Legacy of the Crystal Heart

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three: Intermission

Prologue

Luster Dawn, Princess of Unity, looked upon her subjects with pride in her heart. Ruling alongside her mentor, Twilight Sparkle, was a dream come true. How she had ever felt jealous about not getting all of the fame escaped her mind. This truly was the best life she could have asked for.

As the sun rose and the moon settled in for the day, the pink Alicorn took a breath, admiring the dawn and giving her thanks for the redemption and the second chance she had been granted thanks to the Elements of Polyphony.

It seemed like just yesterday she’d been granted her wings after her final friendship lesson. Graced with a group of her own friends, Luster was able to learn about each creature, growing close until she was able to earn the title of princess at the end. Of course, that wasn’t enough for her at the time.

After those months of studies, the years of being just another student, Luster had wanted to rule alone. Celestia’s student, Princesa Mi Amore Cadenza, was granted her entire empire once she graduated. The princess’s daughter inherited it, leading alone. Twilight was gifted her own castle and her own title, independent of Celestia and Luna’s ruling titles.

It wasn’t unfair to want more, was it? Luster hadn’t thought so. She was valid in her reasoning. Blinded by jealousy, sure, but she wasn’t asking for more than any other princess had been granted.

“Your Majesty!” A guard called, snapping Luster from her thoughts. The Alicorn turned suddenly to match the urgency with which the guard approached her. He was panting, wings drooping.

“Iron Wing?” He was the head of Luster’s guard. He didn’t lose composure easily, “What’s wrong?”

Iron Wing took a moment to regain his breath, standing up straight as he faced his princess, “Princess Twilight Sparkle requests your presence at this morning’s breakfast. Urgent news from Canterlot has been made known.”

That was strange. Twilight was capable of sending her own letter or popping in and out of a room to notify others of news. She rarely sent a guard to fetch someone else. Luster Dawn felt her stomach turn. This suggested Twilight wasn’t able to talk.

“Thank you, Iron Wing,” The pink Alicorn thanked her guard, nodding to him as she took off to the royal library. If Twilight couldn’t talk, odds were she was lost in research. Something bad must have been made known in Canterlot.

The white, gold, and purple architecture of the Canterlot castle was still true beauty to Luster Dawn; she was a permanent resident of the structure but still, she admired the construction. The library was in one of the upper towers, able to be reached by ladder or by flight. Luster Dawn chose the latter, urgently trying to reach her mentor.

Arriving at the library, the Princess of Friendship was already several bookcases deep in research. About what, Luster Dawn couldn’t be sure.

“Twilight?”

“Luster!” The purple Alicorn’s head shot up, revealing tired eyes and unbrushed hair (it was still flowing, sparkling like the elder princesses' hair always did, but it looked messy still). “Thank goodness you’re here. Do you recall your studies about the Crystal Empire?”

Luster Dawn paused for a moment, ruffling her feathered wings as she thought back to her studies nearly a thousand years ago. The Crystal Empire, ruled by Princess Flurry Heart now, had emerged after its own millenia in darkness (she could relate). The old king, King Sombra, had forced the citizens into a population of slaves thanks to his hiding of the Crystal Heart– the item that brought hope and love to the empire. After its emergence during Twilight’s time, she had found the Crystal Heart once more, bringing light to the empire and allowing Princess Cadence and Shining Armor to rule kindly, blessing their ponies with joy and excitement.

“I remember,” Luster Dawn responded, thinking about the last time she visited. It had been a while. “What’s wrong? Has something happened? Iron Wing said the news came from Canterlot.”

Twilight nodded, turning to flip through another bookcase, pink magic shuffling all of the many volumes of Crystal Empire history around, “Yes. Irradiance notified me of a new guard in our ranks. Have you ever heard of a Noctis Steel?” Luster Dawn shook her head slowly. Twilight sighed, “I was afraid that would be your answer.”

“What’s wrong with the guard?”

“He’s not a guard. I’ve never seen, heard, or spoken to him before. Irradiance saw him outside of his own bedroom but after he tried to speak to him again, the guard was gone in a puff of smoke.”

That wasn’t normal. Luster Dawn felt a chill come over her as she thought about what the implications of the new guard were.

“You brought up the Crystal Empire because you’re worried this is the work of Sombra?” Twilight nodded. Luster Dawn let out a sharp laugh, “But you defeated him ages ago! You told me yourself– the Elements of Harmony! All of your friends!”

Twilight finally set down the books and sighed, turning to Luster Dawn. “We’ve defeated Sombra time and time again, but he’s a pony of the shadows. As the years go on, he’s never been completely banished. I worry that, with Irradiance’s magic, he’s attempting to target him.”

