The Shadow of a King
Faith Renewed
Author: Draconis187

“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up!

Let’s finish our holiday cheer!”

All of Ponyville were singing joyously as they had begun with the customary Winter Wrap Up. It was a day where ponies manually changed the weather from Winter to Spring. All to be done in one day and without any form of magic.

Rainbow Dash was leading the Weather Team as she did every year. She was wearing a blue vest with white strips around the neck and forehoof openings as well as the bottom. The vest had a pale blue shield with a star symbol in the centre. She also wore a blue armband with the same symbol on it to emphasise her position as the team leader. She sent several ponies to fetch the southern birds while making sure Derpy stayed on cloud busting duty. No way in Equestria she was letting her out of Equestrian airspace, no matter how much she begged.

Applejack wore a green vest with pale green strips in the same places that Rainbow’s vest had white. She even had the same shield but in a dark green colour with the same yellow star, complete with armband. She was the team leader for the Plant Team. She did run the most successful farm in Equestria for a reason, even if she got help doing so.

Fluttershy was walking around with a small bell in her mouth. She wore a tan vest to indicate she was part of the Animal Team. They were responsible for waking up the hibernating creatures as well as helping to make the birds’ nests and anything else the critters required. She wasn’t wearing a team leader vest like her friends, nor was she wearing her red leather coat. In fact, the Pegasus was not even armed… at all.

Amethyst Star was coordinating the Animal Team’s efforts as Twilight – in a green and blue vest with tan edges made to represent all three teams – told her what was required and where the various teams were needed. Twilight was organising the entire Winter Wrap Up by herself, much to a particular little filly’s glee.

Nyx, a small black Alicorn filly was the subject in question. Part Nightmare Moon incarnate and Twilight Sparkle’s adopted daughter… at least in her universe. Nyx begged her Twilight to let her see how Winter Wrap Up is done in the other universe after they recovered from the Changelings’ attack as well as the demons. Her conclusion: surprisingly identical… if you could discount a few things.

1: Pinkie Pie was scoring the ice with Discord. The pair of them were having a competition whilst ensuring the ice was in manageable chunks so they could melt once the Pegasi cleared the clouds. Discord was cheating as he had a panel of biased judges: himself. Pinkie compensated for this by skating with Kalina Ann in her hooves, the bayonet slicing deeper into the ice than her skates could manage as she went.

2: Rebel and Legion – alongside a few other Changelings – were helping with the snowploughs and clearing the snow from the roofs. It was an interesting sight for the residents of Ponyville, watching Changeling Bulls pushing the ploughs across the landscape as if they weighed next to nothing. On more than one occasion they had to be told to slow down a little and despite the fact that they appeared to have a lower capacity for intelligent thought, they knew how to follow orders.

3: Nyx was playing with the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. This year Babs Seed – one of Applebloom’s cousins and the head of the Manehattan branch of the CMC – came around to visit. Whilst she and Nyx were slightly apprehensive of each other, once they saw the capes they both wore, it was instantly forgotten. Nyx had tended to forget she was not a convicted criminal in this universe and nopony had any bad connotations associated with her.

4: Joystick – the pistol-packing Unicorn from Canterlot and biggest troll this side of Equestria, third only to Celestia and Luna – was helping as well, mainly helping Rarity with the nest manufacturing line that Twilight had shown them to make a while back. His modified pistol was in a holster on his side as always, he apparently didn’t leave home without it ever since Fillydelphia.

On the whole, Winter Wrap Up was going to be finished with plenty of time to spare thanks to everypony not arguing for once and the fact that Equestria was no longer in crisis was also a plus. Everypony had been trying to fit back into their normal lives, normal for them at any rate. A pack of Timberwolves tried to raid Sweet Apple Acres some time back but were violently introduced to their ‘watchdog’ that weighed as much as a small mountain. Clunker the Kyklops got rid the wolves with little trouble as their fangs didn’t even leave as much as a scratch on his stone exoskeleton.

Rainbow Dash had been training with the Wonderbolts after joining their Academy for a week. She met a mare by the name of Lightning Dust but that is a different story for a different day. They are currently not on very good terms with one another due to certain events that transpired there.

The one who had the hardest time to adjust to normal life was Fluttershy. She had been gone for an entire year and not long after arriving back home she had been thrust into a war with Changelings only for it to become a war against demons with three worlds hanging in the balance. After the events in the Crystal Empire, Fluttershy tried to settle back into normal life but it has been a hard road to travel.

First was her ‘slight’ paranoia whilst sleeping. Angel Bunny nearly got shot twice when he tried to wake her up. The yellow Pegasus had been sleeping with her pistols under her pillow as a precautionary measure she picked up whilst trekking through Skyrim, that time it was a dagger. Next was the fact that she hardly ever took off the red leather coat that held her aforementioned weapons. She felt exposed and vulnerable without it but she managed to relent shortly after Nightmare Night.

