"Okay Mr. Armor, before we do anything else is there someplace I can get some actual pants? This tunic is comfy but it carries a major breeze!"

I put this question forth to Shining Armor as he showed us  the way through the city to get to the castle. When we got there we'd be allowed to rest for a while and then we could head out to wherever we were headed on our 'travels'. Currently I was just concerned about getting some actual pants on, rather than the tunic (which was quintessentially halfway between pants and a dress and allowed a major breeze between the knees as it had NO UNDERWEAR). Hell I was alright with having no shirt since I was all muscle-y now, but I was at least wanting actual pants. Jen had found in the odd directory of info she had (she was finding that she could access data saved into her 'systems', including stuff like her own blueprints and stuff that she used her scanners on) that she had a transformation for weaving equipment which hopefully allowed for the making of what I wanted. When I asked Shining Armor this he seemed a little nervous apparently reading into my behavior that this was more important to me than it was.

"U-uh, yeah. We should have some materials that can be used for that... I think."

As we walked into the city I took in the sights, looking at a the splendor which was around me. Buildings of pristine crystal, in a grand assortment of colors. The crystal ponies which saw us gave mixed reaction, from fear, to apathy, to curiosity. The show didn't hold a candle to how they all looked in real life... They were amazing! Even dulled with Sombra's curse casting a shadow over them they looked like living gemstones, shimmering in the light of Cadence's shield. One mare worked up the courage to trot up to Jen, looking at her uncertainly and poking her leg. She had yellow, almost golden, mane and a pale blue coat. I pegged myself at about eight feet tall now, and Jen at about six and a half. From what I could estimate even Princess Celestia would only come up to my chest so the mare came up to only my waist. I figured it had taken a lot for her to work up the courage to approach beings as imposing as us, and I felt a bit of respect towards her for that. The mare looked at Jen and spoke to us.

"Umm. What are you two?"

Jen giggled and patted her head. I figured she'd be enjoying al of this since she always thought that the ponies in the Crystal Empire (at least the show's version) were all adorable.

"Well I'm a robot, that's sorta like an automaton but way more advanced, and he's a lookalike to an eldritch demon. Don't worry, that's just how he looks not how he is. My name's Jenny, and his is Kyth."

I waved at the mare. She seemed confused.

"Well... What are you doing here?"

I shrugged and spoke up.

"We're just visiting."

Her eyes widened slightly and she seemed to become slightly sheepish.

"O-oh. Uh...Sorry if I sounded rude."

I gave her a thumbs up and waved her off.

"Eh no problem! I'm probably gonna get that from a lot of ponies."

She nodded slowly and seemed to become lost in thought, slowly trotting away. I looked up and realized we had finally reached the castle. I leaned over to Jen and whispered to her, using a wing to insulate us speaking so no one could hear.

"Okay... If we're gonna get involved with the show's timeline then first let's head to the castle library and look around and find the book they showed in the show. If we find that then we can say we read the sucker and figured it out ourselves that for it be put under such emphasis that it had to be important."

She nodded and whispered back to me.

"We stay out of events until Sombra gets inside the shield. Remember the closer he gets to the heart the more corporeal his form'll be. When he's close enough we can finally fight back and hammer him straight into the ground!"

I nodded, and a few minutes later we had been lead into the castle interior and had been given some rough materials for clothing making by Shining Armor's servants.

"Alright Jen, you ready with the transformation?"

She nodded. It took her a few tries to get the proper transformation but it was easy for her to use transformations that she'd already learned. After a few short minutes my armored tunic and the given clothing materials had been rewoven into a slightly rough pair of dark red pants and underwear as well as a shirt. I stood behind a divider while Jen worked and quickly put it all on when I was handed it. I stepped out and grinned at the new outfit.

"Okay, objective one: get pants completed. Next up, let's go look around. Hey Shining, you have anything you need done around here? Both of us are up and ready to help if we can."

He looked surprised but nodded.

"Well with King Sombra trying to get in we're looking to see if the empire ever had anything that could be used to defend itself both from the weather and from attack. Maybe you could look around and see if you can find something for me? I'd go myself but Cadence needs me here to help give her extra power for the shield. My sister and some of her friends are on their way so they should be able to help, and since they'll be arriving soon I have to run out to go grab them, but that's one of the few things I'm willing to leave Cadence's side for."

I nodded, and Jen and I gave mock salutes. Jen spoke up.

"Alrighty sir, we're on the case!"

