My Little Pony: Harmony is magic

Chapter 2: The Crystal Heart Criminal

It was the middle of the night in the Crystal Empire. No pony or animal was out and about in the moderate-temperature city, not even a mouse. All the citizens were nestled in their beds in their homes sleeping peacefully dreaming lovely dreams after enjoying each other’s company for Hearth’s Warming; receiving amazing presents of several sizes, even the size of an engagement ring. It was the perfect mood to end the holidays and return to normal once the sun came up hours later, and what could possibly go wrong?

The entire empire would soon get its answer.

A cloaked pony with a satchel walked past the entrance crystals and entered the crystal city as it silently walked down the main street towards the crystal Castle, barely making a sound that startled even the smallest of insects that still roamed around at night. Not a single pony heard it, not even a sleeping foal. The figure held a suspicious and mysterious presence. Who was this pony? What is a he or her? Why is he/she arriving here in the Crystal Empire so late in the night? What were they even doing in the empire that couldn’t wait until morning?

The cloaked pony walked down the crystal street and arrived at the Crystal Castle as it stopped in front of the crystal heart. After many moments of patiently waiting, a turquoise aura illuminated from underneath the hood as it engulfed the crystal heart, causing it to get pulled out from its much-needed location. The apparent unicorn placed it safely inside its satchel and hurried quickly towards the doors that led inside the castle; she used her magic to slowly open the doors and step inside before closing them, being careful to not make them creak or make a loud sound.

The pony slowly walked through the hallway and went to the upstairs level as it hid behind the corner to hide a flashlight beam being shined in its direction by a patrolling castle guard. Using great care, It lit up its horn and soundlessly teleported to another part of that hallway as it turned right at the corridor and walked quietly and slowly down another hallway. Whoever was trespassing in the Crystal Castle had the same precision and skill as Sunset Shimmer when she stole Twilight’s crown, but even she was caught but not apprehended. This pony on the other hand was more quiet and smart with his or her moves and seemed to know wherever she or he was going without getting lost in the seemingly numerous hallways.

It silently strided through the hallways and approached the door that led to the throne room as it hid behind a crystal pillar and peeked out from behind it, spotting two castle guards standing at their posts on both sides of the doors. The pony pulled its head back behind the crystal pillar and lit up its horn, causing it to become completely invisible. It stepped out from its hiding spot and went up to the doors as it lit up its horn and walked straight through the doors, not at all alerting the guards. It walked up to the crystal throne and lit up its horn, causing the aura to turn dark purple and green as the same colored beam shot out from underneath the hood it hit the crystal above the throne, causing a black shadowy beam to reflect back onto the floor as the pony stood out the way and allowed a black crystalline staircase to form in the floor with a wooden door at the bottom.

The pony descended down the staircase and reached the bottom as it lit its horn and pulled open the door as it stepped inside an abandoned study room with a bookshelf containing many books on ancient history and dark magic, a podium desk covered in cobwebs that contained a used candlestick, a small head statue of King Sombra, a globe, a quill restring in an ink cup, and an old journal.

“Wow. After all these years, I still wasn’t ready to see this place.” the cloaked pony said in a female voice as it entered the room. “You can come out, I know that you are here. There’s no need to hide from me…Sombra.”

She met with silence as she went onto the purple rug. “Fine. you may not recognize my voice, but you won’t have forgotten my face.”

She took off her cloak and revealed her true form. She was a dark purple crystal unicorn with a turquoise mane and tail with a caduceus for a cutie mark. “Look at me, Sombra. Do you recognize me? What’s my name?”

“Search the Castle! The thief mustn't have gotten too far!”

The unicorn mare felt her heart rate accelerate. “Come on, Sombra. I know that you’re here. Please, show yourself. I want to help you and your race be free again, but not unless you show yourself and allow me to heal you.”

More silence.

She let out an annoyed sigh and narrowed her eyes. “Fine. Be that way, but be thankful I bothered to step hoof down here.”

She got up, left the room, closed the door, and ran up the stairs. She reached the top and looked around, thankful that there weren’t any castle guards in the throne room. She used her magic to close up the staircase before running towards the doors as they suddenly began to open, causing her to gasp and hide behind one of them as three castle guards rushed inside.

“Search high and low! The crystal heart thief must still be inside the castle.” said one of them as they searched all around for her.

“I need to get out of here.” the mare whispered as she lit up her horn and soundlessly teleported outside the castle. Cold air was already blowing in the air and snow was beginning to cover the buildings and streets with icicles forming on the roofs of all the buildings. It wouldn’t be long before the Crystal Empire was lost to the frozen north, and she needed to hurry.

She ran down the main street and into the blizzard ahead, seemingly disappearing into the blowing snow. “Don’t worry, Sombra. I will restore your kind to the way it was long ago.”

It was black. Pure, colorless black. There wasn’t a single light to be seen, not even a tiny twinkle of a star. Hardly a single sound was being emitted, not even a small gust of wind. It was haunting, pure fear being shown, as if everything in existence simply vanished from the face of the universe. There was absolutely nothing.

Except for a pair of glaring glowing white eyes and a smiling glowing white mouth.

Evil laughter echoed in the darkness in the most haunting of voices. It was neither male nor female, sounding like the wheezy sigh of an old stallion releasing his last breath. “Oh, the joys of fear and despair, of darkness so pure and filled with depressing nightmares. The many laughs of seeing a pony release an anguished cry and an angry roar, really makes my powers soar. The many things that I will do to take away balance and light from you, and replace it with destruction and violence, something I take with great value.”

The blackness illuminated a bird's eye view of Equestria, showing black creatures destroying towns and leaving them up in flames as they captured innocent ponies and tormented them.