“But he’s not even from the Empire,” Luster Dawn reasoned.

Twilight made a face, Luster Dawn supposed she knew more than she was letting on, but ignored it. If Twilight was keeping things secret, it was probably for a good reason.

The purple Alicorn continued, “Queen Lilith was after his magic… you were after his magic,” Luster Dawn winced, but she was right, “There’s no reason to think that another villain wouldn’t try to go after him.”

“Should we order for guards to further protect his room? His friends?” Twilight shook her head.

“If Sombra truly is targeting him, I don’t want him to think we know it’s happening. A pony of the shadows can manage to find a place to spy anywhere.”

Luster Dawn nodded, taking a breath. She hadn’t returned to her post as princess for long and already there was a threat to be wary of. Is this what Twilight dealt with during all of her training years? Suddenly ruling alongside her mentor felt so much better than ruling alone.

Twilight continued, indigo eyes looking far away, “We’ll notify Celestia, Luna, and Cadence and we’ll reach out to Flurry. If there is something going on, it’s likely that the Crystal Empire would be a victim of it sooner rather than later.”

“Should we contact Spike as well? Or the Pillars?”

“No. Like I said, we shouldn’t make more creatures worried than we need to. After we speak to the others we can contact Irradiance and his friends. For now, keep an eye out,” Twilight returned to her flipping through of the books, looking for an answer somewhere, “Sombra’s had years to prepare. He’s likely a worse threat than ever.”

Author's Note

RAHHHH short prologue!!! bc it didnt need THAT much prologueing this time. just a little scene-setting. i plan to make this one VERY irradiance focused. my timeline is always sort of weird but average a thousand years after twilight became princess so her friends are dead, flurry grew up, blah blah blah.
meet the characters, earn our elements, and this one is furthering irradiance's backstory. bc i LOVE him. so don't expect super regular updates but i hope to write this as my semester continues bc you've gotta balance dynamics homework with something am i right?
ok bye :)

Chapter One

Summer was Irradiance’s least favorite season. The heat burning down on his horn and hooves both absorbed and reflected the sunlight, causing him to overheat easily and irritate passersby (he’d reflected sunlight into one too many unsuspecting eyes on accident). He stayed indoors as much as possible, but with friends who enjoyed the outdoors, it was inevitable that he’d have to handle the heat eventually.

“Come on Irradiance! The best place to harvest frog eggs is the creek in Everfree, you know this!” Marigold complained about the stallion’s slow pace, her golden hair just as puffed up with the humidity as Irradiance’s (if not worse) though she seemed completely unbothered. Marigold loved living in Everfree and her pony species was very in-tune with nature, he knew this, but still. It was exhausting. Irradiance had grown far too used to spoiled castle life.

“I’m going as fast as I can, Marigold,” The Unicorn groaned, trudging through the dirt, hooves thudding along the forest floor.

Blue eyes glared behind at the purple stallion, “No way,” Marigold snapped, yellow coat seemingly absent of any sweat at all. “You and I both lived in this forest just as long as the other. I know you got used to the heat and collecting herbs just like I did.”

“I stayed in the shaded region of the forest!” Irradiance defended.

“What are you, a Vampire Bat Pony?”

“Ha, ha,” Irradiance rolled his eyes, laughing drily. Marigold was a beam of light during the confrontation with Luster Dawn. Why couldn’t she be more empathetic now? Irradiance supposed he should have brought Hibiscus if he wanted someone to match his energy…

“Hurry up!” Marigold had kept walking and was already several paces ahead of Irradiance. The stallion sped up to stay in line with her, already exhausted.

After Luster Dawn’s defeat and reinstatement as a princess, Irradiance’s friends had gone their separate ways once more. Amber and Leviathan were often in contact, sending letters home to Irradiance, Cobalt and Hibiscus were living together now, both commuting to their jobs and internships. With everyone pairing off, it only made sense for Irradiance and Marigold to hang out, united thanks to their shared experience of banishment to Everfree.

He missed Leviathan terribly. Irradiance had been so involved in his studies and the Changeling had been so focused on helping his Hive further adjust to “creating their own magic” that neither had much time for their partner. Love letters would do, for now, they supposed. Until the next villain reared its head (Irradiance always joked and Leviathan always cursed him, saying he was jinxing it. The Unicorn didn’t believe in jinxes).

“This has to be a record heat wave,” Irradiance gasped, finally approaching the creek Marigold was after. “It’s this hot in the forest?”

“Cast a chilling spell on yourself or something,” Marigold rolled her eyes, unclasping her saddlebag and reaching into the shallow water to scoop up brightly-colored frog eggs.