Lastly were her Devil Arms. She always kept Beowulf on at all times and left the other weapons in a closet in her bedroom. And this was after she left the coat behind. After much coaxing and support from her friends, she eventually left the greaves and gauntlets there as well. Afterwards, Pinkie Pie threw a huge party for her to celebrate the achievement.

Right now the animal doctor was outside a little burrow, waking up a small family of hibernating rodents… specifically ground squirrels. She hovered from burrow to burrow, gently ringing the bell to rouse the sleeping animals from their slumber. The one thing that was easy for her to get back to was tending to her animals that missed her greatly.

“How is everything going, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked as she trotted up to her friend.

“The little dears will be up in no time but,” Fluttershy pointed her hoof to a small group of five young fillies running around in the snow, bells in their mouths. “It would go a bit smoother if the girls weren’t trying to be ‘Cutie Mark Crusader Animal Wakers’ as they put it.”

Twilight and Fluttershy shared a chortle as the five unwittingly woke up a flock of bats, causing a massive panic amongst their ranks. They all dug themselves into the snow in a bid to hide from their cranky assailants.

“Well, they are fillies Fluttershy.” Twilight defended as Nyx threatened the bats with Alastor as the bats flew off into the distance before walking off to check on her friends.

Ironically the Devil Arm of lightning was nowhere to be found. The blade had been sealed by one of the two Twilights and Nyx did not know which one it was. Given that her Twilight would have a lot of explaining to do – not to mention the fact she almost fainted as Nyx recounted her adventure in excruciating detail – logic dictated that the other Twilight would have it but she refused to inform her of its location.

Despite the distance between them, Nyx found out that the sword allowed the Twilights to confiscate him. The Alicorn was told that he would come to her aid as long as she required it. Both Twilights were both scared and intrigued by this news when Nyx told them after an incident which involved Alastor breaking a hole through the other Twilight’s wall when Diamond Tiara had cornered Sweetie and literally pushed her into the dirt.

In the aftermath of some events that transpired during the resulting ‘shotgun diplomacy’, Filthy Rich came by Golden Oaks Library to find the Alicorn assassin but Nyx had long since left for her universe with the blade and the other Twilight repaired the hole rather quickly. Filthy ended up treating it as her daughter’s wild imagination, much to the spoilt filly’s dismay.

Trixie Lulamoon – the azure coloured showmare and former rival of Twilight Sparkle – had also joined in the Winter Wrap Up, singing with the other ponies. Her signature hat and cape – as well as Cerberus – were nowhere to be found.

“Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Uuup!

Cause tomorrow Spring is here!”

“How are you doing, Trixie?” Twilight asked after joining in the musical.

“These trees tend to be rather troublesome in letting go of the snow but luckily Tr- I don’t need to worry that much since I’m pulling the wagon,” Trixie responded rather cheerfully as Thunderlane bucked the tree the two mares were standing under.

“Incoming!” He called out as the snow fell to the earth, landing in the cart hooked up to the showmare.

“Doesn’t it get heavy?” Twilight asked as she noticed Trixie straining slightly under the weight.

“Sparkle… my first stage-wagon weighed close to a ton. This is nothing compared to the backache that gave me over the years before I replaced it,” Trixie responded as she and Thunderlane moved on to the next tree.

“Well, everything seems to be in order,” Twilight mumbled under her breath as she looked at the checklist she had been carrying with her. “This is going to be the best Winter Wrap Up yet.”

“I should say so,” Twilight turned around and found Mayor Mare to be the source of the voice. “We have more volunteers this year than I have ever seen and such variety as well. After all, Changelings helping us with an Earth Pony tradition? It is quite the sight.”

Twilight nodded, “Especially since the Changelings broke off into different factions.”

She noted the older mare’s concern and began to explain, “After the whole ‘being tricked into a war they actually never wanted’, they broke off and began to govern themselves rather than bothering with a hierarchy. It’s kind of like communism now, each Changeling has an equal say in every life-changing affair.”

Mayor Mare looked stunned, “Changeling Communists? I hope they can pull it off.”

“Well, the Changelings came to the decision to integrate themselves into our society while some still remain in the Hives that dot the Equestrian Badlands just as the incident in the Crystal Empire ended. They also revealed where the locations to them all are to the Princesses as a gesture of goodwill between the two.”

Mayor Mare nodded and pointed at Rebel and Legion, who somehow got into an argument with Time Turner. Time Turner was the local clock manufacturer and a great friend of Derpy Hooves. Why, nopony knew.

