The Next Morning

Celestia's sun slowly rose over the horizon, its warm and majestic light heralding the coming of a new day and all the opportunity that comes with such a promise. Soft rays of gentle sunlight bathed the world in light and warmth, turning the morning air orange and pink while the last of the moon disappeared from sight. The world slowly rose with the sun, creatures of all manner waking from their slumber and taking the morning with an admittedly sluggish step. Some mares and stallions opted to start their morning with a nice, hot cup of coffee, while others hopped right into a nice warm shower to slowly wake themselves up for the day. The world was a perfect picture of patience and serenity.

"You're gonna do what!?" Celestia exclaimed, waking both Artemis and Dawn in the process.

Perhaps not everywhere was a perfect picture of quaint calmness. Especially given the screams and cries of two cranky foals as Anon quickly rushed over to pick them up and calm them.

"Nonny, you cannot be serious!?" Luna added.

"Even I think this is a bad idea and I usually try not to weigh in on things like this." Chrysalis chimed in.

The quartet of mares and human were all spread out throughout the bedroom. While Celestia was at the balcony, the sleepiness gone from her eyes as she stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed at her husband, Luna was laying in the bed, having just finished lowering the moon and began to take her rest for the day. Chrysalis, meanwhile was standing in the bathroom doorway, having just finished scrubbing the previous night's wet dream from her thighs.

Standing in the middle of the room, feeling very surrounded -and for good reason- was Anon. Under the disbelieving glare of all three of his lovers, he held firm, though there was no denying that he was slightly taken aback by all three of them ganging up on him at once.

"I said I'm gonna have Tempest lead us to find the elixir." Anon declared, firmly.

Celestia face-hooved, "Honey, while there's certainly a lot to take in here, let me start by asking; why in in Equestria are you even considering letting that mare out of prison in the first place?"

"I spoke with her last night and I made up my mind." Anon replied, holding his ground.

"Nonny, when you told me you were going to talk with Tempest, I figured you would just speak about the information, get some clues, and then head back to bed, not make a deal with her and promise her freedom in exchange for a trip to Faust-knows-where." Chrysalis retorted, shaking her head.

"Hold on now, I didn't promise-" Anon tried to respond, only for Luna to speak over him.

"Wha- you knew about this?" Luna questioned, glancing over to Chrysalis.

"Did I not just explain my involvement?" Chrysalis raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter if Chryssi was involved. What matters is what Anon agreed to with Tempest. Nonny, what in Equestria did you agree to give her?" Celestia pressed, redirecting everyone's attention to Anon.

Anon rubbed the back of his neck, "I told her that in exchange for the information and her guiding me there, I'd see if I could grant her a royal pardon and help her get her horn back."

"Nonny, you can't just pardon her. She attacked us!" Luna shot back.

"I feel like you guys are kinda missing the point here." Anon countered.

"What point? Nonny, you can't just promise things like this without even consulting us!" Celestia exclaimed.

"I didn't promise her anything! Will you just listen to me for a second!?" Anon shouted, his sudden spike in volume making all three mares wince.

With now perfect silence hanging over them like a smog, Anon let out a sigh and brushed his hair back with his hand, "Look, I spoke with her. She told me that she'll give up that information if and only if we grant her a royal pardon. As for her leading us there, I decided that I want to go personally because this is for me at the end of the day. I'm literally choosing immortality. I made up my mind last night. Thought you'd all be happier to hear that." He explained, his expression becoming more and more downcast.

Realizing her mistake, Celestia quickly rushed to Anon and hugged him with her wings. She nuzzled her cheek against his chin before fixing him with a sad look, "Honey, I'm so sorry. You're right. I just... don't trust that mare, and everything you and Chryssi have told me makes me think that she's simply beyond redemption. I don't trust her at all, and I don't believe that she should be alone with you for any length of time, let along a journey to Faust-knows-where."

Anon's gaze fell somewhat, only for Celestia to nudge his chin with her muzzle, making him look into her soft magenta eyes,

"That said, if you are truly certain that you want this for yourself... I cannot express how happy I am." She said, a beaming smile forming on her face.

Celestia's smile was infectious, and Anon quickly found himself sporting the same smile as Luna and Chrysalis quickly came up beside him, joining into the hug as well.

