been hurt.

“You know damn well you don’t deserve this title.”

“Neither does the mare that adopted you,” she retorted with schadenfreude, “from what I’ve heard, you two weren’t on good terms when you left for Ponyville.”

Of course she knows about it.

“Get to the point! What’s with all this?” He motioned to the room with his foreleg. “I know damn well they didn’t just ‘catch you in the act’.” He put his hooves on the table and glared at her suspiciously

“What is your game here?” He said.

“And why would I tell you anything?” she asked smirking, “we both know I didn’t ask you to come here. You could have just ignored the news and let poor old me rot in her cell. But we both know what would happen then, don’t we? Now, if you want any information, I ask you to kindly show me the thing.”

“The… thing?” Jewel said.

“Don’t play a fool with me,” she said rolling her eyes, “you know very well what I’m referring to. If you won’t oblige, then our little discussion is over.”

Jewel sighed, he knew exactly what she wanted. He took off his suit with magic, showing his whole body for the first time in years. He stood there completely exposed, showing to the mare in front of him his biggest shame.

His lack of a cutie mark.

“Good boy,” she said mockingly, “a successor ripe for the taking.”

“Now it’s your turn,” Jewel ordered, “I need information.”

“Ugh… such a buzzkill,” the mare groaned, “fine! Ask away! What do you want to know?”

This outburst surprised Jewel. He didn’t expect her to be this cooperative. The last time she did this was…

When she told me about the curse.

“Firstly,” he said, “I want to know more about the curse.”

This seemed to get Heartstring’s attention.

“Oh?” She exclaimed, “well if you want to break it then tough luck my child. It’s impossible.”

“How exactly does it work?”

“Well… it’s not as much of a curse as it is a parasite. It feeds off hate and fear the bearer spreads. And if the host is unwilling… Well, the curse takes hold of the holder’s identity. Taking every single bit of personality and before you know it, you are a completely different pony. But it’s not all bad.”

“How exactly isn’t it ‘all bad’?”

“It grants its users a lot of magical power, that’s why it has been constantly forcing our forefathers to conceive unicorns. The best race for its goals.”

She took a little needle out of her mane with magic and pointed it to her neck. Its tip was clearly covered in poison.

“It takes hold as soon as a successor is born, binding itself so it can latch on to the fortunate soul who will continue its legacy once the previous bearer dies. But you already knew this part.” She smirked.

He did. She has been telling him about this single fact for years before she left him to fend for himself. She was constantly threatening him with transferring the curse early in order to keep him obedient as a dog.

“Is that why you are here?” He asked, “you decided you had enough?”

“Oh… puh-lease!” She scoffed. “I have basically the whole of Equestria under my hoof. Nobles blackmailed and ponies indebted to me. I already have reached my destiny.”

She smiled at him, the needle still tauntingly pointed at her neck. “But there is one more thing I have to do. I have to fulfill my duty and pass on the family legacy to you.

“You will continue the Heart family name. You will expand this empire they build just like I did, when I forced it from my dead fathers grasp. Future generations will remember me as the mare that outdid Prosperheart himself! I was hoping you would accept this gift bestowed upon us willingly, but it seems I need to force it onto you myself.”

“I will not allow you to turn me into a monster.” Jewel forced his magic upon the needle and pointed it at his own neck. “If I die, so does the Heart family’s bloodline. The curse will be destroyed and no pony will ever have to suffer because of it ever again!”

What will you do then, mother?

Heartstrings stood there stunned for a moment. She didn’t expect Jewel to actually try to fight her control over him.

Suddenly her horn lit up with a black aura and she threw herself at Jewel with great speed and force, pinning him to the wall and choking him with her foreleg. The needle dropped to the floor.

“Now what do we have here?” She said in a deep voice, “Trying to play the hero, are we? Sacrificing yourself for the benefit of others? Tsk-tsk-tsk… we can’t have that.”

Jewel couldn’t answer, he was fighting every single moment to breathe. When did She get as strong as an earth-pony?

“Now listen here, you ungrateful brat,” she hissed, “I don’t think you understand the position you are in. Even if you would end your life here and now, the curse will just keep me alive for long enough to conceive another foal. I am more than capable of escaping this ‘prison’ to find another unfortunate soul to help me with it.

“I could visit your father for example. Try to make him squeal for his life like a mouse between cat’s teeth. He gave me you, after all and he will give me someone else again.”

“You are too old to have foals again!” He retorted breathlessly.

“The curse does not care. It has been modified throughout generations by those just like you, ponies unwilling to accept it. The curse will force me to conceive.

“Maybe I should make a point for you? Would you like to see what I did to your father twenty five years ago? Making you watch might make it much more thrilling.”

“You’re sick!”

“It runs in the family.” Now that she made sure her captive got the memo, she let go of Jewel who fell to the ground gasping for air.

“Fucking Witch!” He cursed her under his breath.

“This curse is the definition of Art,” she said ignoring his remark, her voice back to normal, “multiple generations contributing into its development, an entire family tree composed of artisans who wanted nothing more but to develop and gain influence. I will not stand an ungrateful brat ruining this legacy!”

She looked at the pathetic quivering mess below her.

“My fun has been ruined,” she said, turning her back towards him.

“You will have to make up for it now. Which actually brings me to the reason I’m telling you all of this in the first place.” She levitated the needle back into her mane, hiding it from sight. “I’ve decided to give you a chance of breaking this spell.”

“And why would you do that?” He said, slowly regaining his composure, “and didn’t you just tell me it was impossible?”

“Will that stop you from trying?” She asked knowing full well what the answer was.

“And as to why I would do that.” She smiled.“ It's quite simple really. I’d like to see how a little mouse will react when it is cornered. Consider it my final entertainment before I retire.”

“As if I’d play your stupid games”

“What was that? I think I misheard you.” Her voice was deceptively caring, yet Jewel noticed her glaring at him with an murderous intent.

“I said: As you wish.” He gave up.

“Mmmm, Good boy,” she said, “as a sign of goodwill, here is a little clue.” She looked back at him with a sinister smile. “Blackheart!”

Suddenly the door to the room opened revealing the stallion from before waiting behind it.

“Looks like our merry time is over,” she said disappointed, “My trial starts in four months. A week after the Summer Sun Celebration. I hope to see you there. Or else…”

In the evening hours, Jewel stood in front of a building. The sign hanging swayed in the light breeze.

‘Merry & Bright Hoof Saloon. From polishing to painting, we do it all!’ was written in cursive on the sign.

Jewel was trembling from anticipation, he hasn’t been here for four months. The last time he was here, was with sour words thrown at him from his adoptive mother.

He knocked on the door, ignoring the ‘closed’ sign on it.

Half a minute later a pink earth-pony mare with a dark-blue mane opened the door. Her flank was adorned with a cutie mark of a bottle of hoof-polish. Her belly was swollen, a clear sign of a late stage in pregnancy.

“Can’t you read? We are clo—“ she stopped when she realized who was standing in front of her.

“Hi, Merryhoof,” Jewel greeted her.

Merryhoof quickly shot a glance inside the house before turning back to Jewel. “What are you doing here? Do you know how worried your father has been lately?”

“I need to talk to him,” he said firmly.

“No way!” She hissed, “why now of all possible days? And why is your father so worried about her suddenly? She’s finally gone, Jewel! You two should be celebrating.”

“But she’s not gone to us, Merry!” He retorted, his eyes unable to withstand the pressure much longer, “please… I— … really…. Really need to see him. It’s important.”

“Why is it so important? Need I remind you how upset your father was when you left him?”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Jewel said, “but I couldn’t stand being this close to her, I wanted to feel like she was a distant memory. But now I realized how wrong I was.”

Merryhoof looked at him surprised, finally noticing the imprint left by his mother when she strangled him.

“You’ve met her…”

“Please, Merry,” Jewel pleaded, “let me talk to him.”

Merry hesitated, unable to tell what she should do. Then she sighed.

“Alright,” she said defeated, “come in, we can’t have you outside during the night.”

“Thank you, Merry.”

“Don’t mention it, just please make sure she won’t come here later.”

“She won’t,” Jewel assured her, “she has other matters to attend to.”

He went into the big dark room full of couches used by the patrons to relax while they got their hooves done. Merry sat him at one of the couches that had a table between them.

“Sit here,” she ordered, “I will tell Brighthoof upstairs and make you guys some tea.”

“I think you should bring wine.”

“Oof… it’s that bad?”

“It will make the words flow better, if you get what I mean.”

“I understand completely,” she said smiling while she took the stairs to their apartment.

Not long after came the sound of frantic steps going downstairs.

The pony that came into Jewel’s view was a tall yet lanky beige stallion, on his head rested a blue mane carefully taken care of. His cutie mark was that of a hoof clipper.

“It’s you,” he said when he noticed Jewel sitting on the couch, “It’s really you!”

Jewel accepted his fathers embrace, barely holding his tears back.

“Oh Jewel,” Brighthoof cried, “my little Jewel, it’s so good to see you. But what are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to start a new life in Ponyville?”

Jewel couldn’t stop himself anymore. “I’ve talked to her dad,” he said in between sobs, “I’ve talked to her…”

Brighthoof’s eyes narrowed in fear at the mere mention of Heartstrings. But his love for his son was greater than any fear.

“Shh-shh, it’s alright, I’m here” he whispered to Jewel’s ear, “we’ll get through this together.”

Brighthoof tightened his embrace on his son and patted his back. Yet he couldn’t hide the fact that his hooves were shaking.

“You’ve read the news , dad!” Jewel wept, “we both know she—… she got herself caught on purpose!”

“What did she tell you, Jewel?”

“She—… she decided it was time for her to retire, dad.”

Brighthoof’s eyes widened in understanding.

“How long until she does it?” He asked.

“She gave me four months.”

“Gave you?”

“Uh-huh,” Jewel confirmed, “she decided to tell me in more detail about the curse to give me a false sense of hope. She dared me to try to find a way to break the curse.”

“We will have to try, Jewel! We can’t let her have the last laugh!”

“But that’s what she wants!”

“So what? Are you going to just let the curse overtake you?”

Jewel sniffed. “No.”

“So we will have to try to stop it! I have access to the Starswirl Library, I’m sure we can find something that may help us. Nothing is set in stone yet. Four months is plenty of time to research whatever we need.”

Those words managed to inspire hope in Jewel. If his father was sure they can do it, then the least he could do was try.

“Thanks, dad.”

They were interrupted by Merryhoof approaching them with a crate of wine balancing on her back.

“I think you guys should let me in on what happened,” she said with a determined voice, “I only know of her existence and her involvement in Jewels birth but other than that I’m still in the dark! Why is her finally facing justice such a bad thing?”

Brighthoof and Jewel looked at each other before nodding in unspoken agreement.

“Give me a bottle and I’ll tell you what happened today,” Jewel said, “after which, I think we need a plan…”

Author's Note

I hope I didn’t go overboard while writing the mother. Though I must say it has been a lot of fun.

I also hope I managed to make you hate her as much as I do.

Chapter 4: How Magic Flows

“Aaaaand that should do it,” Applejack said while holding up a wall. “Yer turn, Jewel!”

Jewel obediently levitated a lot of nails to the designated spots. He then proceeded to conjure a magical crystal that started to hammer the nails down, keeping the wall connected.

That was the last repair needed to be done after the events regarding a certain pink mare and a magic puddle from two days ago. Luckily, Pinkie was never the kind of pony to commit property damage with her shenanigans, but when a hundred of Pinkies appeared at once, something was bound to break.

There was enough work for Jewel to ask Applejack for help with the repairs; without her, it would have taken a lot longer.

“Seriously, I’ll never stop being amazed at the physical abilities of earth-ponies!” Jewel exclaimed. “What would Equestria do without you?”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” AJ replied. “Yer magic is mighty useful too. Ah’m pretty sure ya would manage without me.”

“Not really… Most unicorns learn basic telekinesis when they are still babies—it’s one of the most common types of spells. But even the most experienced mages have problems with multitasking.”

