Twilight and Nega walked towards the other children, Nega sticking right by her side.

“Okay!” she said brightly. “We’ve mainly got everything worked out.” She pointed at Mayhem. “Even with regards to you.”

“Really?” Mayhem asked uncertainly. “He says that, but-”

“She’s right,” said Nega. His voice was a bit stern, but he wasn’t displaying the usual signs of his irritation. “I’m willing to give you a chance to earn my forgiveness.”

“That’s good,” said Flurry.

“Is it?” asked Flash, giving him a dirty look. “Why should Mayhem have to prove himself to you?”

Twilight spoke before Nega could respond. “In talking with Nega I’ve come to have a good understanding of him. I don’t want to go into all the details, because I want to see how much Mayhem can figure out on his own, but it is of vital importance that Mayhem gets forgiveness from Nega.”

“Why?” asked Plum.

“It all relates to the reason we’re here today. For now let’s just get the game started. I’m hoping by the end of this that Mayhem will come to understand like I do.”

She put a hoof on Mayhem. “Give it your all, Mayhem. I told Nega to do the same. Your purpose here hasn’t changed. The darkness is strong, but you have nothing to worry about. There’s plenty of ‘light’ surrounding your heart.”

He looked around at his friends and smiled. He nodded, saying, “You got it, Twilight!”

She did still have some concerns about Nega, but she didn’t want to worry Mayhem by talking about his ultimatum. The more Mayhem felt negative emotions the more they would be transferred into Nega, and the harder it would be for him to succeed.

Twilight clapped. “Okay, we’ve waited long enough. Let’s get this started.”

Nega put a claw to his chin thoughtfully. “In these games we usually let the puppets set up the story we decided on, but this time around it’s gonna start with Flurry doing some acting.”

“What kind of acting?” she asked.

Nega snapped, and they were now on a moving train, the Crystal Empire now in the distance. “Every year you do a Crystalling to infuse the Crystal Heart with the love it needs to activate its protective magic, so let’s just say all your parents gave you permission to see such a special occasion.

“That’s enough of a set-up for you. I’ll get the puppets ready for your arrival and then things will move on from there.”

“Sounds good,” said Pound.

With that Nega vanished.

Mayhem sighed.

“What’s wrong?” said Pumpkin.

“I’m just nervous. This feels just like a repeat of the past.”

“Nope!” said Masky. “Completely wrong.”

“Right!” said Tree Leaf. “There’s one super gigantic difference.”

“And what’s that?” Mayhem said dully.

Flurry put a hoof on his shoulder. “This time you’re on our side.”

“Exactly!” said Pound.

Pumpkin wrapped her leg around his arm. “And because we have you we know we’ll win.”

“And don’t forget about me,” said Flash.

“Or me!” said Spring.

“All our hearts are with you,” said Sweet Pea, making Plum and Chocolate nod.

Mayhem’s vision went blurry with tears. “R-r-right,” he said weakly. “With all of you by my side I know we’re gonna win.”

Twilight smiled.

A voice came on over the loudspeaker. “Attention passengers. We will be arriving at the Crystal Empire in two minutes. Repeat, we will be arriving in two minutes.”

Flurry saw Peppermint giving her an expectant look. “What?” she said defensively.

“Didn’t you hear Nega? Get into character.”

“Huh?” An eyebrow went up, then her eyes widened. “Oh! Oh, right.”

She cleared her throat. “I’m so glad all your parents agreed to let you come visit the Crystal Empire. The Crystalling is always such a special occasion every year.” Her eyes glazed over. “I never get tired of it.

“It really does seem like it should eventually get boring, but so far every one has been special.”

“So what is a Crystalling anyway?” Plum asked genuinely. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“The Crystal Empire is home to an artifact called the Crystal Heart. It's kinda like the Elements of Harmony, except it's fueled by love rather than friendship.”

“Like… mommy-daddy love?” asked Chocolate.

Flurry shook her head. “Well, I guess romantic love works too, but it’s more like just the concept of love. Love for your friends. Love for your family.

“We have a special fair the whole day to fill everyone’s hearts with joy, and then we funnel all that love into the Heart. The Heart in turn creates a super powerful shield that covers the whole Empire.”

“That’s pretty cool,” said Flash.

“In the past the Crystal Heart was stolen by an evil King named Sombra. I never found out how he did it, considering the shield it generates is like the ones my mom make. They repel darkness, so he shouldn’t have been able to get close enough to the heart to take it from its pedestal.”

“Maybe,” said Pound, “he attacked when the heart was weak. Keeping a spell big enough to protect an entire empire up for a whole year would be draining on anything.”

“I guess so.