"Anon, if you're sure... then I'm sure too. I'm sorry for yelling at you, I just... I love you so much and the thought of that mare doing something to hurt or mislead you just makes me sick." Luna apologized, tightly hugging Anon's waist.

"I'm just glad you've made up your mind. Keeping us all in limbo like that was not very kind of you, Hun." Chrysalis teased, nuzzling Anon's shoulder.

Surrounded by his mares, utterly bathed in love as he was, Anon found that he couldn't even begin to hold a grudge for the previous shouting match. He gladly pulled all three mares closer, hugging them tightly as they simply soaked in the knowledge of his decision. Unfortunately, as with all good things, it wasn't meant to last, and a polite knock at the door quickly tore their attention away from each other.

"Yes?" Celestia called.

"Princess, it's time for breakfast. The chef is wondering where you and Anon are." Raven called through the door.

"We'll be right out, Raven." Celestia called back.

"Well, I certainly wish you'd brought this news forth in the dream last night. How am I meant to get any rest knowing what I know now? I'm so excited I could prance on the moon!" Luna giggled.

"Let's not get too excited now, Lulu. Happy as we all are with Nonny's decision, we do still have a dangerous mare we must deal with." Celestia diplomatically replied.

The rest of the mares all nodded in agreement.

"Well, why don't we go deal with her right now then?" Chrysalis suggested.

"Breakfast first, Chryssi. Tempest can wait a few more minutes." Celestia replied, her stomach grumbling slightly.

And so it was that Celestia, Chrysalis, and Anon headed to the dining room for breakfast while Luna went to bed, the trio carrying both Dawn and Artemis with them as they walked. The five of them arrived and ate their meal in relative peace, only the occasional disturbance from a maid or butler as they refilled drinks or took empty trays out of the room.

"So, assuming we're going to give Tempest what she wants in return for her help finding this elixir, how are we even going about searching for it?" Celestia asked, after finishing her breakfast.

Anon shook his head, "I'm not a hundred percent sure just yet."

"Well do we even know for certain that Tempest is the only one that knows of this elixir's location? Or anything else for that matter? She could by lying about everything she knows for all we know." Celestia reasoned.

Chrysalis shook her head, "Unfortunately, that mare does somehow know, or at least, she fully and completely believes she knows. I could sense absolutely no deceit from her when she told us of it."

Celestia deflated somewhat at that, but quickly turned her attention to Anon, "Alright, so if we know for sure that it does exist and Tempest does know where it is, then we need to make a plan to get it. Twilight should be returning next week, and I think it'd be prudent if you had somepony with alicorn-level magic alongside you."

"Alright, so then we just wait for Twilight to get back?" He questioned.

Celestia nodded, "That would be the wisest course of action. Though, that does bring me onto my next question. How do we get there?" She pondered.

"Airship would be the fastest way." Anon offered.

"Unfortunately, an airship won't be possible. All of ours are back on defensive routes around our borders and with the Storm King still out there... I'd rather a more discreet method be used. His ships are faster and more heavily armed than ours." Celestia trailed off with a sigh.

"Tempest would've done a number on us, had she got the drop on us, huh?" Anon asked.

Celestia somberly nodded, "I still cannot fathom how she knows more of this than Twilight does."

"Naturally, she'll have to go along with. She won't give the location unless you give her what she wants first. It would be in all of our best interests' to ensure she actually takes us to the right place before granting her what she wants in return..." Chrysalis trailed off.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the Changeling Queen, "You seem like you had more to say, Chryssi." She commented.

Chrysalis pursed her lips, "Well... much as I hate to admit it, we don't truly need to take her with us. There are... other ways to extract the information from her, provided I have time alone with her and nopony is too squeamish about it." She reluctantly admitted.

Celestia vehemently shook her head, "No. Much as I want that information, I will not stoop to torture or mind control to get it. There are lines we simply will not cross, and that is one of them." She firmly declared.

Chrysalis nodded, "Fair enough. Just wanted to present the option, though even I was hoping you'd refuse it. It is... not a method I'm proud of." She admitted, receiving a comforting pat on the wither from Anon.

"Then the next question is: who will be going?" Celestia responded.

"I'm going for sure." Anon affirmed.