“Ya sayin’ ya can’t do more spells than one?”

“I can, but it requires a lot of focus and a clear image in my mind.” He used a levitation spell on a rock nearby. “When it’s a non-living object, it’s easy, I just need to imagine the movement I want it to do. But with a living object like a pony or animal, I need to be careful to not restrict their movement too much, or they may end up with broken bones.

“Imagine your body, coat, and bones being pulled in every direction at once. As an unicorn, you need to consider any erratic movement the object you control may make and lessen your spell accordingly.”

“Ah see,” AJ exclaimed. “That does sound as complicated as makin’ Zap Apple Jam. Is that why Twilight decided to showcase this spell to Saddle Arabian Royalty?”

“Yes.” Jewel nodded. “She wants to show her mastery in magic by performing coordinated levitation with a group of different animals. I’ll be honest, it’s quite scary for me to think about it.

“Twilight needs to not only levitate the animals, she also needs to adjust the spell accordingly to each animal while making sure they are not in any discomfort. That takes a lot of focus.”

“Ya think she’ll manage?” she asked.

“Definitely! She is one of the best mages I know of.”

Jewel looked at the wall they had put up. He liked repairing damages; it felt like he was repenting for all of the atrocities done by his ancestors.

“I think that’s it,” Jewel said, taking out a small bag. “Here is your share of the earnings, AJ. It would be a pain to do this alone.”

“Ya can call me anytime, Jewel.” She took the small bag full of bits from him. “It’s always nice doin’ business with ya.”

“Same with you,” he said while they both went to their homes. “Have a nice day!”

The week had been very busy for Jewel. A plumbing problem here, a broken table leg there, and a few locks jamming. He had almost no time to research the curse, but it wasn’t clear if that was a good or bad thing.

He went home for his lunch break. He wondered if he should close shop early to spend more time working with Twilight. He hadn’t had the time to talk with her lately because of all the work he had, not to mention that she also had her life to live.

Now that he thought about it… Twilight did seem troubled ever since she came back from the Crystal Empire. Maybe it was something she saw in the cursed doorway she mentioned? He wasn’t sure.

A knock on the door brought him back to reality. He hadn’t expected visitors…

He opened the door to see a grey pegasus with a beige mane in front of him. She hovered about a meter above ground, swaying up and down a little with each beat of her wings.

“Hii, Brom”—she spoke sluggishly, as if she were partly in a dream—“I have an order for youuu.”

“Oh… hi, Derpy,” Jewel said. “Are you sure it’s for me?”

“Yes… it’s written here that you ordered some supplies from Appleloosa.” She pointed to a cart she parked close by. It was predominantly filled with applewood but luckily the ponies in Appleloosa had some spare sheets of pine wood they could sell.

“Huh, that was quite fast,” he said. “I ordered them on Monday. Didn’t expect them to come this soon.”

He quickly signed the papers to prove he received the order. Derpy took a peek at his signature and squinted her eyes.

“Uhm… Brom, why did youuu write ‘Jewelled Hoof’ here?” she asked.

“Ah, yes… you see, my name wasn’t Brom to begin with. It has been something of an alias. I will sign all of my papers like this from now on. The Mayor has been informed about it already.”

“Ooooh, that explains this one letter I got from Canterlot!” She started to look through her post bag.

“The receiver was supposed to be a certain ‘Jewelled Hoof’. Didn’t know that was youuu. Now where did I put it?” She quickly rummaged through the bag again before her eyes widened in realization.

“Oh noo! I think I left it at the office. Give me a moment and I will find it.”

“Don’t worry.” Jewel tried to reassure her while transporting the goods inside his workshop with magic. “I will see it once I come back from Twilight’s library.”

“Oh nooo, that won’t dooo!” she said. “It was paid extra to make sure youuu received it in person! I’ll bring it as soon as possible!” And then she took off.

Jewel shook his head, smiling. Derpy was a very particular pony to know. She may be clumsy from time to time and make some mistakes, but she was very reliable, and he liked that about her. Also, her conduct made her seem to be carefree.

He quickly stored his supplies and finished eating lunch before he took off towards Twilight’s library.

Twilight eyed the doll that sat in the middle of the room. It was her practice dummy she made with the exact purpose to simulate enchanting a living being. The insides were full of delicate material like hollowed out sticks to simulate bones.

She tried to imagine holding the doll like she would a newborn foal, focusing on the image in her mind as she let the magic flow.

Slowly, the doll rose in the air. Its mass held up by its upper appendages making it seem as if it was hanging on them.

Come on…. Come ooon!

Suddenly the doll stopped ascending and Twilight felt a wave of relaxed control get over her. She could now freely move the doll however she pleased.

“Damn it!” She cursed, the doll dropping limp on the ground. “I’ll never get it right!”

“Oh, what happened?” Spike asked, “it looked like you were doing great!”

“No, Spike! I lost focus again!” She let out an exasperated cry, this spell wasn’t something she could just read in a journal and almost immediately get it right. A spell like turning an apple into an orange was specifically crafted to be stiff and unbending. Only requiring a certain flowing pattern of magic.

This meant the caster needed to be a bit forceful with their magic output but it also granted greater chance of success. Meanwhile telekinesis on living beings needed to be flexible in order to not damage the one levitated.

“But… What do you mean? It flew! You definitely could’ve kept going!”

“I could, yes.” —She sighed— “but it would be disastrous if the doll were a living being.”

“So… what went wrong?”

Twilight thought for a moment. The spell worked well enough for her to allow the subject to levitate. The problem arose when she tried to move or rotate the subject, after which she lost control and the telekinesis took over the body of the doll, considering it one singular object and not a living being.

“I think,” she started. “That my approach was wrong. I tried imagining myself holding it with my own hooves but the moment I tried to rotate it, I couldn’t keep the focus anymore. Have you tried rotating a foal upside down while holding it?”

“Can’t say I have…”

“Me neither,” she answered matter of factly. “It would be dangerous and difficult. But how else am I supposed to be holding it? By the legs? I’d risk ripping them off!”

“Looks like you are in quite a dilemma, Twilight.” Said a voice behind her.

Twilight turned to the one who spoke, only to find a blue unicorn at her door step.

“Jewel?” —She looked at the clock.— “You’re early.”

“There was no more work to be done,” Jewel explained stepping inside.
“Of course I will need to sort out a few things, considering my supply order came earlier than expected but it can wait for tomorrow.”

He glanced at the doll that soured Twilight's mood. It was mostly made out of loosely connected straw and hollow sticks. The paint used for its black eyes was the only adhesive substance used in its construction.

“That reminds me,”—he shot Twilight a playful smirk— “about a certain event regarding an enchanted doll—“

“Don’t make me regret telling you this story, Jewel!” Twilight warned him trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Alright, alright,” he conceded, still smiling. “So, what exactly is it you are struggling with?”

She sighed. “I don’t know what to do with the spell. Whenever I try to rotate the subject or use any other complex movements, I lose focus and the spell takes over the subject.”

She gazed at the doll with frustration. “I have been experimenting with it all day and the only thing I have to show for it is a headache!”

Suddenly a low rumble sound from Twilight’s stomach, making her flustered.

“Did she eat anything today?” Jewel asked Spike, who shook his head in response. Sighing, Jewel took out a daisy sandwich out of his work bag. “I thought something like that may happen. Here, take it. I insist.”

“Thank you.” She reluctantly took a bite out of the sandwich, her face relaxing before she took another one. She quickly devoured it, surprised at how hungry she actually was.

“I really needed that.” She sighed.

“You should probably slow down with your training,” Jewel said. “I speak from experience when I say that overly worrying about a timeline will make things harder. Take things slow enough to be making progress, but not so fast you forget to do your chores.”

“So you do remember the academy!” She teased, remembering her teacher who had said the exact same thing back when she was a filly. Twilight and Jewel had a lot of conversations about the academy days lately, but considering that Jewel had left before finishing his studies, he had missed a lot of stuff in the later grades.

Jewel looked at her playfully offended, but before he could give a retort Spike butted in in the conversation. “But he’s not wrong, you know? You should take a break from time to time, Twilight.”

“I know, I know.” She turned to look at the doll. “But I still want to figure out what I’m doing wrong… there has to be a trick to it.”

“You won’t rest until you find out?” Jewel asked.

“Or until it gets late.” She explained. Jewel and Spike looked at each other knowingly, before sighing defeated in unison.

“Alright,” Jewel said smiling, “what was your approach until now?”

Twilight looks at him thankfully. Of all unicorns in Ponyville, Jewel was the only one she could discuss magic with. True, Rarity taught her the Gem Search, but it was mostly during Twilight's phase when she was obsessed with learning a wide array of spells, until she realized that there were too many spells for her to learn in her entire life.

So she turned her focus to learning theory in order to manipulate her magic on the fly.

Each unicorn has the ability to use the magic that is present in the world. Of course the way they choose to visualize its flow is different to each and every one of them.

Twilight usually imagines her magic to be a sentence she writes in a book. A string of commands that explicitly tell the magic what it’s supposed to do. This however doesn’t work on spells that need constant adaptation and visualization of a task, like telekinesis.

That’s also why there is a constant need for spell books. They are full of guides and instructions on proper visualizations and required state of mind to perform a certain spell.

“Well,” Twilight said. “I have been trying to imagine holding the doll myself.”

Jewel looked at the doll with a thoughtful expression. “This might have allowed you to safely pick up the doll, but doing any complex movements like this would be nigh impossible.”

“So, what should be the right approach?” Spike asked.

“Preferably something that allows the movement of the center of mass freely without it gravely affecting the body. Something secure to hook your mind to.” Jewel answered.

“That’s what I was thinking too,” Twilight said. “I need some kind of safety measure in order to protect the object I’m holding.”

Suddenly Jewel lit up with realization. “I know! What if you imagine the object is wearing a vest?”

Spike and Twilight looked at each other in confusion. “A… Vest?” Spike asked.

“Yes! Or a harness. Just like the ones skydivers usually wear. They wrap around you upper half of your body and hold firm. If you for example manage to imagine using magic on something like that, then moving objects it’s attached to shouldn’t be an issue.”

“But Jewel, I’m not using magic on a harness. I’m using it on a living being!” Twilight pointed out.

“You just have to imagine they wear one. You can start preparing yourself for it by asking Rarity to make a vest for the doll and training with it, after which you can try without it when you are feeling prepared.”

“You are saying that instead of imagining holding the doll myself, I should try imagining I’m moving a non-existent vest attached to the object?”

“Exactly!” Jewel answered proudly.

Spike scratched his head. “That sounds crazy enough to work.”

“Trust me, there are as many ways to use telekinesis as there are unicorns.”

“That’s true, but it still seems… off to me.” Twilight said.

Twilight had no experience layering her telekinesis in such a way. What was she supposed to move exactly? Make the air condense and move it instead?

No. That wouldn’t work. How can she move something that doesn’t exist? This required further research.

Unfortunately for her, fate decided to put an end to their discussion by making a gray pegasus crash land through the door.

“Derpy!” Everyone called out and rushed to help the delivery pony on her hooves.

“Oh, Hiii Jewel!” She said in her usual slow, but cheerful tone. “I found the letter I was supposed to deliver to youuu.”

“Well, that’s one way to deliver mail,” he chuckled awkwardly while taking the letter with his magic. “Are you alright, Derpy?”

“Oooh, I feel greaaat,” she chuckled a bit to herself. “I’ve been through worse while working in the weather factoryyy.”

“Was that where you got the eyes?” Spike said, which earned him an annoyed glance from Jewel.

“Nooo, I got those during flight school when I was a filly. Luckily they don’t affect my vision or else I would never be allowed to fly agaaain.” She finally noticed the state Twilight’s door was in. “Uuuh, sooorry about your dooor, Twilight.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m used to this. Also, I can always ask Jewel to repair it.”

“About that,” Jewel said, he was done reading the letter. “You might want to ask AJ to help you with it. Derpy, did you also receive a package together with this letter?”

