The mists hung heavily over Neighagra Falls, produced by the ever-pounding torrent of water slamming down just outside the Crystal Empire. Extending from the shore where the water ran into a pool of unknown depths grew a small plot of trees and bushes. It was just barely big enough to be called the Neighagra Woodland. It was in this patch of shrubbery where six figures silently walked.

Heading directly for the Falls, the ragtag group of ponies did not stop till they reached the shore. Turning to face those behind her, the purple alicorn said, "Alright, Rainbow, Fluttershy, I think you two should go to the top of the Falls and search, while Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and I spread out and continue the search through the Woodland."

Nodding in acknowledgement, the rainbow-maned pegasus turned to the other pegasus of the group. "Come on, Flutters, we can't let him vanish again!"

Timidly, Fluttershy hesitantly followed Rainbow Dash to the top of the waterfall. The remaining four friends did not move until the two pegasus disappeared into the rolling mist. Then Twilight looked back at those around her. "Well, we best get going. Like Rainbow said, we don't want to lose him again."

Nodding, each one chose a direction and headed off in it. Meanwhile, above the Falls, Rainbow was groaning in irritation. "Sweet Celestia it's impossible to see past all this mist!"

Besides her, Fluttershy mumbled something, her hair covering her face to hide her expression, as usual. Not catching the mumbling over her own complaining, Rainbow continued to try and see where they were going, as well as looking for signs of their quarry.

Fluttershy didn't feel like trying to say it again, her gut twisting inside her for what was about to come. They would soon face their enemy, and then what? It was a no brainer they would end up using the Elements. At least they would try to. But unfortunately...

Oh, maybe I'm making the wrong decision.

Then she remembered why things were going to go the way they were. Sighing, she nodded and swooped down to the ground at the edge of the river. This surprised Rainbow, who stopped and went to join her.

"Hey, what gives?"

While Rainbow worried over Fluttershy, Pinkie met up with Twilight. And then immediately prompted to talk her into insanity.

"Wow, this place is awesome! It's the super-duper-many-times-coolest waterfall I've ever seen! Too bad we're here on a mission, or else I'd be having totally-mega fun! I still can't believe the Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were able to find a spell that could allow us to take back the Elements while moving the effects of the Tree to your castle! That'll make it harder for any meany pants who show up to destroy that Tree, now that it's a castle! Or has the castle become the Tree? Ooooh, Celestia does things that make my head hurt sometimes!"

Sighing, Twilight looked at Pinky, a tired expression on her face. "Pinkie, could you possibly give me a little silence? We have to try and concentrate on finding-"

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!"

Both stopped in their tracks and whipped around. Before Twilight could even muster a spell, Pinkie was gone, having probably reached the top of the waterfall by now, where the screaming had drifted down from.

Without barely a second thought, Twilight hurriedly followed Pinkie's example, running towards the Falls, then teleporting up the sheer cliff of thundering water.

She continued to run, until she made out several shapes in the mist. Bunching her legs, Twilight leaped, landing just to the side of the group of three facing off against a single pony.

"Sombra!"

Turning a wicked grin towards Twilight, Sombra's horn glowed black. "Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle! The pleasure isn't mine!" He shot a blast of dark magic at the alicorn, she just barely had time to dodge it before it hit her. The ground she had been standing on was now a black, melting crisp.

Glaring at the tyrant, Twilight shot a counter attack of her own, which Sombra quickly deflected with another blast of dark magic.

As the two fought, Rarity and Applejack climbed a steep hill besides the Falls and went to join in. It didn't take long for an all out war to break out between the King and the Elements.

Gritting his teeth, Sombra looked for any break in their attack. Finding one, the one he already knew he would find, Sombra took a second to take a deep breath. Then he turned his magic away from Twilight.

The blast that had been met for the alicorn princess now instead hit the pale yellow pegasus. Letting out a scream of pain, Fluttershy teetered at the edge of the bank. Before anyone could even let out a horrified gasp, she fell into the river, getting caught up in the current, heading right for the Falls- and the rocks waiting at the bottom.

While horror gripped the five friends on dry land, Sombra took this opportunity and used his magic to teleport away, knowing he would be no match for the five angry friends.

As Sombra escaped, Fluttershy was tossed around in a swirling, raging torrent, getting way too close the waterfall for comfort. Her friends tried to pull her out, Rainbow swooping in to remove her, Rarity and Twilight trying to use their magic, Applejack attempting to help with her roping skills, and Pinkie doing her thing, which ended up being running so fast she pretty flew over the water.

Sadly, they were all too late. With a cry, Fluttershy plummeted over the Falls. Rainbow went in for one last attempt to save her, but a violent surge of water from the Falls smacked into her, sending her crashing into the ground at the edge of the pool below.

Silence and dread now gripped the group as they stared at the rocks. Applejack was the first to break the stillness. "Fluttershy!" she screeched, turning and bounding down the hill she came up.

This got them all out of their stupors. They were quick to join Applejack, who, alongside Rainbow Dash, was running up and down the shore of the pool, screaming out, "Fluttershy! Fluttershy, can ya hear me?! Please, Celestiadamnit, answer me!"

Their words were wasted, which they learned in no less than ten minutes. Having taken to the sky, Rainbow Dash searched frantically for her friend. Then she spotted a familiar fur coat and a pair of wing. "Oh thank Celestia! Guys, I found her! Over here!"

At Rainbow's call, the other four turned towards the sound of Rainbow's voice, relieved and worried smiles on their faces as they raced toward their other two friends.

As they hurried toward her, Rainbow landed next to the hushed figure of Fluttershy, thanking Celestia over and over. She could not see her friend's face, but she just knew everything was alright. Right?

"It's ok, Flutters, you're gonna be just fin-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

As she had talked, Rainbow had reached up a hoof to brush Fluttershy's soft pink mane back. What she saw underneath nearly made her faint.

At Rainbow's scream, Twilight and the others quickened their pace. "Rainbow! Rainbow, what's wrong?!"

They were about to burst from the mist and join the two pegasus, but then a very terrified, squeaky voice stopped them.

"No, don't come any closer guys! You won't be able to..."

The voice faded, and then the sobbing began. The same dread from earlier filled them, tenfold. Twilight took a hesitant step forward, gulping, her gut feeling telling her something she didn't want to believe.

Gathering her courage, Twilight stepped clear of the mist. The sight before her instantly made her turn her back and puke. The action was not lost to the rest of them. Even though Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie were pretty sure they knew what was hidden beyond this mist, the three could not stop themselves. They had to see for themselves.

Of course, Rarity joined Twilight in puking. Though Applejack's stomach rebelled, she held her lunch and trotted up to the corpse. Pinkie stayed put, her eyes glazing over, not wanting to see this anymore, wishing she had never stepped forward.

Rainbow was curled in a ball next to Fluttershy, bawling her eyes out, unable to focus on anything. "Oh sugarcube...," Applejack whispered hoarsely, "I don't, I can't, I..."

Unable to take it, Applejack broke down, looking up at the sky and letting out an anguished yell as tears poured down her face.

