Shadow and Crystal

In a tower far above the Canterlot throne room, a purple unicorn recklessly paced. Twilight had tried to sleep, she really had, but sleep wouldn’t come. Not even the plush canopied bed, which she had slept in countless times while studying with Princess Celestia, could calm her nerves.

She tried to kill Sombra!

Twilight huffed. “We’ve been over this already, brain!” she said in a strained whisper. “Princess Celestia did it to protect us, to protect Equestria. She was doing the right thing… even if we don’t agree with it. Besides, it’s not like she actually hurt anypony!”

But she would have. And it’s not the first time Princess Celestia has done this; remember when Chrysalis posed as Cadence?

Twilight shivered; a momentary pause in her pacing. Of course she remembered. The unicorn remembered every moment of it, the green eyes that replaced her former foalsitter’s normally kind purple ones, the bolt of terror as Chrysalis tore through the visage she wore and revealed who she was. Celestia’s anger, the fear in Chrysalis’s eyes. The Changeling Queen was the villain, she had made it all the way to the Canterlot throne room, draining Shining Armor of his love, growing stronger all the while, and she still feared the Princess of the Sun.

Just how much do you actually know about Princess Celestia?

Twilight was silent. She had no response. Her mentor had lived for a thousand years, probably more, before the unicorn had even been born. She really didn’t know much about her mentor.

Twilight Sparkle, nearly every villain you have fought, Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, even Sombra, seem to have some connection to the Princess. Nightmare was banished, Discord was sealed, Chrysalis had some kind of fear behind her, and now Sombra has apparently reigned from the “Old Palace,” which is now underneath Canterlot Palace.

The purple unicorn trudged to her bed, the night’s worries finally fully bearing down. The sun hadn’t even risen yet. Twilight drew the covers around her with magic, curling into a ball.

“Please, brain, just… just be quiet.”

She slept fitfully, her mind never fully quieting itself.

***

“Friends of mine heart, we trust that each of thou hast slept well?”

They were gathered in the throne room once more, the newly risen Sun shining through the stained glass, enveloping the room in multi-colored shards of light.

The six ponies had varying degrees of confirmation to Luna’s question. Rainbow Dash and Applejack nodded vigorously, looking refreshed. They had slept heavily and fully. Rarity gave a far more lady like nod; unsatisfied with the total amount of beauty sleep she had received but relatively energetic. Fluttershy, Twilight, and, surprisingly, Pinkie Pie attempted to stifle their yawns.

The Princess of the Night could hardly fail to notice the latter three, but there were more pressing matters at hoof. “My sister could not be here at this time; certain circumstances doth prevent her presence. The task of conveying your quest falls to me.”

Luna stood, the weariness clear on her face but lined with confidence and the alicorn’s sense of duty. “Ye shalt journey to the frigid north and return to the Crystal Empire, taking the Elements of Harmony with thee. Ye shalt find Sombra and shalt put an end to the terror he can bring to Equestria. The train shalt not be at your disposal; ‘twould be too dangerous to send anypony as conductor. We will sent thee as far north as we can without attracting Sombra’s attention. Then it shall be thine journey alone.  Are ye prepared?”

A resounding “Yes!”

Luna reached out with her magic, making the Elements of Harmony appear before her. Each one floated to its bearer, five necklaces and one tiara taking their place.

“Then go, friends of mine. Go with luck and purpose and know that thou hast the Blessing of the Sun and Moon with thee.”

A sudden flash of blue magic and a crack like a whip enveloped the six ponies and they were gone, leaving behind the Princess of the Night. The door to the throne room opened and in walked a white unicorn, his fur and two-toned mane obscured by the heavy purple armor he wore.

“Doth thou regret not bidding farewell to thine sister, Shining Armor?”

The unicorn shook his head. “No Princess Luna. I agree with Princess Celestia; it is important that Twily- that Twilight Sparkle is not distracted.” But there was little conviction in his voice. He agreed in principle, but that did not change the fact that was little sister was now miles away, facing Celestia knows what trials and tribulations. And maybe not even Celestia knows what’s happening. Shining Armor thought to himself.

Luna watched the internal struggle the unicorn faced. She drew a breath, preparing to offer some kind of moral support, but bit down on her statement. This was no time for that; it was a time for hardened hearts and preparations. “Sombra hast voiced his intentions to wage war on Equestria, beginning with us here in Canterlot and the village of Ponyville. Certain sources doth confirm that he hath raised an army, though it is not confirmed whether ponies march or some other beasts form the bulk of his force.”

“Direct me, and I will do as you say.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of Luna’s lips. Yes, that was Shining Armor, not a pony of words but always faithful and capable. “Meet with Discord; protect Ponyville, that is thine task.”