“Oooh, yeaaah. I almost forgot, I actually brought it with me. Give me a moment.” She started rummaging through her bag.

“Why not?” Spike asked, intrigued. “Did something important come up, Jewel? Like that time you took off to Canterlot?”

“You could say that,” Jewel said, taking the package Derpy handed to him. “It looks like I’m gonna have to pay a visit to the Crystal Empire.”

Chapter 5: Ponder

Jewel looked outside the window. The tapestry of Equestrian landmarks passed by while he sat still waiting for the train to take him to his destination.

But he didn’t care for the view. He was bothered thinking about Twilights judgmental expression when he boarded the train a few hours ago. Of course he knew why.

Twilight knew something was wrong with him. And Jewel was consistently pushing her away, keeping his troubles as far from her and her friends as he could. It wasn’t a battle they could fight.

He looked through his bag taking out the most important things for the venture. Two letters and a book. One of the letters was from Twilight; she asked him to deliver it to her brother who apparently was the general of the Canterlotian guards, who were sent as back-up to the Empire. Apparently his task was to revive the Crystal Guard. He didn’t understand why Twilight had asked him to deliver it instead of giving it to the post. Did she want to save money? No, that didn’t fit Twilight.

She probably wanted them to meet. But for what purpose?

He stashed Twilight’s letter away, before he opened the second letter. That one was from his parents, delivered to him by Derpy the previous day. It did have the seal, notifying the delivery pony that they had paid extra for a special deal.

It was the third time he was reading it.

“Hi, Little Jewel!

We hope this letter finds you well.
The days have been quite busy for us. Yes, we are still looking for clues in Canterlot but the Saloon has been pretty full recently—not to mention your mothers weakened state.

She’s doing alright—she’d be offended if you thought otherwise. But between you and me, we know she isn’t as fit as she used to be. I’m doing my best to secretly keep her away from the more exhausting tasks.

We met your old therapist. She was wondering how you are holding up. We informed her that you are much better off than when you started. She seemed relieved to hear that.

Well, that’s all I have to say about our situation. We found the book that mentions Blackheart, which is the main reason we sent you this letter.

He was apparently a duke in Canterlot, before he was sent as a delegation to the Crystal Empire. Their goal was to welcome the new ruler of the Crystal Empire and to ensure lasting alliance with him.

Canterlot has lost contact with them for two years, which urged the princesses to travel to the empire for themselves. They found out about King Sombra’s tyranny, which urged them to rid him of his physical form and banish him below the ice.

It’s not really known what happened to the delegation, but the book says that the most accepted theory is that they died.

There is only this much I can say in the letter, but I bought the book for you so you can study it for yourself. I was never as good at those detective games as you are. We know, you will probably be fine on your own, but we are still worried.

You told us about this magician friend of yours in Ponyville. You should probably tell them about the curse, their insight will most likely be useful. I know you don’t want to bring outsiders to this issue but you can’t fight every war on your own, Jewel. You have to be ready to accept help.

We plan on visiting you in Ponyville before your mother gets too weak to travel. We need to spend some time together, it might make you feel better.

With love
Your parents Brighthoof and Merryhoof

P.S Be careful, my little Jewel.”

Jewel smiled. A warm feeling overcame his heart, before he stashed the letter safely back inside his bag. Then he took out the book his parents sent him together with the letter.

It was a big, red leather-bound book. Golden lines decorated the edges while also making up the title of One Thousand Years of History by P.V. Heart. Pretty generic title in Jewels opinion. He read it the night before right after he came back from Twilight’s library.

The author’s name made him a bit uneasy. It was not impossible for it to be written by one of his ancestors, but it also may have been a random pony who happened to share a name with his family. Lyra was a good example of that. Her surname was Hearstrings, but Jewel was sure Lyra was not related to his mother.

What if Lyra is related to Heartstrings?
That would explain how she managed to get her Anthropology books.

She probably got lucky with the buyer. There are a lot of ponies who sell old books without realizing their value.

It’s highly unlikely; these books are infamous.
Even more than Fillyta.

Fillyta is only controversial because not everyone has the literacy to read a story about abuse, from the perspective of the abuser. Noboclop was a genius who managed to write a compelling story about the mental gymnastics needed for the main character to try to justify his awful actions. This story was made to make you feel uncomfortable, and it succeeded.

You are oddly defensive about it.

It’s because I can see the intent behind the book.

He looked down at One Thousand Years of History. The book may not have been as controversial as Fillyta, but it was really close. From what he found out, Blackheart was a duke in Canterlot 1000 years ago. The book itself wasn’t very helpful in explaining what was happening in the Crystal Empire, but he knew it was impossible for Blackheart to have died while imprisoned by Sombra. The book explicitly stated he had no heirs when he was sent as a delegation.

But the book still intrigued Jewel. Not for the history, but for the author's own agenda. They definitely had some unhealthy obsession with dark magic. Almost a third of the entire book was him rambling on about the philosophy and techniques of those forbidden spells—not to mention his weird fascination with King Sombra.

This is why this book is banned from academic discussions. Celestia would never allow her subjects to learn this dangerous magic.

It corrupts. She was afraid of a second Sombra.

I wonder what happened to the author… having written something like this would really mess up his public image.

Not every mystery is yours to discover.

Jewel looked out the window. The northern mountains rose from the horizon. His train would arrive soon at the hoof of the Crystal Empire. It’s true not every mystery was meant to be discovered, but he hoped he would get sufficient answers from the Empire.

It had been stuck in time for thousands of years, which meant the information he would find there would be from that time.

“Any snacks, good sir?”

Jewel turned to the gray stallion tending to the snack cart. He bore a professional smile hiding his actual emotions, but his eyes seemed troubled. Jewel noticed an empty bag hung close to the pony to discourage anyone from stealing. Not that there was anything to steal.

“What do you have?” He decided to humor the salespony.

The pony sighed, relieved to make at least one sale that day. “Well, we have some daisy sandwiches, candy and our most popular item, Heartsies.”

“What are those?”

“Oh, they are little, heart-shaped choc—”

Little heart

Little heart.

Little heart!

A dark corridor of stone.

The sounds of hooves hitting the tunnel floor.

She is walking right behind you.

Watching. Smiling.

The cold, still air makes you shiver.

A waking nightmare.

Where neither the sun nor moon could reach.

You go up the labyrinth of horrors.

Up, up and up.

Before reaching the door.

This was an execution.

It opened, releasing a tsunami of blood.

Drowning you.

You can’t breathe.

She’s still watching!

She’s still smiling!

All while your lungs fill with blood.

You wish it was yours.

But the terror you feel, is the only thing you truly own.

Calling to you…

.
.

“Sir? Sir! Are you alright?” The salespony looked at Jewel, distraught.

Jewel gasped. His chest burned as if he had run a marathon. Cold sweat flowed down his cheeks and his heart beat irregularly. He looked around in panic.

He was still on the train. The visions were gone, at least for the time being. He looked at the salespony.

The poor guy didn’t know what to do with the situation. He watched Jewel confused and worried.

“E-excuse me?” Jewel asked.

“Are you alright, sir?” The pony repeated.

No, he was not. He could still taste the iron on his tongue. It had been such a long time since it had last happened. He had worked hard to suppress the demons inside and all he could do was forget.

“Y-yes, I’m alright. Thank you,” he lied while turning his gaze at the snack cart. “Say… how much for ten packs of chocolate?”

Chapter 6: The Scars of an Empire

“Is this some kind of joke?!” Thornbush shouted at the confused guards. “What does it mean not eligible for military aid?!” He fanned the letter in the air with his magic.

“Please keep calm, sir.” A brown guard tried to de-escalate the situation. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Problem? You barbarians are trying to close my shop for good, that’s the problem! Without the program, I won’t survive until I refill my stock!”

“Please, sir. We can talk this out without shouting.” The second guard, who had a white coat, looked around at the Crystal ponies staring at the commotion. “May we know what business you own? There has to be a mistake.”

“Of course there has to be!” Thornbush agreed. “The flowers won’t bloom for another three months! How am I supposed to gain any profit when my shop is at a standstill?! You better tell me why I have been denied military aid!”

“Sir, we have limited supplies at the moment,” said the brown guard, who got worried looks shot at from his partner, “we are trying our best to help as many businesses as possible, which means we had to exclude a few that got deemed low-risk.”

The white guard facehooved at his partner’s insensitivity. Of course, Thornbush reacted with fury at his audacity. “What?!” He shouted, “Preposterous! I can’t do any business for the next few months, and you have the gall to call it low-risk?”

A small crowd was forming in the distance, trying to stay close enough to hear the conversation yet far enough to not get caught up in it. A fact both of the guards and Thornbush were well aware of.

“Forgive my partner, sir,” the white guard tried to apologize. “He didn’t mean to—“

“If flowers are the problem,” the brown guard interrupted him, “then why not speed up their growth with magic?” The white guard cringed at this. “I’m sure a skilled gardener like you knows how to do it.”

“What?!” Thornbush screamed. “Are you serious? Has your mother not taught you any common sense? I wouldn’t be surprised if she were ashamed of raising such a brute! If my father were still alive, he would discipline you back to the academy days! You foul-mouthed dung-eater!

“Alright, what is going on here?” A voice spoke up from behind the crowd, who gave way to a pegasus mare. She walked past them with royal grace and elegance, and approached Thornbush with a calm smile.

“Ah, Rosefeather!” Thornbush exclaimed. “Thank goodness you’re here, could you please knock some sense to your… friends from the palace? They think I can just will my flowers to bloom!”

Rosefeather looked at Thornbush smiling softly, before turning her head to the guards. “What seems to be the problem?”

The white guard silenced his partner with his hoof before answering. “An unhappy business owner, Ma’am. It looks like the general decided his shop did not require aid.”

Rosefeather nodded, ignoring the scoffs coming from Thornbush. “I’ll take care of it, boys. You can continue your shift.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.” He looked angrily at his brown partner. “We should probably report this incident to the general.”

The brown guard looked at his partner in confusion, before being pushed by him to continue their patrol. Rosefeather turned to Thornbush, who watched the guards angrily, and smiled.

“Rough day?” She asked, trying to sound empathetic.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Thornbush handed her the letter. It had an official stamp of the head of the guard. She opened it to read it while also listening to the complaints of Thornbush. “Like, seriously! We return from… whatever that place was, and then they come to protect us while being completely useless when Sombra attacked! I tell you, if the Sisters hadn't intervened, we would have gotten rid of Sombra by ourselves!”

“And how many more would perish then?” Rosefeather asked, silencing Thornbush for good. “Listen, I know you are on edge. We all are! But lashing out on some guards on patrol is not going to improve your situation.”

He scoffed. “Easy for you to say, Miss I-returned-to-the-castle!”

“This is a low blow, even for you.” She retorted with a calm demeanor. “Listen, this has to be a mistake. I had a talk about the program with the general, and he agreed that businesses like yours are the most vulnerable. I’m sure it can be resolved in a matter of days, if I bring this issue to his attention.”

“You would do that for me?” Thornbush asked, now ashamed of his own rudeness.

“Of course!” She smiled. “I’m also dependent on your rosestone tulips, remember?”

“Oh, yeah!” His gaze turned to something else, as if he was remembering something distant. “Forgive me, it has been such a long time since I could grow flowers.”

“I know, old friend. I know.” Rosefeather guided him to a bench they could sit on. “How’s Rosie? Still an adventurous mare, I guess.”

Thornbush laughed. “She couldn’t stop asking the Canterlotians about the outside world. Have you heard of this Train station that has been built?”

“Yeah, the princess mentioned it was part of a transfer program they have planned. What about it?”

“Nothing of value to me. But Rosie was enamored by the wild tales they told her. I’d say, at least half of them were false. She begged and begged, until I said Fine! and gave her some bits so she could buy a ticket to Canterlot for a few days.”

“You let her travel? Alone?” Rosefeather said with an exaggerated gasp. “Who are you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Thornbush waved at her dismissively. “Laugh all you want. I’m sure you would be as anxious if you had a foal on your own. Especially after the last five years.”

