The weather was terrible. The blizzard was raging around like a wild dragon and the freezing cold was tearing away the skin and bones of the ponies in the heated carriage. Whilst the cold flakes of icy blades ran through the whitened plains of this tundra, the sky was dark and purple in color. Even some of the snow that was flying by seemed to be affected by it. The carriage itself was being pulled by two stallions wearing full-body wear for winter. They looked like gray suits of leather with white visors. As for the transport, it looked like a giant metal box with plastic windows. Frost seemed to be trying to engulf it.

"Twilight, what do you think happened? Do you think that your brother and Cadence are alright?" Rarity asked whilst snuggled in her warm blanket.

"I don't know. The message she sent to Princess Celestia was a week ago. The messenger was in terrible shape. He's in the hospital as we speak."

The six friends were resting on the comfortable seats heated by bonfires beneath. They were controlled by magical seals, of course. This WAS the transport the princesses used to get to the Crystal Kingdom, after all. Yet, even in this warmth, they were still shaking and could see their breath. The only one who seemed to enjoy this shaking was Pinkie Pie. She was taking advantage of the situation by holding several milkshake canisters and stirring them up as she shook.

"These'll be the best milkshakes ever." she eagerly thought.

"Rarity, ah'm sure that Twah's brother'n Cadence are alright. T'ain't nothin' that can get through that crystal heart, after all. Spike IS the one who found it 'n ah don't think that anypony else can make it disappear so easily after that. It's most certainly protecting the crystal ponies." Applejack reassured her friend.

"I don't know. i have this tickling feeling in my stomach like something awful happened. It feels like what happened to me when I went searching for the crystal heart."

The lavender pony was most certainly quivering from something other than the cold. In fact, she had a glint of something rather malevolent twinkle at the edge of her eyes, if only for a moment.

"I'm sure they're fine. I've also heard that the Piuts are flying around this time of year." Fluttershy gleefully exclaimed.

"The what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It's like a phoenix. They're extremely big and look like beatiful ice sculptures."

"How fast are they?"

"I don't know, but I've heard that even the fastest of ponies alive has never managed to even come close to its trail."

"Hmmmm." a devilish grin formed on the rainbow pegasus' face.

"Rainbow Dash, this is serious."

"Fine, but Fluttershy is going to help me find one and race it after this."

"So Twah, we know that the princesses told us that this was a bad thing and we all needed ta go, but what was the message about? She said that you'd read it to us." Applejack asked after rolling her eyes to Rainbow Dash.

"Well..."

The lavender unicorn took her bag from the holders above their seats and fumbled through it to find a partially singed letter. The other's reacted to its appearance with widened eyes.

"Here I go:

'To Celestia,

We're having problems here. I don't know what it is, but the crystal heart doesn't seem to be protecting my subjects like it used to. It is still as bright and powerful as before, but I sense darkness befalling us. It seems the inhabitants of this kingdom are being tortured and hunted by dark images and nightmares. I have been trying my best to help them, but it doesn't seem to be working.

I fear that Sombra may have returned. Please send Twilight and her friends here. I would love to see Twili again. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but that evil being seems to have somehow found a way to break through the barrier of our love and friendship.

-Sincerely,

Cadance.'

That's all it says."

"Well...that isn't too worrisome." Fluttershy shyly added."

"Twilight, here's what we'll do. We'll--"

Rarity was cut off by Pinkie Pie who shouted:

"DO A HAPPY PARTY?! It's great for making ponies not so glum anymore. It'll put a smile on their faces and we can all be friends again."

Her friends just stared at her and the canisters that fell out of her blanket and onto the floor.

"Pinkie, what are--"

"It's a secret! You should know better, Applejack."

"So, like I was saying before being rudely interrupted by Pinkie Pie, we'll go directly to the castle and ask your sister-in-law what is wrong." Rarity scowled at Pinkie Pie.

"I guess. When are we going to get there?"

Rainbow Dash smashed her face against the freezing window and looked outside through the blizzard as best she could.

"I think...around fifteen minutes at this speed."

"Ugh! I'll never get to enjoy my milkshakes." Pinkie pouted.

