As Shining Armor returned to his men, he saw looks of shock decorating their faces.
”Sir, what the hell is that?”
Captain Armor glared at the soldier, who shrunk away in response.
”First of all, that is no way to address a superior officer. Second of all, I don’t know. All I know is that it’s badly wounded and needs help.”
”How did it get hurt, Captain?
”It fought that cloud. And as you can tell, it lost.”
”Why help it sir? It could be just as dangerous.”
Shining Armor looked down to the deactivated bot. For some reason, seeing the creature whose eyes burned into his soul, so hurt… made him feel remorseful.
”Because it’s the right thing to do. Even if it is dangerous, it would be cruel to leave it to the cloud. Now come on, let’s search this place and see if we find any locals.”

The journey into the depths of the city was unnervingly quiet. The only sounds were the echoes of boots moving up and down again upon the road, and the hum of Cafence’s horn powering the shield. For thirty minutes, the soldiers trekked on through the quiet streets. Tensions rose the further they went. Where is everypony? They passed by markets, restaurants and even schools, all normally quite populated areas. Yet even those were vacant, causing their unnerve to grow steadily. Whatever was going on, something was not right. And hopefully, it could be fixed.

Eventually, the group reached a castle in the center of the abandoned city. There, the air seemed even colder, and somehow quieter. As they approached, they drew their weapons, ready for anything. They soon found a way in: a large gate, currently unguarded. Suspicious. Silently, they opened the gate into the courtyard, ready for an ambush. Yet none came. Carefully making their way inside, the group was on high alert. They slowly made their way through, searching every room for anything, from threats to hostages. Alas, there was nothing. Well, except a few strange crystal statues, that is. Eventually, they cleared most of the rooms and came across what seemed to be a throne room. Having not found anything yet, Shining knew that if there was an ambush in wait anywhere, it would be here. He quickly ordered his soldiers to prepare a breach and clear, making sure the princess was safe and secure before they proceeded. Kicking open the door, they rush in, only to find no pony within. Except for hundreds more of those crystalline statues, filling the entire room.

Shining Armor ordered the group to stand by as he slowly entered the room further, Gladius at the ready. He wasn’t sure if these were just statues, or trapped civilians, or even defense golems, but better safe than sorry. He weaved through the maze of crystalline statues, eventually discovering a strange, beacon-like crystal in the center. A dark, pulsing light emitted from the crystal, and a feeling of dread washed over him as he got closer. Not taking any chances, he smashed the crystal with the flat of his sword, shattering it instantly. And as the shards peppered the ground, the others began to crack.

Realizing what just happened, Captain Armor raced back through the statues, shouting to his men as more and more began to crack and break.
”Prepare for contact!”
Quickly reaching the entrance, he and his men quickly form a defensive perimeter in front of the door, with him at the head. As the first crystal completely shatters, they stand firm, prepared for it to charge. Only, it never did. For where the statue once was is now a crystalline pony, a dazed look upon their face.
”W-Where am I? Who are you?”

Confusion filled the soldiers. This was it? A bunch of random ponies trapped in crystal? Why were they all in the throne room? More importantly, Why were there Civilians trapped in crystal in the first place? Slowly, Shining Armor walked up to the confused Stallion, sheathing his weapons as he got closer
”Take it easy, you’re okay now. I’m Captain Shining Armor of the Equestrian royal guard, we’re here to help.”
Relief washed over the face of the stallion.
”Oh thank Cirrus you’ve come! After… after…”
The stallion suddenly tapers off, a look of confusion on his face.
”After what?”
”That’s the thing… I can’t remember!”

As the other’s slowly start to break open, he ordered his men to begin helping them, before Shining continues to speak to the stallion, drilling for information.
”Well what do you remember?”
” Sadly Not much. And what I do remember is just bits and pieces, and is very confusing. I remember… a dark cloud, who sought to swallow our hope, and destroy our love. A foal, heir of love, lost and never to be seen again. A spark of revolution, whose failure led to curse and banishment. And I remember the Twins of light and dark, fighting and failing to defeat our tormentor before they planted a seed of darkness within the child of dark. But that’s about it.”
Shining shook his head, confused by what the stallion meant. The cloud was obviously what attacked them, but what was this revolution? And who is this heir to love? As he pondered, he failed to notice his wife enter the room. The stallion, however, did notice, and was shocked.
”Impossible…”

Confused by his outburst, Shining turned his head, finally noticing his wife. Confused, he looked back to the stallion.
”What do you mean impossible? I mean yeah she’s not suited for combat, but that still doesn’t make her being here impossible.”
The stallion looked as if he had seen a ghost, But why? I mean, yeah she is the princess of love and- wait. Heir of love… Princess of love… it couldn’t be. Shining looked back to the stallion, who now looked confused beyond belief.
”The heir to love… Princess Mi-Amore Cadenza.”