With a blast of purple, Irradiance summoned a cloud of snow above his head, sighing as he relished in the cooler temperature.

“Why are we after frog eggs anyway?” Irradiance asked, watching the yellow Earth Pony collect her fill.

“Anti-hallucinogen potions have been in high demand,” Marigold explained, swishing her tail, “and frog eggs are the main ingredient. Summer is the season they’re all spawning, so it's best to collect them when I can.”

Anti-hallucinogen potions? Irradiance felt like that was a strange thing to request in bulk for the city. Was there some sort of sickness taking over the citizens of Canterlot?

“It’s mostly Princess Twilight putting in the orders. Have you heard anything from her about why?”

Irradiance paused. Twilight was ordering anti-hallucinogenic potions in bulk? “Noctis Steel,” The stallion spoke suddenly, catching the mage off guard.

“What?”

Shaking his head, Irradiance explained, “A little while ago, after we came back and I was in the castle, I saw this guard, Noctis Steel.”

“What, was he new or something?”

“Yeah, but that’s just the thing!” Irradiance exclaimed, stamping his hooves on the ground, “No one had heard of him before. Not Leviathan, not Luster Dawn, not even Twilight. All the guards need Twilight’s approval before they can enlist as a castle guard.”

Marigold’s expression changed from confused to nervous quickly after her friend’s explanation. Irradiance felt his stomach turn. “Am I sick with something? Am I hallucinating ponies that aren’t there?” He folded his ears back, suddenly embarrassed.

Marigold rushed to comfort the stallion, eyes wide, “No! No, no. There’s been no comment on ponies hallucinating anything, just the order for the potions. But if you’re seeing a pony that isn’t there, maybe something is going around. I doubt Twilight would think you were crazy.”

“Twilight thinks I’m crazy?”

Marigold sent an unimpressed expression at Irradiance, who flushed, “Sorry.”

“Just talk to her once we get back from collecting these. I’ll make the next batch and I’ll just send it back to the castle with you.”

Irradiance nodded. That was a good idea. He’d discuss the unmentioned hallucinations that Twilight was worried about and she’d give him a straight answer. He was her prodigy, after all. The Guardian of Harmony, Twilight had named him. Big titles like that meant that he was entitled to some additional information. Taking a breath, Irradiance steadied himself. Collect the frog eggs, brew the potion, and ask Twilight about why she’s ordering them. Everything was fine.

“Can you help carry a jar or two?” Marigold mumbled, holding a jar of frog eggs in her mouth. Irradiance grabbed it with his magic, levitating it into his own saddlebags, which Marigold had insisted he bring. She needed to stock up, she’d said. Just one saddlebag wouldn’t be enough.

Both ponies filled their bags with about twelve jars total, until they couldn’t collect anymore and until Marigold decided it was enough that the frog eggs in the creek would be enough to spawn frogs for the season.

“Can’t diminish the population too much,” She said as she closed the final jar. “Alright, let’s head back to Canterlot!” Smile on her face, Marigold led the way once again and Irradiance was forced to remember he was dying of heat following behind her, even with the snow cloud above him.

“Do you think Cobalt has to fly in this heat?” Irradiance mused, looking up to the canopy of trees, imagining Cobalt flying with the Wonderbolts. Marigold shrugged.

“Probably. It’s cooler the higher up you go in the sky, so he’s probably perfectly chilly while training!”

Cold…

“Did you hear that?” Irradiance stopped where he was, the cloud disappearing with a poof!

“Hear what?” Marigold queried, turning to the stallion, eyebrow raised and blue eyes concerned. “Are you feeling alright, Irradiance?”

The stallion looked around, confused as to where the sudden noise had come from. When no further sudden words came to mind, he shook off the experience with a deep breath. Maybe he was finally suffering from heat exhaustion.

“Never mind,” Irradiance laughed it off, waiving a crystalline hoof at the Earth Pony, who shrugged and continued on down the path out of Everfree.

As the pair of ponies finally exited the dark forest, Irradiance couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Noctis Steel showing up, Twilight ordering these potions, and suddenly he’s hearing things? His stomach rolled and the Unicorn had to fight the urge to throw up his lunch. He’d speak to Twilight and everything would get figured out, right? Yeah. Yeah, it would be fine!

Marigold’s apothecary and apartment were in the same building, and she already had the rest of the materials she needed to brew the potion that required frog eggs.

As they walked through the city, both ponies were greeted by nearly every citizen they walked past. They’d grown used to the fame by now– having been memorialized in the new stained glass portrait in the castle, earning the title of Elements of Polyphony, and Irradiance already having his memorial in the School of Magic? It wasn’t unexpected that ponies would want to stop them for a quick greeting or photo.