Fluttershy's body itself was intact, with only a few minor cut and bruises, but the neck was where it stopped. No, I mean literally stopped. Her head and neck had been severed from the torso, blood and pieces of throat scattered everywhere. She was missing her left eye, and the right one had a chunk of stone stuck in it. Her jaw was broken, hanging at an awkward angle with blood dripping out of it. Her cheekbones were also shattered, sunken in to what was left of her mouth. Fluttershy's skull was in pieces, blood and brain parts dribbling out the side.

It was the worst nightmare-come-true they had ever had, and they let the world know it with their cries of despair.

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Angel stood there in a state of complete and utter shock. He could feel tears unconsciously drifting down his cheeks, but he didn't care. All around him were other animals having their own meltdowns, but all he could see and hear was Fluttershy. His owner, his friend, the one whom he had treated like dirt. The one pony who actually cared for him and catered to his needs with little resistance. It made him hate himself with a passion. He wished he could turn back time and stop himself from acting like such a complete bastard, but no, it was too late.

Now Angel had no one to blame but himself.

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Celestia stood before the door of the room, her hoof raised to knock. She had to knock. She had to. He needed to...

I can't do it...

No, I must!

Before she could stop herself, she brought her hoof down on the door. Hard. Way too hard. The door flew off its hinges, crashing into the wall across from it, shattering the stone wall of the castle. Both draconequus and pony watched in surprised awe as the door tumbled down through the air, eventually smashing against the mountain.

"Um, can I come in?"

The awkward question now turned the Lord of Chaos from a staring buffoon to a crowd of ponies watching some of Pinkie's most ridiculous antics over and over.

"Oh, my dear Celestia, that was the single most hilarious and chaotic thing you've ever done!" Discord managed to gasp out through his laughing fit.

Celestia felt an embarrassed blush coming on, but one look at the ignorant draconequus changed her expression back to a sad, grieving one. This was not lost to Discord, who stopped laughing at once and floated over to the Equestrian princess.

"Celestia? What's wrong?"

Taking a deep breath to steady her nervous feeling, she looked up at the Chaos Lord with tears shining in her magenta eyes. "Discord, I- it's- it's Fluttershy, Discord. She's..."

After the initial shock had worn off, Discord's heartbroken cry could be heard all the way to the outer reaches of the Frozen North.

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The funeral was short and bittersweet. It was a private one, so only the Mane 6, Discord, Celestia and Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in attendance. Of course, all Fluttershy's animal friends were there too, and a massive throng of ponies sat outside the church, each one giving their thanks to Fluttershy and all she had done for them.

Many tears were shed, and the broken friends all looked to each other for comfort. Only Discord sat apart from them, refusing to let anyone but Celestia near him, and even then he never spoke a word to her.

The unicorns of Ponyville had taken it upon themselves to put the body back together, so at least the friends would get to see the pale yellow pegasus one last time.

Many words were said about Fluttershy. She was the bravest soul of them all. She would always be there for any of them if they needed her. She reminded them all to be cautious and look before they leaped. It was all true, but it didn't matter for them in the end. These things were all gone. No more afternoon strolls. No more relaxing in the sun. No more Kindness.

The world had become a very dark place indeed.

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Zecora was on her way back from the funeral, her soul grieved over the loss of her closest neighbor and friend. Granted, the zebra was no stranger to loss, but this one bit much more deeply than the loss of old homes and still living friends.

It was not so shocking, really, that she didn't feel it until she reached the door of her house and was pulled from her thoughts as she paused to open the door to her home.

That was when it hit with the force of a tidal wave.

Literally knocked off her feet by this unknown power, Zecora looked around her in confusion and fear. "What? This cannot be! The Forest is awakening!"

Quickly, she ran into her hut and pulled a few things off some shelves, while knocking several down in her haste. Then she went to her always pre-prepared cauldron and started throwing things in. Red smoke shot from the pot, making Zecora gag and back up a couple steps.

Once the fumes cleared, she darted back over and looked in the broiling pot. What she saw in there scared her out of her mind, and before anypony could blink, she had packed a few belonging and dashed back toward Ponyville.

In the opposite direction Zecora was running, past her hut and far into the Forest, the earth trembled as something under it shifted. The ground opened and a glowing black orb shot into the sky, exploding and lighting the area with a mysterious gray light.

A pair of gleaming yellow eyes peered up at the display from deep with the forming fissure. It shifted around, wanting desperately to find a way out, but knowing it couldn't leave. Not yet. That was when it spoke in a hissing voice.

'You will pay, Sombra.....'

The sun rose over the peaks of the Unicorn Range, lighting the small town of Ponyville, located at the foot of Canter Mountain.

Just outside this town rose a castle. It glimmered in the light of the bright yellow orb, which Celestia had just finished putting in the sky above.

Inside said castle sat Princess Twilight Sparkle, her blue with pink and purple stripes mane frazzled from her early wake up. Well, that, and the fact that today was an extremely important anniversary, one that always made her lethargic and depressed.

Seven years. Seven long, painful, and boring years.

Sighing, Twilight took a sip of her plain black coffee, which was something she always reserved for this day. The day her and her other four friends would visit the grave and pay respects. Sadly, it would only be the five of them. Everyone else had stopped coming two years ago. Even most of Fluttershy's animal friends had vanished. It was mainly Angel and a few other small creatures that stood outside the cemetery silently.

Thinking about all the different animals brought Twilight's mind to Discord. No one has seen him in six years. She and the others would still occasionally wonder what happened to him, but all the searches had proven futile. He had simply disappeared.

That was the thing that kept Celestia away from coming with them. Not her royal duties. She was afraid of one day seeing him there, cause there was no doubt in the sun princess's mind that he would not act very friendly to them anymore. Luna did still come, but only late at night, for she had to sleep during the day.

Twilight was shaken from her drifting mind at the sound of a hoof gently knocking on her bedroom door. Turning towards the sound, Twilight caught a glimpse of color through a small slit between the double doors. Sighing again, she stood and approached the doors, reaching up and pulling on the door handle. The door slid silently open to reveal a rainbow-maned pegasus.

Of the entire group, Rainbow had taken Fluttershy's death hardest, right alongside Pinkie. Rarity, Applejack, and Twilight had tried their hardest to help the two, but they were not far off from the condition the two had worked themselves up to for three whole years.

Of course, the five of them had eventually stopped the sobbing themselves to sleep every night routine, but they all still held the grief in their souls.

Motioning Rainbow inside, Twilight shut the door and turned to face her silent friend. "Hey Rainbow. Ready to go?"

It had become tradition between the alicorn and the pegasus to go to the cemetery together. The two had made the closest bond over the last seven years out of all the group. They were constantly seen together at cafés and restraunts, but even though it seemed like more, the pair were simply enjoying each other's company and trying to silently comfort each other.

Rainow Dash nodded as she headed towards the window. "I saw the others already heading out there. They'll be there by now."

Nodding in agreement, Twilight followed her best friend as she jumped out the window. They took to the sky, wings flapping effortlessly as they drifted down towards the outer edge of Ponyville.

Off to the far right side of Sweet Apple Acres was where the Ponyville Hills Cemetery laid. It had several hundred graves in it, almost all depicting famous war heroes and soldiers. There was one that stood above the rest, however.

It depicted a pegasus standing tall, her face serene, beautiful, and kind. A small smile stretched graced the carving's face, while the stone eyes appeared to actually sparkle with compassion.

Fluttershy's monument. And right beneath it, her grave.

Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie were indeed already there. The three sat in front of a patch of ground littered with flowers. It was the prime spot of the whole cemetery. It was given to Fluttershy for all the times she had helped save Equestria, and for taming one of the greatest threats they had ever met.

Twilight and Rainbow landed right next to their friends, folding their wings. Twilight sat down and bowed her head in respect, while Rainbow absently ran a hoof over the patch of dirt laying over their friend.

Applejack looked over at Rainbow for a second. Over the years, she had let her mane grow out, and had given up her ponytail, letting it flow freely and messily across her neck and face.

Next to Applejack, Pinkie had her Pinkamena hair on, and she had growler paler. Her perky attitude had all been vanished as of waking up this morning.

The last of the group was perhaps the most changed. Her mane was split all over the place, sticking up and knotted sometimes. Her white had lost its shine, and she almost always had her head down. Although Rainbow had suffered the most mentally, it was clear from Rarity's looks she was an emotional wreck.

As the group gathered together in a tight huddle to support each other, Twilight, who had grown significantly in the past years, opened her wings and circled them around her friends, pulling the huddle closer.

It wasn't until sun set approached that they left, laying down fresh flowers and muttering silent prayers.

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Luna silently sat in front of the great monument, her head bowed in respect of the dead. Although she hadn't known Fluttershy as much as her friends, the princess of night had always had a deep respect for the pegasus, who had sacrificed much for the ponies around her.

Luna stayed in her position for a long time, simply letting memories and stories of the deceased run through her head. She had heard many tales about the shy pegasus. How she faced down a dragon. How she resisted a beast. Her victory over a cockatrice. It made her wish Fluttershy hadn't been so nervous about her since the Nightmare Moon incident, the night princess now found herself wanting to have really spent time with this mare.

Sighing sadly, Luna looked up at the statue. Nightmare Moon...she would still be that monster if this pegasus hadn't gathered the bravery to help Twilight and the others. It must have certainly been hardest for her, considering her timid nature.

"Thank you."

A single tear shone down the princess's face, landing on the dirt piled over the coffin.

Standing up, Luna went to leave, but then something made her pause. Looking back at the ground which Fluttershy was buried under, Luna got a very weird feeling. It was almost like a hunch, but less certain.

Turning back around, the night princess laid the tip of her horn to the ground. It began to glow a light blue, and seeped into the grass.

The rumbling started as the same blue light began to burst from the earth, lighting the cemetery. Concentrating harder, Luna felt the ground give way as the coffin rose from the earth. Lifting her head, Luna gently turned her body away from the hole, the coffin moving with it, and set the elaborate box down besides the freshly disturbed grave.

The blue glow faded away, leaving Luna with only the light of the waning moon to see the coffin by. Taking a deep breath, the dark blue alicorn walked up to the final resting space of Fluttershy.

Luna had no idea exactly what had compelled her to disturb the hero's grave, but she knew she couldn't ignore it. Taking a deep breath, the princess reached up and lifted the lid of the bright yellow box that had one large, elaborate pink butterfly painted on its top.

"What?! How?! I saw her! And watched it this go into the ground!"

The thing that had shocked Princess Luna into yelling at what was supposed to be a place of quiet respect was the body inside the silk-lined coffin. Or, more specifically, the lack of body.

Fluttershy was not inside.

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Lily Bloom stuck out her tongue in concentration as she tried her hardest to snip away some weeds without cutting out the blooming flowers.

Cause she was so focused on weeds and flowers, Lily failed to notice her husband, Black Opal, heading towards her, having returned from his job in the Diamond Mines. When he reached his wife, Black Opal reached a hoof forward and tapped her on the back.

Letting out a startled yelp, Lily turned and nearly assaulted Opal with her pruning sheers. Seeing who it was, however, she stopped herself and let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, Opal, don't do that to me! You know I don't like being sneaked up on!" she reminded him in a lightly scolding tone.

Laughing, Opal shook his head. "You know I can't resist! I'm Mr.Shadow, remember?" He had been appropriately nicknamed, for his coat was as black as coal. His mane and tail were a foggy grey, while his eyes were more a smoky grey color, and on his flank was a barely distinguishable round grey-black stone that had red flecks in it. A black opal.

Huffing, Lily playfully pushed him away, a wide grin on her face. "Oh please. You use that excuse way too much," she teased, her cream white crystal coat gleaming in a patch of sunlight, leaf green eyes sparkling almost as brightly, her light blue with a pink stripe colored mane and tail just as bedazzling. Her cutie mark stood out quite vividly compared to her husband's, an aqua green lily pad with a light pink lily blooming on it.

Rolling his eyes, Opal looked at the now trampled garden of what had once been growing flowers besides Lily. "Oops."

Following her husband's gaze, Lily gasped. "My tulips! We've crushed them! And they were only just coming in too!" Turning now-furious eyes on Opal, she again wielded her pruners. "It took me forever to adjust them to this soil! Now it'll take ages more for them to grow in! I just hope they do it before winter!"

Although she was angry, Lily would never actually harm Opal, and, after a few seconds, she put the pruners down, sighing. "Ah well. Best get back to work then."

Rubbing the back of his neck while his wife went to clear away the dead plants, Opal tried to say, "Lily, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, Opal, it's fine. It'll give me the chance to plant some peonies. At least they're local enough here."

Feeling terribly awkward, Opal went back into their home, hoping to later make it up to her with a romantic dinner. It was, after all, the anniversary of when their relationship officially began. In a few months time, they would also be celebrating their marriage anniversary too.

While Opal thought of that, Lily finished uprooting her ruined flowers and tossed them into a bucket full of dirt and weeds sitting by a small shed. Murmuring to herself, she went into said shed and brought back out several packets of seeds. With her practiced hooves, she quickly dug out seven holes and poured a few seeds in each before promptly putting the packets back in the shack.

As she covered the seeds, Lily realized how many holes she had dug, and a sad, tired expression overcame her face. "Seven precisely, as of..." She let the sentence drift off, shaking her head to clear it. "No, I won't be roped into depression again. I chose this, and this is how it must be."

Feeling confident again, Lily went inside to wash up. As she hung her work apron up and went towards the sink, a small voice at the back of her mind muttered, 'Yeah right.'

Lily was sitting across the table from Opal, who had indeed taken her out for dinner. Laughing gently at a joke her husband had just made, Lily picked up her glass of wine and took a sip.

"You know, darling, this is one of the most successful dates we've ever had. Who knows, you might get lucky tonight," she told him, giving Opal a playful wink, her eyes shimmering in the candlelight.

Smiling, Opal chuckled and also took a small drink from the no doubt very old and expensive red wine in his wine glass. "That would be...wonderful," he replied, nearly licking his lips in anticipation.

The couple lapsed into silence as the waiter came up and took their orders. Upon the server leaving, Opal turned back to face Lily. His eyes got a dreamy, far away look as he stared at her.

"You're just as beautiful as the day I met you," Opal whispered lovingly.

Blushing, Lily took another shot from her wine to distract herself. When she was done, Lily glanced back over at her husband and a gentle smile graced her face. "And you just as handsome, ya big lug," she teased, her eyes glimmering with mirth.

Now it was Opal's turn to blush.