“That’s exactly why I’m surprised, my friend.” She teased him. “I thought after all of that, you would never let her out of your sight ever again. What changed?”

“A lot, Rosefeather,” Thornbush sighed, his head hanging down. “A lot.”

Rosefeather looked at Thornbush worriedly. “Is it about Sapphire?” She asked.

“No, no,” Thornbush immediately crossed his legs in front of him in denial. “I would never have anything against your brother, Rosefeather. I owe him my life, just like everyone else. That whole situation was all Rosie’s decision, and I’ve learned to respect that.”

“Then what’s the problem?” She pushed. “You are not acting like yourself.”

Thornbush sighed again. “Everything’s changed, Rosefeather. Nothing’s like it used to be. The value of bits dropped. And I’ve realized that I can’t protect Rosie forever.”

“So it is about Sapphire?” Rosefeather said.

“Not exactly,” Thornbush conceded. “Anypony could’ve done it. After Rosie volunteered I realized… She's an adult. I can’t watch over her shoulder her entire life. Not if I want her to be happy.”

Rosefeather rested her hoof on Thornbush’s shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. “I’m glad you finally realized this. She has grown into a wonderful mare, and her talents would’ve been wasted if you put her in your shop.”

“I know that now,” He smiled at Rosefeather. “Thanks for supporting her when I didn’t. I believe she’s capable of making her own decisions now, and there are worse role models to follow than Sapphire.”

Rosefeather smiled at her friend. “How long has it been since we could just… sit down and talk?”

“Woah,” Thornbush exclaimed in realization. “Honestly, I don’t remember the last time we did that.”

“I think I had tea at your place,” she tried to remember. “After Tulip Leaf invited me.” Her eyes widened in realization and she turned to Thornbush apologetically. “I’m sorry, I—“

“It’s alright, Rosefeather,” Thornbush smiled at her, yet his eyes were filled with sorrow. “I doesn't matter anymore. I just have to make the best of what I have.”

They sat there in silence for a moment. Watching how the crystal ponies went about their business, as they embraced the peace they wished for so long. However, Rosefeather still felt bitter bile in her throat.

“He’s not a traitor,” Rosefeather said firmly, surprising Thornbush.

“What?”

“What you said about there being worse role models than Sapphire,” she elaborated with a serious look. “I know what you tried to imply, he’s not a traitor.”

“Hot Hammer was the closest to Sombra and his pupil,” Thornbush retorted. “And he was the only one who benefited from his rule.”

“He’s a smith! It made him a perfect pawn for Sapphire’s plans.”

“Oh, really? How can you two be so certain he didn’t leak information to gain favor?” Thornbush jerked back when Rosefeather suddenly turned to him.

“He’s the reason most of our operations worked out. If Sombra found out, who do you think would be the first to taste his wrath?” She hissed.

Thornbush contested her gaze for a moment, before sighing in defeat and turning his head to look down the street. He thought of a way to move the conversation along. To retaliate or maybe even to change the subject. Yet before he could come up with anything, he noticed a crowd running up the street towards them.

“Rosefeather,” he said in concern. “You see this?”

Rosefeather followed his gaze down the street to the crowd. “Yes, I see it.”

“What do you think happened?” He asked.

“Whatever it is,” Rosefeather said squinting her eyes. “I have a bad feeling about it.”

They watched as the group came closer and closer, until Rosefeather could make out the individual ponies. She squinted her eyes in surprise when she recognized the pony leading the group. The mare leading the herd noticed them as well and immediately changed course straight for them.

“Is that,” Thornbush started, standing up. “Rosie? What is going on?”

“Rosefeather!” Rosie exclaimed once she got to them and caught her breath. “Where’s Sapphire? We have an emergency!”

“He is probably still on his shift. Why? What happened?” Rosefeather looked at the gathered crowd and their eyes filled with distress.

“Rose Thorn said she saw the Demon’s Disciple!” Said someone from the crowd.

“What?!” Rosefeather and Thornbush exclaimed in unison.

“Are you sure, Rosie?” Rosefeather asked the gasping mare, grasping her by her shoulders.

“I wasn’t more sure my entire life!” She said.

“But how can that be?” Thornbush wondered. “He wasn’t with us when we returned from limbo!”

“Maybe he was, but was unaffected by the after effects?” Someone else wondered. “He could have escaped when he realized Sombra was loosing!”

“Enough!” A mare from the crowd shouted. “It doesn’t matter how he came back! What are we supposed to do now?”

Everyone turned to look at Rosefeather. Even Thornbush waited to hear what she was going to say. Rosefeather froze, her mind racing through the possibilities. What would Sapphire do?

“Alright!” She called after a moment. “This calls for protocol Burrow. Who lives on the north wing?” A few hooves rose up. “Good, you will go and inform the key locations about the protocol, on the north. Tell everypony about the situation!”

“Even the guards?” Asked one of them.

“Of course not!” Thornbush exclaimed. “They will only stand in the way!”

Rosefeather shot her friend a scornful look. “Tell the guards to convene at the Crystal Heart. Once I tell Sapphire about the situation, it will be only a matter of time before the whole guard gets mobilized. Now, who lives on the west wing?”

She repeated the question for the rest of the cardinal directions, making sure everyone was aware of their part in the protocol. She then dismissed them and the selected ponies scattered to spread the message.

“What should we do?” Thornbush asked hugging his daughter.

“You should evacuate like everyone else.” Rosefeather answered. “You remember the way to the meeting point, right?”

Thornbush nodded, but Rose Thorn seemed on edge. “What about you?”

“As I stated before, I have to inform my brother. He’s the only one who should explain everything to the general.”

“Then I’m going with you.” Rose Thorn said with determination. “I want to help him.”

“Sweetheart, I know you want to prove yourself, but this is not the way to do it.” Rosefeather said.

“It’s not about me,” Rose Thorn elaborated. “It’s about Sapphire.”

Rosefeather smiled at her in defeat and shook her head. “Alright. Thornbush?”

“It’s her decision.” He said, his daughter looking at him with a hesitant smile.

Rosefeather nodded, remembering the talk they had just a moment ago. “Alright then, let’s go Rosie.”

Chapter 7: Protocol „Burrow”

“What’s on your mind, Firm Shield?” Sapphire Blade asked his partner, who had been mumbling to himself for the past hour.

“It’s nothing, Sapphire, sir,” he said, still fuming.

Sapphire chuckled and looked across the Plaza that housed the Crystal Heart. He and Firm Shield were stationed at one of the four entrances to the palace, allowing them a clear view of the Plaza right under it.

Sapphire could see the three other entrances, yet they were too far to hear Sapphire’s and Firm Shield’s conversation. Sapphire smiled. “The Canterlotians are quite a hoofful, aren’t they?”

“Who are they, to tell us how to guard the Heart?” Firm Shield exploded. “They come here and then have the audacity to assume they own the Empire!”

Sapphire looked up at the arch of the palace above them, eyes softening. “It may look like this, but we lost too many to resume our duties of the Crystal Guard. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to continue.”

“I know, Sapphire,” Firm Shield sighed. “But it’s really patronizing to have them command us. Especially you.”

Sapphire’s jaw clenched. “There are procedures, Firm Shield.”

“Do those procedures say your achievements mean nothing?” Firm Shield scoffed. “Listen Sapphire, I understand you want to make a good impression but why can’t you stand your ground this time?”

“Protecting what I love against Sombra is one thing,” he retorted. “But disobedience for a rank? No, this is a different kind of fight, Firm Shield.”

Firm Shield looked at him, biting his lips. “Disobedience seemed to be the one thing you were good at.”

“On Amora’s love, Firm Shield!” Sapphire cursed. “The rules changed! Sombra is no more! The resistance succeeded! We can finally live at peace. I will get my rank when I prove myself, just as it should be.”

“But you already did prove yourself! You led us against Sombra! What more could the general want from you?”

“Obedience, Firm Shield!” Sapphire stomped to elevate his point. “He wants to be sure I can follow orders as well as I give them. Now, will you question my integrity any further, or can we finish the shift in peace?”

Firm Shield looked as if he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by a shout. “Sapphire!” It called.

They both turned towards the direction the shout came from to see Rosefeather and Rosie as they rapidly approached them.

“Rosefeather?” Sapphire wondered as he watched his sister getting closer. “What happened?” he asked, disturbed to see his sister so worked up.

“Rosie…” she spat, trying to catch her breath. “She said she saw the Demon’s Disciple!”

“What?” Firm Shield exclaimed. “But… how? It has been a thousand years!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sapphire stated. “Rosie, are you sure it was him?”

“As sure as I stand before you!” Rosie saluted.

Sapphire nodded in acknowledgment. “Then there is no time to waste!” He looked around, realizing the guards stationed on the other entrances were looking at them. “We have to evacuate the citizens as per Protocol Burrow. Maybe even inform the guards on patrol to convene at the Crystal Heart Plaza.”

“Already did that, brother of mine,” Rosefeather informed him. “I sent ponies to every sector to warn everyone, even made sure they told the guards to meet here.”

“What would I have done without you, sister?” Sapphire sighed.

“You’d probably still not know how to do your mane,” Rosefeather teased.

“Uhm… Sapphire?” Firm Shield started. “What is the next step?”

“Oh, right,” he said. “Rosefeather, find the princess. She is your responsibility; make the necessary precautions to keep her safe. Firm Shield, you stay here and wait for orders. Maybe even tell our Canterlotian friends already present here that we entered a state of emergency.”

Both Rosefeather and Firm Shield nodded and left to fulfill their respective orders, but Rosethorn seemed a little on edge. “What about me, sir?” she asked.

He looked at her scornfully in return. Her bright red coat reminded him of the blood they had seen shed. “You know damn well this mission is not for civilians.”

“You’ve sent me on much more dangerous expeditions,” she retorted. “Let me help. I know I am capable enough for it.”

Sapphire sighed. She was as stubborn as a donkey. “I’ll bring you to the general,” he relented. “He will decide if you can join, but then you need to respect his decision!”

Rosie nodded, and they both went up the staircase.

.
.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Jeweled Hoof walked on the diamond roads of the Crystal Empire, its surface almost glowing under the sun. Yet Jewel could not appreciate the beauty of the houses or the majesty of the palace in the distance.

No, he was unable to bask in the glory of that ancient history as it came back to life.

He looked around frantically, his step lacking any rhythm as he walked deeper into the city and closer to the center where the palace stood. The moment he left the station, he didn’t see anypony else. As if the city were abandoned all together.

He looked through the windows of a shop. He saw shelves lined up high on the wall full of pots and bags. Gardening tools neatly leaned on a wall, from small spades on a shelf, to rakes that stood tall.

Look at you! Peeping into someone else’s home.

It’s nothing like what Twilight said it would be. Where is everypony?

Maybe something terrible happened?
Maybe Sombra returned again…

Unlikely. The Crystal Heart should have neutralized his hate.

Then maybe it was her doing?

A shiver went down Jewels spine as he tightened his coat he brought with him. He didn’t like the implications of that.

No. The timing’s wrong. Even if she managed to send a scout, she wouldn’t be able to make much progress before she got detained.

She only needs a single pony here.
What makes you so sure she isn’t making progress right now?

Jewel looked around at the abandoned streets and buildings. The air was still, protected from the freezing winds outside the magical border.

It’s just easier to hope you are right, than to worry about something you can’t control.

He looked at the palace in the distance, a beacon of hope and a promise for the future, containing the most powerful singular artifact of Equestria. From what Twilight told him, the elements of harmony may be just as powerful, but to use them effectively, they have to be united. Meanwhile, the Crystal Heart gains its power from the unity of others.

Jewel was lost in thought for a moment. Wasn’t friendship just another form of love? Then why was Twilight differentiating those two from each other? What was the difference?

Then Jewel remembered the changeling attack. A race of intelligent creatures who feasted on love, attacking Canterlot on one of the most joyous days. He himself didn’t participate, but he heard everything from Twilight and her friends.

However, there was one detail that ticked him off.