“Oh, those two,” Twilight said, stifling a laugh as Rebel and Legion turned themselves into Time Turner and began mocking him by performing some rather embarrassing acts with ‘his’ body. “Let’s just say they're a special case.”

Mayor Mare nodded as Turner left in a huff, “As long as they don’t cause any trouble, I’m fine with them.”

Twilight nodded, “They know how to avoid trouble but it seems like they are busy making it this time around.”

“Twilight! Twilight!” Nyx’s voice called out, getting closer as the chant continued.

The purple unicorn turned around to find the five Crusaders… covered in tree sap. In her mind she kept wondering how they got tree sap into their coats and how in Equestria they were covered in sap at the turn of the season?! Getting the sap out Nyx’s coat won’t be too hard but her wings? That was going to be an utter Nightmare.

“I’m not going to ask,” Twilight deadpanned as she facehoofed.

“Sorry,” Nyx said, looking down at the still snow covered ground.

“Well, at least Fluttershy showed me how to take care of your wings. Find Spike and ask him to run you all a special Crusader Bath,” Twilight responded, trying not to sound harsh.

“Wow, yous got a bath named after ya?” Babs asked with a bewildered look on her face.

“This is kinda the reason why,” Sweetie Belle explained as she noticed a pinecone in her mane. “Rarity is so going to flip if she sees my mane like this.”

Twilight chuckled, “All the more reason to find Spike.”

As the Five Crusaders split up to search individually, Twilight checked off ‘Crusaders sent off to find Spike after another failed crusade?’ off her checklist. Good thing she was so organised. She noticed that Rebel and Legion hoofbumped each other as they ran to Applejack to help plant the seeds for the year’s harvest while Turner still grumbled. She shook her head and walked off to check on Rainbow Dash.

The prismatic mare was cloud busting with the others since she finds it therapeutic, a fact she would never admit aloud. Twilight noticed that Dash had a small bat hairclip in her mane which as Nevan’s dormant state as the Wonderbolt kicked the clouds with vigour. Twilight concentrated and fired off a translucent, magenta coloured blade into the air, making it shatter as it flew past Rainbow’s face.

“Hey Twilight!” Rainbow shouted with a small smirk adorning her face, “What did you do that for?”

“I just wanted your attention for a few seconds,” Twilight responded as the egotistic mare glided down to ground level.

“Ok, you got my attention. So what’s on your mind?” She asked.

“Is everything going according to schedule?” She asked with a frown. “I know how you are with following a schedule in any form.”

The Wonderbolt scoffed, “As if! You should now me by now Twi, I don’t leave my friends or Ponyville hanging.”

Twilight’s expression cheered up, “Great to hear! Thanks Dash!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes as she returned to the skies, “Anytime.”

Winter Wrap Up proceeded without the old or any hitches for once. As they all completed their assigned tasks, the population of Ponyville crowded around Town Hall. Standing on a podium by the entrance was Mayor Mare.

“Congratulations everypony on a successful and incident-free Winter Wrap Up!” She thanked as the crowd erupted with cheers.

“Let’s party!!” Pinkie Pie cried out, her hooves waving wildly in the air, a trait of her usual over-exuberant nature.

“I don’t see why not,” Mayor Mare replied cheerfully as she nearly got blasted backwards from the next volley of cheers.

Sugarcube Corner was incapable of hosting the party because it was too small… until Discord somehow expanded the inside of the bakery to fit everypony inside. There was cake, cupcakes, muffins, milkshakes, games and everything else one could imagine as well as a huge banner saying: ‘Successful Winter Wrap Up!’ Needless to say, Pinkie did not make that one.

At one point during the party, Discord, Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity, Joystick, Fluttershy, Legion, Rebel, Trixie, Nyx and Applejack left without a word, nor did anypony notice. They were having too good a time to do so.

The group’s destination was Fluttershy’s cottage on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. The reason: a small get-together of their own, as friends and Discord was opted to host it. The last time Discord was serving the group, it was the day he was released into Fluttershy’s care in order to reform the wayward Draconequus. The group sat around a white marble table, their names cleared marked in gold leaf so they knew where to sit.

Discord was wearing the suit he wore the last time he served them but this time there was nothing to interrupt it… nothing out of Discord’s normal anyway since the plates moved on their own accord as they plated themselves up with various little snacks Discord whipped up before their eyes.

“Where’s Clunker, AJ?” Rainbow asked as the demon was nowhere to be found all winter.

“He’s nappin’ in the barn. It seems he tends ta hibernate in winter,” The orange apple farmer replied as she dug into some hay fries that her plate decided to pick up for her.

“How unusual,” Twilight responded. “His species of demon hibernates? Dante never told us about that.”

“In his defence, he was busy trying to stay alive when he first met them so I doubt he had time to examine their habits,” Fluttershy interjected.

