We are alive.

Such an extraordinary thing to say, in the light of the attack by the Windigoes. Such an extraordinary thing to say at all now.

To resume this journal where I had left off, I had cast the Cold Sleep upon myself. The curse of doing so was that, although frozen I was still aware, could still witness all that took place around me. Oh the grief that tore my heart. I saw my heir, Smart Cookie, squabbling with those two mares even as the cold crept in on them.

Then to my growing surprise, the quarreling turned to tears. Then turned to something else entirely, as they sought to comfort each other in their grief...

Oh you scandalous grandson of mine. I cannot stop laughing even as I write these words. An earth pony, in love with a unicorn!

I stood there in my crypt of ice as they spilled out their hearts to one another. As they made their tearful vows to one another, becoming wedded with only Pansy as the only witness.... then as they promptly offered that poor lonesome dove a place as the first of their herd--

"Okay, 'First of their herd?" Applejack interrupted, cocking an eyebrow in suspicion. "Does that mean whut I think it means?"

"Um, it depends," Twilight said. "It was a long long time ago. Ponies back then DID have herds... multiple mares marrying one stallion. Sometimes it did mean... well... being a second wife. Other times, though, it meant that the mare was-- well, basically adopted, something like a foster sister or honorary aunt.  It was a very meaningful bond. I get the feeling that this was the case here."

"Oh, like blood brothers?" Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight nodded, then went back to reading.

I watched as the three of them huddled close, Clover and Cookie trying to shield Pansy from the cold with their bodies--

"Definitely the adoption thing," Dash said.

and said their last goodbyes. It was when they each traded one last kiss with him--

"Or maybe not?" Dash said.

"Dash! Will you stick a cork in it?" Applejack snapped.

"Okay, Jeez..."

-- that I saw it. The Crystal Heart flared to life! A wall of light sprang from it, pushing away the accursed cold of the windigoes, driving the creatures themselves away with rosy flame. Their love for one another had overcome their strife, had united them, and had provided the spark that lit the Heart and saved us all. They and the others still unfrozen had rejoiced and spent the night and the day singing and celebrating, as the shining dome of the Crystal Heart slowly warmed the land and brought it back to life.

"Ah, the greenhouse effect," Twilight said, nodding.

"What--" Dash started to ask.

"Egghead stuff, Dash," Twilight said. Dash took the hint and let it drop.

They quickly thawed out those that had been given the Cold Sleep, so they could join in the celebration. All save myself and my two counterparts... I can only say it was nothing but justice that they left us old fools to contemplate the error of our ways for a while.

Though I will take a little personal revenge here by writing down what 'celebrations' my grandson and new granddaughters in law REALLY got up to that first night. Serves them right-- my eyes were frozen open, they could have at least thrown a blanket over my head before Clover and Cookie started*******

Twilight stopped reading and let out a cackle of laughter. "What? What next?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Twilight giggled and held up the book. "The next section is smudged out, and right below it in somepony else's writing is 'LIES, ALL LIES.' "

The four girls laughed. Twilight could almost swear she heard the echo of an old stallion's chuckle.

Professor Dubious had been walking about the chamber in something of a daze. He had been wrong. Wrong about everything. Everything within eyesight shouted that fact at him. He was no fool, he knew that mistakes were made in science and he'd made-- and eventually acknowledged-- a few of his own. But never had he been so completely incorrect about every single fact down the line as he'd been here. It was leaving him in a state somewhere between shock and a spiritual epiphany. Through his daze he regarded the four snickering mares. "As the pink filly put it, next year's Hearthwarming tale is going to be VERY interesting...." He wandered off, contemplating the ceiling.

Twilight closed the journal. They had found the copy-- the complete copy--- of Level Head's journal on a pedestal at the foot of Level Head's crypt. "This... well, it explains so much," Twilight said with a shrug and a sigh.

"Not that this ain't interestin' as heck," Applejack said, "But at the moment I'm a mite more concerned about what's happening out in the Crystal City."

Twilight growled in frustration. "I know. This is infuriating! The Elements are useless with four of us trapped down here and two of us trapped up there... even if we HAD the Elements with us... I'm Celestia's protege' and not a lick of my magic is any use down here... and we're sitting on top of the biggest archive of magical knowledge-- proof positive that earth ponies can perform unicorn-quality magic..."

"Even if we could get it to them, would it do them any good?" Rainbow Dash wondered.

Twilight looked up at her hovering friend. "Dash, even the most rudimentary spell can turn a helpless unicorn into a force to be reckoned with. Give an earth pony one offensive or defensive spell, and it could tip the tide of battle." She pulled over the primer she had flipped through before and opened it to the first page. "See this spell here? It's a force-channeling spell. how to move energy through a pony's hooves, and through earth and rock. It's magic kindergarten simple." Which was the truth; after a mere cursory reading ("oh, is that all? But it's so simple!) some of the earth ponies in the group were already tinkering about with the rudiments of it... making pebbles hop, changing the shape of small gems they had in their pockets, and the like.  "It's like... a building block for everything that comes after. Teach an earth pony how to do this, at will, and everything changes."