The redness in both their cheeks vanished, however, when Lily spoke up again, sighing. "I hate to make things awkward, but be that as it may, we both agreed to never talk about the past in public. You know how these ponies would react if they found out who we truly were," she reminded him in a hushed voice, making sure no one overheard.

Opal nodded sheepishly, an apology rising to the surface, but as he was about to speak, the waiter came back with their food. Choosing to say sorry later, Opal picked up his fork and began to eat, his example soon followed by Lily, who had paused to think about many, many things.

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The forest was wrapped in a thick fog, making it nearly impossible for Lily to see as she stumbled through the trees, her gaze panicked.

I'm not supposed to be here, she thought, her head filled with frantic thoughts.What if the others are here? What will I say? What will I do?

She was snapped from her worried thinking by the sound of slithering. Well, it at least sounded like slithering, but this fog was dampening the noise of the forest, so it was hard to tell.

Taking a deep breath, Lily looked around cautiously. "Hello?" she called, her voice echoing through the dank woodland. Nothing replied, which made her all the more nervous as she swore she heard a noise again, even closer this time. "Hello? Who's out there? Please, I mean no harm. Unless you mean harm," she yelled out into the darkness, her eyes hardening at the last part of her sentence.

It was then Lily saw the shadow. It dashed through the mist at the corner of her eyes. She whipped her head around to see it, but it had vanished. Growing irritated, and secretly more scared, Lily grumbled to herself, beginning to walk forward, her eyes still narrowed in the direction she swore she had seen something.

She was knocked from her suspicious glaring when she bumped into a tree. Or what she thought for a few seconds was a tree. Then she actually look at it. What she saw made her heart miss a beat, and she held her breath as she looked up the long, serpentine body in front of her. When she saw its face, she nearly fainted from shock.

No...., she thought, her insides shaking with so many emotions, it was hard to pin down what any of them were. The two simply locked eyes and stayed that way for what seemed to Lily like eternity.

Then it spoke. "Why?"

The voice was cracked and broken, and hearing it broke Lily's heart as she opened her mouth, trying to tell it everything, trying to explain, but only managing to stutter, "I- I was- then he came along- and I'm so sorry, I wanted to tell you, but...."

Unable to finish, Lily hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it hurts, but I know I can never fix this." There was only silence following her words.

When Lily finally managed to look up, the figure was gone.

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Lily spent all the next day silently brooding over her garden, unable to stop thinking about her dream. She knew that the pony who she had seen last night was not a figment of her imagination. He had found her, after all these years, and had managed to work his way into her dreams. Now all she could think about was the others finding out. What would they and the ponies of this kingdom do if they found out the truth?

She was shaken from her worrying by a hoof gently be placed on her shoulder. "Lily, honey, what's wrong?" Turning to look at Opal, Lily sighed. "One of them found us, Opal. I don't know what he'll do. I just hope the judgement isn't too harsh. At least not for you. I was the one who gave it up in the end."

Opal stiffened at her words, then his eyes narrowed as he processed them. "You mean him?" he asked in a hostile voice. Not missing his tone, Lily shook her head at Opal. "Now, Opal, dear, I know you two never got along, but please try to understand. He only wants friendship, which is something he attempts to gain in weird ways. That's probably what he was doing when you two first met."

Opal snorted at her words. "I suppose he never had any proper manners taught to him, what with him being separated from the others. Ah well, if judgement is on its way, I guess we'd better prepare."

Nodding mutely, Lily went inside, Opal right behind her.

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Twilight trotted lightly through town, her gaze sweeping over the decorations for tonight's Nightmare Night. "Let's see...candy? Check. Games? Check. Spider web and ghost decorations? Check. Statue of Nightmare Moon? Hmm, it appears they've yet to set it up. Weird."

Glancing around, she saw Pinkie Pie setting up the remaining streamers and trotted over. "Hey Pinkie, do you know where the Nightmare Moon statue is? They were supposed to bring it out first."

Turning to face her friend, the pink earth pony adopted a thoughtful look. Then she shrugged and said, "I don't know. I swore I saw it in place earlier. Oh, maybe a real ghost came and took it! Ooooooooooohhhhhhh."

Sighing, Twilight left the mare trying to do her best imitation of ghost sounds. Then she spotted a familiar black and white striped fur coat near Sugarcube Corner. Quickening her pace, the princess caught up with Zecora in no time.

"Zecora, do you know where the Nightmare Moon statue is?"

The zebra nearly jumped out of her skin as she whipped around to face the purple alicorn. "Oh Twilight, it is just you!" she exclaimed.

Ever since Fluttershy's funeral, the alchemist had been extremely jumpy, and had abandoned her home in the Everfree, taking up resident at Fluttershy's old home, which she had bought. Of course, this confused many and angered a few ponies, but the zebra simply ignored it all, refusing to give her reasons why.

Twilight attempted the best smile she could as Zecora calmed down. "Sorry Zecora, I'm just trying to make sure everything's in place for tonight. That being said, any idea where Nightmare Moon is?"

Zecora put a hoof to her chin as she thought. "Hmm...Nightmare Moon I did see, already sitting prepped and pretty."

Twilight's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't make sense. It's gone now, which would imply someone took it. Why would anyone do that?"

Zecora shrugged at the question, then adopted a hesitant look. "Twilight, princess, I feel there is something I should tell you."

Her thinking derailed at the zebra's shy tone, and Twilight tilted her head. "Yes, Zecora? What is it?" The zebra shook her head and pointed towards the outskirts of town. "No, not here, too dangerous will it be. Only will you get the truth at Fluttershy's house."

Twilight was startled both by what she said, and her saying it partially without rhyming. Then she shook her head clear. "What?! Fluttershy's cottage?! Are you completely insane?!" the alicorn practically hissed at Zecora. The zebra took it all in a stride, nodding in reply to her second question. "I only wish to tell you why it is that I have fled my home. It is dark, and something that may yet be a threat."

The princess felt her anger giving way to confusion. "A threat? What, to Equestria? If you knew something might attack, why didn't you say something earlier?!" Clearly the anger was back.

Flinching, Zecora looked over towards the square. "I am not sure of who it seeks, assuming would be very bad for me." And cue confusion again.

"What do you mean, who it seeks? Are you saying a specific pony's life is in jeopardy? If so, who?"

Zecora was struggling to not reveal too much out in the open. "Princess, look, I am afraid too much I have already said, only if you come to the cottage will you see."

With that, the striped pony cousin walked away, leaving the local ruler completely bewildered.

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The silver moonlight washed the home in a gray glow, stripping it of what little color it had left after years of neglect. The grounds around the house were no better, grass growing to neck height, random weeds and flowers all over the place, and not a single creature in sight to try and manage the overgrown yard.

One dreaded step after another, Twilight forced herself towards the old home of her old friend. Coming back here was like a hoof to the face, but she didn't have a choice. As a princess, she was supposed to protect all the ponies of Equestria, and if even one was in danger, it was her duty to help them.

Reaching the door, Twilight reached up a hoof to knock, but paused as a flashback hit her. She saw the door opening, Fluttershy inside, that gentle smile on her face as she welcomed in her friend.

The memory nearly made Twilight start crying, but she just barely kept herself in check. Taking a deep breath, she brought her hoof down, knocking three times. Then she waited.