“Irradiance! Irradiance!” A colt called, running from his front yard toward the stallion, who stopped Marigold with a tap on her flank as the young pony approached them.

“Hey!” Irradiance grinned, glad to have something to distract him from the spiral he was going down in his mind. The colt turned nearly crimson after having been acknowledged and Irradiance couldn’t help but laugh.

“Did you want a picture with the Element of Enchantment?” A mare walked up behind the colt, chuckling. This must have been the mother. She was a similar shade of blue, though the son was a bit more muted. The colt nodded excitedly.

“I can stop for a picture!” Irradiance assured, smiling at the mother and her son. The mare sent an appreciative look to the stallion before turning around and addressing someone behind her.

“Noctis, dear!” Irradiance’s heart dropped. From inside a cottage (the colt’s home, most likely), out stepped a grey Unicorn with a red-tipped horn, mane pitch black. “Would you take Umbra and my photo with the Elements? You know how big of a fan he is!”

Noctis looked directly at Irradiance as he responded, “Of course, darling.”

As the Unicorn held up the camera to snap the photo of his wife, son, Irradiance, and Marigold together (one with and one without her), the purple stallion couldn’t help but feel sick. His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he posed and something in him wondered if this family was even real. This was Noctis, wasn’t it? Marigold could see him, could see the whole family. Irradiance wasn’t hallucinating, was he?

“Thank you, so much,” The mare spoke, watching as her son ran inside alongside Noctis, who was no longer looking at Irradiance. “He’s such a big fan, you know. He’s always wanted to attend Celestia’s school. In fact, he’d visit your statue every day! He went with Noctis when I wasn’t able to go. I think he wishes you were his big brother!” The Unicorn laughed loudly, amused at her son’s antics.

Irradiance laughed along awkwardly, trying to convince his stomach to stay still, “Well, I’ve always wanted a sibling! Maybe I can take him out sometime.”

“Oh, really?” The blue mare gasped, “That would be so sweet of you!”

“No problem at all,” Irradiance assured, expression blank. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Marigold’s expression growing more and more concerned for her friend. “Well, we’ve got potions to brew. Great meeting you!”

With an urgent shove to Marigold’s flank, Irradiance pushed the pair further down the street, managing to wind up in the Earth Pony’s apothecary, and slamming the door shut with his magic. Safe in the house, Irradiance rushed to the nearest bathroom and threw up.

Author's Note

presnetly hoping i get a co-op at gulfstream btw. literally an engineer writing mlp fanfiction. i cannot underestimate how silly this feels. but hey you need something fun during all this stress.
sorry for the lack of consistency. chapter 2 is in the works now. enjoy!

Chapter Two

“Irradiance!” Marigold exclaimed, absolutely lost as to the sudden sickness the stallion was dealing with. “What’s wrong?”

Where to start? “That was the guard.”

“What?”

“The guard! Noctis Steel! The one I thought I imagined!”

“Okay, so he’s not a hallucination,” Marigold clarified for herself, slowly trying to catch up. “Why is that so bad?”

"I don't know!" Irradiance snapped, though he didn't mean to. He slumped over the sink, glaring at his own reflection, frustration bubbling under the surface. “I just... something’s not right.”

Marigold stood in the doorway, eyes wide with concern. “So the guard was home with his family, that’s normal. Or maybe you thought they were the same pony! Maybe it’s just some coincidence,” The yellow pony swished her tail, truly unsure how to comfort her friend, “There are lots of ponies in Canterlot.”

“No.” Irradiance shook his head, wiping his mouth with the back of his hoof. “There’s no way. It’s too much of a coincidence. And the way he looked at me... Marigold, that wasn’t just some friendly dad.” He paused, heart racing. “And what was he doing with a family like that? It didn’t feel... real.”

Marigold leaned against the doorframe, her brow furrowing. “Irradiance, you’re overthinking this. Maybe you're still suffering from heat exhaustion. Let’s just take a minute, breathe, and think this through. Noctis was just... snapping a picture. Being a regular pony. You’re spooked, that’s all.” She had a gentleness to her voice like a mother calming her child. Irradiance chuckled at the connection to the event from moments prior, but the amusement quickly turned back to concern.

Irradiance turned to face her, panic flashing in his green eyes. “What if I’m not spooked? What if this is connected to whatever Twilight’s not telling us? The potions, Noctis showing up in different places. It can’t be random. Something’s happening, Marigold, and I think Twilight’s in the middle of it.”

Marigold hesitated, opening her mouth to speak before closing it again. She’d seen Irradiance worked up before, but this was different. His fear, his doubt—there was an edge to it that unsettled her. He wasn’t just overreacting; there was genuine concern behind his eyes, and that made her pause.