She leaned over to me when he left and whispered with a grin.

"Okay, to the library!"

I nodded, and the two of us set off into the castle.

"Okay ma'am, are you sure that you don't know where we could find anything on the crystal he- I mean, how the empire used to defend itself?"

The elderly mare's eyes looked downcast as we talked with her.

"I'm sorry there you two but I don't recall. I'm afraid I don't know rightly if I even work here..."

I shook my head and put a hand on her... Shoulder (withers?- barrel? I'm just gonna go with shoulder rather than try and use horse terminology), and gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Hey, don't sweat it. We'll just have a look around."

She nodded with a slight smile.

"Well let me know if you can find anything."

"Alright ma'am!"

I turned around and saw Jen hovering in the air, small jets coming from the back of her pigtail thrusters. She looked at me as I walked up.

"Hey Kyth, I remembered what the book looked like that they found!"

I tilted my head.

"Uh...How? It wasn't even all that detailed in the show."

She tapped the side of her head.

"I have all of XJ9's processing power and memory! I can just take a quick scan around with the ole X-ray eye scanner and- Aha!"

She dashed through the air and pulled a book from the shelf.

"History of the Crystal Empire! Alright, now we have our excuse, so we can just claim that we figured the heart would be an actual artifact."

I nodded.

"Okay Jen, we have our alibi so place the book back, and the events of the show play out while we're two steps ahead and already getting the heart. We may screw up the timeline, what with ruining Spike's being the hero and Twilight's lesson but still. It's better to be safe then sorry, and there's still the chance that just by our existing here the timeline's changed."

Jen nodded with an uncertain smile.

"Yeah. For all we know we're in an alternate timeline from the show where stuff wasn't going to happen like that."

We both stood there somberly for a moment and I shuddered with the possibilities of that statement.

"Welp... Let's go grab the Crystal Heart and monkey with the timeline!"

I held my arms in the air.

"Woot! Let's go ruin Sunbutt's plans!"

Quick note here: In the show... Well, let's just say that neither of us were that fond of Princess Celestia and her puppeteer way of getting things done. Anyway, as we entered the old throne room we spoke more.

"Y'know Jen, it's gonna be hard to hide that we have all this foresight on events from watching the show."

She nodded with a sad smile.

"Yeah. But it'll definitely come in handy. For now we'll just keep it to ourselves and figure it all out later."

We looked up at the darkened throne and I spoke, glancing at Jen.

"Huh. In the show Twilight used the crystal dark magic stuff to reveal the floor. Neither of us have that so how are we-"

I was cut off by Jen's fist growing and gaining spikes (a form I vaguely recognized was called Fists Of Fury or something), and then being used to punch through the floor to open the way to the stairwell. I laughed as Jen smirked at me.

"Well that works too!"

We both hopped down the gaping hole in the ground, Jen slowly descending with her hair thrusters and me with my wings. When we reached the bottom we hit another roadblock in getting to the heart. The nightmare door.

"Okay, neither of us have the light magicky stuff to open the door. That leaves one stupid option."

Jen gave me a deadpan stare.

"Break it?"

"I suppose. I'm gonna see if I can do whatever I did earlier to use magic through my sword in an Insanity Strike. Maybe insanity can substitute darkness."

I drew my sword and charged magic on it rising into the air to get some extra power in my attack.

"INSANITY STRIKE!"

I brought my sword down on the gem above the door, a pulse of black, green and purple energy erupting from it as it... Actually opened. Huh... I landed on the ground and sheathed my sword, only for my vision to flash with a searing light. Images tore at my mind without order or reason, along with a splitting pain and a burning numbness... I barely remember any of what I saw... Equestria in flames... The elements of harmony broken, their gems missing and leaving behind wrought and torn metal... And finally Jen... Oh god... Oh God no!

NO!

"JEEEEN! Nononono This can't be happening!"

I heard a voice as everything faded.

I am the avatar of he whose name you dare besmirch, and the being he who rightfully owns your stolen form.... And I

Will

Awaken

"Kyth! Snap the heck out of it!"

A painful impact hit my jaw, and  fell to the floor. It... It wasn't real. It was the door... Just my worst nightmare beheld in full sight just like in the show... I looked up slowly and saw Jen standing over me, perfectly fine but staring at me, looking totally freaked out. I stood shakily and walked over to her and numbly hugged her.

"...Jen. Do me a favor and destroy that door."