“Equestria will soon belong to me and my entire kind, pleasing us greatly as we will show the entire world our power. It will be heartwarming to see your cries of anguish and despair, complaining that we aren’t at all fair. We won’t care about your problems no matter how small the conundrum, so look out Equestria. Here comes the Umbrum.”

The voice erupted into haunting evil laughter as everything ignited into flames before returning to blackness.

Twilight awoke with a gasp as she sat up and placed her hoof over her quickly beating heart. She took in her surroundings and was relieved to find that she was in her bedroom safe and sound, causing her to let out a sigh of relief as she laid back down. “It was just a dream.”

‘But why did I have it?’

She couldn’t help but ponder over the question. It was a scary but confusing dream, something that heightened her curiosity and caused her to dwell on it. It didn't feel like a normal dream, but an image warning of a potentially dangerous event happening in the future. Whoever was in it was unlike anything she’d ever seen or heard before, sounding like a ghost and a zombie at the same time with promising intentions to destroy Equestria, but who was it? The only thing she remembered was the word Umbrum being spoken, but what does it mean? What or who is the Umbrum, and why it or would they be seen as a threatening creature?

“Maybe Princess Luna could figure this out.” she yawned as she pulled her covers back over her and closed her eyes as she began to drift back into her slumber.

“Twilight!”

She jolted with surprise and fell out of her bed as she scrambled to her hooves and threw her covers off her head. “Spike? What’s going on?”

“I just got this letter from Candece just a second ago, and it’s urgent.” he said as he held out his right hand, which contained a scroll in it.

Twilight immediately lit up her horn as she levitated it out of his hands and unrolled it before reading it aloud.

“Dear Twilight,

The crystal heart has gone missing. We have searched the entire Crystal Castle and parts of the Crystal Empire, but found no traces of where it went. Celestia and Luna have already been informed of the impending problem and are currently here assisting in the search, but we need you and your friends to join in as soon as you can.

Hurry as fast as you can.

From, Cadence.”

The Princess of Friendship lowered the letter with a worried expression before switching it to one of seriousness. “I have to get to the Crystal Empire.”

“Do you want me to wake Starlight?” asked Spike. “I can come along too if you want.”

Twilight nodded her head. “That’s a good idea, but I think it’s best if you stayed here and went back to sleep.”

“Really? But I can help.”

“I know, but it’s late and I can tell that you’re really tired.”

“Tired? Oh come on, Twilight, I’m not…yawn…tired.” Spike yawned as he shook his head as he flexed his biceps. “See I’m strong and energized and ready to…yawn…help out. After all, I am Spike the Brave and glorious.”

Twilight lit up her horn and teleported to his room as she placed him on his king-sized bed and pulled the covers over him. Due to his size, he outgrew his basket bed and needed something a little bit bigger. “Sorry, Spike, but no means no.”

Her number 1 assistant let out another yawn. “Aw man. Now I’ll never save the…the…”

He fell fast asleep as Twilight couldn’t help but smile a little at him before quickly and soundlessly teleporting to the doors to Starlight Glimmer’s bedroom and knocking on the doors. “Starlight, wake up. We’ve got a problem.”

A few moments later, the doors creaked open slightly as Starlight looked at her with tired eyes. “Twilight, what’s going on? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Sorry for waking you, Starlight, but we have a big problem.” said Twilight with urgency. “I just got a letter from Cadence saying that the crystal heart is missing.”

Starlight gasped. “What? Where did it go?”

“I don’t know, and neither does Cadence. Celestia and Luna are already in the Crystal Empire assisting in the search, but we have to hurry and get the others.”

Her former pupil nodded her head as they lit up their horns and teleported out of the castle and to Fluttershy’s cottage as she pounded on the front door, never bothering to acknowledge the fact that she forgot her coat and boots.

A light could be seen from a window as the front door opened, revealing the sleepy Element of Kindness as she looked at her friend tiredly with concern. “Twilight? Starlight? What's going on? It’s past one in the morning.”

“Sorry for waking you, Fluttershy, but we’ve got a problem. I just got a letter from Cadence saying that the crystal heart has gone missing.” Twilight explained.

Fluttershy gasped. “What? Oh no, that’s terrible.”

“She wrote saying that she needs us and the others as soon as possible, so I need you and Starlight to go and round them and meet me with them in the center of town.”

“I’m on it.”

“Same here.” Starlight nodded.

They rushed down the path back to Ponyville and spreaded out to the homes of their friends. They explained the urgent situation that required their presence in the Crystal Empire, causing them to understand the dire situation as they went towards the center of town.

“Now that we’re all here, let’s go and find the crystal heart so that we can return to our beauty sleep posthaste.” said Rarity, who had on a stylish winter’s coat, hat, scarf, and sparkly pink snow boots.

“Rarity, You know you didn’t have to put that on, right?” said Rainbow Dash. “We’re going to find where the crystal heart is, not attend a fashion show in Manehattan.

“Just because we’re going on a mission to save the Crystal Empire, that doesn’t mean I can’t warm up and look fabulous at the same time.”

The cyan pegasus rolled her eyes. “Well excuse me for being upset at having to be woken up in the middle of the night.”

“Let’s go ahead and get going.” said Twilight as she lit up her horn and teleported them to the throne room of the Crystal Castle.

The Mane 6 along with Starlight arrived at their destination and saw Cadence, Celestia, and Luna waiting for them as they rushed over to them. “We came as fast as we could, Cadence.” said Twilight.

“Thank you all for coming.” said Celestia. “I’m sure all of you are tired from having to wake up so late into the night, but it eases our search already seeing you here.”

“It’s no problem, yer highness. Just tell us where we can start searchin’ for the crystal heart and we’ll get straight to it.” said Applejack.

“That’s the problem. We don’t know where it is or if anyone has stolen it.” said Cadence. “Shining Armor and all the guards are already doing a mass search of the entire empire, but I’m worried that we may be too late in finding it.”

