Even during autumn, it never got cold in the Crystal Empire. Although the temperatures dropped a little, not even its deepest chill could find its way past the defences of one’s winter clothes. That didn’t stop Thiemo from keeping his coat closed and the hood worn over his head. Legion, in his hand, released a quiet clink every time its end struck the road. He took large strides, making him almost seem to levitate through the ponies around him. It was all for the right entrance.

There was a reason he wanted to portray confidence, as he felt the complete opposite right now. “Oh, you great magicians; Medivh, Gandalf, Merlin, Strange, Dumbledore, and Dresden. Stand with me,” was his inner mantra while he walked down the main road, heading directly for the castle.

The guards at the top of the stairs had spotted him long before he arrived. A large orange dot that towered above all else was hard to miss. Thiemo had thought to sneak into the castle, but the number of guards had basically doubled since the attack, and that was only what he could see on the outside. How many more would there be on the inside? It was imperative that he mustn't be caught, at least not yet. He had preparations to make and schemes to plan.

Thiemo saw the guards at the base of the stairs flinch as they also spotted him in the crowd. Ponies, unlike humans, could hardly surreptitiously reach for a weapon. They would need to be holding one as they maintained visual contact with their suspect, or they would need to turn their heads to retrieve any that they carried. As the heads of the two armoured ponies shot to their sides, where swords were sheathed, Thiemo knew that he had gained exactly the impression he was going for.

And as they came towards him to run interception, he ignored them as if they were invisible. They had no reason to stop him, not here. The stairs of the castle were basically a public area. The entrance would be barred by the two ponies upstairs. He couldn’t yet see them—for the hood to cover his face up to his nose meant he couldn’t look up. Perhaps it was better to keep his eyes on the stairs, as it would have been quite unfortunate to slip on these high stairs.

The first thing he saw were hooves and legs, but only one each. The one of the left guard had the usual glowing dark blue to bright pink that most crystal ponies possessed; the other was yellow and less sparkly. Before he could even voice his assumption, the voice told him who stood in front of him. “Sorry, Thiemo, but I have orders not to let you inside.” Spears clanked against each other as they barred the way as usual.

“My name is Thiemo Morgan, Shaman of Water and Wind, and an honoured member of the Eternal Library of Cervidas. I demand an audience with her Royal Highness, Princess Amaryllis.” The Eternal Library was a place only the scholars of the University of Cervidas had access to, where what they deemed as dangerous knowledge was kept, but in the end, it was just a library. Basically, he just had a fancy library card, which in his case had already expired for many years. Not something Flash Sentry or the other guard needed to know. More titles were always better. “She wants to see me right… now.” With his last word, he cut the connection, shutting out Amaryllis. Even if she wasn’t actively accessing the connection, he knew that she would feel it.

Thiemo, who, because to the hood, could still only see up to the chests of the ponies in front of him, saw Flash turn towards his comrade. They whispered something to each other before the unfamiliar guard disappeared in the castle.

“So, why this charade?” Flash asked a moment later. “We both know you’re not even half as strong as you’d like us to think right now.” Thiemo had actually not thought that, of all the guards, Flash would be standing here. Of course, he wasn’t about to tell the pegasus that.

He knew how to throw him off. He kept his hood over his head and stretched his back. “Flash, if I wanted to, I could have shot you off this staircase with a lightning bolt the moment your colleague left.” His left hand moved to his coat and opened it for a brief moment. “Not that I would need my powers for that.” He could hear the pegasus gulp as he saw the pistol. It hung in a small holster on the inside, a minor modification Rarity had made for him. However, this was also just a bluff. He would never be stupid enough to carry a loaded gun around with him, let alone bring it into a house where a filly lived. The gem chamber was empty and the gun wouldn’t even produce warm air. “In a fair fight, you might be stronger.” He didn’t finish the statement on purpose. That wasn’t necessary.

None of them had anything to say after that, and so the first words after a couple of minutes were from the returning guard. “The princess awaits you in the throne room. Please follow me.” Thiemo nodded under his hood and suppressed the urge to flip off Flash. Unfortunately, only with mediocre success as he did it anyway with his left hand as it was shoved into his pocket of his coat.

Flash lowered his spear, letting him pass, and for the first time in months, he entered the entrance hall of the castle. Now he allowed himself to raise his head. The pillars had obviously been repaired and there were no signs of a fight ever occurring here. The only indication was the memorial plate that he spotted in the corner of his eyes at the left of the entrance. His left hand began to shake slightly, while the other was kept calm by gripping Legion that was in the form of a walking stick.

They reached the teleporter and the guard allowed him to go first before he followed him onto the platform and used the crystal. In the blink of an eye, the world around him disappeared, then he found himself in front of the large double doors of the throne room. Here stood not two, but four more guards. They all were armed with spears and stood still. Cadance must have called in the reserves.

“Your presence is expected,” the guard at Thiemo’s side spoke.