“Alright,” she said slowly. “Let’s say you’re right. What do we do now? We can’t just storm into the castle demanding answers from Twilight. She’s the princess!”

“I know,” Irradiance muttered, pacing now. “But we can’t ignore this either. Noctis Steel isn’t just some random pony, Marigold. He’s involved in something bigger. And whatever it is, it’s related to those potions. Maybe to me. We need to figure out what he’s doing here.”

Marigold sighed, doing her best to remain patient. Irradiance knew he sounded crazy, but was it so crazy to think another villain was rising in Canterlot? With Lilith gone and Luster having been after his magic, it wasn’t insane to assume someone else was going to come after him next. “Okay, fine. But we’re not rushing into this without a plan. Let’s brew the potions first, deliver them, and then we’ll talk to Twilight. Calmly.”

Irradiance nodded, but a sense of unease lingered. “Yeah... Yeah, okay. Let’s do that.”

Marigold offered him a reassuring smile. “We’ll handle it together, alright? For now, let's just focus on what we can control. Potions first, mysteries later.”

A sense of longing washed over the stallion, craving for the rest of his friends to be there while another adventure was building up. Twilight wasn’t stupid! She wouldn’t hide something from Irradiance without reason… would she?

He’d send a letter to Amber and to Leviathan and he’d get in contact with Cobalt and Hibiscus not long after. Potions first, mysteries later.

Having helped the stallion calm down, Marigold turned away from the bathroom and began unlocking her shelves, starting on the potions. A few jars here and there were placed on the counter and the cauldron in the center of the room was filled with water, the fireplace below it already set ablaze in preparation for the potion-making.

“Can you grab some wolfsbane from my garden?” Marigold called to Irradiance, who nodded before remembering Marigold couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, sure thing,” The stallion took a break and stepped outside of the Earth Pony’s door, leaning down to collect a mouthful of wolfsbane for Marigold’s potion. As he lifted his head, he could swear there was the same black and grey Unicorn staring right at him. “AH!” Irradiance dropped the plants.

Marigold rushed outside, eyes frantic, “What? What happened?” She looked around panicked, just barely missing the whisps of shadow that blew away once Irradiance was no longer alone.

Irradiance shook his head, picking up the wolfsbane with his deep purple magic this time,

“Nothing. It’s nothing. I think I’m just… seeing things,” The stallion couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he’d been harboring since running into Noctis and his family. “Here’s your wolfsbane, by the way,” Irradiance handed the plants to Marigold, who took them in her mouth before retreating back into her home. Irradiance knew he was scaring her but he couldn’t help it! Seeing the same pony over and over again after that strange encounter in the castle? It would shake anyone!

“Okay, well the cauldron is brewing. After I add this ingredient it should only be a little while before the potion is ready to be bottled. Maybe you should take one, just in case,” The yellow Earth Pony half-joked. Irradiance could only muster an uneasy look rather than a laugh (though he was sure the laugh would have been anything but genuine).

Marigold approached the cauldron of boiling water, already a green color after she’d likely added the first few ingredients to the pot. Dropping the wolfsbane into the mix, the liquid slowly shifted to a deep purple color, bubbling ominously. If Irradiance didn’t know any better, he’d think Marigold was brewing poison.

“Can you grab those bottles off the shelf?” Marigold swished her tail, directing the stallion to an inset shelf with a myriad of glass bottles and vials on it. He grabbed several, levitating them all toward Marigold. She plucked one out of the air and ladled the potion into the small container before corking it shut and handing it to Irradiance. After noticing his confused expression, Marigold smiled, blue eyes squinting, “For your Noctis Steel obsession. In case they really have hallucinations and are not real pony, If they don't go away with the potion…” She trailed off. Irradiance didn’t want to think about what the other scenario would imply. Irradiance swallowed, downing the potion in one gulp.

“Okay, yuck,” Irradiance made a face, sticking his tongue out.

“It’s not a drink! It’s a potion!” Marigold swished her tail, irritated. She grabbed a few more bottles and began filling them with the potion, loading them into a wooden crate that was located beneath the shelf Irradiance had gotten the bottles from. “I don’t design my potions to taste good. I design them to cure ails!”

“Clearly,” Irradiance rolled his eyes, smiling. He was only teasing. It was nice feeling normal after so many instances of being scared and anxious this morning!

It was another ten minutes or so before Marigold was finished filling the potion bottles and loading them into the crates. Once she’d corked off the final bottle, she turned to Irradiance with a grin on her face. The stallion levitated the box (it was one of the main reasons he was here. Sure, Marigold could pull the crates on a cart, but having a powerful Unicorn to do it for her was far preferable) and opened the door to the apothecary.