The door opened to reveal Zecora in the black cloak she had worn when Twilight first saw her. Her eyes glowed yellow in the darkness, making the princess shiver. Thankfully, the zebra pulled back the hood to reveal her regular blue eyes. "Come in, Princess," she greeted courtesly.

Still holding back her emotions, the alicorn stepped into the house. Her eyes stayed straight ahead, Twilight not wanting to see what had become of Fluttershy's place.

Zecora swiftly closed the door and headed towards the stairs. Concluding that Zecora wanted her to follow, Twilight hurried after the zebra as she reached the top and went down the hallway. She found the alchemist in Fluttershy's old room. The bed and walls were a little dirty and faded, but pretty much the same. The big differences were the dresser, which had been converted into a storage space for all Zecora's ingredients, and the familiar big black cauldron sitting in the middle of the room.

Said cauldron was already boiling and producing a red mist, which Twilight noticed Zecora took extra care to avoid. The zebra was staring into the broiling pot, her gaze locked on something within.

Hesitantly, Twilight stepped up to stand next to Zecora. Gulping, she looked down into the cauldron. Her eyes widened into the size of dinner plates.

"What is that thing?!"

Zecora flinched at the sudden noise, but calmed herself down immediately. "She is called Red Harvest, an ancient and evil pony from before Discord took over Equestria the first time. She is responsible for the birth of one of your greatest enemies, the same pony who sealed her down there and took away her power at great loss."

Twilight was stunned by what she was hearing. "It was Discord, wasn't it? That's why he went mad, right?"

When she saw Zecora shaking her head, Twilight frowned. "Then who? It can't possibly have been Chrysalis or Tirek, right? Who else is there? Who would do something heroic out of all our enemies besides Discord?"

The zebra sighed and went over to the dresser. She stuck her hoof in a drawer and removed a few strands of some mysterious plant that may have once been leaves.

Walking back over, she threw the leaves in. A flash of green smoke rose up, and within this smoke, the image of a pony started to form. An image of somepony Twilight hated so deeply, she had spent many a night wondering if she would actually kill him if she ever saw his ugly little face again.

"Sombra?!!"

Twilight could not believe a single word she was hearing. Rage boiled just below the surface as she turned to Zecora, eyes blazing. "Do not try and pull one over on me! Do you really expect me to believe that beast gave up a happy life in some long forgotten past to do something good for Equestria?!"

Zecora stared at the seething princess for a few minutes, then replied simply, "Yes."

Twilight wasn't sure whether to explode again, or stand there in frozen shock staring like a buffoon. "I, uh, what?" Option two it is.

Shaking her head and chuckling, Zecora brought out something else from her ingredient dresser. "Perhaps, dear Twilight, a look to the past may bring out the last."

Now more confused than angry, the princess raised an eyebrow at the zebra. "The last of what, Zecora? Zecora?" Instead of answering, the zebra tossed in the powder. Yellow smoke took to the air. It stayed still for a second, then started to swirl, going faster and faster, until it was like a two dimensional tornado. "Second only to the white elixir of before, this smoke will tell you all and more. Come, inhale it now, and to the past you will prowl."

Giving Zecora a funny look, Twilight obliged the alchemist, leaning forward and sticking her nose by the cloud, taking a deep breath. She immediately started to cough, long, wracking coughs that made it hard to breath. "Zecora....what....the..."

Before she could finish the sentence, she slumped to the ground, and found her mind being tossed into the circling mass of yellow smoke.

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Sitting up, Twilight let out a groggy moan and looked around. "Where- where am I?" she asked aloud. The only answer was a weird rolling sound. Looking over, Twilight saw a large cart rolling towards her. She tried to scramble out of the way, but it was too late. She closed her eyes, waiting for impact...it never came. The princess's eyes shot open just in time to see the last of the cart pass through her.

"Ahhhhhh! I'm dead! That crazy zebra killed me!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Extremely startled, Twilight turned to see a young stallion on top of the cart that had passed through her. He was black, with a smoke black mane and tail, both of which had one dark blue streak down the middle, and silver eyes. On his flank was a trio of red crystals.

Going wide-eyed, Twilight's jaw dropped. "Sombra?!" she exclaimed for the second time that night. She could not believe that this care-free stallion was the once-tyranical emperor of the Crystal Empire, as well as the killer of a friend.

A killer who was very close to killing himself as he careened wildly toward a cliff. Acting on instinct, Twilight's horn lit up, but when she tried to cast a spell, nothing happened. "Fuck. In the past. I forgot."

Watching in tense silence, the alicorn waited for the cart to go over the cliff, and the unicorn to meet his doom. Wait a second...

The cart did indeed go over the cliff, but the pegasus spread his wings, gliding safely through the air, much to the jaw-dropped-again shock of Twilight. He's an alicorn in our time?!

While she was watching, she noticed somepony else. He was waiting at the bottom of the cliff, his own red wings folded back over his red orange body. The stranger had yellow eyes the color of a harvest moon. His mane and tail were a dark orange, with only his mane having two yellow streaks the same color of his eyes. His flank was adorned by a moon with an odd blue and orange mixed glow to it.

"See, I told ya I could do it, Moon colt!"

Snapped back into reality, Twilight watched Sombra land besides the red orange one, who stuck out his tongue. "Yeah, yeah, whatever Gemsy. Come on, let's get back. Your favorite should be waiting, oh epic birthday boy."

Chuckling, Sombra, who Twilight was beginning to suspect had a different name back here due to the nickname the other pegasus gave him, nodded. Spreading his wings, he shot back a smug smile. "Race ya, bro."

Before Sombra's brother could reply, the one-day-to-be-emporer shot into the sky with a laugh. "Oh, it is on," the brother yelled at him before taking to the sky in pursuit.

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The scene shifted to nighttime, where a much older-looking Sombra stood facing his brother. "Harvest, don't do this! You're my brother, I can't bear to lose you, especially to that freaky princess! Who knows what sort of things she teaches!"

Glaring, Harvest let out an angry snort. "You're just jealous, Gem. I can't believe you're being so petty as to insult her! I thought you were more mature than this. I guess not!" With a whip of his tail, Harvest Moon left Bloody Gem there wallowing in hurt.

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There was another shift, and now Twilight was on the outskirts of a very familiar forest. To her right was Gem, while Harvest stood to her left, a hard look on his face, just like last time. "What are you doing here?" spat Harvest, his pupils narrow slit.

Sombra had an equally hard expression, his eyes also narrowed as he stared his older brother down. "I came to stop you. Your blind ignorance has put everypony in jeopardy, your loyalty to the Princess has blinded you! If you go in there, you will only bring about more destruction!"

Baring his teeth, Harvest lunged at his brother. Sombra was, fortunately, expecting this, and used his wings to fly back. Using the momentum, Sombra spun through the air before kicking out, hitting his brother square on his forehead. Harvest was sent flying back, away from the forest, where Sombra now stood like a silent guardian, refusing his brother entry. He did not see Harvest, whom he thought he'd managed to knock for a loop, silently pick up a large rock with one of his red wings. By the time he realized what was happening, the rock had already been chucked full force, and he was unconscious.

Twilight watched in horror as Harvest walked over to his brother, fully expecting him to kick the smaller sibling around in his helpless state. Shockingly, however, he reached up a hoof, brushing away a few strands of mane over Sombra's new bleeding head wound. "I'm sorry, Gemsy."