”How… how do you know my wife’s name?!”
The stallion stopped staring at Princess Cadence, now looking to Shining.
”You… married?”
”How is any of this possible?! Cadence is the same age as I am!”
”How… how long has it been?”
Now it was Shining’s turn to be confused.
”What do you mean?”
”I may not remember much, but it remember that last year, the princess had disappeared at the age of one. Now, she’s old enough to have a child that age. So How long have we been frozen?”
”I… I don’t know. This place only just appeared last week.”
The stallion just nodded, face blank and emotionless. Suddenly getting up, he looks at Shining Armor, and gives a forlorn smile.
”I… I thank you for bringing for saving us, and bringing her. I don’t know why, but I feel that With her, the crystal empire now has a chance to recover from… whatever plagues us.”
As the Stallion walks away, Shining Armor is left to ponder. As if this whole mission hadn’t been mysterious enough.

As the rest of the civilians clear out, the group finally are able to set up a base camp within the castle. A quick rummage through the castle provided them with important supplies such as food and medical, so they should be fine for now. Not only that, but the castle has an entire barracks! It will be Nice to not have to sleep on the ground. And finally, there was the strange creature. They had managed to get a bed out of the barracks and into the throne room, before placing it down on it. That way, they would be able to keep an eye on the creature as they try to help it recover. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be hostile.

As the day came to a close on the empire, Shining Armor and his wife stood out on a balcony of the castle.
”Honey, I have a question.”
”Of course, ask away.”
”Did Celestia lever tell you what happened to your parents.”
Cadence’s ears flattened against her head, as she let out a sigh.
”No. all she said was that they were of royal blood, and that one day, I just appeared in her throne room. Why do you ask?”
”That stallion, when he saw you, he said something that shook me. He… said your full Royal name.”
Cadence’s gasped, confusion evident on her face.
”How did he know?! This place just appeared out of no where barley a week ago!”
”I don’t know, but he also said something about an heir to love. Do you know what that could mean?”
”I don’t know. But whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.”
Shining smiled at his Wife’s hopeful attitude. She was right. Whatever secrets this place holds, they’d find out. Together.

REBOOT SEQUENCE
ANALYSIS OF DAMAGE: MINIMAL CRYSTALLINE GROWTHS IN JOINTS
REMOVE AT ONCE
ACTIVATING MAIN SYSTEMS:
PERSONALITY MATRIX: ACTIVE
TACTICAL COMPUTER: ACTIVE
SCHEMATIC VAULT: ERROR: HEAVY CORRUPTION
CORRUPTED FILES UNSALVAGEABLE
DELETING CORRUPTED FILES… SUCCESSFUL
UNCORRUPTED FILES:
HEAT SYNC
BLASTER COMPONENTS
BLASTER RIFLE CHASSIS
BLASTER PISTOL CHASSIS
ENERGY BLADE
REPAIR KIT
BACKING UP FILES… SUCCESSFUL
ACTIVATING SUB SYSTEMS
OPTICAL: ACTIVE
VOCAL: ACTIVE
MOTOR FUNCTIONS: ACTIVE
UNIVERSAL TRANSLATOR: MOSTLY UNCORRUPTED, ACTIVE
ENERGY BLADE: ACTIVATING
ERROR:
DAMAGE SUSTAINED: SEEK REPAIRS
MINOR REPAIR SYSTEMS: DAMAGED
WARNING: ALL REPAIRS MUST BE MANUAL
CAUTION ADVISED
PAIN RECEPTORS: ACTIVE
REACTIVATION COMPLETE
WELCOME BACK ONLINE, MAV-3N

Author's Note

Another chapter, though not my best. I hope this chapter is decent, I had some difficulty with it.
If I made any mistakes or you have any suggestions, leave a comment! Thank you.