Changelings got more powerful the more love they absorbed. How did they defeat them using love? Wouldn’t that just make them stronger, allowing them to retaliate?

Maybe they didn’t use love?

No… I think it was exactly that. Magic gets easily influenced by feelings; love for another being can fuel a spell to incredible heights. That power is what changelings feed on, which means once you use it, they can absorb it for their own gain.

He spent quite a while thinking about it. The pieces didn’t seem to fit. As if there were something more to the story.

Jewel shook his head, realizing he trailed off again. The mystery could wait. More urgently, he needed to focus on the task in front of him.

The ancient past of the Crystal Empire.

.
.

Shining Armor was pacing around his office, Sapphire Blade and Rosethorn watching him intently. “This is very troubling,” he said. Of course defeating Sombra was not the end, nothing was ever that easy. “Why is this the first time I’ve heard of it?”

“Many reasons, sir.” Sapphire stood stiff while holding his hoof over his heart, a salute of the crystal guard Shining Armor read about in the Empires Archives. “At first, it was the collective amnesia caused by our banishment. There have also been no signs that the Disciple has returned with us so we hoped that he died.” Sapphire glanced at the red mare accompanying him. “There are also many who don’t trust the canterlotian guard, which might be the main reason.”

Shining Armor sighed. Forging positive relations with the locals has been a hard task ever since Cadance took over the Empire. And Sombra’s invasion only worsened his reputation with the folk.

“Is there anything else I have to know?” He asked, massaging his forehead. The mare adjusted her footing and looked at Sapphire, something the general noticed.
“Well there is this rumor…” she started, but stopped when Sapphire looked at her intently.

“What rumor?” Shining Armor looked between them.

“There has been a rumor circulating around soon before we have been banished,” Sapphire explained. “It says that there may have been a traitor among us, who was sending information to Sombra about the rebellion.”

Shining Armor started pacing again. “So you're telling me that there is someone cooperating with this… Demon’s Disciple, you called him?”

Sapphire Blade shook his head. “Negative, sir. If there was someone who leaked information, Sombra would use it to his advantage long ago.”

Shining Armor nodded. “It still leaves the issue with allocating our resources.” He looked down at the map of the Empire. “The catacombs, the palace and the surface. We don’t have enough guards to patrol all of them, especially over an extended period of time.”

“Didn’t we get reinforcements from Canterlot, Sir?” Sapphire asked.

“Yes.” Shining Armor nodded. “But even with them we have only about 121 guards. Counting those that went for supplies to Canterlot, which leaves me with just over 100. Not enough to sweep the city for a single person.”

“Then maybe we don’t have to use the guards.” Shining Armor looked up to see his wife, Cadence, entering the office. She was closely followed by her maid, Rosefeather.

“What do you mean by that, honey?” He asked, his muscles relaxing.

Cadence approached Shining Armor and stood by his side looking down on the map. “As you said, we don’t have enough guards to look through the whole city for a single pony.” She looked up at Sapphire. “But what if we allowed the citizens to take care of it for themselves?”

“What?” Shining Armor exclaimed. “But we are supposed to protect them!”

“Yes, true.” She nodded. “However, Rosefeather just told me this idea of hers.” She motioned for Rosefeather to speak.

Rosefeather took a deep breath and looked towards the general. “As you know, your public image is not that favorable, general.” Shining Armor coughed, flustered by the comment. “I believe the main reason is your disregard for our customs, and a few decisions they deemed… disrespectful.”

“What are those decisions?”

“Even though your program to revitalize the empire's economy is very helpful, the ponies are not used to this kind of thing. Some refuse to take it all together, and more don’t know how to work with it. Our Empire cherishes love and cooperation above all else, and seeing some foreigners doing everything for us, is not only hurtful to our pride, but also seen as disrespectful.” She looked at Sapphire. “The last five years only strengthened our belief in those values, and it’s difficult for us to accept this radical change.”

Shining Armor scratched his chin in thought. “So you are saying I should rely more on the civilians?”

Rosefeather nodded. “We already created multiple emergency programs that utilize the whole Empire, not only the military. Sapphire here made a few of them himself in response to Sombra’s tyranny.” She approached the map. “Allow your guards to keep to their duties. To guard the castle and patrol the surface while you send someone knowledgeable and trusted by the public to look for the intruder.”

“I would say that someone is already here, won’t you agree, Shining Armor?” Cadence smiled at her husband.

“We’d have to inform the rest of the guard about the intruder,” he sighed. “It will take a while for the message to spread.”

“Actually, sir.” Rosethorn raised a hoof, which earned her a look from Sapphire. “The guards were told to come here. Informing them about the Demon’s Disciple should be easy.”

Shining Armor turned towards Sapphire, who was avoiding eye contact. “Sergeant Sapphire Blade, I thought we talked about this.”

Sapphire bowed his head and opened his mouth to respond, but Rosefeather spoke before he got the chance: “Actually, it was me who ordered for the guards to assemble. Sapphire only relayed the message.”

“And who allowed you to mobilize the guards without consulting me?” Shining Armor asked.

“Sir, with all due respect, I am the Royal Caretaker,” she replied. “My responsibilities lie in acting on behalf of the princess and when the need arises, to educate the new ruler on her own responsibilities. That said, I judged the situation to be dire and decided to take the necessary actions to protect the empire on behalf of the princess. I know you want to help the Empire general, but this is not Canterlot and you shall not treat it as such.”

Shining Armor looked at Rosefeather bewildered before turning towards Cadance wide eyed. “Yeah, she’s usually like this.” She laughed. “And I agree with her, we should rely on our subjects a little more.”

Shining Armor sighed. “Alright. Sapphire, I heard you are popular with the citizens. I’ll leave you in charge of catching the intruder, take whoever you need with you.”

“Even me?” Rosethorn asked.

Shining Armor studied the young mare. He finally realized that she was not part of the guard, even though her conduct rivaled that of a veteran. Peculiar, especially because she was younger than his sister. He turned towards Sapphire, raising an eyebrow.

“I can vouch for her abilities,” Sapphire said, as Rosethorn smiled with her chest held high. “She will be very useful.”

“Okay.” Shining Armor approached the door. “Let’s not delay any further!”
.
.

Author's Note

I will have to slow down with updating this story.

I will still work on the chapter on an off, but I will be mainly focusing on a writing challenge I have started. I don’t know how long it will take.

Jewel’s first Heartswarming Eve

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It’s too loud outside!

He hid underneath the blankets of the bed he was assigned to sleep in. The screaming and laughing outside brought him to the verge of tears. What kind of torture where they doing to force this much volume out of their slaves?

Stay inside! Don’t look!
If they don’t know about you, they won’t look for you!
Unless you want to experience this for yourself?

And thus he stayed, hiding from the horrors outside his safe place. Hoping the monsters would not find him. A knock on the door made him flinch and yelp, tears starting to form inside his eyes. He forced his eyes to remain closed—maybe if he couldn’t see it, he would also remain unseen.

Don’t look! Don’t move!

He heard the familiar screeching of the door, slowly opening before a familiar voice rang out from behind it. “Little Jewel?”

Slowly and cautiously, Jewel looked up from underneath his blanket. That was no monster, but a large pony. The one with a calming voice. With a coat the color of that cold food he was told was ‘vanilla ice cream’.

“P-papa?” he asked. For some reason, the colt insisted Jewel call him like that.

The colt came inside and crouched down in front of Jewel so he could look him in the eyes. “Are you scared?”

“Uh-huh.” Jewel nodded.

“What are you scared of?”

“The laughing monsters outside,” he answered, hiding his snout under the blanket. “The ones making the ponies scream.”

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“Bright… we should let him be,” Merryhoof said softly to her husband. “We can’t force him to participate. We can always wait for another year.”

“I don’t want this to be his first experience with the holiday —what if he will never be able to participate because of it?” Brighthoof asked, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. “Who knows what she has made him do while under her hooves? What if he will never recover from it?”

Merryhoof looked at him worryingly. It reminded her about the first time she met him. The uneasy steps, quivering lips, and pacing back and forth. All signs she knew all too well.

Why would he subject himself to this? Why did he take him in?

She remembered the face of Firmhoof, how helpless he looked while his son experienced those phases whenever he remembered that mare. It had been such a long time since his last attack, Merryhoof dared to hope she managed to make him forget her.

Why didn’t I stop him? Why did I agree to adopt Jewel?

“Bright?” She called for his attention carefully, feeling like she was walking on eggshells. “You can’t force him to adapt… he is just a foal. We have to take things slow, at his own pace.”

“But if we take things too slow, he might never learn to live in pony society,” he retorted, biting his own hooves. “I want him to have a normal foalhood, Merry… I want him to make friends and run around with other foals.” He looked outside the windows, seeing foals and adults alike walking from door to door singing carols to strangers. Parents watching their foals in a snowball fight, and partners kissing under a mistletoe. Tears came into his eyes. “I want him to experience all the beautiful things that come with Heartswarming Eve, but I’m afraid his first experience might destroy it for him.”

Merryhoof looked at him, her heart aching at the sight. She wanted him to keep away from the hurtful memories, to keep away from the past and focus on the future. Too bad her worries were unfounded.

She slowly approached her husband and embraced him from the side, kissing him on his cheek. “I’ll try to help as much as I can, but you have to understand that we can’t rush things.”

Brighthoof hugged her back, leaning his head on hers. “I know… but…” He sighed. “I don’t know what to do… I don’t think I am ready to take care of a foal.”

“Then why did you decide to take him in?” she asked.

“He is my son… I couldn’t leave him to her now that I know of his existence.” He closed his eyes. “And he is so young… I can’t imagine what kind of damage she might have done to him.”

Merryhoof kissed him again. “You are brave, you know that, right?” She looked outside the window. “I don’t think I would be able to do this if I were in your shoes.”

She watched the foals outside run, joyful screams emanating throughout the streets. Laughter, singing, and love filled the air of the holiday. A sudden idea came into her mind, making her smile.

“Let me try to convince him,” she said. “He is my son, too.”

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“Jewel?” Merryhoof whispered into the room. “Are you awake?”

A soft “uh-huh” came from the bed, before Jewel’s head came out from the blanket.

“Are the monsters scaring you?” she asked, sitting on top of his bed.

“Mhm…”

“You don’t have to be,” she said, petting his head. “The monsters can’t get you while you are inside.”

“But what if they can?”

“Even if they could,” Merryhoof smiled. “They are too afraid to try. Do you know why?” Jewel shook his head, his eyes wide in anticipation. “Because I know their biggest fear.”

“You do?” Jewel’s voice turned a pitch higher, yet Merryhoof sensed his caution.

“Oh, yes…” She nodded. “It’s something that makes them completely powerless against me.”

“What is it?”

“It’s something very simple: joy!” She smiled at him.

Jewel blinked. “Joy?”

“They hate it when ponies are happy, since they feed on fear,” she explained. “They love how fear tastes, and will only come back again and again after they tasted it!” Jewel started to slowly retreat back into the safety of his blanket. “But they will go away if you do just one simple thing. When you see a monster, all you have to do is to laugh!”

Jewel slowly dropped the blanket, looking at her wide eyed. “Really?”

“Oh, yes!” She nodded, opening her eyes very wide. “Laughter scares them. They scream and run away when they hear it.” She pointed toward the curtain that blocked the view outside the window. “That’s why you hear those sounds. It’s not the monsters that are laughing, but the children driving them away!”

Jewel turned his head toward the window, his uncertainty plain to see. “The screams are from the monsters?”

Merryhoof noticed he was trembling, so she hugged him. “Yes.”

“Will—“ He hesitated. “Will mother be angry if I scared the monsters?”

Merryhoof bit her lip, trying to keep her emotions hidden. “Yes, she will be very angry.”

Jewel flinched and looked at her fearfully. “Then mother will—“

“Jewel!” Merryhoof interrupted him, her voice firm. “Please stop calling her mother.”

“B-but…”

Merryhoof hugged him even tighter, hiding his face in her embrace. “No real mother would ever hurt her foal. She is no mother, but a monster.”