“I think the spell stops anything bad from coming in, but if something bad was already inside then maybe it won’t work.”

“That makes sense too.”

“Maybe Sombra wasn’t originally evil,” said Plum. “So he wasn’t affected when the shield first went up.”

“Then I wonder what caused him to change,” said Mayhem.

“I don’t know,” said Flurry, “but let’s not dwell on some dead king. Aunt Twilight helped my mom to get the heart back and blast him out of here.

“We’re gonna be stopping in another minute or so, so I can show you around.”

“Cool,” said Sweet Pea.

A short while later the train pulled into the station and the doors opened, all the children leaving the car.

“Hey, Flurry!” came a voice to their right.

“Aunt Starlight!” Flurry said happily, trotting over and giving her a hug. Starlight returned it.

“Welcome home,” said Sunburst, patting her head.

“Thanks, Uncle Sunny.”

When she was set down she pointed to both of them in turn. “Everyone, this is Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst. They’re not biologically related to me, but they’ve been taking care of me since I was a baby so they’re family to me in everything but blood.”

Flurry pointed to the stroller Sunburst had next to him. "And in there is my baby sister Skyla."

"Wow!" said Flash. "She's an alicorn too?

"Shoot, if your parents keep having babies then alicorns could eventually become a common race."

Starlight chuckled. "I don't know if that would be a beneficial thing or not, but let's not worry about that right now. I met Pound, Pumpkin, and Peppermint the last time I was in Ponyville. Why don't the rest of you introduce yourselves."

The rest of the children told them their names.

“Nice to meet all of you,” said Sunburst. “You’ve come at the perfect time.”

“Definitely,” said Starlight. “The Crystal Fair is a once a year celebration that ends with quite a sight to behold.”

“Yeah,” said Flurry. “I talked to them about empowering the Crystal Heart."

“Good, good. Fill yourselves up with all the love and joy you can. Even children can add their feelings to the Heart.”

“But,” Masky said hesitantly, “doesn’t that mean we’re going to have trouble feeling love afterward?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it like money. If I have five bits and I gave them all to you then I no longer have any bits.”

The other children looked a little concerned now.

“Ah,” said Starlight, nodding. “I understand your way of thinking, but love isn’t like money, where giving it to another deprives you of it.”

“That’s right,” said Flurry. “The feelings you share with others usually make more of those feelings. When you see a sad friend and show them love they usually return that love to you, making even more love.”

“If the way the Heart worked was like you said then I can’t see anyone willingly agreeing to it.”

“Love is about sharing,” said Sunburst, “not taking.”

“So with that being said,” said Starlight, “let’s go to the opening ceremony. Your parents are waiting, Flurry.”

Flurry stuck her tongue out. “Then they should have come themselves instead of sending you.”

“Watch it, kid,” said Starlight, putting her in a headlock. “I’m not afraid to put you in time out.”

“Just try it,” Flurry said, summoning a feather and tickling her.

Starlight jumped away from the ticklish sensation. “You’re fortunate I have an obligation to get you to your parents. They don’t want to start without you, so I’ll let you off the hook for now.”

They walked along for a few minutes, the children taking in the sights of the Crystal Empire.

After meeting Cadance and Shining Armor the fair began. They wandered around for the next hour, getting their faces painted, playing games, and playing with the animals in the petting zoo. As per usual the reality of the simulation was so great it was hard to imagine it wasn’t really happening. They even forgot about Sombra’s imminent invasion as they lost themselves in the festivities.

By the time the fair was ending they could all feel the joy and love in their hearts, and Cadance called them all to the podium where the Crystal Heart was suspended.

Flurry knew that Nega had sped up the proceedings. Usually the Crystal Fair was from around ten to four, but she knew they couldn’t spend six hours playing.

It was fine. They had gotten to check out all the main attractions, even if she hadn’t gotten to spend as much time with them as she usually did.

Flurry, as Cadance’s daughter, was right next to her mom, so her friends got to be right next to her.

The children observed the Crystal Heart up close. They had seen it a few times as they had walked around, but until now hadn’t gotten close to it.

“It looks kinda… unimpressive,” said Pound.

“Mmm,” said Pumpkin. “Sorry, Flurry, but I have to agree.”

“I’m not offended,” said Flurry. “You only feel that way because its power is drained, so it just looks close to a plain old rock. Once its full of our love and you see it with its true beauty you’ll change your mind.”

“Everyone!” Cadance called out. “It’s time.”

Flurry turned to the others. “Close your eyes and bow, thinking about all the happy feelings within you.”

The others watched as Cadance and the rest of the adults did just that, the ground beneath them starting to glow.