“Hm, I’d have to agree there. Clunker is the only demon he’s met that’s anywhere near domesticated,” Discord piped up as he poured himself a cup of tea. “Tea anypony?”

Various members gave an affirmative and their cups waddled over to the teapot and got in line. Some pushed others to get the line to go faster, just like anypony waiting in any line across Equestria. Discord’s antics continued from there as the candles decided to create a mini firework display for them all to enjoy.

“Ok then everypony, shall we?” Twilight said, getting a few glances which turned into nods as they all got up from the table and went outside.

The clearing that Fluttershy showed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow when she gave them their weapons was still scorched from previous ‘practise sessions’. The Elements of Harmony were powerful in their own right but their recent adventure proved that some things can not be reasoned with and required a harder hoof to deal with.

Fluttershy had donned her red leather coat, with Agni and Rudra on her back. Trixie had Cerberus with her. Lucifer’s red eyes glowed faintly on Rarity’s shoulder. Rainbow was plucking a few strings on Nevan as she observed the others. Discord had the colossal Hell Vanguard scythe which was now had a green handle with purple polka dots and the blade itself shifted colours every three seconds in a random pattern. Twilight cleared her mind and focused on the translucent blades she used while the two Changelings and Nyx observed from a safe vantage point.

Applejack looked around as she had the Daedric Warhammer, Volendrung on her shoulders. Joystick kept an eye on everypony, Blue Rose out of its holster and in the white unicorn’s magic grip. Pinkie bore a huge grin with Kalina Ann pointing at directly Dash as if she already found her target. Seven ponies - each with some form of weapon - were ready to begin.

Twilight cleared her throat and got everypony’s attention, “Alright everypony, we should set some ground rules before we begin since this will get intense. Rule 1: Do not use any move or attack that could greatly hurt the other. Rule 2: Keep it as fair as possible. I know we are an odd number so pairing up is not possible at the moment.”

“What about Nyx?” Dash asked, pointing to the black filly who looked up at her with those turquoise cat-like eyes. “She has a Devil Arm remember?”

Twilight shook her head vehemently, “No. I am not subjecting her to this if I can help it. Her Twilight will kill me if she found out that I let a filly use that sword.”

“But I won’t tell her, promise!” Nyx protested, her eyes wide as she tried to pull the ‘puppy dog eyes’.

“If your Twilight is anything like me, she’ll find out somehow. Please, I don’t want you in harm’s way,” Twilight replied guiltily. “Besides, you’re a filly now and not the grown mare you were when you first came here.”

Nyx folded her forehooves and pouted. Twilight began to feel sad that she had to make her stay out of this but their little training exercises tended to get out of hoof very quickly. The last session ended when Dash did a Devil Rainboom with her Nevan Devil Arm Trigger. It took a lot of explaining when some panicked ponies came to investigate.

“Ok then everypony,” Twilight said as she created eight blades that proceeded to circle around her. “Three… two… one!”

**** **** **** ****

The Frozen North didn’t get its name for nothing. Blizzards that threatened to tear a pony’s flesh straight from the bone where common place as there were as many as one every five days. The only thing that ever stood much chance against such a force was the Crystal Heart in the Crystal Empire.

Far in the frozen tundra, a figure trudged through the latest blizzard. He was so cold he should have gotten frostbitten hours ago. The figure was far from any form of civilisation and kept going, his hate – and a spell – keeping him warm.

He soon came across the cave he had made his home some time back, when he woke up in his current state. His wing was barley hanging onto his body, the sinew was clearly visible and yet the wing was still attached. He entered the cave and walked down into its depths. He illuminated the trip down with the red horn that was attached to his head.

He could hear the movements of some creatures as the caverns widened into a circular room that branched off into multiple passageways, “I’m back.”

Five figures appeared from the shadows of from the light he was emitting. They all had dark grey coats and their manes were darker than coal. Their eyes were covered by a pair of yellow tinted goggles. They all wore purple and black uniforms with yellow jagged lines to separate the colours, creating a lightning bolt design. The only way to differentiate them from one another was their body shape.

“What do you wish of us, Master?” A female sounding one asked.

“You are to go to Ponyville and keep tabs on our ‘friends’,” The Alicorn said deeply. “You are not to engage them in any way. Stay in the shadows and report back to me in three days. Those creatures are an affront to everything we stand for and yet those Changelings were forgiven just like that? We shall show them those bugs are not to be trusted.”

Author's Notes:

And here's the sequel! For those who did not heed my recommendation I implore you to check Dovahsy May Cry first as it will shed a lot more light on what is going on. From Discord to Fluttershy and why they are using weapons as well as why Nyx is there. Trust me if you don't, you will end up being left behind.