“M-monster?!” Jewel yelped.

“I won’t allow her to hurt you, Jewel.” She stopped hugging him to look him directly into his eyes. “I will protect you from her.”

“You will?”

Merryhoof smiled and kissed his forehead. “There is nothing to fear, Jewel. I can promise you that.”

Jewel looked down, his eyes losing some spark. Merryhoof noticed it, so she quickly stood up and opened the curtains. “Look, Jewel,” she told him, stretching her hoof toward him. After he hesitated, she added: “I will protect you if anything happens!”

Hesitantly, Jewel approached the window and looked at Merryhoof. After she gave him a nod, he looked outside. The sight was something out of a fairytale.

He saw foals as they played, ponies singing, and colorful ribbons spread above the street. He watched as the foals ran around, screaming and laughing at the same time.

“Why are they screaming?” he asked Merryhoof.

“Because they are happy,” she explained.

“Screams can be… happy?” He looked back up at her, his eyes wide. But this time, it was wonder she saw in them.

She smiled at him. “Screams do not need to be out of fear, Jewel. They can be out of anger, sadness, and yes, even happiness.”

“What is everypony doing?”

“They are celebrating Heartswarming Eve,” she explained to him before she approached the door. She reached out her hoof, asking him to follow her. Jewel looked outside for a moment before he decided to follow her to the living room.

He saw a beautifully decorated fireplace, socks hanging above it and a green bush looking circle hanging above the doors. He was bombarded with reds, yellows, and greens, stunning him as he looked around with mouth agape. He had never seen anything like it before; it was nothing like the gray, dark corridors he was used to.

Merryhoof smiled at Brighthoof. She made a motion as if she was drinking something and Brighthoof smiled, happily vanishing inside the kitchen and coming up with a cup of hot chocolate. The three of them sat in front of the fireplace, watching Jewel drink from his cup.

“What is Heartswarming?” he asked them, looking from one to another. Merryhoof embraced him with her right leg, keeping him close to her side while she looked up at Brighthoof.

“Let me tell you a story, Jewel,” she said. “A story of monsters, fear, and the love that overcame it all."

“The story of Heartswarming Eve…”

Author's Note

Happy Heartswarming.

I wish you the courage to overcome your fears and the never ending love and support of your friends and family!

I hope you enjoyed this Holiday Special!
Thank you for reading.

Chapter 8: On the Hunt

After Shining Armor allowed Sapphire Blade to lead the emergency protocols, he asked him to explain the plan to the Canterlotian guards who were present thanks to Rosefeather’s efforts.

It was decided that the patrols would be working as before but if they noticed the suspect, they had to inform the nearest pony of importance who was always on the lookout during emergencies. They will in turn send two pegasi out, one to follow the suspects location and the other to inform the strike team of his whereabouts.

This was one of the older protocols of the Empire, created long before the times of Sombra so the crystal ponies already knew what needed to be done. Sapphire himself would lead a small strike team that would be constantly informed about the suspect through the tight information net they set up.

“The plan is to get a clear view of the target’s location and limit his movement options,” Sapphire explained. “When you see the target, go look for a building with an axe shaped like a heart. Tell the ponies there you’ll need ‘eyes of an eagle’, that’s all they need to know to help. Beryl, Blaze Fury, Rosethorn, Firm Shield and I will try to capture the target with the network we just explained.”

He nodded to Shining Armor, letting him know that he was finished. The general stepped forward. “It is highly advised not to confront the suspect, especially on your own. The strike team has all the information they need to capture him, so we will leave it in their hooves. Asides from the instructions you have been given, your shift stays the same. Dismissed, go back to your stations ASAP.”

The guard spread out, running towards their respective patrols and stations. The general turned to Sapphire and his team. “I hope you know what you are doing.”

“No need to worry, Sir!” Rosethorn saluted with a smile. “We’ll catch the Demon’s Disciple in no time!” Sapphire was just about to scold her when Shining Armor burst out a chuckle.

“I like your confidence, soldier. Just make sure it doesn’t turn into arrogance.” Shining Armor then turned to Sapphire, looking at him for a moment as if contemplating something. “Good luck,” He said and then went up to the palace.

“Does that mean I’m recognized as a guard?” Rosethorn teased after a moment. “When do I get my own spear?”

“Hah!” Beryl —the emerald green earth pony— laughed and vigorously rubbed his hoof on the younger mare’s head. “Don’t get overzealous, kid. If a general’s recognition was all you needed to be a guard, ponies could buy their way into the ranks.”

“Who are you calling a kid?” Rosethorn called in defiance. “You are not much older than me!”

“But I still have more experience.”

“Fuck!” The female pegasus called Blaze Fury exclaimed. Her brown face was scarred by a lifetime of service. “Stop yer bickerin’ lest ya wanna do cleaning duty! Heard our barracks got quite full with our new guests.” Her smirk emanated such malicious glee, Beryl and Rosethorn immediately stood guard as if their lives depended on it.

Firm Shield sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hoof. “Nice to see you so enthusiastic, Blaze. But I don’t think you have the authority to do assign duties anymore.”

“Bah! For now! Ah’m sure mah old bones will be kickin’ newbie’s asses into shape in no time. Ya’ll see.” The aged mare struck a pose mid air showing off her fit physique.

“Never thought of retirement, Blaze?” Beryl teased. “I heard Rosethorn would love to hire a new gardener.”

The mare shot him a scornful look. “Ah’ll retire once death earns me, younglin’! There are still many ponies who need mah teachin’.”

“You were a teacher?” Rosethorn asked. “Not to be rude but I didn’t take you for one.”

“And yer right! Ah was more ova trainer. Makin’ sure rookies were fit enough to serve. Sapphire here was one of the best ones Ah ever… Sapphire? Yer alright?”

The group turned to look at Sapphire, who looked intently towards the staircase leading up to the palace. He noticed that the general seemed to want to say something but decided against it. He may had not known him for long, but to Sapphire the general didn’t seem like someone to be indecisive.

He was so deep in thought, he needed a while before he finally heard his teammates calling for him. “Hey, Sapphire? Are you okay?” Firm Shield put a hoof on his friends shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

“Hmm? Ah, yes. It’s just…” he shot a lol towards the staircase before turning towards his team. “Never mind. We have much more important matters. Do you guys remember who had the cuffs last time?”

“I remember my father took them before Sombra was banished,” Rosethorn answered.

“Why would that grunt have ‘em?” Blaze asked. “They’re Hot Hammer’s makin’, aren’t they?”

“Yeah…” Beryl chimed in. “Did he want to one up him or something like that?”

“Thornbush may be a bit cranky, but he is not petty,” Firm Shield reminded them. “Whatever his reason is, we need to go ask him for the cuffs.”

“And we need to do it fast too,” Rosethorn said, pointing towards the sky. “Look!”

The group looked up to see two pegasi circling around a singular spot in the city. The target has been located.

“Fuck me!” Blaze exclaimed as she immediately went up in the air, waving her hooves to get their attention. One of the pegasi noticed her and immediately flew straight towards them.

“We need to start moving too, quick!” Sapphire ordered as he started running. Knowing Thornbush, once he realised he had the cuffs he will return to his home to get them and wait. Not the best idea during crisis, but what could Sapphire do?

The pegasus caught up to them, his white coat shining because of the sun. “We got informed about the Demon’s Disciple’s location. He went towards the east wing after being spotted on Mane street down south.”

“Have you been able to confirm his identity?” Sapphire asked, hoping it all to be a false alarm.

“He is wearing a cloak trying to hide himself. I’d say that makes it all the more plausible.”

Sapphire nodded. “Alright, keep us updated on any changes.”

“Where exactly is he headed?” Rosethorn asked suddenly.

“Towards the Heartfelt fountain.”

“I know a shortcut, I’ll be able to cut of his route and lead him towards you!” She declared.

“No! It’s too—“ but before he could finish the mare ran off, separating from the group.

“Dammit! Beryl! Go after her, it’s not good to go alone. And you,” he called towards the pegasus. “Go with them, they’ll need some eyes in the sky.”

Both the pegasus and the earth pony nodded and went after Rosethorn. Blaze lowered herself a bit so she could fly besides Sapphire. “Looks like she hasn’t learned anything at all, ey?” She said smiling.

“If she keeps up like that she might never join the guard,” Sapphire complained.

“Want me to discipline her reaaal good?”

“No, thanks! I don’t want her to end up with broken bones,” He teased, smiling as he started channeling his magic to enhance his speed and bolted away.

“Oh for fucks sake! It was one time!” Blaze shouted as she and Firm Shield picked up their speed.

It took them about five minutes to reach Thornbush’s home, and the stallion in question was already waiting for them near the entrance.

“Thank goodness, I hoped you would come,” he called to them. A pair of hoof cuffs made of a white crystal levitated beside him. His eyes narrowed when they came closer. “Wait… where is Rosie?”

“She ran off doing her own thing, as usual.” Sapphire informed him. “Don’t worry, Beryl is with her.”

Thornbush sighed. “Some things never change, I see… Here are the cuffs you need.”

He levitated the cuffs towards Sapphire who grabbed them from the air, but before he could store them away Thornbush grabbed his hoof and looked him deep into his eyes. “You will keep her safe, right?” He asked, his leg trembling as he held on to Sapphire. “If… she decides to go that route?”

“Being a guard comes with a lot of risks, my friend. You know I can’t ensure her safety.” Sapphire put a hoof on Thornbush’s shoulder. “The only thing I can do, is make sure she is prepared.”

Thornbush kept his gaze on Sapphire for a moment before letting go of him. “Right… I guess you are right. I just…” He hesitated, biting his lip. “I’ll leave her in your care Sapphire, I hope she reaches heights she could never have with me.”

Sapphire nodded. “I’ll try my best to guide her.”

He stored the cuffs and went off with his team guided by Blaze’s directions. Continuing their pursuit of the Demon’s Disciple.

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Jewel walked around, looking up at the pegasus flying above him. It has been a while since they started following him. Where ever he turned, they were sure to follow. It stressed him out. What was happening?

It’s her doing!
She managed to infiltrate the empire and is keeping watch!

No! It makes no sense. Why would the streets be abandoned then? I have barely seen any living soul here.

She could have spread uncertainty.
Made the locals afraid.

Jewel tightened his cloak around him like a protective blanket. Yet no matter how hard he pressed it against his coat, the feeling of safety was already gone.

He looked around. No place that was protected from the sun or sky. No cover to help him lose the pegasi. At least they weren’t doing anything besides that.

But as if the world wanted to play a prank, he suddenly heard a shout from behind him. “You! Stop there!”

Jewel turned around and saw a group of two unicorns and a pegasus running towards him. The one in the front…

She found you!
She already took control.

No…

She sent her lackeys to stop you!
She wants you back.
Her favorite little puppet.
You knew you couldn’t trust her words.
Yet here you are.
Following the breadcrumbs like a starved rat.
And now she has started her hunt.

Before Jewel knew it, his legs started moving on their own. His mind was racing and eyes darted around looking for an escape route. But where ever he turned, the crows above him followed while leading the wolves to him.

So he ran. Turning many corners and throwing crates at them to slow them down. Sometimes even conjuring a barrier and sending it towards them, only for the one in the front to disperse the amateurish spell with a well timed kick.

Jewel started getting exhausted. He never ran like that in his whole life.

They’re going to catch you, it’s only a matter of time.
And when they do…
She’s going to make you go through those horrible things again.

Wait…
But what things?

Jewel lost focus for a moment and tripped. This slowed him down enough for the pursuers to immediately catch up to him. Before he even realized it, a brown pegasus mare was on top of him holding him down.

Her eyes and her mane were the same color of ember flame, as she looked down at him with fiery resentment. She held him with trained strength, painfully pinning his hooves down as the rest of her team approached them.

“Ah got him, Sapphire. Bring the cuffs.” She called with a ruff accent.

A unicorn of a deeper shade of blue than Jewel looked deeply into his eyes, recoiling a bit after a second. His eyes fixated on Jewel as if he read something weird in a book.