With that, he turned away and trotted into the forest.

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"I knew this would happen. I knew it."

Twilight stared at the decimated and burning landscape before her. Trees were burned to the ground, homes in ruin, and the empire on fire. And in the middle of it all stood Gem, his head and wings hung. Tears were dripping down his face, and it looked like he was trying to hold back his sobs. "She went too far. Now my big brother is gone, replaced by a monster. If only I had tried harder to warn him, to stop him..."

Twilight's heart could not resist breaking at the sight before her. This was just a barely grown up stallion who had no idea what to do. He had lost everything, and now stood alone in a crumbling kingdom.

Walking up to him, she unfolded a wing and wrapped it around him. Or tried to. It passed through him a little.

"Hey, it's ok. Everything will be fine. You just have to be brave and do what you must."

Gem's head snapped up and he turned, gaping at her. "Who are you?!" he asked, his eyes almost as wide as wide as Twilight's.

Taking a step back, Twilight stared in shock. "You can see me?!"

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The sudden shift in scenery startled Twilight, and she stumbled to regain her hoofing. Her mind was still reeling from what happened mere moments ago. "Wha...how..."

She had no more time to contemplate, for a blast of dark magic hit the ground only a few feet from her. The princess's gaze snapped instantly to the two battling ponies. One had shadows surrounding him, the other was wielding some strange device on his neck. Glaring, Gem flew back, something shooting from the neck device and hitting his brother square in the chest. The red orange pegasus fell to the ground as the shadows suddenly dissipated, crying out in pain. "You! What have you done?!" Instead of answering, Gem trotted up to what was once his brother. Reaching up a hoof, he snapped off the yellow horn given to Harvest by the dark magic. Blood gushed from the injury, streaking down Harvest's face, getting in his eyes, mouth, and nose.

It was then that Gem answered his once-brother, a sad but determined expression on his face. "What I had to," he stated softly as the shadows that had once surrounded Red Harvest began to come to him. The black pegasus winced a little, like he was in pain, then steadied himself and declared, "Red Harvest, for your crimes against the Crystal Empire, and the breaking of all your oaths, you are hereby banished to the pits of Boardania!"

The ground shook as the earth opened beneath Harvest, swallowing his screaming form whole before sealing itself back up again. Gem never looked away, wanting to face the consequences of his actions fully.

It took half an hour before he moved, shadows trailing after him.

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Twilight stood in the middle of a throne room, facing towards the throne, upon which sat a cream-colored alicorn with plain purple mane and tail, with eyes the color of the Liobbean sea, which was in griffin territory.

Directly below the throne was Gem, glaring up the princess. "...and so, Princess, Red Harvest is gone for good."

The princess ignored this look and smiled, nodding her head. "Good. Now we can begin the reconstruction of the Empire. It won't hopefully take too long, we can't let the other nations see us like this, heaven forbid."

With each word the monarch said, Gem ground his teeth together. Of course, the princess spotted this at the last second, as Twilight spotted something much more horrifying as she realized what was about to happen.

"Is something wrong, Bloody Gem?"

The stallion muttered something inaudible, and the princess leaned forward to hear better. "What was that?"

As the red crystals on his flank became fully black, shadows converged around him as he screamed, "My name is Sombra!"

With that, the castle exploded, dark magic bursting forth.

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It had been two days since Lily had had the dream. They'd both been preparing themselves for the inevitable, Opal quitting his job, Lily making sure her flowers had enough water to at least grow a little when she was gone.

Now they simply sat, huddled together on the living room couch. Neither spoke, too wrapped up in their own thoughts to try. Finally, after several hours, Lily looked at Opal. "They should have been here by now. Why aren't they here?"

Opal turned his attention to his wife, his face matching the confusion Lily felt inside. "I do not know. Perhaps we got luck-"

"Citizens of the Crystal Empire! Please gather in Diamond Square for an important announcement!"

Both Lily's and Opal's eyes widened at the same time. "You don't think....," Lily started, trailing off. Her husband looked at the door. "Only one way to find out."

Gathering their courage, the couple stepped outside, joining the large crowd of neighbors heading for the Square. High above the quickly-filling space, standing on the balcony where royalty made their announcements to the Empire, stood Princess Cadence, with her husband Shining Armor just behind her.

Gulping, Lily watched all the Crystal ponies gather, murmuring together in excited whispers. A little nervous about all the excitement, Lily turned to Opal. "They don't already know, do they?" Opal gave her a look that revealed he was just as uncertain as her.

"Hey Black Opal, Lily Bloom, you ready for this year's fun?"

Both ponies jumped and turned to face Gleaming Trout, a regular earth pony who lived among the settlers of the Frozen North, and came to the Crystal Empire one or two times a year to trade.

"Uh...what?"

Before anymore intelligent words could be said, Cadence began speaking again. "My loyal subjects, are you all ready for this year's Crystal Fair?!"

Cheering erupted around Lily and Opal, while the two simply stared in slack-jawed relief. "We did get lucky," whispered Opal to his wife.

Spoke too soon.

CRASH!

Twilight gasped awake, sweat dripping down her forehead as she looked around frantically. It took her several seconds to realize she was back in Fluttershy's room, not inside the Crystal Court as a corpse sprawled across the floor.

Besides her was Zecora, patiently waiting for her to catch her breath. Breathing heavily, Twilight groaned as she rose to her hooves, nearly stumbling. "That- that was-," the purple alicorn attempted to say, having to stop to keep her head from spinning.

When she finally managed to get her body under control, Twilight spoke again. "I don't know what that was. I never suspected Sombra...he was never in control of himself, was he? It wasn't him who really killed Fluttershy, that wasn't Gem, it was the thing his brother's dark magic twisted him into. Sombra is nothing but a puppet, a body for that magic to use."

Zecora stayed silent as the princess mulled over everything she had just learned, realizing all she thought she knew about the ex-tyrant was false. Then her purple eyes narrowed. "I have to find him. I need to capture him and figure out the rest. Zecora, do you know any way to locate a specific pony?"

The zebra tapped a hoof against her chin, thinking. Then she nodded. "Indeed I do, but first, a feather will I need," she said, pointing at one of Twilight's wings.

The princess looked down at it in confusion as the alchemist pulled more ingredients from the dresser. "One of my feathers? Why?" The zebra did not answer at first, her mouth holding a bottle of some mysterious plant, but when she placed it down next to the cauldron, which Twilight realized the zebra had somehow had time to empty and refill while she was out, Zecora told her, "To find the one you seek, must the cauldron know who it be."

Still confused, but not wanting to argue, Twilight unfolded her wing and carefully took a feather in her mouth, yanking it off. Twilight gasped at the sudden sting of pain, but it quickly faded to a dull throb as she handed over the violet feather.

Zecora set it down next to the plant, then began to throw in powders, what Twilight suspected to be animal parts, and unknown plants. She saved the feather and the most mysterious plant next to it for last. Picking up the feather gently, the zebra slowly dropped it in, the brew let out a puff of purple smoke as it sunk into the orange mixture. Next, she extracted the plant, a bright white flower with pointed, stiff petals, and began to crush it between her hooves, nearly cutting herself in the process. She let the crushed flower drop into the cauldron.