Surprisingly, just as Rainbow Dash said, almost fifteen minutes had passed that they had arrived at the Crystal Kingdom, although there was something wrong. This was more impressive once Twilight and her group got out of their carriage. The two stallions who were pulling it seemed shocked as well. It was still bright and sunny inside, but there were some portions of the shield that were darkened and seemed to be vibrating at irregular intervals. There were crystals everywhere as well, but these did not seem like the normal ones of this kingdom, bor were they the fear-inducing crystals of Sombra. Twilight was sure she had seen these before, but where? It had been two years since last she saw them...or was it somewhere else? Regardless, they had to enter.

"We will guard this carriage from any threats so as for you to retreat or leave whenever you feel it, Elements." one of the pullers spoke through his mask.

"Brrr. Let's quickly get inside." Rarity begged.

The others nodded, but were very cautious of the appearance. The second they passed through the shield, they were overswept by a powerfully warm breeze that swept their fur and manes away.

"Ahhhh. That's soooooo much better." Rarity sighed in relief.

"That's 'cause ya ain't used ta workin' hard." Applejack teased.

"I'm always working hard. Why, the other day I chipped my hooficure after trying to cut some textiles. It's the worst for a mare!"

"Riiiiiight." Rainbow Dash snuffed at Rarity.

"Well, you wouldn't know, being a tomboy and all."

"Meh."

Rainbow wanted to take it as an insult, but she couldn't. She just couldn't care enough.

"That's enough with your whining. We have to go to the castle and see what's going on."

The five other ponies nodded and continued forward. The grounds were still hilly as always and some flowers were even starting to bloom in this atmosphere. Rock formations were still abundant. Some even looked like donuts...that Pinkie Pie tried to chew on, unfortunately. Despite these things, the city was still close. The six walked into it only to notice that some of the crystal ponies were locked in their homes whilst others were running towards the castle. Fluttershy tried to ask for some explanations, but she was still too quiet.

"Ferget 'em, Shy. We'll just have to get there ourselves. Perhaps the princess has prepared somefin' for us?"

The abundance of the gigantic, dark crystals appearing everywhere became more apparent as they arched the higher they got. Some had even engulfed houses or grown through them outright! The energies even the air were getting even darker than before, but the crystal heart could still be seen shining like a beacon at the top of Crystal Castle.

"Ah wonder what happened to this place?" Applejack spoke aloud.

"I dunno, but I don't like it. It feels too...sad." Pinkie struggled to find the appropriate word.

"I...what's...that?!" Twilight gasped in horror.

At the town center stood two, terribly tall obelisks of dark crystal. They seemed to be only a bit lower than the balcony of the castle, which, itself, started becoming engulfed in these putrid growths. And it was neither Cadence nor Shining Armor who were staning on it. No. It was a smiling Sombra. His cape fluttered in the wind just as his fanged teeth shone brightly in this darkness.

"My dear, pitiful subjects." he started gently."I am glad that you would have the audacity to oppose me. Why, you developped a backbone! Ahahaha. However, what better to break courage than fear? You dared to destroy my reign by letting two outsiders take my place! I will teach you where your loyalties should lie from now on, but I believe that the ones who started this whole mess should be punished for it first." Sombra looked behind him and said:"Turn them around."

The six were already angry enough at Sombra's return, but how did he return and how did he even get inside the Crystal Kingdom with the barrier up? Nonetheless, the monoliths rotated, kicking up chunks of dirt as they did so. The whole town, except for some strangely darker crystal ponies, gasped in horror, but none were more horrified than Twilight Sparkle. Cadance and Shining armor were attached to the obelisks with Sombra's dark magic serving as cuffs to torture them and fill their hearts with fear and submission.

"CADANCE! SHINING ARMOR!" Twilight yelled as she galopped down the street towards the castle.

The mare was violent struck by another crystal growing out of the ground, tossing her towards her recieving friends. She rubbed her jaw, but she wasn't beaten yet.

"Ah, yes. The Elements of Harmony. I was certain you would recieve our messenger."

"Our? Sombra, release Cadance and my brother right now!"

"Or what? Are you going to desintegrate me again like you did last time? Are you going to be influenced by my magic like you were before? You and your friends destroyed quite a large amount of planning I had prepared for this place and its...subjects." he grinned and looked at the ponies who shyed away from his gaze."The Crystal Kingdom is mine now, and you cannot stop me!"

"We'll just use the elements and the crystal heart and cast you outside again."