“Sapphire?” A different unicorn approached the first one.

They are distracted.
This is the perfect chance!
You can escape.

Kill her!

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What?
No… I should run away…

They will keep chasing you, unless you kill them here.

NO! Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! I have to get away! I don’t want to return… I don’t want anyone to die…

Jewel closed his eyes as he felt a surge of power coming from his horn and the weight of the mare above him suddenly vanished. He opened his eyes to find himself standing in the middle of an empty road.

Nonononononono… fuck!

You killed them.

No, there has to be another explanation! It wasn’t my intention to—
Wait…

Jewel looked around. He was on a street dividing the residential area from a park. Crystal flowerbeds all ready for planting on one side, and rows upon rows of buildings on the other. He wasn’t anywhere near such a place before.

“I…” Jewel blinked, shocked at what he was seeing. “I teleported!” He had to say it out loud. He couldn’t believe it.

Congratulations!
You finally managed to do something all aspiring magicians can do!
Just like at least 70 percent of all unicorns.
Doesn’t feel like an achievement now, does it?

Jewel shook his head and took a few deep breaths. He had no time to ponder about magic. He had to find a place to hide. The pegasi didn’t find him yet so he had a little time to think of a way to proceed. He definitely could forget about looking for clues when apparently the Crystal Empire was out to get him.

Possibly to bring you over to her.

Maybe there are some underground passages? A way to move unseen by anyone?

No. Where do you think the population could have gone?

…
Underground… FUCK!
What to do, what to do?

Maybe use the teleportation spell?

But how? I wasn’t even thinking when it happened! And I don’t really have the time to figure it out!

A cough sounded behind Jewel getting his attention and freezing him on the spot. He slowly turned around, cold sweat flowing down the side of his face. He found himself right in front of a reddish pink unicorn mare. No older than twenty.

Fuck! They found me!

Where the fuck did she come from?

Why is she just standing here?

The mare just looked at him, from up to down then back up again. She pointed up along the street. “Two houses up, you see the one with an anvil on a sign?”

“Uhm…” Jewel looked where she was pointing and there it was, an amethyst colored house with an anvil on a sign hanging clearly visible to any passerby. “Yes?”

“Good, go inside.” She looked around. “Now!”

Jewel didn’t understand what was going on, but that was the first pony who wasn’t openly aggressive so he decided to follow her directions.

She looked after him until he disappeared inside the smithy. She rubbed her head with a sigh.

“Rosie!” She heard the familiar sound of Beryl, while he was running towards her. He stopped in front of her catching his breath. “Damn, you’re fast. Don’t you know it’s a generally bad idea to go on your own?”

Rosethorn smiled at him. “Sorry, I must have forgotten.”

Suddenly the pegasus assigned to them appeared above them. “Bad news, Sapphire and the others lost contact with the Disciple. Do you guys have some clues?”

“No,” Beryl answered. “I was too busy chasing after someone else.” He glared at Rosethorn, to which she stuck out her tongue towards him.

“I thought I did,” Rosefeather admitted. “But it seemed to be just a lost civilian.”

“What? Didn’t they know we are in an emergency situation?” Beryl asked.

“Yeah… they must have been really oblivious.” She turned towards the pegasus. “Do we keep searching?”

“Yes. We’ll know when he shows up again, so the least we can do is cover an additional area.” The pegasus said and the trio took off.

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Chapter 9: The Forgemaster

Jewel shut the door behind him, his heart racing as he leaned against it. He dropped down on the floor and curled into a ball as he watched his hooves shiver.

The fuck is going on?

He grasped his head and sat like this for a minute until his breath stabilized. He never ran this much in his life and now that he finally was out of a stressful situation, all of the exhaustion immediately caught up to him. He realized his lungs felt as if they were on fire. Every breath like a knife cutting through his throat while taking any moisture away with it. Not to mention the hot and heavy air in the room he was in made it difficult to breathe.

Now that he noticed it… it was really hot. He lifted his head to look up and around the space he was in. A giant rectangular room with tools made out of crystals and metal alike hanging along the walls. Two long tables with hinges on the side designed to hold objects in place and a big fireplace on one end with coal still glowing hot.

Even though though there were lamps, they were dim and no windows that would let in natural light were present. It was cluttered, barely any room to move around and it felt… familiar. That place may look differently but no matter what exactly it was made for, the essence of it was the same. It was the place of a craftspony. It felt like home.

Jewel stood up, taking in the air of the forge. It lacked the grease, oil and the smell of wood of his workshop in Ponyville. Neither did he smell the pungent and burning aroma of cosmetics he learned to love in his parents’ shop, but this was still a place for someone who toiled to create something worth existing.

It made him miss his workshop, even though he was there just that morning.

He walked along the walls, looking up at the hanging tools. Hammers of various sizes, shapes and surface areas neatly organized and numbered. He slowly approached the forge, getting used to the heat emanating from it. Jewel sensed some kind of energy emanating from its crystal walls, like a current of water flowing constantly within.

It was at this moment he heard a sound, a rhythmic hum coming from down the stairs across the entrance. His ears perked up attentively trying to focus on the sound.

Cold heart and crystal skin…
Our memories but a prison of time.
With my soul, I promise thee…
I shall set you free…

The song became louder and louder as Jewel went down the stairs. His footing unstable due to exhaustion. He went down until he peeked around the corner to see the one singing. It was an white elder unicorn, he sat on a chair polishing a crystal dagger with a cloth. Every time he hit a beat while singing, he wiped the dagger once.

The stallions ears perked up and he stopped his singing. “I know you are there!” He called out to Jewel and turned to look towards the staircase. Jewel retreated behind the corner. “No need to be shy, I don’t bite.”

Jewel slowly turned the corner and stepped down from the stairs. The stallion studied him for a moment before sighing. “So that’s what all the fuss is about. Do you like tea, child?”

“Yes… If that’s not an issue.” Jewel gulped and tightened his cloak around himself.

The stallion mumbled to himself while shaking his head, and pointed him towards a small table. “Make yourself comfortable, child. I’ll be right back.” He smiled and went through a door.

Jewel sat down as instructed and took a moment to study the room he was in. It was much cooler than the smithy upstairs. It was a simple room with barely any furniture except a table and a few chairs. There were four doors, the one the stallion went through must have been the kitchen. However there was one door that seemed to be barricaded with some metal rods, keeping it closed. Right next to it was a stand with a vase full of violet petunias on it. Besides that, there was not much in the room. No pictures, no carpet. Compared to the workshop upstairs, this place felt strangely empty.

“Sorry for the wait.” Jewel barely jumped back in surprise at the sudden appearance of the unicorn.

The elder placed down the tea set on the table and poured both of them a cup. He gave one of them to Jewel. “T-thank you…” he said and blew on the tea to cool it down.

The tea had a vibrant yellow tint and was so dense, he couldn’t see the bottom of the cup. Jewel carefully sipped the beverage, taking in the strong taste of rosemary and the faint sweetness of… apples?

The unicorn smiled at his reaction. “It seems you noticed. I add a little bit of freshly pressed cider as a sweetener. Can’t really stand the processed stuff, so that’s the next best thing in my opinion.”

Jewel watched the older stallion sip on his tea in satisfaction. Just now he realized how crazy this whole situation was. Mere moments ago he was running for his life from the guards and now he was calmly sipping tea with an old unicorn. What was going on with this empire?

“Alright,” the unicorn said after he finished his tea. “I can tell you have a lot of questions. I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability, just please answer some of mine in return. Okay?”

Jewel thought for a moment. “Who are you?”

The unicorn burst out into laughter, his Adam’s apple visibly shaking. “Of course! I totally forgot! My name is Hot Hammer,” he said after composing himself. “Im the empire’s Forgemaster.”

“Forgemaster?” Jewel asked but Hot Hammer just shook his head.

“As the name implies.” Hot Hammer took out a pipe and lit it up, lazily puffing on it. “So? What’s your name child?”

“Jeweled Hoof.” Hot Hammer froze for a second before continuing to puff his pipe.

“Hoof, eh? To be honest you don’t look like someone with Hoof as a surname.”

“Who do I look like?” Jewel asked, slightly offended by the remark.

Hot Hammer looked Jewel directly into his eyes and took away the pipe from his mouth. “I took you for a Heart!”

Jewel jumped back, knocking down the chair and tea cup as tea spilled on the floor. Hot Hammer managed to catch the cup with his magic before it hit the ground. “Careful, Sonny! The teacups are not cheap!”

“How do you know that name?” Jewel spoke, his mind racing.

Hot Hammer simply took another puff from his pipe. “Just as easily threatened. You are not helping your cause, child.”

“What do you know!?” Jewel demanded stomping with his hoof.

“A lot. Possibly more than anyone else in the empire.” Hot Hammer put down his cup and clasped his hooves together. “Now sit down, we have quite a few things to discuss.”

You can’t trust him!

He is the only lead I have for now! Weird things have been happening since I got here and I need answers.

He might be the one who orchestrated this meeting!

He might have told that mare to bring me here…

Exactly!

I still need answers, so I have no other option.

Jewel used his magic to put the chair back in its place and sat on it as told. “What is happening here? Why was I being pursued by the guards?”

“Ah, straight to the point!” Hot Hammer exclaimed. “The short answer is because you look exactly like Blackheart.”

Jewel blinked. “What?”

“Well… except your eyes are different. Blackheart’s were golden, not blue.”

“Why would they go after me because of it?” Jewel watched as Hot Hammer poured him another cup.

“Come on, you know why,” Hot Hammer said smiling. “Listen, you are in no actual danger. You just need to hand yourself over to the guards and let them realize their mistake. They’ll treat you much better after the whole ordeal is over.”

“What else do you know?”

“Listen, kid. I am sure you are related to Blackheart and I’m positive he is the reason you came here. So let me give you an offer; you do a little something for me and I give you the answer you are looking for. A favor for a favor.”

“What if I refuse?”

Hot Hammer chuckled. “My offer would still stand. I know for a fact there are no records of Blackheart in the whole empire, so your best bet is with me.”

He stood up. “Well… whatever you decision will be, I can wait till you make it. However it’s best if you don’t force the whole empire into hiding by merely existing, eh?” He reached out his hoof and gave Jewel a small smile.

Jewel looked into his eyes for a moment. The aged pony looked at him intently, almost desperate.

He wants to use me!

But for what?

I don’t know, but right now I’m at his mercy.

Jewel sighed and took Hot Hammers hoof, resigned to his fate.

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“Okay but seriously, did you have to hoofcuff me?” Jewel complained as Hot Hammer escorted him along the empty streets of the empire. “It’s difficult to walk when you can’t separate your legs from each other.”

“Oh, quit your bitching,” Hot Hammer exclaimed. “It’s necessary so no one would think of you as a threat. They are an invention of mine. They have a magical seal implanted in them, that causes the unicorn they are on to completely loose control of its magic. Try it, use a spell.”

Jewel looked down at his hooves. He tried to channel the current inside him, a constant river of energy that moved through his whole body. Yet it wouldn’t budge, no matter how much he tried he couldn’t channel this energy towards his horn and release it as a spell. It felt as if the connection between his horn and his magic has been severed.

“It’s like an artifact!” Jewel exclaimed. “I thought the means to make one has been lost ages ago! How did you make them?”

“It’s no artifact, or anything as powerful as that,” Hot Hammer explained. “It’s just an item I enchanted with my will while forging it.”

“What kind of enchantment? Do you still have the formulas?”

“No, no formulas. I’m not a mage or wizard or whatever they are called nowadays, I can’t read nor write magic formulas. I’m just a smith.” As if to prove a point, Hot Hammer pointed at his flank that was adorned with a cutie mark of an anvil with a glowing aura around it.

“Didn’t you say that you were a—“

“Oh, look!” Hot Hammer interrupted him. “The pegasi patrol noticed us.”

Jewel looked up and saw a pegasus circling above them. It will only be a matter of time until the guards catch up to them. The idea of someone going out of their way to catch him specifically scared him.

