"Are you sure about this, Twilight? You're not built like I am," Amber asked concernedly as the unicorn slipped on the thick winter jacket and pulled the hood over her head. "Besides, what makes you think that this'll work?" After Sombra's freak out, Twilight discovered that for some inexplicable reason, the magical barrier that the umbrum had erected over the Crystal Empire had become to weaken and thus an opportunity to escape had presented itself. Now the two mares stood a few feet in front of the glowing red wall, watching as it flickered in and out of existence before finally vanishing altogether.

"I'll be alright, Amber. All I have to do is keep going straight and I'll hit the Equestrian Railway station." Despite King Sombra's insistence on making the Crystal Empire an independent kingdom, the Friendship Express still came out that way to deliver supplies as part of his agreement with the princesses: the train delivers whatever he requires from the outside world and in return, he pays them in whatever raw minerals he has on hoof. Pulling her snow goggles over her eyes, Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Amber and drew her in close. "Thanks for everything, Amber Laurel. I'm so lucky to have had you as a friend. You're the only thing I'll miss about this place."

The crystal pony returned the embrace, her hooves digging into the thick jacket as though the unicorn would instantly dissipate. "I'll...I'll miss you too, Twilight Sparkle," she sniffled. "You're too good for the Crystal Empire. Now go before Sombra gets here." She watched sadly as her friend loaded up her saddlebags and, after taking a careful step over where the barrier once stood, gave her a small wave and began her arduous journey. "Goodbye Twilight. May Cintamani preserve you."

The northern winds howled and whipped at Twilight's clothing as the snow came pouring down atop her, threatening to bury her beneath its weight. She had not traveled far when this blizzard had started and while most ponies would've taken this as an omen and turned back, Twilight Sparkle was far too determined to let a little flurry make her retreat. Moreover, she was still too frightened of Sombra to return to the castle. She'd rather take her chances out in the snow and sleet. The land had become a solid wall of white that made determining any sense of direction nearly impossible but Twilight, creating a light with her horn, trekked onward, hoping to reach the Equestrian Railway station soon.

An hour had passed and to Twilight's frustration, she was still no closer to the station nor to true freedom. I was so sure that it was this way. Or was it that way? She'd been pushed and tugged by the gusts of wind and the torrents of falling snow made it difficult to see, even with her horn's aura illuminating the way. She removed her snow goggles to get a better look and found the surrounding landscape to be mostly imperceptible. While she'd considered taking Amber with her, it would've been too much of a risk, especially if Sombra caught them and she couldn't let her friend be punished for her own escape. No, I won't let that happen again. Once was certainly enough.

A low growling sound caught Twilight's attention and she stood petrified as a pair of glowing yellow eyes appeared in the whiteness and a wolf the size of a bear revealed itself, its tusk-like canines bared as it regarded its prey. The gray-white lupine issued a howl and crouched down before throwing itself at Twilight, only to catch a brilliant raspberry-colored beam to the chest, sending it flying backwards and colliding with a hill of snow. Satisfied that the mutant wolf had learned its lesson, Twilight turned to leave when six more pairs of yellow eyes materialized and she found herself surrounded by more wolves, each one bigger and more vicious than the last. Oh sweet Celestia, are you kidding me right now?! Two wolves leapt at Twilight's right and she rolled to avoid them, hitting one with an energy bolt as the other rammed into its packmate.

Twilight fired her magic beams at will but due to her poor visibility, was hitting nothing but air and, rather than take her chances, fled as the wolves quickly gave chase. She ducked and wove through the whiteness, hoping that a serpentine formation would throw the wolves off but found it difficult as the thick snow slowed down her progress. Timberwolves were huge and clumsy and it helped that the Everfree housed trees and bushes small enough to impede them. These wolves, on the other hoof, were large but slim-bodied and had no problem tearing across the snow, their forms perfectly made for their environment. I wish I was dealing with Timberwolves right about now!

Through the blinding whiteness of the blizzard Twilight ran, her still-glowing horn the only source of light as she tried to regain some sense of direction while her heart thundered in her ears. The wolves wasted no time, catching up to her and biting and slashing at the unicorn with ivory fangs and ebony claws. A burning pain registered as she felt five claws dig through her winter coat and slice into the tender flesh of her left shoulder and upper foreleg, knocking her off of her hooves. Rolling down a steep hill, she landed on a piece of hardened snow that knocked the wind out of her, leaving her fighting for breath as she tried to ignore both the dizziness in her head and the seething burning of her now injured foreleg. Seven howls pierced the air and Twilight could only watch in terror as the wolves raced down the hill, descending on her like the pendulum from that Edgar Allan Foal story. She could practically hear ticking sounds as the wolves neared her and she clamped her eyes shut, not wishing for her last sight to be that of wolves tearing her to pieces.

A new sound echoed in Twilight's ears, an odd cross between a battle-roar and a whistling howl. She opened her eyes to find the wolves formed in a semicircle around her but their backs to her as they defensively faced the newcomer. A shape of black mass rolled smoke-like towards the wolves and two green eyes with purple smoke trailing off the edges opened up in the mass' center, narrowing furiously on the seven canines. Sombra? One of the larger, braver of the wolves growled and dove at it only to be smacked away by a black tendril and sent hurtling twenty feet in the air. The other wolves, seeing the size and might of the new predator, wisely retreated and vanished into the blizzard, leaving Twilight alone with her dark savior.