"Anon, what if somepony else-" Celestia began, only for him to hold up a hand to silence her.

"Tia, I'm going. There is no way in Hell I'm sitting on the sidelines for this. This is my future. If it were for the greater good or for Equestria as a whole, I'd have no issue with letting you run the show but this... this is for me. This is personal. I have to go. I can't stay behind, not for something like this. How can I look at Artemis or Dawn, or any of the kids we just had with Chrysalis, and tell them that I just stood by while other ponies were sent to God-knows-where because I didn't want to get hurt?" Anon reasoned.

A pensive look formed on Celestia's face as she took in his words. Her gaze shifted over to Chrysalis, who nodded in approval, before letting out a small sigh, "I suppose you make a fair argument there, Nonny. I just worry... the thought of you being injured or worse on a journey who's entire purpose is to get you your immortality is just... a daunting one."

Anon smiled, "I know, and I'm not going in without some protection. Jav's gotta come with me, and probably Dusk and Echo too."

Celestia nodded, "Then promise me that you won't take the elixir without us being there. I don't believe I can leave the kingdom, Luna either. We just struck first for the first time in millennia. The shockwaves of such an upset are still being felt these several weeks later and the fact that the Storm King hasn't been seen since worries me. I don't believe either of us can leave Equestria with you, Honey, especially with Artemis and Dawn." She admitted, her gaze falling to the floor.

"It's okay, Celly. I know." Anon offered, placing his hand on her wither and comfortingly stroking his thumb through her fur.

"Promise me that you'll bring the elixir back here before you drink it so that we may analyze it and ensure it's safe. Please, honey." Celestia pleaded.

Anon placed his hand on her hoof, a gentle look in his eyes, "I promise." He replied, getting a thankful smile out of the white alicorn as they pulled apart.

"I would go... but the eggs just hatched last night and I'll need to tend to them nearly hourly for the foreseeable future. In fact, I should head back up there now." Chrysalis noted, getting to her hooves.

"Wait, they hatched!? You didn't tell me! Chryssi, you have to show the little ones to me!" Celestia exclaimed, practically leaping out of her chair, much to Anon and Chrysalis's amusement.

"Relax, Celly, relax. They aren't going anywhere. Besides, even though this brood is special, Changeling grubs are nothing like pony foals. There's a lot less cute to go around until they grow a bit." Chrysalis explained, no doubt in a bid to temper expectations.

"I dunno, I think the little guys are cute as Hell." Anon shrugged.

Chrysalis playfully rolled her eyes, "Yes, well you also think that stallions should open the door for mares and pay for dinner, so maybe you're just a little weird." She teased.

Anon blew a raspberry at her while Celestia quickly collected herself, "Right, right. I will come look at them soon. You should go to them, Chryssi. I'm sure they'll need their mother for the foreseeable future."

Chrysalis nodded, before flipping out her insectoid wings and buzzing back up the stairs to the royal bedchambers.

"So... are you certain you want Tempest to lead you to this elixir, herself? I'm sure that we could have her stay here and just tell us where we need to go." Celestia offered, after a minute of silence.

"Honey, you know that won't work. She's gonna give us vague instructions and we'll never find it without someone on the ground, leading the way. If this place is gonna be as hard to find as I think it's gonna be, we have to have her tag along." Anon rebutted.

Celestia sighed, "I suppose you bring up a fair point. I may not like it, but I suppose she should go along as well. That said, Twilight should go along with you. She's certainly been the most excited about the prospect of going through all this trouble just to find you a way to immortality in the first place." She reasoned.

Anon nodded, "That works. I was gonna ask her to come along anyway. We wouldn't even have the info we do now if it weren't for her."

Celestia smiled as she levitated a scroll over from one of the nearby tables. An ink and quill flashed into existence beside her as well, and she quickly wrote out a letter. Then, with another flash of magic, the letter dissolved into green smoke, quickly wisping out to the open window.

Twilight sighed as she trotted up the staircase from the library in the underground section of the Crystal spire. The many twists and turns of such a labyrinth were daunting at first, but now after nearly two weeks of routine study and nearly endless hours straight inside said catacombs, she was able to find her way back with ease. A pair of crystal guards tensed and saluted as she trotted past them, moving for the first time in what could have been hours.

