Dark Crystal

The next day was sunny and calm.

At least, that’s what it seemed in the morning. Then a pegasi scout from the north flew into Crystal City.

Shining Armor, Cadance, Flash Sentry and a few other Crystal officers gathered in the war room.

“Another attack. More ponies kidnapped. They are getting bolder,” said Cadance.

Shining looked at the map with resolve. The village wasn’t far from the one attacked yesterday. There were patrols in the area, yet they didn’t prevent the attack.

More ponies lost. It was far too many. Shining Armor wasn’t going to let any more ponies being attacked.

“Cadance, I will travel to Aquavitae Creek. The enemy is in the area, and I have to stop it.”

Cadance has hesitated, but finally replied. “So be it.”

Shining Armor looked at his soldiers. Heart Guard, the elite unit of the Crystal Army, stood, waiting for orders.

“Soldiers of Crystal Empire!” shouted Shining. “As you know, an unknown enemy has raided several villages in the northern frontier. We cannot allow this to happen anymore. I will personally lead you in the search of our enemy. Our goal is to track them down, make sure they won’t attack Crystal Ponies anymore, and free the kidnapped ponies…”

Shining Armor continued his speech. Soldiers listened. Among these soldiers, there was one that was listening with as much awe as if it was the first time going to battle. She was an orange pegasus with a pink mane.

“Ready for fight, Leaping?” said another mare, a gray pegasus with black mane.

“Yes, I’m ready,” she said. She noticed other ponies were looking at her, so she attempted to calm down.

Most soldiers from Heart Guard knew Leaping as a very brave pony, even if she was a bit eccentric. If only they knew why she was so excited right now…

Some time before Shining’s speech, Leaping and her best friend, Grumpy, were preparing for the journey north. They were accompanied by a special friend.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Princess?” asked the gray pegasus.

“Yes, Grumpy. I need to do this. For the Crystal Empire!” said Flurry.

Flurry knew Leaping and Grumpy for a long time. Their parents were royal guards, and they became guards as well. Flurry often trained with them, as her size and strength allowed her to go hoof to hoof with adult guards. They sometimes went on adventures together, and overall, were good friends.

Now, she was asking them for a very risky favor. Yet, it had to be done. Flurry Heart flashed her horn. Sphere of golden light surrounded her. It was getting brighter and brighter. Then, with one last flash, it disappeared.

“By the Heart, it worked! It worked!” shouted Leaping. She ran forward, to take a better look.

She looked at an orange pegasus with a pink mane. She took a very good look at her. “It’s perfect. You look exactly the same as me!”

“Thanks. It wasn’t easy,” Flurry replied, her voice an exact copy of Leaping’s.

“Where have you learned this? Are you part changeling?”

“My uncle Thorax taught me some changeling magic. One advice, don’t suggest that I’m a part changeling in the earshot of my parents. Last of the royal guards to do so is cleaning toilets somewhere on the changeling border to this day.”

Flurry took on Leaping’s uniform. It fit perfectly. She had to use her hooves, as obviously she couldn’t use her alicorn magic without dropping the disguise.

“Just stay close to me. Leaping does this all the time, nopony would mind. Besides, everypony is used to her behaving weirdly.”

“I’m not weird, I’m cool,” replied Leaping.

Flurry finished gearing up.

“Thank you very much. Now, Leaping, I’m going to teleport you to Ponyville. Anypony asks about what you are doing there, you can tell them Cadance sends you to watch for me. Thorax is going to cover for me, same story about going to Ponyville.”

“Fool-proof plan,” said Grumpy.

“If it fails, I’m taking full responsibility. You're not risking anything. Now, are you ready, Leaping?”

“Yes.”

Flurry gave her a backpack with some money and obviously-not-forged documents. Then, with a golden flash, a horn reappeared on her head.

“Whoa, I’m an Alicorn now,” said Leaping.

“I warn you, this might sting a bit,” Flurry said, and shoot a magic beam at Leaping. She teleported away.

“Now, Leaping, are you ready to fight these raiders in the north?”

“Yes, I am!”

Aquavitae Creek was one of the poorer regions of the Crystal Empire. Nested between Crystal Farmlands and Crystal Mountains, it was a land of cold taiga with only a hooffull of villages in the mountain valleys. In times of Crystal Frontier, before Crystal City returned from banishment, Aquavitae Creek was only nominally under Equestrian rule, actually being under control of independent villages, mountain bandits and occasional yak warbands. Nowadays it has become safer, and the government planned to invest in infrastructure here, hoping to re-open crystal mines, as well as creating new tourist resorts.

Column of military trucks was moving north on the forest road. Grumpy and Flurry, along with other pegasi, were tasked with watching the skies.

Flurry looked around. It was peaceful here, as of now. She knew the enemy was nearby, and that she would need to fight.

She was ready.