“Ooo,” said Peppermint. “It’s so pretty.”

“Go on,” said Flurry.

They followed her instructions.

“You’re gonna love this.”

“Now!” said Cadance. “Fuel all your love into the Crystal Heart.”

“Rise now and open your eyes,” said Flurry.

As they all did so a collective gasp went throughout the square. The Crystal Heart was gone.

“Wha-” Cadance was at a loss for words. “The… the-wha-”

Shining Armor looked around the podium, thinking that the heart had just lost so much of its power it had fallen from where it usually floated, but it was nowhere to be seen.

A dark laugh echoed around them, making all the crystal ponies freeze in terror.

“That voice,” said Cadance, her heart racing.

“That’s impossible!” said Shining.

A dark shadow fell to the ground, making the crystal ponies yell in fright and scatter. The memories of Sombra were still too vivid.

“King Sombra!” Cadance said angrily.

Starlight teleported in front of the children, keeping them protectively behind her.

“Greetings,” Sombra said amicably, a smirk adorning his face.

“How are you alive?” Shining asked.

“A pitiful fool made the mistake of picking up the remains of my horn where most of my magic dwelled. I slowly took them over, gathering my strength until I could replenish my essence and break down their mental defenses.”

He chuckled. “Ah, it’s so good to be back.”

Cadance’s horn lit up brightly. “Well, I hope you enjoyed your stay, but it’s time for you to leave.”

“Go ahead and fire away.”

“Have you forgotten I’ve conquered your dark magic before?”

He clapped sarcastically. “Yes, yes. Well done. But I think you’ve forgotten what I did the last time I was defeated.”

“You mean exploding into a million pieces?” Shining said with a laugh.

Sombra’s eyes narrowed for a moment before the humor returned. “Oh, no, no, no. Not that time. I mean in the past.

“I’ll freely admit that I don’t have the strength to curse this place like I did the last time, but I’m not planning to go without some revenge first “

With a flash of his horn the Crystal Heart appeared in front of them.

The rage all the adults were feeling was replaced with shock as they heard a cracking sound.

“What are you doing?” Cadance cried out in fear as small fissures appeared in the Heart.

“Hmm. What indeed?”

“Are you planning to destroy the Crystal Heart entirely?” Starlight asked.

“Exactly!”

“He can’t seriously be planning to destroy it,” Cadance said, a bead of sweat coming down her face. “That would potentially kill everyone in the entire Crystal Empire.”

“Mmm,” Sombra said cockily. “Quite a conundrum.”

“It’s a bluff!” Shining said, his horn glowing now. “You’ve always wanted to have the Crystal Empire returned to you. If you destroy the Heart the whole empire will be buried in snow and you’ll never rule this place.” He flinched as another crack echoed out.

“Oh, for sure I want the Crystal Empire, but my ambitions don’t rest solely with this place. I want to rule all of Equestria, and the view from Canterlot will be just as glorious as this.”

“You won’t prevail!” Cadance said strongly, the glow from her horn increasing.

Sombra looked unafraid. “Like I said: fire away. I’ve been taking it easy, but I could finish shattering this rock in an instant. I’ll take every one of your subjects with me.”

Cadance hesitated.

Starlight was biting her lip, unsure of what to do. They were in a very precarious position. One wrong move, and countless lives would be lost.

In an authoritative voice Sombra said, “Stand down, or you’ll be responsible for what happens next.”

There was another cracking sound. The Heart couldn’t take much more before it shattered.

Reluctantly Cadance relaxed, the glow fading. Shining did the same.

“Very good,” said Sombra. “Glad to see you understand your positions.”

His horn’s glow increased in intensity. “You two were quite bothersome the last time I tried to invade. I don’t want to deal with that frustration again, so I’m afraid you’ll have to go on a permanent vacation.

“Have no worries.” He laughed cruelly. “Your subjects lives will be spared despite their defiance, though I can’t say they won’t be wishing they got what I’m about to give you before long.”

“Mom!” Flurry called out. Fake or not she didn’t want to see her mom die.

Cadance got a pained expression on her face, then hardened her expression and said sternly, “Starlight! Do your job and get Flurry out of here.”

“Sure,” said Sombra, “but don’t expect to get very far.”

Starlight got a blank look on her face before she took a deep breath and teleported behind Cadance and Shining, shooting them both with a blast from her horn.

The two fell to the ground hard.

“Starlight!” Flurry called out.

The mare had a hard look on her face now. “Shut your mouth, Flurry. There’s business to attend to.”

Sombra had a curious look on his face. “Who are you?”

“The name is Starlight Glimmer. In a way I’m a lot like you.”

“Is that right?”