With a deep breath, Thiemo began moving towards the closed door. For a moment, he thought the guards would open it for him, but none of them moved a muscle. Perhaps it was better this way. Just before he would walk into it, he raised Legion, which immediately turned into a staff, the tip ornamented with a sapphire, and pushed the double door open with a burst of air. Not strong enough to slam against the wall, even though that would have aided the dramatic act, but strong enough that the burst of wind almost struck the guards on the other side. He had to give it to them; they didn’t even flinch.

Thiemo continued his way. Once he could see the few steps that led towards the throne, he stopped suddenly and bowed slightly. “Hello, Thiemo,” a voice greeted him, but not that of Amaryllis. Slightly confused, he pulled back his hood and found Cadance, various scrolls of parchment floating around her. With a feather, she signed one of the scrolls before all of them rolled up and floated into a basket at the foot of the throne. “What can I do for you?”

“Your Highness,” he greeted her formally. “I have to assume that my princess is in another castle?” Just because he didn’t abandon his plan didn’t meant he could let this opportunity pass. How often was there a time to say that? Priorities.

Cadance raised a brow, a habit she surely had taken from Shining over the years. She was ready to play his game. “If by that you mean that my daughter isn’t here, then yes, you are correct. So, what can I do for you?”

“It urges me to know where my precious is to find, for my desire is to exchange a thought of my mind.” If he had suffered so long under Zarni, he would use his skills now.

What followed next was unexpected. “You seek a daughter of mine, who has followed the call of the sunshine. Her hooves did not want to keep her here, as her lover could her calls for help not hear. She has followed the call to fight, where the ocean meets the land to show its might.”

Thiemo blinked and thought for a moment. “What?” was the most eloquent response that escaped his lips.

“She went with my stepmother to Equestria two months ago, to accompany a squad to Hoovegorod. If there are actually changelings there, Amaryllis will be the best pony to speak with them.” Game, set, and match to Cadance. “Celestia had asked for her help, and she accepted the invitation.”

“Uhmm…” He needed a moment to reevaluate his position. At least he now knew why he couldn‘t feel their connection. She was out of range. “She’s gone back to Equestria. With Celestia. The mare who wanted to send her to Tartarus?”

Cadance stepped down from her throne and moved in front of Thiemo. They could look into each other’s eyes comfortably now. “She is my daughter and all of Equestria knows so as well. Say what you want about Celestia, but she cares about her family, or did you already forgot that she was the one to smuggle you two here?” He shook his head. “Good. Furthermore, I trust Amaryllis. She believed that she could help, and so I let her go. It would also be the most peaceful solution if there actually were changelings that she could make them retreat. Enough have died already, on both sides.” Thiemo averted his eyes and Cadance sighed. “Amaryllis wanted to ask you to follow her, but had doubts after you refused to help.”

Thiemo’s head perked up immediately. “I didn’t refuse to help. I refused to be part of a war that was fought against my own kind, who already live like sardines on some island.”

“What happened with ‘I don’t come from there, so I don’t care’?” the princess countered, her head slightly tilted but with no discernible emotion on her face.

“Nothing’s changed there. I just don’t find it fair and don’t want to be the one to pull the trigger. Celestia has chosen her for a reason from the beginning, from the moment she knew that there were humans on Albion. It will end in a massacre and I don’t want to be part of that.” Since Thiemo didn’t know which direction Ti was in, he just pointed in a random one.

“No one asked that of you.”

“Oh yes you did! I had good reasons to decline. I’m no deserter, and I’m no coward either, but I know damn well how horrible a war is. On Earth, you see it every damn day. In school, we learned about past wars, while pictures of the current ones were shown to us on prime time. We see what happens to the people returning from those wars and how well they are being taken care of. And I don’t want that. Not for me, not for Auralia, Amy, or anyone at all. I’m scared! And for a damn good reason.” Thiemo breathed heavily and his throat ached. He hadn‘t even noticed that he was yelling. “And since when do you trust Celestia? I can remember quite well that we both believed that she forfeited the fortress willingly.”

“Twilight is accompanying her, and I trust her.” Cadance took a step towards Thiemo and before he could react, she pulled him into a hug. His right cheek was pressed against her chest. “It’s okay to be afraid. No one wants to, but many have to. Celestia wants a war and she will get one, but on our terms. If Equestria recaptures Hoovegorod, we will have time. Time we desperately need.” She grabbed his head with her forehooves and once again they looked into each other’s eyes, but this time Thiemo was on his knees and Cadance lay on the floor. “I would never ask of anyone to go to war for me, but we need your help. Not as a warrior, but for who you are. You may not have realized, but…”

“I’m Blue Light’s heir.” She nodded.

“You have so much in common with him. When I look into your eyes, I see my best friend from my time as a filly. I see someone I can blindly trust. However, it’s not all just him. It was your actions that led you here, your actions that made my daughter fall in love with you. She loves you above all else, but she is young and confused. She was being raised differently. She thinks differently, eats differently.”

“She is special.”

Cadance’s hooves returned to the floor. “And now as her mother, not as the reagent of this empire, I ask you one last time. Will you help us?”

Thiemo rose off the floor. His knees began to ache and he could no longer stand her gaze. “I’ve never stopped,” he told her eventually and pulled his hood over his head again. “I like the damn corn here too much not to.”