"Yeah, but it's not like you could teach it to every pony in the Crystal Empire at once," Dash said.

"I wouldn't say that," Dubious said offhandedly. The four Bearers looked at him curiously. The scholarly skeptic was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the light in the recessed ceiling. "You do know that 'instant lesson' spell, don't you?" He went on.

"Well yes," Twilight said. "But it's really not recommended for extensive use. It gives the caster and recipient headaches after a while and if you use it too frequently it actually temporarily impedes spellcasting..."

"But to teach one spell," Dubious droned on. "Just one, single, useful spell-- or to get across some fundamental concept--- it's quite commonly used, is it not?"

"Well, yes. Um, how does that apply to this situation--?"

"You have one particular fundamental earth pony spell there," Dubious said calmly. "You have the Instant Lesson. If there were some method, some conduit that connected to every Crystal Pony in the Empire..."

Twilight gasped. "Like the Crystal Heart!" she said. "Every pony in the Empire is connected to it; they pour their positive energy into it to power it. And the connection runs both ways!" She gnawed her lip. "Oh this is so frustrating! If I could only get access to the Heart from here..."

"Who says you can't?" Professor Dubious said idly. His horn lit up; his magical aura reached up and grasped the crystal pane through which the light shone and yanked it loose. Slowly, the other ponies in the room gathered around him, jaws slack, staring up at the uncovered source of the light.

Twilight stood next to him and gaped like the rest. "Professor, how did you know...?"

"It's obvious in retrospect," he said. "One Alone Was Not Enough."

Hovering overhead, spinning slowly, was a Crystal Heart. "A second Heart?" Applejack exclaimed.

"Of course," Dubious said. "After all, aren't hearts at their strongest when they come in pairs?"

The battle was not going well for the Crystal Empire. The dragons took their sweet time wading through the buildings on their way to the palace, smashing buildings with sweeps of their tails and arms, blasting them black with gouts of flame. The firepower leveled at them was scattered and ineffective, barely annoying them.

The little presents left behind by the S&S squads were a bit more troublesome.

Grundle made the mistake of taking the lead down the main boulevard. He passed between the buildings, never even noticing the pony with the beret and walrus mustache perched on a nearby rooftop. As soon as the tubby dragon stepped past, the pony picked up his detonator.

"JAMIE WANTS BIG BOOM!" he said, slamming the plunger down.

The buildings on either side and the street below Grundle's feet erupted with a roar. The massive brown dragon was engulfed in a ball of flame. The flame didn't harm him, naturally, but it startled him badly. The shrapnel didn't do him any favors either. He staggered backwards, blinded and covered in soot. All that could be heard was the sound of roaring flame and a maniacal pony cackling in glee.

From a safe vantage point up the street, Boom Boom watched the mayhem. She was a white crystal pony with a bright pink braided mane, a bobbed tail, and a cutie mark of a fizzing cartoon bomb, and probably the most skilled (and most heavily propositioned) member of the Crystal Empire S&S demolition and sabotage crew. "Whoah, nice," she said. "What'd he use to get that fireball?"

"A water heater with a plugged valve and the cores of eight thousand golf balls," an orange stallion with a thinning red mane next to her said with a grin. "Myth Confirmed."

"Sounds like a fun date..." she remarked idly. "Okay, let's see if those wheat chaff fuel-air bombs give Big Red there a fun time..."

"Fall back! Fall Back!"

Shining gritted his teeth as once again his forces had to pull back. They were within scant blocks of the new, smaller dome, and the dragons kept coming. He was losing soldiers fast, the wounded were piling up, and for every pony that fell the next fell that much faster. They needed a miracle, and they needed one quick!

Nyx scrambled over the sparkling rubble, Bright Eyes straggling behind her. The two foals gasped and coughed in the smoky air. "Try him again!" she called back.

Bright Eyes tried the Walkie-Talkie again. He shook his head. "Nothing," he said. "Nothing but static...."

Nyx moaned. Her crazy stupid dragon of a big brother was going to try and stop the attacking dragons by giving himself up to them. Didn't he know it wouldn't make a difference? They'd smush him like a bug, laugh, and keep right on wrecking stuff. She had to find him and stop him!

She reached the top of the rubble pile and looked around. Bright Eyes climbed up beside her. "Do you see anything?" he asked.

Nyx tried to peer through the dust and smoke. She pointed. "There, somepony's coming this way!" she said. Her confidence soared; maybe it was a soldier or somepony who could help them.

Her confidence started sinking as whoever-they-were drew nearer. No, that silhouette was no pony. It was standing on two legs and was hunched over, like an ape. It was joined by several others, all around them now, snuffling and coughing and growling. Bright Eyes whimpered and drew in close to her side.

The first one stepped through the smoke. It was a diamond dog; a huge one, with black fur and fangs and greedy, piggy eyes. "Hello, little ponies," he chuckled. "We no find gems yet, but I think Boss like pony slaves just as good..."