She nodded and walked to the door and punched through the open doorway, shattering the divide to the next area from the show. She hopped up and reconstructed her legs into a drill and shredded the rest of the doorway into nothing but powder. I nodded and numbly smiled at her and we continued. She knew just as well as I did what the door did. I was glad she was willing to go without asking me...what I had seen... I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep going if I had to tell her that I'd...

That I had been the one to murder her. That I watched her draw her last breath and had only laughed... I shook my head to try and banish these thoughts. We had to... Had to focus on stopping Sombra. The two of us hopped off the stairwell in the white void and Jen latched onto my back, using her leg boosters to propel me while I used my wings to steer us. After a few minutes we reached the top, and finally saw the heart. It floated in the air, a gem of shining sky blue color, made into the shaping of a hear by unknown means. An aura of unknown power surrounded it, one that both of us could feel. I stepped toward it, only for Jen to place a hand on my shoulder and stop me.

"Hold up Kyth. Remember, Sombra's trap around the heart was triggered by someone stepping on the ground around it. How's about I just do this."

Her right arm shook for a few moments before her hand and arm extended out to grab and wrap around the heart and yank it out from the circle before the trap could have any chance to activate.

"Alright, that is a much better plan Jen."

She grinned at me.

"You got that right Kythy! Now then, let's get this to the fair! It should be set up by now!"

I nodded and picked up Jen in a fluid motion.

"Eep! Kyyyyyyyth!"

I spread my wings and leaped off the tower, Jen shrieking with laughter all the way. I smirked as we heard the voices in the center of the castle courtyard below us. A raspy voice coming from a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane directed to a purple unicorn with a darker purple mane and a pink stripe.

"Uhh Twilight! We got a problem!"

I dropped down and set Jen on her feet with the Crystal Heart. I spoke up before they noticed me.

"No you don't!"

They both looked at me, and before they screamed I cut them off.

"IamKythandthisisJenShiningArmorbroughtusherebeforeyoutohelpdefendtheEmpireWereadthisbooktalkingaboutthefairandstuffandwefiguretheCrystalHeartitmentionedwasimportantsowewentoutandfoundit!"

They closed their mouths, now looking utterly confused rather than afraid. I coughed and repeated myself, slow enough for them to understand.

"Hey there. My name's Kyth and this is my girlfriend Jen. We arrived here into the Empire after getting chased around by Sombra out there and met up with Shining Armor. We decided to help him out and find out what we could about ways the Empire once defended itself after he gave us a rundown about the situation. We found this book in the library that talked about the Crystal Fair and all that and we figured that the Crystal Heart would have to be an actual artifact or something so we bashed through a bunch of Sombra's traps in the castle and fund the thing.

Twilight spoke first, and levitated the heart from Jen.

"Um. M-My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Rainbow Dash. Shining Armor is my brother."

I nodded.

"Yeah he said that he was going out to grab you before we started looking in the library to find stuff to defend the empire with."

"Well alright but um... If it isn't rude, can  ask what you two are? I've never heard of or seen anything like you before."

I gave as much of a smile as I could.

"Well I am a demonic eldritch creature made from a fusion of a dragon, a human, an octopus/squid and a whole bunch of other stuff. Okay none of that was true. I am an eldritch spirit, I think, but all that other stuff is just what I look like. Jen's a robot, which is sorta like an automaton but way more advanced."

I felt a wave of dread wash over me as Twilight gained a slightly manic grin. I suddenly knew what a human that was about to be probed by aliens felt like. Before Twilight could speak again.

"Anyway, I think Jen and I are gonna go tell Princess Cadence about the heart!"

I grabbed Jen's hand and rushed off towards the castle. I leaned over and spoke as we entered the doorway.

"Okay, we may have to deal with Twilight trying to examine us."

Jen grimly nodded and shuddered slightly.

"That's gonna be rough. Let's just hope that she only asks questions rather than going the 'Pinkie Sense' route of constantly watching us. Anyway, let's give the news to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor!"

We both heard a massive, resounding sound of something fizzling all around us. We locked eyes for a moment and charged up the stairs to the balcony where Princess Cadence would be, and both of us looked up to see the aura of Cadence's horn sparking and popping, and finally dying out. I looked to the sky and saw the shield around the empire cracking and shattering into nothing. I saw Sombra, his ethereal form in all its twisted glory. I limply spoke to no one in particular, my eyes never leaving Sombra.

"That's... not very good." Next Chapter: Chapter Three: What Did You Just Say About My Pants!? Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 59 Minutes