So it was with a yawn and a tired gait that Twilight made her way back to her guest room.

"I have got to stop pulling all-nighters. Spike was right to head up to bed early last night. I think I only found a dozen passages that even come close to describing the location Tempest seems to know all about." Twilight muttered, more to herself than anypony else as the guards didn't follow her to her room.

Twilight yawned once more as she rounded a corner and found her bedroom calling to her. A soft smile split her lips at the promise of well-earned rest, and with a tiny pep in her step, she opened her room and stepped inside. However, much to her shock, her room was not unoccupied. At the edge of the bedroom, standing just out of the morning light spilling in through the balcony, was Cadence.

"Cadence?" Twilight blinked, sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Twilight, my dear. So good to see you again. Please, come in, come in. I must speak with you." Cadence greeted, her tone as chipper as could be.

Twilight squinted ever so slightly at the pink alicorn. For the briefest of moments, she appeared fuzzy, or even transparent, but Twilight quickly chalked that up to her tired eyes and sleep-deprived mind.

"Oh? What's going on?" She inquired, stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

The door closed with a soft *click* while Twilight stepped around the bed to get closer to her former foal-sitter.

"Oh, a missive has come from Canterlot, addressed to you. I thought I may deliver it to you, myself. It bears a royal seal, so I suspect it's of some importance." Cadence replied.

Twilight squinted and turned her head to the side. From her closer angle, the blurriness of the love alicorn was that much more noticeable, even despite her brain swearing it was just the sleepiness in her eyes. She quickly rubbed both of her eyes again.

"Uh... Cadence? Why are you talking like that?" She pressed, her eyes still swearing Cadence was burrier than she remembered.

"I've no inclination as to what you're referring to, Twilight my dear." Cadence sweetly replied.

"Since when do you call me 'my dear'. Cadence, are you alright? Did you put some kind of glamor spell on yourself? You seem kinda... fuzzy?" Twilight questioned, her heckles rising by the moment.

"Oh, don't worry about that, dear Twilight. It will all be explained in this letter." Cadence responded, gesturing to a scroll laid out on the nightstand beside the bed,

An eyebrow raised, and the hairs on the back of her neck standing up, Twilight slowly made her way over to the scroll in question. As she walked past Cadence, she felt an indiscernible chill worm its way down her spine. She suppressed a shiver and glanced out the balcony as she picked up the scroll in her magic.

"Do you feel that? Why'd it get so cold all of a sudden? Wasn't it supposed to be close to ninety degrees today?" Twilight inquired.

"Oh, I think we're due for a cold front for the foreseeable future." Cadence chuckled. It was a dark chuckle, extremely uncharacteristic of the light and bubbly love princess that made Twilight's skin crawl.

Twilight hesitantly unrolled the scroll in her magic and glanced over to the wording on the paper. Surprisingly, there were only two words on the paper.

~
Behind you
~

Twilight's blood froze in her veins, and she quickly spun on her hooves. For a brief moment, all she could see was white fur, then darkness as a helmet was shoved onto her head.

"No!" She cried, trying to flee, but the second the helmet was on her, the green light beaming into her eyes stole her will to fight.

She attempted to struggle for a moment, but the fight quickly left her limbs, and she fell silent. Her limbs held firm under her, but her withers noticeably relaxed, and the tension in her neck faded. The hypnotizing rays of the helmet warped her reality, and before long at all, she was motionless, standing still and awaiting instructions.

"Muhahahahahahahahaha!!!" Sombra cackled, the illusion of Cadence dispelling from his faded figure.

"Well, that was certainly easier than anticipated-" The Storm King thought aloud, before poking Twilight with a finger, "-and you're certain that she can't break free of the mind control?"

Sombra theatrically threw his head back and laughed even more, "Oh, not a chance, my companion. The only way she's breaking free from my control is if she were to remove the helmet herself. As she's not exactly making the decisions anymore, it's impossible.

"Did I really need to be here? It seems like you could've handled this all by yourself." The Storm King replied, giving a flippant sigh as he strode around the room.

"Not at all, my companion. The Crystal Heart prevents me from taking a form that can even interact with the world around me. As it stands, If I were to stand in the sunlight, I'd simply fade from existence entirely." Sombra explained.