“Don’t worry, Cadence. Me and my friends will do whatever it takes to find the crystal heart and restore the Crystal Empire back to its proper glory.” said Twilight with determination as her companions made sounds of agreement.

Despite the serious situation, Celestia smiled, feeling happy that her former student and her friends were always available to help Equestria. “With the Crystal Empire Guard searching the entire city, I believe it is best if we search the castle for any clues that could lead to where the crystal heart is. There may be something that has been overlooked.”

Pinkie pulled out a Sherlock Hooves hat and bubble pipe as she blew into it. “This sounds like a job for Detective Pinkie Pie.” she said in a British accent.

“I’ll help Pinkie with the search,” said Fluttershy. “She might need my help.”

“Jolly good, Fluttershy However, you need to look more like a detective's assistant.”

The pink earth pony pulled out a detective's assistant hat from out of nowhere and placed it on the Element of Kindness’s head. “There we are. Much better.”

“I’ll search the library.” Twilight volunteered.

“I will as well.” said Starlight.

“Big whoop.” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’ll look in the sports stadium.”

“I’ll check in on the kitchen.” said Applejack.

“Meanwhile I’ll see if there are any thieves in the guest rooms.” said Rarity.

“Good luck, and be careful,” said Luna. “We don’t have a moment to lose.”

“We won't let you down.” said Twilight as she and her friends ran out of the throne room to their chosen areas of search.

Fluttershy and Pinkie went to a random hallway and began to search for clues as the pink earth pony pulled out a magnifying glass and skimmed the ground. “Keep your eye out for anything suspicious, Fluttershy. Even the tiniest of chips in the walls can be a lead.”

“Um, Pinkie? I don’t see anything.” said Fluttershy as she looked around. “There isn’t anything out of the ordinary.”

“On the contrary. There’s always something suspicious no matter what it is. However, if you’re having trouble looking for anything more closely, then you need one of my finest magnifying glasses.”

Pinkie pulled out a pair of circular glasses with magnifying glass lenses as she put them on her pegasus friend’s head. “There you go. Now you can see things more closely with both of your eyes.”

“This isn’t what I had in mind, but thanks anyway.” Fluttershy smiled slightly as she looked around. “Oh my, everything looks so close.”

Her pink friend pulled out a pair of magnifying glasses of her own and put them on. “I know, and now I can see up closely with both eyes!”

They looked around the hallway for anything that could help them find wherever the crystal heart had gone or if anyone had stolen it, but they hadn’t found anything so far. They went to other parts of the castle and searched in those hallways and corridors, even going to the foyer to see if they could find anything, but to no avail.

Fluttershy let out a sigh and took off her magnifying glasses. “Pinkie, we’ve searched almost every hallway in the castle, but we still haven’t found anything.”

“Don’t give up, my trustworthy assistant. We just need to ask the right ponies for information.” Pinkie said as she blew bubbles out of her bubble pipe before pointing at a castle guard marching down the hallway at the edge of the one they were in. “Like him! We must trott on and interrogate the protector.”

She ran after him with her assistant following close behind as they caught up to him and stopped their stride. “Excuse us, good sir, but can we ask you some very important questions? My assistant Fluttershy and I are skimming the hallways for clues and have yet to find anything. We were wondering if you’ve seen anything on this peaceful night before the crystal heart went missing.”

“That is…if you’re okay with that.” Fluttershy added nervously.

“I can tell you what I can, but even my knowledge is limited.” the guard replied. “I was doing my normal overnight patrol of the hallways to make sure that there wasn’t anypony trespassing in the castle when I walked past a window and saw snow blowing. I immediately ran outside to where the crystal heart was usually located and saw that it had gone missing before reporting this to Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor and searching with my fellow guards for it.”

“Did you hear anything before you noticed the snow?” asked Pinkie as she pulled out a notebook and quill.

“Not at first, but I heard the sound of soft hoofsteps coming from the hallway that led straight to the throne room, but when I went to investigate, I didn’t see anyone. I thought it was one of the other guards patrolling the hallways and went back to my patrol.”

“Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmmm. Mmm-hmmm.” she nodded as she wrote down everything he’d said. “Is there anything else you’d want to share?”

“No. I have no further information regarding where the crystal heart went.” the guard replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my patrol of the hallways.”

“Thank you.” Fluttershy smiled at him as he nodded before marching down the hallway.

“So according to that guard, he heard silent hoofsteps in the hallway heading towards the throne room and thought it was nothing before later seeing snow outside and went to investigate, only to find the crystal heart missing from its location. He then went to tell Shining Armor and Cadence and was ordered to rally up all the guards here to look for it.” Pinkie summarized. “So it sounds like the crystal heart was stolen.”

“But who would steal it? And why would they do such a thing to the Crystal Empire?” asked Fluttershy.

“I have no idea, and we still haven’t found a single clue. Unless…how do we know you didn’t take it?”

The yellow was taken aback. “What? Why would I do something like that?”

“The deviant mind is often difficult to understand.” Pinkie stated matter-of-factly as she blew bubbles out of her bubble pipe.

“Said the mare with the detective's hat and bubble pipe.” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at her with annoyance.

“Touchee, my faithful assistant. Now come, we must go to the scene of the crime and look for any clues as to what or who happened to the crystal heart.”

Pinkie bounced off down the hallway as Fluttershy let out a sigh and flew after her. They went outside the castle and over to the crystals that usually held the crystal heart in place as the pink earth pony pulled out her magnifying glass and scanned the ground for any clues. “Ah-ha! I found a clue!”

“You did?” Fluttershy asked as she looked around. “But…I don’t see anything.”

“That’s because Twilight enchanted my magnifying glass by accident a few months ago, but it turns out it came in handy when some of the cupcakes at Sugar Cube Corner went missing the following week. It turns out there were hoofprints with frosting on them and they were mine all along and I slept-ate the cupcakes for three nights in a row.”