“To the Canterlot castle!” Marigold exclaimed, leading her friend out the door, ensuring it closed behind them.

It wasn’t a path Irradiance was unfamiliar with. Though, as he walked alongside Marigold, he couldn’t feel like something was different. Maybe it was just a side effect of the anti-hallucinogenic potion he’d taken earlier.

“How is the princess?” Marigold was met with a confused expression from her friend. Shaking her head, she rephrased, “Has Twilight been stressed at all? I mean, you told her about Noctis initially, didn’t you?”

Irradiance nodded his head, looking at the ground and his hooves before answering, “She’s been fairly normal. Leviathan and I mentioned the first instance with Noctis to her and she mostly dismissed it, but I know she’s confused.”

The purple Unicorn made a face, missing his partner at the mention of him. Leviathan was always so busy these days.

The pair approached the castle gates soon enough, and Canon Ball and Spearhead were already waiting, hooves upon in a salute as their Princess’s prodigy approached with one of the Elements of Polyphony.

“Irradiance!” Spearhead chimed, happy to see the stallion. Leviathan had once made an irritated comment on how the guards always seemed to be so excited to see him. Leviathan called it a crush. Irradiance called it jealousy. Though he wouldn’t tell Leviathan to stop with the jealousy; it was cute.

“Have you two seen anything– or anyone strange around the castle recently?” Irradiance asked, eyebrow raised. The guards exchanged a glance before responding.

“Twilight mentioned something about an unwanted pony around the halls…” Canon Ball responded uneasily.

“She wanted another word with you about it, though,” Spearhead cut off his fellow guard. “She was pretty strict on how much she told us about the incident you had described.”

Oh, great. Now his only friends in the castle thought Irradiance was crazy! He made a face and nodded in appreciation before walking inside with Marigold, still holding all of the potions with his magic.

“Twilight is a hypochondriac herself, you know,” Marigold tried to comfort the stallion, whose ears were pressed back, face slightly pinker after the interaction. “I’m sure Spearhead and Canon Ball didn’t mean to imply seeing Noctis in the hall was an ‘incident–’”

“They definitely think it was ridiculous,” Irraidiance huffed, embarrassed out of his mind, “They’re guards. They know there's no Noctis Still in their ranks! I had just come back from a traumatizing journey with you guys. No way was I getting enough sleep. I probably saw Noctis out in the streets and imagined he was there because it was the first face I thought of!”

“We should speak to Twilight first!” Marigold insisted, trying to put a positive spin on everything. “You can’t just assume what everyone knows. You know what happens when you assume.” Marigold sent a pointed look at Irradiance, who rolled his eyes and tried not to think so hard.

“You’re the Princess of Friendship’s prodigy, the Element of Enchantment, and a smart Unicorn! I’m sure Twilight won’t dismiss you. If anything, I bet she’ll want to hear all the details!” Marigold seemed extremely excited about speaking with the princess. If he didn’t know any better, Irradiance would assume she’d never met Twilight Sparkle before in her life.

Irradiance took a breath and changed the subject, “Where are we dropping these potions off?” He gestured with his hoof toward the crates of bottles he was currently in charge of, “Twilight or the royal apothecary?”

Marigold opened her mouth to respond but was quickly cut off.

“I can take them off your hands,” A deep voice said.

“Oh, my Celestia,” Marigold’s face dropped. Before her stood none other than Noctis Steel. Grey coat, red-tipped horn, and black mane that Irradiance could swear was swirling with a slight breeze that only seemed to affect Noctis.

Irradiance dropped the crates of potions and prepared for the shatter, but it never came. Noctis was gone in a sudden rush of air, disappearing in a wisp of smoke.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Twilight emerged suddenly, catching the crates with her own magic before they could hit the marble floors of the castle. The princess had bags under her eyes.

“Twilight!” Irradiance exclaimed, shaking his head. “Was that real? Did I hallucinate it?”

Twilight shook her head, expression somber, “It was real, I’m afraid. Which means these potions will do me no good.”

“We hoped that the anti-hallucinogenic potions would mean that this Noctis Steel character would stop appearing,” Luster Dawn came out next, golden mane waving just like Twilight’s did. Her expression was equally as uneasy, “But it appears he truly is a real pony.”

“Pony?” Marigold scoffed, “I’d call that a ghost!” She swished her tail, absolutely flabbergasted at the interaction she’d just witnessed. After her friend had screamed all morning, she was finally seeing what he had.