Shining Armor dipped his head, and vanished in a crack of his own magic. There was work to be done

***

The snow rose in flurries, the fierce wind instantly cutting through the six ponies that had materialized in the middle of nowhere. The sun reflected from the snow, illuminating the soft white landscape and nearly blinding the ponies in the process.

Rarity spoke first. “Well, this is a rather… isolated position.”

The others murmured their agreement. The freezing air set each of them shivering.

Applejack tugged her hat down; making sure it wouldn’t be torn off by the wind. “Well, girls, Ah think we’d best be on our way. No use in just standing around.”

They set off, keeping the rising sun to their right. Twilight, sleep deprived as she was, still had enough sense to cast a warming spell that kept away the worst of the chill.

“Rainbow,” said the purple unicorn, “can you fly up and take a look around? Try to find a cave or something that we could use as shelter.” The pegasus saluted and flew up in a flurry of cyan feathers.

Rarity shuddered a bit at the thought of sleeping in a cave, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

By wordless consent, the five ponies formed a circle, momentarily stopping their march to make sure that Dash knew where to find them. They stomped their hooves, trying to work out the last remains of the cold.

“So… uh… How’d everypony sleep last night?” Applejack smiled sheepishly, a smile mirrored on the others’ faces. Here they were, in the middle of nowhere, fate of Equestria at stake and Applejack wanted to know how they had slept. Pinkie Pie began to giggle; she was, after all, the Element of Laughter.

Before long, Pinkie’s bubbling laugh had infected the other five, sending them into hysterics. They rolled on the snow covered ground, a tension that they had hardly taken notice of before suddenly released. Rainbow Dash came back to find her friends damp and cold, patches of snow in their manes and cheeks rosy red, but far more relaxed than they had been before.

“I saw this… whoa, what’d I miss?”

Pinkie popped up, a pile of snow falling from her curled mane. “Oh Dashie, it was sooo funny! Well first, we got up in the morning and went down to see Luna and Luna said a lot of things really seriously and said “Shalt” a lot which I’m not even sure is actually a word, but then she used magic and it got really cold and white and we walked around for a little bit and then we stopped because you flew away to find shelter-“

“Yeah, Pinkie, I was there for that part. What I meant was why are you girls—“

The party pony inhaled deeply, preparing for another onslaught of words. That is, until Rainbow Dash stuck a hoof in her mouth.

“Okay,” continued Rainbow Dash, “never mind.” She turned to the others. “I found something, it’s not too far away and it’ll definitely keep us warm.”

Twilight nodded, satisfied. “Sounds perfect.”

Dash, on the other hoof, looked a bit put out. “Aren’t you gonna ask me what it is?”

“Well, darling,” interjected Rarity, “we’d assume that it’s a cave of some description. A dank, damp, undecorated cave. But we will make do with what we have.”

“Psh, I wish it was a cave.”

“Well, Rainbow Dash, whatever else could it be? Don’t tell us that you found a town, you’d simply be playing with a lady’s heart.”

“Rarity, you weren’t supposed to guess what it was! I was gonna fly in all cool and tell you guys that I’d found a town because I’m just that awesome. And you guys would be so surprised and agree that I am easily the most amazingly fast flyer and should totally be the next Wonderbolt.”

“A town? All the way out here?” Twilight wondered aloud. “That doesn’t make any sense, we shouldn’t be seeing anypony until we got to the Crystal Empire.”

“Well, I don’t see anything wrong with this detour, not when it means a way out of this dreadful snow,” Rarity said gleefully.

“Just where is this town, Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus pointed north. “Around there, can’t miss it.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get going!” The six ponies continued, Rarity bounding ahead, matching Pinkie Pie’s gait hop by hop. Applejack and Fluttershy followed, heads bowed low and together as they spoke. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle followed, somewhat reluctantly.

“Dash, are you sure that it’s a town?” asked Twilight.

“Yup, I flew right up to it and saw a bunch of buildings with their lights on and ponies walking the roads. I know, sleeping in a cave would make it feel a lot more like an adventure, but I didn’t see any caves around here. Just snow… lots and lots of snow.”

Rarity’s voice drifted down from the front of the pack. “Rainbow, are we still heading in the right direction?”

Dash sped up, taking a place besides Rarity and Pinkie, ensuring that they weren’t straying.

Twilight was left alone, hooves dragging as she forced herself to trot. Brain, let’s call a temporary truce; nothing about this situation can come out well. We’re gonna have to work together on this one.

There was no response. Twilight took this as an agreement on her brain’s part. Through the snow and raging wind, the first wooden boards of the town came into view.