Pinkie returned her attention to the hidden hoofprints. “Fluttershy, take a note.”

“But I don’t have a notebook and quill.”

“Oh. That's because I put it in your hat.”

The yellow pegasus took off her hat and pulled out a notebook and quill with surprise and confusion. “How did you-?”

“Get them in there? I always keep them in that hat, just in case of not only mystery solving situations for not taking emergencies.” Pinkie explained. “Anyway, I need you to write down everything I say while we follow the hoofprints. Think you can do that?”

Fluttershy nodded and took the quill into her mouth and the notebook into her hooves. “Ready.”

“Great! Now then, the pony that we are looking for came here into the Crystal Empire while everypony else was asleep and took the crystal heart out of its much needed place. He or she walked or ran with it inside the castle and went up the stairs here and hid behind this crystal pillar here. He or she then walked out from his or her hiding place and went straight towards the throne room. They must’ve been a unicorn because who would just be allowed entrance into the throne room in the middle of the night other than Candece and the royal guards?”

“That is a good point.” Fluttershy mumbled as she scribbled down everything her pink friend said. “Anything else?”

“Yes.” Pinkie nodded as they went inside the throne room, which was empty. “The thief went up to the throne here and stopped before hearing the guards calling out the blowing snow and the missing crystal heart. Knowing that he or she had to get out of here, the thief ran towards the doors and hid behind them when guards entered to begin their investigation. He or she then ran out the doors with the guards in probable pursuit behind him or her as the thief ran back the way he or she came from, out the castle, and into the streets of the Crystal Empire.”

“But where did they go?”

“I unfortunately don’t know, but lucky for us, the hoofprints will tell us where the thief went.”

“So all we have to do is follow them and we’ll find the thief?”

“Elementary, my dear Fluttershy.” Pinkie replied as she blew bubbles out of her bubble pipe. “Now then, let’s trott on!”

They followed the hoofprints and went down a series of streets and alleyways, determined to find the thief and return the crystal heart back to where it belongs.

“If I were the crystal heart, where would I be?” Rainbow Dash asked herself as she sped over the bleachers in the stadium and skimmed the now snow-covered field. “Furthermore, did anyone steal it?”

The possibility was high, considering the fact that the crystal heart obviously can’t grow legs and run away, nor disappear into thin air. Shatter from a loud sound, yes, but none of the other possibilities other than grand theft. The thief would have decided to hide in the second largest building in the Crystal Empire to avoid being captured by the royal guards, which, in Rainbow's opinion, was a little smart of a move but cowardly, not to mention an easier way to be captured.

The cyan pegasus flew down the entrance tunnel to the field as she went inside the locker rooms and searched them for any signs of the crystal heart, only to find none. She then flew to the training rooms and sports equipment storage rooms for anything that could help out in the search, but found the same results. She then flew to the VIP booth and rechecked all of the bleachers, but to no avail in terms of any clues.

Rainbow let out an annoyed sigh. “What’s the use? Why would a thief hide in here anyway?”

She flew out of the stadium and struggled in the cold air and wind as she spotted a mysterious figure wearing a cloak running down one of the streets on the far end of the Crystal Empire. “Huh?”

Rainbow sped over to the street and turned right where her possible thief went as she spotted it running away from her. “Ah-ha! You can’t get away from me.” she grinned as she flew full speed ahead at the figure, causing it to turn its head around before it disappeared in a turquoise flash of light.

“What the..?” Rainbow skidded to a halt as she looked around for the thief. “Hey! where’d you go?”

She sped down the street and looked for the thief, unaware that it had teleported into an alleyway not too far away along another street and hid in it. The cloaked pony stayed perfectly still and quiet as it saw his or her chaser speed past the alley before stepping out of his or her hiding spot. It ran in the opposite direction and made a right as it ran straight towards the exit to the Crystal Empire, only for it to be tackled hard to the ground.

“Ha! I’ve got you now.” Rainbow said triumphantly. “Now to see who you really are.”

She pulled off the hood, revealing a crystal pony she had never seen before. She was a unicorn mare, and all crystal ponies were normally earth ponies. Nevertheless, the cyan pegasus caught the thief and needed to bring her to justice.

Rainbow noticed a satchel being worn around the unicorn mare as she narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously. “Do you mind explaining why you were running around here in the middle of the night? And what’s in your bag here?”

“Wait, let me explain!” the unicorn mare pleaded.

“Explain what?”

The Element of Loyalty opened the satchel and was surprised to find the crystal heart hiding safely inside it. She glared at the thief and pulled it out of the bag. “And what do you call this?”

“I’m sorry for taking the crystal heart, but I had to. My friends need my help.” the unicorn mare explained as she lit up her horn and teleported from underneath her. “You must let me explain.”

“Oh, I’ll let you explain alright. After I get you back to the princesses and let them decide what to do with you, and who are your friends anyway? Are you working with a bad guy?”

“No. My friends aren’t evil, and you must let me bring the crystal heart to them.”

“And why would I do that? The Crystal Empire needs it for protection against the harsh winter conditions, and I’m not going to let someone like you take it no matter what excuse you have, so here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna knock you out and bring you back to the castle so the princesses can decide what to do with you. Are we cool with that?”

Not waiting for an answer, she tackled the unicorn mare before she could use her magic and knocked her unconscious with one swift punch before placing the crystal heart back inside the satchel. She scooped her up inside her forelegs and flew back to the crystal castle as she entered it and flew to the throne room, immediately being granted access by the guards who were standing post as she flew up to the steps to the throne and placed the mare down.

“I caught the thief!” Rainbow proudly called out. “I repeat, I caught the thief!”

Cadence along with Celestia and Luna were the first ones to respond to the call as all three of them teleported into the throne room.