“I fear he’s closer to a pony than a ghost than we’d hoped,” Twilight responded, exceedingly cryptic. Irradiance and Marigold shared a look before Twilight and Luster Dawn ushered them to follow them through the throne room and into the royal library. “Come with me. I’ll explain everything."

Author's Note

yippee! noctis steel is a sick name. you're gonna love the twist i have planned for you btw :3

Chapter Three: Intermission

Sombra’s reign over the Crystal Empire was hellish. It was cold and tyrannical and cruel. No matter how much she wanted to escape, Radiant Hope knew that she’d always fall back to her childhood friend, through the good and the bad (though it felt as though the bad would never leave at this point).

He wasn’t always like this, she always tried to remind herself. It was because of that terrible incident with the Crystal Heart that he’d been forced to see this future and fulfill it (it wasn’t terrible. Sombra always had options. He just chose to go with the worst of the options). Sombra had followed the cruel destiny of joining the Umbrums, letting them corrupt him and take over the empire he once adored.

Trapped in her chains within the Crystal Palace, Radiant Hope couldn’t do much else than hope he would soon come to his senses and free the citizens of the Crystal Empire, letting them return to their happy lives rather than this reality of slavery and misery.

“Radiant Hope,” Sombra hissed above the young Unicorn. Never cowering under his gaze, Radiant Hope stared up with the last of the shimmer in her eyes, always trying to see the best in her childhood friend. “Have you changed your mind?” His grin was all teeth and completely ingenuine. Lowering her ears, Radiant Hope slowly shook her head. Sombra’s sinister expression dropped to one of disappointment.

“You can’t rule with an iron hoof, Sombra,” blue eyes looked up with judgment deep within them. Sombra scoffed, black mane billowing in the nonexistent wind that always seemed to follow him.

“You underestimate me, Hope. I shall rule this puny empire as I please and you’ll stand by my side no matter what I do. We both know it,” The Umbrum brushed the side of Radiant Hope’s cheek with a hoof and she flinched out of the way. She hated seeing him like this.

Sombra huffed, clearly irritated at the constant rejection from his childhood friend and stalked away, disappearing somewhere else in the crystal palace, far away from Radiant Hope. The purple Unicorn sighed, relieved she was alone once more.

“We’re okay,” She spoke softly to herself, curling her hooves against her body, stomach protruding only slightly.

To the average guard, Radiant Hope looked no different– cyan mane still shimmering, purple coat clean as ever. Her brown cloak covered her body just fine, as well. It was hard to notice any small detail about her body unless someone was truly searching for it.

That of course meant that the bump that was starting to form near her stomach wasn’t noticeable. No one knew that Radiant Hope was pregnant.

It was another few months before the Princesses of Equestria freed the citizens of the Empire from Sombra’s cruel hoof. Or at least, they attempted to.

Radiant Hope, still trapped within the confines of the crystal palace, now visibly with child (though she had still managed to hide it from Sombra), was unable to do anything but watch on as her former best friend fought viciously against the two sisters, magic blasting through the air for hours on end.

A kick was felt in the mare’s stomach and she pressed a hoof over it, groaning at the sudden movement.

“I know, darling,” She spoke softly, wondering if the child within her would be a colt or a filly. “We’ll be free, soon. I promise.”

Sombra had no idea it was his child that Radiant Hope was growing more and more pregnant with. It was a shame that he wouldn’t be able to help her raise the foal, but at least Radiant Hope would be able to raise the poor thing in a place that wasn’t freezing and ruled by a tyrant. Or at least, she hoped.

Midway through the battle, Sombra turned suddenly, eyes gleaming with corrupted power, and blasted his magic directly at the Empire itself, shocking everyone within its borders. Radiant Hope’s eyes widened as she watched the princesses cease their attempts at subduing the stallion, their own expressions now ones of horror.

“Foolish Princesses,” Sombra hissed, grinning viciously. He stopped his fighting and allowed Celestia and Luna to aim yet another blast of magic at him, taking it with a groan, “Your attempts to defeat me are futile if you want to see the Crystal Empire survive without me.”

“What does he mean, sister?” Luna cried to Celestia, who had a furious look on her face, so unlike how the princess of the day normally appeared before her subjects.

“I’m not sure, dear sister! But we must defeat him!” Celestia responded, blasting more magic into the air, combining it with Luna’s as it grew into a large blast, about to collapse down onto the Unicorn King.

Sombra laughed maniacally, no longer defending himself and staring up at the blast of magic expectantly. “You shall never see the empire again, princesses,” He hissed. “On the thousandth year of my absence, only then shall it return! And I shall return along with it!”

No longer listening to what they thought were empty threats, Luna and Celestia cried out as they blasted a final white light directly at King Sombra, encompassing him within the magic, and he was gone.