"Right, right, you needed me to put the helm on her. How did you even have one of these left anyways?" The Storm King questioned.

"A king is nothing, if not prepared." Sombra grinned, "Now come, we must disable the Heart if we are to enslave the entire nation. I can sense that your fleet is in position at all the border crossings around the capital. If we can manage this quickly, we'll have the entire Empire in the frog of our hooves." Sombra responded,

"Right, right. So when do I start getting something out of this? As of right now, all of this has only benefitted you." The Storm King shot back, leveling a glare at the ghostly abirritation of Sombra.

"You wound me, my dear fellow King. Taking the Empire is merely step one, but it is a step that benefits the both of us. We simply have one more alicorn to enslave, and you will have more power than you've ever imagined, all held conveniently in that little staff of yours." Sombra countered, giving a sly grin.

The Storm King sighed, "Very well. Let's just get this one out of here so we can use her magic to amplify that mind control of yours." The Storm King snorted, turning and heading for the exit.

However, before the duo and unwilling alicorn could make their escape, a knock came from the door. Sombra quickly vanished into a thin mist, trailing into the openings and creases of Twilight's helmet while the Storm King rushed into the bathroom. With her will now not her own, Twilight rushed in after him, taking refuge in the lavatory as the door to the bedroom opened.

"Twilight? You in here?" Spike called, pushing the door open.

Silence greeted the small drake, making him scratch his cheek in confusion.

"Twilight? Did you pull another all nighter? I got you some breakfast in case you did." Spike called out again, entering the room and closing the door behind him. He had a small plate of muffins, haybacon, and a veggie omelet.

Spike walked further into the room, placing the plate of food down on the dresser as he scanned the room for any sign of Twilight. Then a fiery burp forced its way out of the small drake, starling him slightly. A scroll with a solar seal quickly manifested in front of him and levitated a few feet off the ground.

"Huh, that's a letter from Celestia. Now I really need to find Twi-" Spike began, but was swiftly silenced as a massive paw covered his mouth.

Spike's immediate reaction was to scream, or bite down on the hand covering his mouth, but the meaty pads of the Storm King's paws were simply too thick for him to do anything more than mildly annoy the massive yeti.

"If you want to see the light of day again, you'll keep your mouth shut." The Storm King growled, the grave intensity of his voice quickly dispelling any fight Spike had.

The now terrified drake trembled slightly as Twilight walked out of the bathroom and into his view, the helmet still adorned on her head. He gasped in shock upon seeing her, but nearly whimpered in fear as the cloudy mist of Sombra vented from the helmet. Said stallion took shape just before him, his visage still just a ghostly remnant of what he once was.

"Ah, Spike the Brave and Glorious... what to do with you... as I seem to recall, you were the one responsible for helping Princess Cadence defeat me last time I was here, weren't you?" Sombra greeted, cordially.

Spike tried to free himself, but the Storm King's grasp was far stronger than his entire body.

"What to do with you, what to do with you... ah, I think I have a few ideas... but before we get into all of that-" Sombra darkly chuckled, turning to the letter Spike had just received, "-why don't we see what exactly the solar princess wanted to share with our dear little Twilight..."

Sombra scanned through the letter, the grin on his face widening more and more by the second. As he reached the end of the page, he couldn't keep the maniacal laughter from escaping his lips, and he threw his head back in boisterous glee.

"What does it say?" The Storm King demanded.

"Mmphmhm" Spike's muffled voice cried, desperately trying to break free.

"Oh, just another little bit of good news for us. It looks like we won't have to worry about the new 'Prince' of Equestria after all." Sombra darkly chuckled.

"Why? What happened to him?" The Storm King asked, curiously.

"Oh, nothing yet... but it will, oh it will... Twilight, my dear. Come. We have a letter to write..."

Without question, Twilight obeyed, following behind the dark figure of Sombra as they exited the room.

Author's Note

The gears are turning and the plot is moving. Don't worry friends, we'll be on the road soon enough. As for Twilight, don't worry. Sombra hasn't really hurt her... yet.

Hopefully Anon's reaction to immortality was believable enough. It's not an easy decision to make, especially given the fact that there isn't exactly a record of a human living forever. Ponies have Celestia and Luna as examples but we humies got nothing.