Cadance smiled softly. “Do you need anything?”

Thiemo shook his head and turned around. He took a few steps towards the exit, but then stopped for a moment. “Cadance, does Equestria’s prisoner transporters fly over Hoovegorod?”

“They resupply there before flying over the sea,” she replied, confusion in her voice. “Why?”

Thiemo moved on. “No reason.”

“Please don’t do anything stupid,” Cadance called after him.

“So,” Danielle asked, just as she put down her cup. “What’s the plan?”

“We rob the central bank of the Empire.” Immediately his sister began to cough. A bit of the mead must have found the wrong way down her throat.

The night had fallen over the Empire, and together they sat in the Tavern at the Corner. Thiemo knew the pub well since he had been working here for a while. Rolaf, one of the few acceptable griffons and owners of this pub, knew him. Plus it was the only pub around here where he got service during the last few days. It was exactly the right place to talk about their plan in peace.

Pretty mares charmed the clearly drunk guests while a small live band supplied some music. “Could you repeat that, as it sounded to me that I learned to fly for the last three months just to rob a bank.”

“You did not learn flying for the last three months to rob a bank. We won’t even have to fly for that. You learned flying since it’s an insanely useful skill, as long as you’re not scared of heights, that is.” Thiemo wanted to take a sip of mead, but his cup was empty. Promptly, his hand with the cup shot into the air. “Another!” he shouted into the room and one of the waitresses nodded, getting on her way to refill him. If Rarity knew that the money she had given him would be spent on this, he’d get the scolding of a lifetime. “And it’s not as if we’d be doing it for the money. Although there should be more than enough there. The ponies did some hefty panic buying in fear for another attack. Markets empty, registers full.”

“Oh?” Danielle asked and leaned a bit forward over the table placed in the furthest corner of the pub. “Then why are we doing this? I thought you broke into banks for the money.”

“Cadance is like a hen. She sits on her nest and defends her hatchlings with everything she’s got. But damned be the chick that wants to help her. She trusts no one anymore. Not Celestia, not Luna, not even her own daughter. Cadance only allowed Amy to leave the house with a sitter. She would never knowingly support my plan. Therefore, we can’t let her have a choice.” Thiemo paused as the waitress arrived, refilling both their cups with mead.

“Something else for you two? Something to eat, or maybe some company?” she asked pleasantly, but they both shook their head. “If you two cuties need something, just call for me.” The mare grinned and disappeared again.

“Did she think we are a couple?” Danielle asked, looking puzzled.

Thiemo chuckled. “This is something like a brothel. The mares that charm the other guests are whores who rent the back rooms from Rolaf.” Briefly Thiemo thought back to Estoc and how he had fed Thiemo a line. Sure, only during mating season. “She just thought we’re a couple, looking for a bit of a change.”

“And you know that because…?”

“Anyway,” he quickly said, seeking to redirect the conversation. “We don’t want Cadance to have a choice but to turn us over to Equestria. I’m still wanted and Celly is still chafing her hooves for every human she can send back to Ti,” he explained.

“I still can’t believe that Celestia is that big of a racist and tyrant. In the series, she was depicted as so full of love. Why would Mothma portray her in such a positive light?” Danielle took another sip of mead. Her cheeks already had a hint of red to them.

“I haven’t seen much of her in the series. The few times she was there, she seemed pretty useless. Discord and Chrysalis were both defeated by Twilight, not her. Also, it was just a series for kids. Mothma surely had to alter a lot for it to get greenlit.”

“True that.” His sister looked down into her cup. “So we rob the bank so Cadance sends us to Ti. And then? What do we do once we are there?”

Thiemo emptied his mug in one swing before he spoke, “What do you think? We get back the Crystal Heart. There must be a reason why they stole it, and I mean aside from deactivating the shield. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have taken it with them, just kept it hidden. No, they’ve got something planned with it, and I have a terrible hunch.”

Danielle waited for a moment. “Uhm… is that all? A hunch?”

“Oh, sorry.” He belched. The alcohol hadn’t gone past him without an effect either. “Where was I? Oh right. You remember what I told you about Index and what she showed us?” Danielle nodded. “It was the explosion of a magical reactor that wiped out the city of Amissa Haven. What is the Crystal Heart if not a magical reactor?” Thiemo’s hands turned to fists and suddenly spread them apart again. “Boom, Canterlot needs a new address in the orbit. Goodbye oppression, goodbye Celestia. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” Danielle emptied her cup in one sip as well. It was a small cup. Everything was smaller on Albion. Aside from her brother’s madness. Or hers. After all, she was about to agree to the plan.

“And we have to get there as prisoners. The humans of Ti hate ponies. The attack made that clear. If we come as ‘envoys’,” Danielle made quotation marks in the air, “they won’t trust us. And Cadance would only let us go as those, if she would let us at all, with an honour guard and everything.” Thiemo nodded and waved his cup again. “Damn. Do you know how much I’ll hate it if you’re right?” Almost as much as he would be.

Author's Notes:

TL;DR: Thiemo trying to act all wise and stuff.

Thanks to Gron for translating.
Special thanks to JBL for editing.