“That was really fast of you, Rainbow Dash, but thank you.” said Cadence.

“No need to thank me, your highness, but that’s not the best part.” The cyan pegasus smiled proudly as she pulled out the crystal heart from the unicorn mare’s satchel. “Bam!”

Twilight and Starlight teleported in the throne room. “The crystal heart was stolen?” asked the Princess of Friendship.

“It sure was, but thanks to me, we can all go back to sleep.”

“Well done, Rainbow Dash. We must put the crystal heart back where it belongs before the entire empire is lost to the frozen north.” said Celestia as she lit up her horn and took it into her magical grasp before teleporting to the holding crystals. She placed the crystal heart in between them as it began to spin rapidly before releasing a large energy wave that not only blew back the cold air and snow, but turned everyone into their crystalline forms.

Meanwhile, in one of the many guest rooms, Rarity was suddenly turned into her crystal pony form as she looked down at herself in surprise and squealed with happiness. “Ooh, it feels so good to be sparkly!”

She and the rest of the Mane 6 stopped their search for the crystal heart when this happened, knowing full well that it was found and put back where it needed to be as they ended their searches and went to the throne room, returning back to normal moments later.

“Guess who caught the thief and retrieved the crystal heart?” Rainbow Dash smiled proudly. “This pony!”

“You did!” Pinkie smiled as she took off her detective costume. “🎵Rainbow caught the thief, Rainbow caught the thief!🎵”

“What’s going on?” Shining Armor peeked his head in as he entered the throne room.

“Rainbow Dash has captured the pony who apparently stole the crystal heart,” said Luna as she smiled at Twilight and her friends. “Despite that, we thank you five for assisting in the search.”

“It was no trouble, princess.” said Rarity with a bow. “Now we can all go home and return to our beds. I for one am positively exhausted.”

“Me too.” Rainbow nodded as she let out a yawn. “All of that flying did wake me up, but now I’m beat.”

Celestia leaned down and observed the unconscious unicorn mare. “Luna, does this pony look familiar to you?”

The Princess of the Night rose a brow as she lit up her horn and took off the cloak, gasping in familiarization at the mare’s cutie mark. “It can’t be.”

“But she is.”

“Your highnesses, what’s going on? Do you recognize this mare?” asked Starlight.

The sun princess and her younger sister shared a look before they nodded. “We do. This is Radiant Hope.”

“Radiant Hope?” Cadence raised a brow before getting a closer look at her. “Wait a minute, I’ve read about her in King Sombra’s journal. Wasn’t she supposed to be a princess?”

“Her? A princess?” Rainbow asked with bewilderment. “And you know her?”

“Yes.” Luna nodded. “You see, my little ponies, she was the one who alerted us about King Sombra’s attack on the Crystal Empire over one thousand years ago.”

Twilight was surprised by this. “A thousand years ago? But that’s impossible. Only alicorns can live that long. How is she still alive?”

“Not only that, but she’s a crystal unicorn. I thought the crystal ponies were only earth ponies.” added Rarity.

“Yeah. How did that work out?” Applejack asked in agreement.

Before a reply could be spoken, the unicorn known as Radiant Hope let out a groan and stirred back into consciousness as she slowly opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing her sore head in the process. “Ugh…where am I?”

She looked around at the unfamiliar ponies surrounding her as she turned to look at the regal rulers of Equestria. “Celestia? Luna? Is that you?”

“Radiant Hope. It has been over one thousand years since we last saw you.” said Celestia as she helped the unicorn to her hooves. “How are you feeling?”

“A little sore in the head, but I’ll be alright.” Radiant replied as she looked around at Cadence. “And who are you? You look a lot like Princes Amore. Are you her descendent?”

“No. I’m an orphan like you, but my full name is Mi Amore Cadenza, but everyone calls me Cadence.” said the Princess of Love. “I’ve read about you in King Sombra’s journal. It’s nice to meet you.”

Radiant bowed respectfully. “It’s an honor to meet you, your highness, and I’m terribly sorry for stealing the crystal heart.” she looked over at the other ponies present. “And who are all of you?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight said with a welcoming smile. “These are my friends: Starlight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and my older brother Shining Armor.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I guess.” said Fluttershy with a slight smile. She knew that this was the pony who stole the crystal heart and nearly froze the entire Crystal Empire, but the least thing she could do was be a little friendly.

“It’s nice to meet you too, everypony. Including you, Princess Twilight.” Radiant said with a bow. “Sorry about stealing the crystal heart.”

Rainbow scoffed. “Do you really think you can worm yourself out of this with an apology?”

“I’m truly sorry for what I did, but believe me when I say that my actions were done in order to save my friends.”

“What friends?” asked Pinkie.

“The Umbrum.”

Celestia, Luna, and Cadence gasped. “You’re friends with the Umbrum?” the Princess of Love said incredulously with disbelief as she glared at her. “But they’re evil.”

“They’re not. They’re decent. They’re nice even.” Radiant reasoned.

“You don't know that. You've never met them.”

“But I have! That’s where I was all of these years. Living with them.”

“That doesn’t explain why you stole the crystal heart.” Rainbow glared at her.

“Wait a minute, I heard that name before,” said Twilight. “Before Spike woke me up and told me that the crystal heart went missing, I had a nightmare about a scary voice saying how it wanted Equestria all to itself and that it belonged to something called the Umbrum.”

She noticed that her friends were gaping at her. “What?”

“I had a dream just like that.” said Fluttershy.

“Me too! What are the odds?” said Pinkie.

“I don’t know why, but I had one just like that too.” said Rainbow Dash.

“Are you saying that all six of you had the exact same dream?” inquired Luna as the six ponies nodded. “It sounds to me like you six had a vision.”

“I didn’t have that dream,” said Starlight.