“I’ve also had dreams of conquest in the past, but just like you I was defeated. I had to play the role of the apologetic one and take on the job of royal babysitter, but I earned their trust in the end.

“The both of us wanted power and had to find the patience for the right moment to seize it. I’m sure you’ve wanted to invade for a while now, but you had to wait for the Crystal Heart to be at its weakest to attack.

“Same with me. I had to wait for that one key moment of vulnerability to strike. Your coming here today is quite the favorable event.” She chuckled darkly. “I’ve grown tired of playing the goody-goody role. Now I can break out and cause some real chaos.”

Sombra smirked in return. “Hmm… biting the hoof that feeds you, huh?”

Flurry was feeling sick to her stomach. It was too familiar to her last adventure. Was Nega really going the “Starlight was really secretly evil the whole time” route like Mayhem did? It had hurt enough when it had been done before. Even though this time around she knew it was just a fake it still brought uncomfortable images of Starlight freaking out and wondering if the fake was going to tarnish her relationship with the real one.

The rest of them that had been a part of the superhero adventure thought it was in bad taste. They knew that in order for them to play the hero and save the day the adults that would usually do the job had to be removed from the picture somehow, but this wasn’t the way to go about it.

Mayhem’s new friends didn’t know all the details of the last time, but they could see how depressed Flurry looked. Flurry had explained they weren’t related by blood but Starlight had taken care of her since she was a baby. None of them liked the idea of being betrayed by a family member.

Sombra chuckled. “Well, thanks for the help in knocking them out. I thought they might have made a last desperate play. Them still being alive doesn’t work for me, so I’m glad I get to finish them off.”

Starlight shook her head. “Don’t be foolish. Them being alive is beneficial for you.”

“Oh?” He took an aggressive step towards her, his horn lighting up. “Are you in charge now? Maybe you'd like to join the other two on the floor.”

Starlight was unfazed. “You planning to conquer Equestria on your own? Luna and Celestia are still around, the ones who defeated you the first time. The brat with the dragon who beat you the second time has ascended to alicornhood.”

His eyes widened. “What?” he said in shock, the glow fading.

“You think you can defeat three alicorns by yourself? Better to suppress their magic and keep them around as hostages.

“I’m quite adept at brainwashing spells. If you give me time I can break their wills to even the playing field.”

Sombra gave her a suspicious look, staring at her silently for a while. Starlight met his gaze. “What you say makes sense, but I don’t think I’m quite convinced. Perhaps you just want to keep them alive so you can betray me.”

“And how should I convince you of my bad intentions?”

Sombra looked around thoughtfully, then pointed to the children. “Two powerful hostages is good enough. We don’t need the rest.

“If you’re truly as evil as you say then take them out. Prove you truly want to ally yourself with me.”

Starlight shrugged. “Is that all? I thought you were going to ask for something difficult.”

Flurry slowly shrank, tears coming down her eyes. ‘It’s fake,’ she kept repeating to herself, trying to ignore the ache in her heart.

As Starlight’s horn lit up the children looked to Flurry to defend them since they didn’t have their powers yet, but she didn’t respond to their calls.

She could hear them, but she didn’t really care. If this was how the game was going to go then she didn’t want to play. She didn’t want to confront an evil Starlight again. In the last game Sombra had just been using some kind of illusion magic to disguise himself as her and exploit her fears. This time around it was the “real” Starlight, and she didn’t want to exist in a world where Starlight would betray her and her family for power.

The other children realized too late that Flurry wasn’t going to act, and were unable to do anything as the beam from Starlight’s horn struck them, causing them all to vanish.

Twilight tensed, not knowing what had happened to them.

Sombra turned to her, and in Nega’s voice said, “Well, I guess we’re ready to move on.”

Twilight sighed. “Nega, as best as I can I try to stay out of these situations and see if things work themselves out. I want to just be the guide when they go the wrong direction.

“Repeating the ‘evil Starlight’ plotline from the last superhero adventure made Flurry miserable and rendered her unable to defend herself. Now they’re all ‘dead’ because of it.

“Even if they had won after that Flurry would get no satisfaction out of knowing that Starlight was still evil.”

He shook his head. “What makes you think I would torment Flurry like Mayhem did? The game has just begun.”

Twilight gave him a curious look.

“I said I would give it my all, but I’m here to test Mayhem, not Flurry.”

“So then… Starlight was faking?”

He nodded. “Let me help you, Twilight.” With a snap of his tail she found herself in a room in the castle, all the children unharmed and looking around except Flurry. She was still crying and unresponsive.

Twilight was relieved they were all unharmed. She guessed now that the setup was out of the way the game was about to properly begin.