"Not this time, foals. I have met a friend who wishes to meet with you. I met him during my recovery and he has been of extreme help to me. Come and show yourself to these lower beings."

Hoof steps could be heard. Slowly, they landed on the ground and became ever louder. Finally, after several unnerving seconds, the being that had caused such devastation presented itself. It was a crystallion. Its crystal body still swirled with the semi-sentient cloud of darkness from before, but his face seemed to show no emotions. The glowing white crystals that served as his eyes simply stared at the entirety of the populace, but seemed to concentrate and Twilight specifically.

"A-Abstract the Dark?!" the six shouted in horror and disbelief.

The huge crowd of crystal ponies began to scream in horror and anger as they began to taunt Abstract and Sombra to come down to them to set things straight, yet, the majority of the anger seemed directed at the crystallion. They had just learned that it was his fault that Sombra had returned and managed to pass the barrier. The stallion of fear chuckled whole-heartedly and spoke:

"Yes! It is thanks to him that I was able to recover my reign and governance over you, my small foals. Yet, you seek to meet me and my...associate directly? I cannot move from my post, for I have important matters to attend to. I do believe, though, that said associate would be more than happy to oblige and receive your complaints. Abstract?" Sombra gestured to his friend with a grin and leg movement.

The crystallion unfolded his crystal wings and flew from his high perch, swooping down with no emotion until he folded his wings back onto his back and slammed onto the ground, tossing tiles everywhere. The ponies around shielded themselves from the debris caused by this landing, but quickly looked up to see the sining white lights in Abstract's "eyes" move to the front. He was looking at the six arrivals.

"Abstract, what are you doing here?! I thought you left for good!" Twilight yelled in fear.

The crystallion did not answer. In fact, it silently moved forward. The only sounds being made were of his crystal hooves clicking off the ground as the wind accompanied it. Twilight stood back up and yelled once more while her friends prepared to fight what the elements could not destroy before, or rather, what they couldn't try to destroy in time.

"Why would you be working alongside Sombra? The minotaur said that you and your species hated anything non-crystallion like. Is he manipulating you? Are you being controlled?"

"Twilight, I don't think he wants to answer." Rarity stuttered.

"Why not?"

"Don't you remember what we did to his...erm...'children'?"

"Yeah. We destroyed them to...restore...Oh...Well..."

"We can't justify the destruction of living beings, Twilight, even if they were despicable monsters trying to enslave the world."

"I'm not one to fly away, but I think we should be getting out of here. We should call the princesses for help." Rainbow suggested.

"She's right. We gotta go." Applejack added.

However, before they could do so, a pair of stallions from the Crystal Kingdom jumped into the air whilst brandishing spears. The Crystal Kingdom's army hadn't grown much since Cadence came to bear the burden of a populace on her shoulders, but it had been growing steadily. These two, however, had no armor, and their yelling gave away their actions immediately, yet Abstract did not move a muscle. Instead, he blocked the spears by getting them stuck between the crevices of the crystals composing his wings, then snapped the poles in half. He then twisted around to jab the two stallions painfully in the throats, literally tossing them far away and through the walls of a house.

"Hey! What did you do?!"

"You hurt our friends!"

"You ruined our home!"

"We'll teach you what we can do."

"No. Wait!" Fluttershy yelled.

A whole group of ponies from the sides came towards the one responsible for their conquering, and encircled him. Once again, Abstract did not care. Instead, a ring of darkness began to form around his horn. It spun wildly and, despite it having the appearance of a dark thunderstorm with purple bolts of lightning, it seemed rather tame. However, as soon as the ponies came within mere centimeters of him, the crystallion seemingly exploded into an orb of the same configuration. It engulfed the whole attacking group, and this stayed that way until the orb collapsed back onto Abstract the Dark. Those who didn't attack him all gasped in horror. The assaulters had turned into crystal themselves.

Sombra snickered at the thought of the ponies actually becoming 'crystal ponies' with that move. One of the statues in front of Abstract remained in its previous position. It had a hoof outstretched to punch him, the pony itselfhaving the face of a snarling beast. He observed it slowly and tipped it over, stomping it afterwards. It blew into pieces. Pinkie Pie gasped in horror. Twilight heeded her friends' suggestions and quickly scampered away with them until the lavender unicorn was caught by Abstract's magic. She was tossed into the air then thrown powerfully against the ground. If it wasn't for her quick reactions by creating a shield, Twilight would have certainly perished. The mare's friends immediately intervened, with Rainbow Dash charging in head first whilst Applejack planned on making the crystallion trip onto her bucking legs. She was hoping for a broken jaw. Pinkie Pie had somehow already prepared her party cannon with a "special" ingredient in it. Abstract was not impressed.