At first, nothing happened. Then, the brew began to bubble rapidly. It spewed over the sides, making the pair back away as violet mist started filling the room. Twilight gasped as the mist tickled her skin and began to darken, becoming an indigo color as the space above the cauldron began to clear, and an image formed.

Twilight stared in shock. "The Crystal Empire? How could he be in the Crystal Empire? Wouldn't I have received a letter from Cadence by now if he's there?"

Zecora shook her head, a slightly puzzled look on her face. "This I do not understand, it will not show us his hiding spot. Unusual this is indeed, something amiss there be."

Twilight considered the matter for a moment. "Maybe the magic possessing him has put up a ward of sorts. Oh, wait, the image is changing."

It was now shifting to Diamond Square, where all the crystal ponies were gathering, Cadence and Shining above them on a balcony. Twilight gasped. "That's right! It's the time of the Crystal Fair! Oh, I hope he isn't planni-"

Just then, the image flashed yellow repeatedly, and the mist became a very dark pink. Zecora blinked and took a step forward, squinting into the image. Now the zebra gasped. "Hurry, make haste, many secrets do await! The Empire holds things most dark, and you must stop it before it starts!"

Before Twilight's and Zecora's horrified eyes, something dark orange, like extremely burnt copper, slammed down onto the palace. The Crystal Heart began to spin in reaction, sputtering blue sparks.

Not waiting a moment longer, Twilight whipped around and crashed through the nearest window, going towards the Empire at speeds everypony thought only Rainbow could pull off.

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Panic erupted through the streets of the Crystal Empire as a dark figure emerged from the wreckage the was once the top floor of the Crystal Palace. Down below, the Crystal Heart was giving off a blue glow as it began to spin faster and faster. Lily and Opal exchanged a glance, knowing full well how things would go if the Crystal Heart went off this early, before they joined in with powering it.

Not even giving it a second thought, they ran from the Palace, joining the stampede of ponies heading to their homes to hide.

"Stop!"

It was like somepony had cast a spell, for everything froze in place, all except the Heart, which was beginning to pulse and fill the kingdom with light.

The pony on top of the Palace ignored this, floating down to stand between Cadence and Shining, both of whom had been knocked unconscious by flying debris.

As the pony's hooves touched down on the balcony, a streak of dark copper colored crystal shot over the side of the Palace balcony, down its side, and under it, making its way up one of the spikes that held the Heart, then into the Heart, and to the other spike.

Gasps of horror echoed throughout the Kingdom as the Crystal Heart stopped moving.

Down below, in the middle of a street, Opal whispered softly, "It's him, Lily. It's him."

Lily had already known, and her heart was gripped with grief and terror, knowing exactly what this pony would do if they were caught.

Clearing his throat, the pony spoke. "I am Red Harvest, a pony from a very long time ago. I too was once a citizen here, but then I was supposedly destroyed by the pony you all call Sombra."

Whispers began to shoot through the streets like wildfire, but everypony went silent again as Harvest began to speak again. "It has come to my attention in my banishment that Sombra has become weaker, hence me being able to come back, and...that he is here among you."

Yelling now took the streets as everypony began to eye those around them suspiciously. Harvest let it continue for a few minutes before stomping his hoof, making dark copper crystals grow around him. That shut them up.

"I know it is shocking, but I am telling the truth. Anypony around you could indeed be him. Do not despair though. It will not take long to identify him. All I need is a little information. Think, ponies, about those around you. Has anypony acted suspicious lately? Doing odd things without reason, avoiding certain things, or perhaps not even powering the Crystal Heart?"

Harvest saw everypony go into deep thought, save a few who were still in shock.

"Come now, let's not have this end in violence, shall we, Sombra? Show yourself!"

"No, don't!"

Exclamations of shock were heard as Princess Twilight Sparkle landed in front of Harvest. "Red Harvest. I didn't think you'd escape so quickly."

Confusion was now running in place of shock. A stray voice called up to Twilight, "What do you mean, escape?"

Glancing back, the princess addressed the crowd. "Red Harvest is a dangerous criminal who came just before Sombra's time. We must not allow him to get his hooves on Sombra, or things will only get worse!"

Growling furiously, Harvest took his chance and charged Twilight, preparing to strike her down. Many voices yelled out in warning, but even as Twilight turned to stop him, it was too late, for he slammed into her, sending her over the side of the balcony. A sickening crunch was heard as Twilight screamed in pain, trying but failing to flap her wings, for one of them was broken.

Lily turned to her husband, panic in her eyes. "We've got to do something!" she yelled at him. Opal was stuck frozen in shock, and was unable to respond as he watched the princess fall towards her doom.

Unable to take it, Lily Bloom did the one thing she swore she would never do again. Opening her wings and shattering the crystal on her back, Lily flew up to catch Twilight.

As she flew towards the princess, the ponies below watched in shock as her crystal body began to crack, black light seeping from it. Harvest stepped forward, his eyes full of glee as he waited for his brother to reveal himself, only to gape in shock along with everypony else as a different pegasus caught the alicorn just before she hit the ground.

As Twilight felt hooves wrap around her, she opened her eyes, but then went stiff in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Fluttershy?!!"

An eerie quiet descended upon the Empire as Fluttershy landed. Releasing Twilight, she turned and began to walk away. That didn't fly.

"Wait!"

A dam broke loose, and the city was again alive, ponies asking questions, some running towards the train station, knowing what was about to happen did not involve them.

"Damn it all, I told you all to stop!"

It was like the ponies couldn't decide what force was the one they should listen to: confusion, fear, or Harvest? At this current moment, they all again decided Harvest, and once more froze in place.

Well, almost all. Fluttershy was still walking, Twilight was on her hooves and speeding after her.

Before the alicorn could reach her friend, Harvest floated up from the balcony, then slammed down in front of the pegasus. He towered over her, his dark yellow eyes blazing. "I know that magic anywhere! Where is Sombra?!"

Fluttershy, who had her head hung the entire time, finally looked up and snarled, "Fuck off!"

Slacked jaws and bulging eyes greeted her words as the citizens of the Empire stared at her like she'd lost her mind. Which they weren't entirely sure she hadn't, everypony knew who she was, and they knew that she had obviously faked her own death for unexplained reasons.

That, and she'd just bad-mouthed this clearly very powerful pegasus who could probably kill her in seconds.

However, Harvest didn't take the mouthing off as bad as everypony thought he would. Instead, he laughed and looked around. "I must say, Sombra, you have chosen a feisty one!" He suddenly looked back over at Fluttershy. Grabbing her gently under the chin, he lifted her face till their noses were only millimeters apart. "And you know just how much I like fiery things."

Opal, who had been watching the scene in growing horror, could take it no longer. His ex-brother's words infuriating him to the brink of madness, Sombra dropped his illusioned body and shot between his wife and Harvest, snapping, "Stay away from her, you fucking monster!"

To the side, Twilight could not believe what was happening. Harvest hitting on Fluttershy, and then Sombra risking everything to rush to her defense, it made her brain nearly shut down. Then she remembered what she was here for. She had to keep the two apart. They could decimate the Empire if they fought, and who knows what new tricks Harvest now had up his sleeve? There was no way he'd come out of hiding without being certain he could win.

As she knocked herself out of her shock, the princess realized Sombra already had his horn lit, while Harvest's feet were glowing orange.