Radiant Hope wasn’t anywhere. There was no palace to see, no fellow citizens of the empire to speak to, and not even her own reflection in the crystals surrounding her in the dungeon. She was nowhere.

It was only a few seconds ago that Celestia and Luna had defeated Sombra, right? The Unicorn looked down upon herself, noticing her stomach still just as round as she remembered. The mare sighed, thankful everything seemed to be normal. Or, at least, everything apart from her present location.

“Hello?” Radiant Hope called out, looking around the dark room she was trapped inside. There was no response. In fact, there wasn’t even an echo to be heard. It was as though everything had just… stopped. “Hello!” Radiant Hope cried out again, this time louder and slightly more panicked. No response.

Walking around the room yielded no answers, as well. Everything was dark and nonreflective. Until she came across a singular reflective surface: a puddle. Astonished at the single anomaly within this strange place, Radiant Hope ran toward it, looking down at the puddle and realizing it wasn’t reflective, but it looked more like a window out to some blurry, snowy landscape. She touched it with her hoof and the liquid rippled. Some noise that sounded like a groan of annoyance came from everywhere all at once. Radiant Hope gasped, pulling her hoof away suddenly.

“Hello?” She called out once more, this time with concern laced in her voice. A groan turned into a chuckle and Radiant Hope felt her stomach drop as she remembered who it sounded like.

“It worked,” A voice hissed. A sinister laugh filled every space within Radiant Hope’s prison. Sombra was here. “Wrong, Hope. I am not just here, I’m out there. I’m outside of the Empire. Who would have thought one thousand years would pass so fast!”

“What?” Radiant Hope gasped, “It can’t be… it’s been minutes!”

“You poor, poor soul. You should simply agree to rule alongside me, Hope. Then you wouldn’t be trapped in this prison I’ve created.”

Prison? This wasn’t right. Something was wrong and Radiant Hope didn’t have any resources to look into it. She was trapped somewhere with no light apart from a single puddle that now showed her… “The Empire…” Radiant Hope breathed, putting things together.

Before his banishment by the princesses, Sombra had cast some spell upon the Empire. It must have made everything disappear with him, making Radiant Hope disappear and reappear suddenly.

“Am I… inside of your head?” The mare approached the puddle once more, looking out and watching the ground below as a storm grew and grew, black smoke seemingly coming from nowhere. (It was coming from Sombra. He was in the sky and Radiant Hope could do nothing but watch on from within his mind.)

“How else would I keep you and our child safe?” Radiant Hope’s stomach fell. She wanted to keep the foal hidden, but clearly Sombra was smarter than she’d believed.

“Those princesses won’t be able to defend themselves this time. With no Crystal Heart, the Empire will fall without my leadership.”

Sombra would be defeated once more.

And again.

And he would be defeated and reappear again and again. Radiant Hope would be helpless, disappearing and reappearing with every defeat of the Unicorn King, even though he had since lost his position as leader of the Empire.

Radiant Hope watched through snapshots as a new leadership took over, love finally ruling over all. She watched villains fight against a band of friends and lose, she watched hope grow in the world that she wished she would one day return to. This curse Sombra had placed on the pair, forever stuck together, had to end sometime, right?

It was only one thousand years later– two thousand years after the initial banishment of King Sombra– that Radiant Hope was finally freed from within his mind.

His final banishment, coming from Princess Twilight Sparkle– banished all magic from within him, including the curse that kept Radiant Hope in his head. For just a moment, she was watching six ponies take over Equestria, providing some of the best leadership she’d ever witnessed.

Things changed in a flash, though. It must have been some anomaly with the magic, or something within Radiant Hope herself. She knew she was different and far more advanced than the other Unicorns in the Crystal Empire. Her mother had solidified that fact in her brain. The purple mare watched as things moved almost in a blink, she moved from standing in a field to standing in a home to standing in a puddle of something.

Oh. Hope looked down. Her water had broken.

Time was moving so fast that there was hardly a recollection of what events had preceded the birth of her child. All Radiant Hope knew was that she was in a hospital, no longer trapped in the head of a tyrant, and she was holding a wonderful baby in her arms.

She would have to figure out what had happened and how she’d suddenly appeared in… present day? Were Celestia and Luna still the rulers of Equestria? It didn’t matter. Radiant Hope signed the birth certificate, not answering any questions about the absence of a father or any family for that matter.

She smiled. Hope was finally free from that awful curse that had kept her prisoner for thousands of years. She grinned as the final signature was placed on the birth certificate for her baby– Irradiance.

Author's Note

lol sorry for months of absence.... engineering major is supa hard. enjoy the twist that was revealed super fast :p