“Why would all of us, excluding Starlight, dream about something so haunting?” asked Rarity. “It’s not like a threat is being made against Equestria…right?”

“And what exactly is the Umbrum, your highnesses?” added Applejack. “I’ve never even heard of them before.”

The Princess of the Night shared a look with Celestia and Cadence before addressing everyone present. “I think it’s best if we all get some rest and talk about this in the morning. There is a lot of explaining that needs to be done and we can’t all do this without maximum energy and rest.”

“That sounds fair.” Twilight nodded as she let out a yawn. “I’m pretty tired.”

“Not me!” Pinkie said as she bounced up and down. “I’m so full of energy I could run around the entire castle while eating a trayful of cupcakes and-”

She suddenly fell asleep and collapsed onto the ground as she snored softly.

“I’m ready to get back to bed. I’m more tired than…yawn…a herd of stampeding cows.” yawned Applejack.

“I’ll take you to your rooms.” said Cadence as she led the Mane 6 out of the throne room.

“As for you, Radiant Hope, I have no choice but to lock you up in a cell in the underground dungeons. Stealing the crystal heart is a serious crime, and you will face charges for your actions.” said Shining Armor as he lit up his horn and placed a magic blocking spell on her horn.

Radiant lowered her head with guilt. “I know.”

“What you did was wrong and I have no idea what the Umbrum were doing to you, but I know for a fact that you wouldn’t do anything to intentionally harm anypony.” Celestia smiled as she and Luna walked past her. “I know you’re spending the night in a dungeon cell, but we hope that you have a pleasant night’s rest.”

They left the throne room as Shining Armor led Radiant Hope through the hallways of the Crystal Castle and down the staircases to the underground chambers. They entered the dungeon hallway and came to a stop in front of an empty cell as he opened the barred door for her. She went inside the cell and sat down on the wooden bed against the wall as he closed the door and left the dungeon.

“Don’t worry, my friends. I will help free you all if it’s the last thing I do.” she whispered to herself as she laid down and prepared for what was going to be a long night ahead of her.

Morning sunshine shone down on the Crystal Empire as Radiant Hope sat on the wooden cot in her dungeon cell with tired eyes. She hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night, which was mostly her fault due to her criminal activity with the crystal heart and the uncomfortable sleeping contraction that was present in her area of punishment, but that was the least of her problems. What she was really worried about were her friends.

She was so close to helping them, but Princess Twilight and her friends stopped her from achieving her goal. Now because of her foolishness and unpreparedness, her friends would never be free and it would be all her fault.

Radiant’s ears perked up at the door to the dungeon open as hoofsteps came down the hallway. She looked up to see Shining Armor coming to a stop in front of her cell as he looked at her with a neutral expression.

“Good morning, Radiant Hope. Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadence would like to speak to you in the dining room.” he said as he used his magic to open the barred door.

“They do? What about?” she asked as they left the cell.

“I think you already know.”

He was right. The princesses wanted to interrogate her motive and her recent actions since she disappeared. “I do.” she nodded.

They left the dungeon and ascended the spiral staircase as they reached the main level of the Crystal Castle and went to the dining room. They entered it as Radiant saw the three alicorn princesses.

“Good morning, Radiant Hope. How did you sleep?” said Celestia as the unicorn mare sat next to her.

“Not bad.” Radiant replied. “I did sleep in a dungeon cell, so not well at all to be honest.”

The doors opened as Twilight and her friends entered the dining room, now fully rested and feeling much better after gaining back their hours of sleep.

“Good morning, girls. How did you sleep last night?” said Cadence.

“We slept really really well! Thanks for letting us stay overnight.” said Pinkie as she bounced over to an empty seat. “Hi, Radiant Hope! Did you sleep well?”

“More or less.”

“Now that you’re all here, we can discuss what we were unable to do last night,” said Celestia. “I’m sure a lot of you are questioning the strange nightmare you had and what the Umbrum is.”

“What exactly is the Umbrum?” asked Starlight.

“To put it simply, the Umbrum is a colony of shadow ponies.” answered Luna.

“Shadow ponies? But aren’t they just spooky stories?” Fluttershy asked, not liking where this was going.

“Unfortunately they aren’t. The Umbrum are cruel and unfeeling beings of pure darkness and nightmares that target and create negative emotions to strengthen their powers. Before Celestia and I teamed up with the empire's former leader, Princess Amore, they attacked the Crystal Empire and burned the homes of the crystal ponies. They poisoned their hearts with pure negative emotions and despair, strengthening their dark powers and making them unstoppable.”

“Were you able to defeat them?” Twilight asked.

“We were, but they were too powerful to be eradicated from existence,” said Celestia. “We sealed the Umbrum inside of enchanted crystals in the frozen wastelands, never to escape and harm anypony ever again. However, it seems that they weren't completely locked away from Equestria and likely used Radiant Hope to escape.”

“They haven't.” Radiant argued. “They’re not the creatures of evil you speak of them to be. The Umbrum are friendly, playful, and didn’t once show me any strife or take me for granted.”

“How did you meet the Umbrum?” asked Rainbow Dash.

The crystal unicorn hesitated for a moment. “Before I begin, I want to ask you all something: do you know who King Sombra is?”

“How could we not? When the Crystal Empire returned, he returned with it and tried to take over.” said Shining Armor. “Why do you ask?”

“To put it simply…he and I used to be friends.”

“WHAT!?” everyone exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah right. King Sombra is evil!” argued Rainbow Dash. “How in Equestria were you friends with that monster?”

“He wasn’t a monster when we were kids.” Radiant replied. “I had lost my parents in a house fire and wound up in the Crystal Empire orphanage. The other foals didn’t want to be my friends or talk to me because of my love for shadows and pixies and everything else no one could see, but I didn’t mind at that point because I was free to do as I wished and had all the imaginary friends I wanted. I then met Sombra and invited him to play with me, and we’ve been inseparable friends ever since.”