“Now listen,” Hot Hammer began, as a couple of ponies came from around a corner farther down the street. “If you make up your mind on my offer, you know where to find me. I rarely leave my forge.”

Jewel nodded as the group of ponies that caught him before approached them.

“Hot Hammer!” A blue unicorn that seemed to be the leader spoke. He looked at Jewel intently before turning towards Hot Hammer again. “Care to explain?”

“Oh please, Sapphire!” Hot Hammer lamented. “Spare me the charade! You know very well he’s not Blackheart. Look at his eyes!”

“Just because they are different doesn't mean it’s not him, he might have used a spell to change his eyes. Also you cuffed him, so you yourself must have some doubts.”

Hot Hammer face-hoofed. “I cuffed him so you wouldn’t jump on him the moment you saw him! You traumatized the guy!”

Sapphire sighed. “Alright, we will have to confiscate his belongings and detain him. After which we will figure things out about his identity.”

Jewel turned towards Hot Hammer, unsure if it’s a good idea to go with them. Hot Hammer simply smiled at him. “Don’t worry, they might seem a bit harsh but they are huge softies. You’ll be in the right hooves.”

Jewel approached the unicorn Hot Hammer called “Sapphire” and let himself be escorted up the street towards the palace in the distance.
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Chapter 10: Don’t kill the messenger.

“Well, it seems that we have no reason to arrest you,” Sapphire Blade explained.

“Really?” Jewel was relieved. It had been hours since they put him in the interrogation room. Or, at least, it felt like hours. One thing he realized while in confinement was that the ancient part of an ancient city wasn’t just for show. It really made him miss the convenience of a mechanical clock. Like, he was sure he saw sundials on the street. Sundials! “So, I'm free to go?”

“There are a few questions that need to be answered before I can say anything.” Sapphire brought out a scroll and feather. “It's just protocol; don’t take it too personally.”

Jewel nodded. Hot Hammer was right:, the ponies who that escorted him seemed much more relaxed now that he was cooperating. Well, except for that older pegasus. Jewel could swear she barely was holding herself back from killing him by the way she stared at him.

“Alright, what brings you to the empire?” Sapphire asked the first question.

“I like learning things as a hobby, so I thought of doing a little bit of field research on the empire’s history,” Jewel explained. “Once I heard it came back, it seemed like a good opportunity to learn a bit more than the limited sources we had available in Canterlot allowed me.”

Sapphire was nodding along as he wrote down Jewel’s reply. “And what exactly are you hoping to learn about?”

“Culture, history, maybe a bit more about the crystal heart.” Jewel paused for a moment. “To be honest… I’m also really interested in what happened during Sombra’s reign.”

Sapphire did not look up, but he did stop writing for a moment. “Why would you want to learn about it?”

Exactly!
Why are you so interested in it?
You only came here for Blackheart.

Jewel remembered a moment while he was running away from Sapphire and even those visions he had on the train before that. Why exactly was he so afraid of Heartstrings? Whenever he tried to remember, he felt as if he was walking in a fog. Seeing shapes and silhouettes, but not the actual picture or ponies. And whenever he tried to get closer, he felt as if he hadn’t moved at all.

Something’s not right…

She definitely did something.

But what?

“Jeweled Hoof?” Sapphire brought him back from contemplation.

Jewel just stared at him blankly. “I— I don’t know, it just feels important.”

Sapphire just stared at him. His eyes focused and, unmoving, seemed to emanate calm authority. That stallion lived through a lot, and he could sense something was wrong; Jewel was sure of it.

“Listen—“ Sapphire started but was interrupted when the door opened behind him. He and Jewel both looked up at the new arrival. He was a white unicorn who wore gold armor, his eyes stern but calm. His cutie mark was a simple shield emblem. Sapphire immediately stood up and saluted to the stallion. “General.”

“At ease. I heard everything from corporal Blaze Fury,” the general explained and turned toward look at Jewel. “What is your verdict?”

“It may have been a false alarm.” Sapphire brought out Jewel’s bag. “The only things we found were two letters, a book, food, and cloaks. A lot of cloaks.”

Jewel waved with his hoof to get their attention. “Pardon my rudeness, but are you general Shining Armor?”

Shining Armor squinted his eyes. “Yes. Do we know each other? “

“Well, no. But Twilight asked me to bring you a letter.” Jewel pointed to his bag. “One of them should be unopened. It’s for you.”

“How do you know my sister?” tThe general said sternly, but Jewel could tell he relaxed a bit.

“I’m her… friend.”

“Hmmm…” Shining Armor searched through Jewel’s bag and took out the closed letter. He opened it and read through it in silence.

Jewel watched as he smiled softly while he read before his face turned serious as he started to glance at Jewel from time to time while he read

“Sir?” Sapphire asked, studying the general’s face.

“This is Twily’s, alright.” Shining Armor stashed the letter away. “Sapphire, could you please inform the maids to make a room ready?”

“Are you sure, sir?” Sapphire's voice rang an octave deeper than before.

“Yes. Also, could you please meet me later in my office after I'm done here?” Shining Armor smiled. “There are a few things that need to be discussed.”

Sapphire nodded and left the room without any resistance, leaving the general alone with Jewel. “I don’t understand, I—“

“Listen.,” Shining Armor sat down in front of Jewel. “I’m gonna level with you. I was going to send you back to Canterlot, send a report to the princesses, and ask for an investigation on your background.”

“What?! Ohhhh.” Jewel immediately realized what that was about. “Because of the book?”

“Because of the book.” Shining Armor nodded. “Owning it in itself is not bad, but you brought it here of all places. This made you incredibly suspicious, and, for security reasons, I couldn’t ignore that. Once back in Canterlot, the authorities would investigate you for any activities related to black magic.”

“Isn’t black magic openly researched?” Jewel asked.

“Yes, but it’s done by trusted magicians chosen by the princess. Additionally, the research is about protecting against it, not using it.” Shining Armor smiled a little. “But Twilight seems to trust you, at least according to the letter. Did she tell you about the Doll Incident?”

Jewel nodded. “Yes, a while back.”

“Then you know what she did is also considered illegal?”

Jewel nodded again.

“And do you know how Celestia reacted?”

“As far as I know, she pardoned her.” Jewel was starting to lose the point of the conversation.

“Not only that, she admitted she was partially at fault,” Shining Armor elaborated. “She knew that if she just explained to Twilight that she didn’t need to write to her every week sooner, then Twilight wouldn’t feel so pressured to cause the incident.”

“What is your point, general?”

“The princess trusts Twilight. Not only that, she trusts her choice in friends.” The general pointed at Jewel. “That and the fact that Twilight is my sister is the reason I’m letting you off the hook. Because she trusts you.”

Shining Armor’s eyes darkened, and his expression turned fierce and serious. The message was clear to Jewel. You better not break that trust.

“I understand,” Jewel said. It was better for him to stay on the general's good side.

Shining Armor leaned forward. “I also have a question. Why exactly did you come to the empire?”

“For research,” Jewel answered.

“And what do you expect to learn?”

Careful!

“I don’t think I can tell much…” Jewel explained.

“How come?” Shining Armor, stared directly into Jewel’s eyes.

“It’s… complicated.” Jewel looked away. “But I can promise you, I don’t want it to affect anyone else besides me. My success will affect me alone.”

Jewel looked back at Shining Armor. “You have to believe me.”

They stared into each other’s eyes for a solid minute, contemplating in silence. Jewel knew that what he said made him look even more suspicious. He wouldn’t be surprised if the general decided to send him back. It was the next logical step.

Shining Armor sighed. “Alright, but under a few conditions…”

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“Are you sure about this, sir?” Sapphire Blade said calmly, even though, on the inside, he wanted nothing more than to throw the general into Tartarus. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to have someone like him here.”

“I agree,” Shining Armor said while he shuffled through some papers on his desk. “But I have my reasons to trust him.”

“Have you at least discussed it with the princess?”

“She would welcome him with open hooves. I’m at least trying to stay professional.” Shining Armor took out a small form and filled it out before he gave it to Sapphire.

Sapphire took the form and read it. It was an official order from the general. “You can’t be serious.”

“Yes, I am. Congratulations, Sapphire Blade; you have been officially promoted to second lieutenant.” Shining Armor smiled. “Your first order is to assign a guard to escort our guest throughout the palace and keep an eye on him.”

“You want me to play babysitter for someone who can be a potential danger? Why go through all this for him?” Sapphire did not care to hide his dissatisfaction anymore. Damn the rank; his general was being unreasonable.

“I didn't do it just for him,” Shining Armor responded. “The only reason I allowed him to stay was under the condition he will never leave the palace and his movement will be constantly monitored. I don’t want another incident to happen because of his presence.”

“But, sir, he came here to research Sombra! He admitted to it!”

“All the more reason to watch him. Princess Celestia is also interested in what happened, and it was only a matter of time before some historian would come along. This way, we’ll not only know his intentions, but we might also further our study on your empire. Especially since our resources are focused on rebuilding it instead.” Shining Armor stood up from his desk. “I leave the task up to you. I have to talk to Cadence.”

Sapphire’s jaw clenched as he tried to remain calm. “Alright, I’ll do what I can.”

“Good.” Shining Armor left the office with Sapphire Blade. “Oh, one more thing: tell Blaze Fury her application has been approved.”

“What application?”

“She wanted her old position. I tried to expedite the process because of her age, so she should be able to start in two days.” Shining Armor took out a badge and gave it to Sapphire. “Keep up the work, and maybe you’ll do the same.”

“I’ll inform her.” Sapphire nodded. He stood there, looking at the badge he was holding as the general left. It has been such a long time since he saw the badge of an officer.

A single blue crystal rod of the second lieutenant. The same symbol, yet a different pony who held it.

It was disgusting.

Sapphire’s vision turned red as he saw the crystal walls around him turn black as tar. They vibrated, echoing the sound of ponies screaming. His ears pulsed with pain as he remembered the rows of statues made from black crystal. All of them showed ponies in different states of agony, as they crumbled into pieces under the watchful eyes of gold and red. Why?

“SAPPHIRE!!”

The images receded and gave way to the worried face of Rosefeather. Her emerald green eyes shook. “Rose?”

“Are you okay, Sep? You were out for a moment.”

“Y-yes, I'm…” Sapphire glanced at the badge. It felt much heavier than it actually was. “No…”

Rosefeather followed his eyes to the badge, and her eyes widened. “You know it was only a matter of time.”

“But this is too fast! Way too fast! The general has been completely irresponsible lately.” His hoof shivered.

“I know., I heard about the guest.” She hugged him. “You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened back then;, it was me who gave Sombra access to the palace.”

“He tricked you.” Sapphire separated himself from Rosefeather. “Manipulated you and used your feelings against you. Nothing he did was your fault.”

Rosefeather smiled. “The same applies to you. Either we are both at fault for helping Sombra, or neither of us is.”

Sapphire looked her in the eyes. “What if I say that both of us are?”

“Then I will start treating you like you think you deserve.” Her eyes were practically radiating a sly playfulness; it was all a game to her. A little challenge to see what Sapphire would do if she did that. Sapphire smiled, his worries lifting a little.

“You have a weird way of cheering ponies up,” he said.

“Hey, it works!” Rosefeather laughed. “Try to look on the bright side! It’s one more step towards everything going back the way it was.”

Sapphire looked down at the badge. “It’s never going to be the same, Rose.”

Rosefeather bit her lips. “You are right, but that does not mean we can’t live on. We just have to make the best out of what we have left.”

She put her hoof over the badge. “You deserve this, Sep. Amora would want you to keep moving on. To keep on living.”

Sapphire nodded with a sigh. “I know, but it’s difficult without her.”

Rosefeather hugged him tightly. “I know, Sep. I feel the same way.”

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Author's Note

Ok… i know what I said under chapter 7.

I „was” supposed to concentrate on writing a challenging story, but I had this sudden motivation to continue this instead.

I’m definitely procrastinating, aren’t I?

Well… as long as I keep writing I have no issues.