He head-butted Rainbow Dash onto the ground, then dodged Applejack's lasso and jabbed her in the throat as well. That mare was lucky that Fluttershy had caught her, otherwise she would have flown far away. She might have even flown outside of the dome. However, Pinkie's cannon exploded in her face, and its goo had become some sort of burning poison changed by Abstract. She was screaming and running around whilst smoking like a hotdog. The creature reverted its gaze back to Twilight, however. He began to press against her shield with a highly concentrated spear of dark energy. The lavender unicorn began to break as her horn and body began to receive the pressure on the shield. Rarity wanted to jump in and save her, but she had to help Rainbow Dash catch her breath.

"T...Twilight?"

Shining Armor was being called back into the world of the living simply by hearing the cries of his sister. Functioning on a basic mindset alone, he began to force himself out of his restraints, yet Sombra's magic was still affecting him. This meant that the dark king was more than aware of his attempts to break free. The dark king did not budge. In fact, he was simply curious to see what would happen. This would be a good test to see if his magic was in need of reworking or if it still had its strength from before. His question was answered almost immediately. The stallion broke off of the obelisk despite being covered in the fear crystals, and, after landing on the ground, charged at Abstract and slammed into him. Twilight's friends grabbed her and galopped away, intent on reaching the carriage.

"Wait! We have to get my brother!"

"It's too late, Twilight!" Rarity shouted.

"No! I's not! Let go of me! Huh?"

Shining did slam into Abstract's side, but it didn't have much of an effect. Instead, the stallion, was punted away. Before he could strike again, the crystallion jabbed his horn into Armor's mouth. The sounds of coughing and gurgling could be heard as crystals formed all over his writhing body, essentially turning him into another statues like the others, although this seemed imbued with Sombra's dark magic. But, something was wrong. Instead of remaining immobile, the statue began to move, a face of pure horror etched on it like a tortured soul. The eyes were no more. Instead, a tiny sparkling ball of pink and purple energy represented the pupils. It looked at Twilight slowly for a second before the crystallion pointed it back to the castle. The "zombie" obeyed and slowly, but statically, moved towards the castle.

As Twilight became breathless to what had just happened to her poor brother, Sombra boasted as his associate returned to him.

"Look, crystal ponies! Look at what will happen if you disobey me! Any who harbor ill will against me shall also suffer his fate. I will have my kingdom and its citizens back, and you will all be my tools to be thrown away once your use has ended. Hahahaha!"

---

The six had escaped outside into the cold blizzard. It was still as violent as it was a few minutes earlier. The six circled back around to find the carriage, only to see that it had been destroyed and its two guardians had disappeared.

"Oh no! What'll we do now?" Fluttershy worried.

"Only one thing we can do. We gotta get back to Equestria on hoof." Rainbow Dash suggested as she struggled to stand.

Her head was pounding.

"Abstract has a really hard head. I don't remember him being like this before. He didn't even say anything. He would always monologue."

"Yeah. He was always like 'You puny ponies' or 'I'll conquer you all' Pinkie joked as she sizzled a little more."

"Uhh...Gals?" Applejack forced.

There was some sort of monstrous beast of ice standing above them. It was hunched and covered with white fur. It was some form of yeti, as the stories would have it. However, as it stared the six down, crystals began to expand within the crystal kingdom towards them, and it was doing so with an increased violence shown by the ground being tossed into the air in large chunks or hills splitting open.

"What do we do?! What do we do?! WHAT DO WE DO?!" Rarity stressed.

"We...fall...asleep..." Rainbow Dash answered.

Somehow, all these events, which happened so quickly, drained the group of their energy. Well, it was either that, or the strange tiny serpents that had somehow reached and bit them in the neck. Twilight was already dead tired, but she was the only one to see strange black figures walk up to them and speak in a strange language. The yeti walked away whilst the figures looked at the state the kingdom was in. Now, for Twilight, there was nothing but a soft bliss. Everything that had happened was certainly just a dream and she was going to wake up soon from it. She had to.