“One day, I told Sombra about the crystal heart and he wanted to go and see it, so I took him to it. There’s an old legend that says that if you look at the surface of the crystal heart long enough, you can see yourself in the future. I saw myself as an alicorn princess, but Sombra saw something far different. He saw himself as a monster of pure evil and darkness, an image that would give him horrifying nightmares and wake him from his slumber almost every night. He decided that in order to rid himself of the horrible image he would attend the crystal fair and let its magic heal him, but on the day of the fair, he became seriously ill. He writhed in pain while the crystal ponies celebrated, except me as I chose to stay by his side and heal him, but the same thing happened every year. Sombra’s condition grew worse and I knew I had to do something to heal him, and so I did, and I earned my cutie mark in the process.”

“I received a letter from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna one day saying that she wanted to train me. I saw that my vision was beginning to come true, but Sombra ran away for reasons I don’t know. When he later returned, he had vengeful anger and new powers of pure darkness. He turned Princess Amore into crystals and scattered them all across Equestria, but why he did this I don’t know. I knew I had to stop Sombra from his evil actions, so I hurriedly reported this to the princesses and they were able to defeat him and banish him to the frozen north, but not before the Crystal Empire disappeared into thin air. After he was defeated, I returned with the princesses to study magic and fulfill my destiny, but my distraction due to me losing the only friend I ever had and the home I loved kept me from focusing, so I abandoned my studies and ran away.”

“When I returned to where the Crystal Empire once was to find out what happened to Sombra, I found these red crystals that knew my name and said that inside them are creatures called the Umbrum. They explained to me by saying that they were Sombra’s kind and that he’d told them all about me, especially how I healed him with my magic. They also told me that he was sent by them to free them and asked me about his whereabouts, but I told him of his fate with the princesses and that it was all my fault. The Umbrum told me to come into their world and learn more about them so that I could understand more about Sombra and save him, so I entered the crystals and that’s where I’ve been ever since.”

Everyone waited for a few moments, taking the time to eat their pancakes before Rainbow Dash broke the silence.

“So let me get this straight. You and the King Sombra were childhood friends, but when you both went to see the crystal heart, it showed him an image of him being an evil monster while you would become a princess. When you healed him when you both were adults, you earned your cutie make, got a letter from the princesses, and he ran away, only to return and turn the current ruler of the empire into crystals and shatter her before scattering the remains all across Equestria, and after Sombra took full control, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated him and the entire empire disappeared and you went back with them to become a princess, but your guilt for your friend made you abandon your studies and when you returned, you discovered some crystals that claim to be the Umbrum and that Sombra was one of them, and to top it all off, you’ve been spending time with them for over a thousand years. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.” Radiant Hope nodded. “I understand if none of you believe me, but everything that I’m saying is true. If you don’t believe me, I can take you all to the crystals and introduce you to the Umbrum.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good idea, Radiant,” said Cadence. “Even if the Umbrum were nice to you for all of these centuries, they likely used your influence to recharge their abilities and find a new way to escape their prison.”

“They didn’t. Please, Let me bring you all to them, and you’ll see that I’m right. If it turns out that the Umbrum did use me for their selfish needs, I'll take full responsibility and accept any punishment you think is fair.”

“Not that I’m on anyone’s side, but I think you should trust Radiant Hope with her claims.” said Starlight. “I know what she’s saying sounds really risky, but if the Umbrum really did change, wouldn’t it be a good idea to befriend them and make a possible alliance?”

“Absolutely not!” Rainbow Dash refused as she slammed her hoof against the table. “I can’t believe you’re actually agreeing to this, Starlight.”

“But Rainbow, what if the Umbrum really did change? What if they realized the error in their ways and want to make amends? Wouldn’t it be worth it if they did and we talked to them?”

“Or, what if they’re lying and manipulating Radiant and using her to gain information about not only the Crystal Empire, but all of Equestria?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. While both of them provided good arguments, she couldn’t help but take Radiant Hope’s side a little. Sure, she did steal the crystal heart and spend the last millenia with possible evil creatures, but she sounded so sure about the Umbrum being nice creatures and not the ones of pure evil that they were long ago. The possibility of her being tricked was highly possible, but once upon a time, she learned a valuable lesson in listening to others and showing them the benefit of the doubt no matter what their motive really is.

She cleared her throat and got everyone’s attention. “I think it would be best if we trust Radiant Hope with her claims and visit the Umbrum.”

“What? Twilight, you can't be serious!” Rainbow complained.

“Hear me out, Rainbow. Radiant Hope did steal the crystal heart and lived with creatures of pure darkness for over a thousand years, but maybe while she was there, her influence on them may have changed them for good.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“I’m having my doubts too, Rainbow, but I think we should listen to Twilight.” said Applejack.

“Applejack, not you too!”

“I’m in!” Pinkie said as she gulped down a pancake whole. “Whether the Umbrum is or are evil or not, it’ll be really cool to explore where they live and make new friends.”

“Pinkie!”

“My boots will be extremely dirty from this, but I too shall take part of this,” said Rarity. “Not to mention I could use some ideas for my next line of dresses.”

“Oh my, I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this, but I have to be brave. I’ll go with everyone to the Umbrum crystals.” added Fluttershy.

“Me too.” nodded Starlight.

Rainbow Dash looked at her friends in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that they were all agreeing to go with the crystal heart criminal to the prison of potentially pure evil creatures. This could very well be a trap that could not only prevent them from protecting Equestria, but the Umbrum could escape and plunge it into eternal darkness and suffering. She didn’t want to go, but knew that she had to stay loyal to her friends.

She let out an irritated grown. “Fine, I’ll go, but I’m not gonna like it.”