She could not let things go any farther. She may have lost the use of her wings for now, but the alicorn never had really cared much for them. Her special ability was magic, and it would be more than enough to stop the two feuding siblings.

Quickly, she ran between the two, her horn glowing purple as she put up a barrier of magic on either side of her, separating them from both each other and her. "Enough! This rivalry has gone on for a millennium! It's getting ridiculous and dangerous. As Princess of Friendship, you are both ordered to stand down, or severe action will be taken!"

Sombra, for all his years of having listened to Cadence, as well as learning about Twilight's power, knew better than to argue, and allowed his horn to stop glowing. Harvest, meanwhile, started to laugh. "This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Only Luna, Celestia, and whoever it is I knocked out up there are loyalty! You're just some stupid, useless alicorn they don't know what to do with!"

Oh boy. He should not gave said that. Twilight stiffened like a block of ice, her head turning slowly toward him as a dark smile lit her face. "You know," she said casually, dropping the barrier between her and Harvest, "there was a time I would have let those words get to me. But now, I've grown past all that silly nonsense."

Without warning, Harvest was flung across the Square and through a solid crystal wall, straight into somepony's house. Silver dust floated through the air, and chunks of debris flew into the crowd, hitting several ponies in the process, while others tried to scramble out of the way.

Red Harvest emerged from the wreckage, his face twisted in fury. "How dare you. How fucking dare you!" he screamed.

Another explosion occurred as Harvest glowed dark orange. His eyes took on a midnight blue glow, and he reared up, slamming his hooves down onto the crystalline earth. The ground rumbled as copper-colored crystals erupted from the ground, spreading across the entire Empire as Harvest released his rage.

The Crystal ponies, almost all of whom had been knocked back by the blast from earlier, got up to run, realizing they should have let fear control their actions in the first place.

Before any could leave, however, four giant, spiked orange crystals rose from the ground, surrounding the city as they began to rise, the plan to have them meet high above the Crystal Palace, trapping everypony within the city.

Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy and Sombra, panic etched across her face. "We have to get out of here and gather the others! We need them to defeat Harvest!"

Fluttershy knew her probably ex-friend, who would more than likely want nothing to do with her after they were done with this ordeal because of what she did, was right. But how were they to get out? The walls were rising way too quickly for them to fly out before they closed, and Twilight had obviously put a lot of effort into the blast that had sent Harvest flying. That left only...

The pegasus looked at her husband, eyes pleading. "Opal, we really need to do what Twilight suggests! It would be foolish to stay and fight right now! Please, teleport us out!"

Sombra was shaken from his thoughts, most of them filled with hate for Red Harvest, before turning to Fluttershy. "Oh, of course, Lily." He glanced over at Twilight, who was examining him skeptically. "And Princess," he muttered.

For her part, the alicorn was at least holding back her protests. It was true she had put a lot of her magical energy into her Fly-Fry Bolt, she wasn't used to using spells meant for battle. She mainly left that up to her Element.

Still, she could not hold back her mistrust of the ex-tyrant. True, she knew his sad past now, but that still didn't explain his change, nor how Fluttershy was alive after he had supposedly killed her, and the relationship between them was like a blow to the face. Had her best friend left her for a pony who was renowned for his evil?

Before she could ask any of these questions, Sombra's horn lit red. His eyes narrowed as Fluttershy found herself and Twilight encased in red, and they could feel Sombra working his magic to teleport them outside the city. It was at that moment Twilight felt she forgot something.

Unfortunately, just as they were about to flash out, a hoof slammed into Sombra, and the black male alicorn was sent skidding past the Crystal Heart.

Standing where he had been a few seconds ago was a pissed Harvest, his entire body still glowing orange, but his eyes had become normal. "You are not going anywhere, brother!" he screamed, his eyes narrowing with hate.

Twilight could tell this was gonna go downhill fast. If Sombra fought Harvest, he wouldn't have enough magic to get them out if things went bad. Sombra had to get out right now, or else he would undoubtedly be defeated in his weakened state, having probably not used his magic in the seven years since his disappearance. Harvest had more than likely been preparing for this day since his banishment.

"No!"

The five ponies were startled by the sound of a new voice, and they looked up just in time to see Cadence tackle Harvest, her horn flaring. "Go, now, Sombra, Fluttershy, Twilight! Get help!"

Twilight shook her head, mortified at the idea of leaving her sister-in-law and brother here with that monster. "Cadence, I can't just-" Before she could protest further, she found herself suddenly standing in a field.

The princess looked about wildly until she realized she was not alone. Anger and despair filled her heart as she realized what had happened. Just as she was about to yell at them, there was a loud, BOOM!, and they turned their attention to the Empire, just in time to see the orange crystals meet and close the Crystal Empire inside.

"That was close."

It took Twilight two seconds to pin Sombra to the ground. "What do you mean that was close?! My brother and sister are still in there, not to mention all those helpless crystal ponies! How could you take us out of there?! We need to go back!"

Sombra shoved the alicorn off, glaring as he stood back up. "Even if I wanted to, we can't. The crystals enclosing the Empire are like the ones I used to trap you when we first met. If we go back in, there is no coming back out. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to save this country, instead of letting it get destroyed."

Twilight blinked at him, trying to comprehend what he was saying. "Wait...you're actually good? I just assumed..." Sombra rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What? That I hypnotized Lily and made her come with me, slowly plotting my revenge. You can't even remember anyt-"

He was cut off by a hoof in his mouth. He looked over to see Fluttershy shaking her head vehemently. Sighing, he pulled his wife's hoof away with a look that promised he wouldn't tell.

Twilight, meanwhile, was looking back and forth between them, more confused than angry now. "Why do you keep calling Fluttershy Lily? And why'd you call him Opal? Hell, why and how did you two even disguise yourself and get married?"

Neither of them said anything. They might have, had one of Harvest's crystals not shot from the ground besides them, nearly skewering them all.

It was then they realized the ground was littered with the crystals, she and the glowing orange veins from which the crystals were coming were spreading out in all directions, heading out across Equestria.

Sombra looked a little lost. "I don't understand how he got his power back. I completely drained him."

Twilight's eyes blazed with sudden determination. "There's only one place to go for answers." She pointed at toward the horizon "The Everfree Forest."

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Luna was quietly laying on her bed, watching the busy streets of Canterlot below. Above them all, a beautiful afternoon sun shone brightly. But while this sun was comfort for most, it made Luna grumble. It was obvious she did not care for heat.

Suddenly, it felt like somepony had socked the princess, making her shoot wide awake, having began to doze. She gasped as images seemed to flash before her very eyes. She would have assumed it was her life she was seeing and something was about to happen that would kill her, but the memories awakening in her brain were of only one specific year of her life, a year she didn't know she was missing.

Leaping from her bed, Luna galloped out of her bedroom, surprising the guards outside her door as she raced down the hall.

Please don't let anypony remember, or have found it, she begged inwardly, head still spinning with pictures. Rushing into the throne room, she shocked her sister and the visiting noble by running onto the balcony and leaping off it.

"Luna?!" she heard her sister exclaim behind her, but ignored her as she fell, pulling up at the last second and hitting a wall. Well, at least she was supposed to hit one, but instead, she passed right through with a sucking sound. Celestia and the noble rushed onto the balcony just as she vanished, staring in confusion at the spot they should see Luna's injured body.