Finding her energy diminished, Twilight succumbed to blood loss and collapsed onto the snow, her eyes fluttering open and closed as she began to float towards the mass. The shadowy figure's top half transformed into that of the last pony she'd expected to be out in the wastes of the Frozen North. She anticipated anger, she awaited fury but what she did not foresee was the expression of frantic worry as he picked her up bridal-style and shot through the air, zipping across the sky like a shooting star. "Twilight, Twilight please, hold on!" And with that, Twilight's eyelids clamped shut and she lost consciousness, feeling strangely at ease in the umbrum's embrace.

The castle doors burst open and Sombra, now back to his full stallion form, briskly marched his way into the main foyer, a limp and unconscious Twilight curled up in one foreleg. He stared down into the face of the shivering unicorn and felt his heart ache with remorse at her current predicament. This was me. I did this. While Twilight violated his privacy, he had overreacted and forced her into fleeing headfirst into a blizzard. Now there was a chance that he'd lose the mare that he...-

"Your Majesty...? Oh, Twilight! Wha-what happened? What happened to her?!" Amber screeched as she appeared beside him, attempting to keep up with his brisk pace and longer gait.

"Amaroks. Plural."

"Amaroks? But they never hunt in packs!"

"Yes, well, desperation can make creatures do crazy things," he replied coldly, almost as though he were alluding to something else. "Has everything been prepared?" When Sombra learned that Twilight had ventured out into the wastes, he instructed Amber and the others to ready the main foyer in case she was injured so they set up a large cot and had the local doctor Crystal Varado on standby. Far too many unpredictable things happened in the wastes and it never hurt to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Good. If she doesn't make it, I'm holding you personally responsible."

Amber said nothing as Sombra lowered Twilight onto the cot and began the task of removing her winter jacket, stopping to wince at her injuries before tearing a sizeable piece from his cape and using it to stop the bleeding. She stirred slightly and moaned as he pulled the covers up to her chest. "Shh, save your strength. You're going to be alright, sweetheart," Sombra whispered in a tone so soft that Amber could've sworn she was looking at a completely different stallion. "Doctor!"

An amaranth-colored crystal pony scurried over to Twilight's side and dug through his medical bag. "Ooh, well, these are some nasty-looking lacerations. They cut clean through the flesh but I don't think it's sufficient to cause any kind of permanent nerve damage. Still, seeing as how I don't have the proper equipment, there's no way of knowing-..."

"Just shut up and help her! She's bleeding out!"

"Yes, of course, my apologies!" Crystal sputtered and filled a syringe with a mild sedative. "Amber, I'm going to need you hold Miss Twilight's foreleg. Your Majesty, please keep pressure on the wound."

"S-Sombra," Twilight muttered weakly and Sombra gently caressed her cheek, her skin as cold as ice.

"You're going to be alright, Twilight. I'm sorry! Please, don't...don't leave me."

She's...so cold. Although the thought pained him severely, Sombra knew what he had to do and with a sigh, he barked, "Rubinstein! Put pressure on Twilight's foreleg." The purple crystal pony complied while Sombra went to work removing his tattered cape, letting it fall away as he wrestled out of his armor.

"Your Majesty," Amber gasped horrified, "What are you doing?!"

The last of the armor clattered onto the floor and Sombra stood before everypony as bare as the day he was born. "She needs immediate body heat and none of you have the significant amount." Amber was ready to protest but realized the futility in it. Crystal Ponies could survive the freezing temperatures of the Frozen North due to their thick coats and crystalline bodies, which also meant that they gave off less heat than that of a regular Equestrian pony. Sombra carefully climbed beneath the covers and snuggled up to Twilight, being sure to keep his hooves off of her as he wrapped his fore and hindlegs around the trembling mare, hating himself for the invasion of personal space but seeing the necessity in the act. He wanted to be in bed with her but not like this.

Twilight's eyes lazily opened and closed as Sombra pulled himself in close to her, his hoof gently brushing her mane out of her face. "Please be alright, Twilight. If anything were to happen to you, I..." He choked, small tears dripping from his soft scarlet eyes. "Come back to me. Please."

In the vacant throne room, high up on the king's dais, the Crystal Heart floated above the top of his throne, glowing a malevolent red as it bobbed up in down in the air. Unbeknownst to the castle's inhabitants, a soft crackle could be heard as a small chip appeared towards the bottom. A sliver of blue peered through the crack and it gently glowed with energy, the kind of which was warm to the touch. Its like had not been seen since before Sombra's reign. It was small but like the seed of an oak tree, it was only beginning to grow.

Author's Notes:

Aw, well isn't that just sweet! ❤

In Inuit folklore, an amarok is a gigantic wolf that devours anyone foolish enough to travel alone and yes, they are solitary hunters.

The cintamani is a magic wish-granting gemstone in Hindu/Buddhist beliefs and is compared to the Philosopher's Stone. I felt like the Crystal Ponies should have their own myths and folklore. Could be the name of a past ruler or a deity.