“Before you six go with Radiant Hope, I highly recommend that you bring the Elements of Harmony with you.” said Celestia. “They may come in handy if the worst happens.”

“The Elements? But we had to give them up to save the Tree of Harmony.” Twilight said. “Even if we brought them, I don’t know if they would work in a crystal prison.”

“They should. The Elements of Harmony have restored the Tree of Harmony to its full power, which means you can use them once again.”

“Wait, what’s the Tree of Harmony?” asked Radiant Hope. “I’ve never even heard of it.”

“We can show you! Now that you’re our friend despite being a convicted criminal, we can show you where we keep the most powerful magical artifacts!” said Pinkie as she gulped down another pancake.

Rainbow groaned as she continued to eat her breakfast. This was quickly turning out to be the worst day of her life.

After finishing their breakfast, Twilight and her friends along with Radiant Hope left the Crystal Castle for Ponyville. They reached the train station and hopped aboard the next train back to their hometown.

Hours later, they arrived at the Ponyville train station and deboarded their train as they went towards the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash kept her eye on Radiant hope the entire time, feeling nothing but distrust and suspicion towards her. She was unhappy that she and her friends were actually going along with this plan, and that they were listening to this mare. She just stole the crystal heart for crying out loud and seemingly made her reasons legit, but of course Rainbow knew what was going on.

Radiant Hope was likely trying to lead them into a trap so that the Umbrum, who she strongly thought didn’t change, could do Celestia knows what to them and escape their prison.

They descended the staircase that led to the ravine near the Castle of the Two Sisters as they went to the cave that hid the Tree of Harmony. Once they got there, Radiant looked at it in amazement.

“Wow. The Tree of Harmony is so beautiful. This is where the Elements of Harmony were stored?”

“It is.” Twilight nodded. “Me and my friends have never heard of it before, but I'm glad that we did. Without it, balance in Equestria would be disrupted.”

“Are you still up with bringing the Elements, Twilight?” asked Rainbow Dash as she gave Radiant Hope a look. “I’m not sure we can trust that she won’t steal them.”

“I don’t have any use for them, so you don’t have to be so untrusting towards me, Rainbow Dash.” said the crystal unicorn mare. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll wait outside the cave until you have the Elements of Harmony ready to go.”

“It’s okay, Radiant. This’ll only take a second.” said Twilight as she and the bearers walked up to the Tree of Harmony. She lit up her horn and engulfed the Elements of Harmony in her magical grasp as they levitated out from their individual spots on the Tree and down to the correct bearers, turning into their necklace forms while hers turned into her crown as they put them on.

“Aw yeah, it feels good to have this baby back.” said Rainbow Dash.

“I for one have missed my beloved Element and necklace.” added Rarity in agreement.

“Me too.” Fluttershy nodded. “I feel braver already.”

“Let’s hurry back to the Crystal Empire, girls. We’ve got a long mission ahead of us.” said Twilight as she lit up her horn and teleported everyone back to the Crystal Empire. They reappeared in front of the entrance where Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were all waiting for them.

“That was really quick of you all.” said Celestia. “Alright, Radiant Hope. Lead us to the crystals where the Umbrum are located.”

“Yes, Princess Celestia.” Radiant nodded as she led everyone out of the protected barrier and into the blizzard. They trekked through the snow and gusty winds for a few miles before she spotted something in the distance. “Over there!”

They went up to a set of red crystals completely untouched by the winter weather conditions as they observed them with curiosity. “This is where the Umbrum lives?” asked Cadence.

“Yes, and you’ll all see that they aren’t the creatures of darkness you say that they are.” said Radiant.

“We may as well be going on the ultimate adventure of our lives.” said Rainbow Dash as she went over to her. “But let me go ahead and warn you. If it turns out that your so-called friends aren’t who you think they are and if they mess up Equestria, you'd better hope the princesses will punish you before I do. You got that?”

Radiant gulped, knowing full well that she wasn’t completely off the hook as she nodded her head. “Yes.”

“Good, now let’s go.”

“Be careful, everypony. You and your friends may have the Elements of Harmony, but you may find that the magic of friendship has limitations.” said Celestia.

“We will.” nodded Twilight as she hugged her sister-in-law. “Alright. Girls. Ready?”

“Ready.” her friends nodded with confident hoof stomp.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

She went up to the red crystal and tried to touch it as she found her hoof slipping through it. She took a deep breath before trotting inside as the others followed in suit. Fluttershy was the last to enter as she hesitantly approached it with anxiety. She took a deep breath and whispered encouraging words to herself before running straight inside.

“Are you sure letting Twilight and the others go inside the crystals was a good idea, Aunt Celestia?” asked Cadence. “They could be leading themselves into a trap.”

“I am having second thoughts, Cadence, but I have full faith that everything will be alright.” said the sun princess. “In the meantime, we must perform our royal duties and prepare for the worst if it happens.”

“Celestia is right. Twilight and her friends have been through tough challenges and always succeed in the end, but we must play our part in ensuring Equestria’s safety is priority number one.” said Luna in agreement.

The three alicorn princesses spread their wings and flew back to their respected castles and they lit up their horns and teleported to them, having faith that everything will be alright.

To be continued…

Author's Note

Surprise! Didn't expect Chapter 2 to come out so soon, right?

We now have Radiant Hope in the story. She’ll play a bigger role in this story as it progresses, and NO I’m not copying the MLP comics. This is just an alternate storyline from Issues 34 through 37 (correct me if I’m wrong) with my own added pizzazz. If you're wondering if King Sombra will make an appearance, the answer is no. He won't be in this story. For those of you who are wondering, the detective scene with Pinkie and Fluttershy was inspired by Big Nate, where Nate dresses up like Sherlock Holmes and helps his friend Francis find his money after it was misplaced.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this significantly shorter chapter, and I look forward to posting again in the future.