No magic.

Twilight Sparkle found herself in the snowy tundra, near the Crystal Empire. She woke up under a blanket of snow and immediately shook it off. Freezing, the princess motioned to use a heat spell, but Princess Celestia's words echoed in her head.

No magic. The Sleipnir are attracted to magic.

Twilight lowered her head and made her way for the Crystal Empire. Luckily, she could see the lush green lands from where she woke, so her journey wouldn't be that bad. A few steps made her realize how much snow had fallen since she was last in the north; it went all the way up to her flank, burying all of her hooves in the white powder. Twilight groaned before pushing her way through.

The snow crunched beneath Twilight's hooves. Falling on all sides as a chilly wind slapped the princess in the face. A flake graced her right wing, which twitched at the cool touch. It took her a few more steps to remember that she did have wings and could fly to her destination. The princess maneuvered to spread her wings and fly, but the joints froze up as she tried. The pain shot through her body like a jolt of electricity. It was too cold to fly.

Rainbow Dash wouldn't have had a problem, she thought to herself as she continued on hoof. Before long, she reached the site where Durango had been buried. The tomb stone was covered in snow, lost to all who would pass by. Who would pass by?

Twilight stopped at the stone for a moment and brushed as much snow off as she could with a hoof. The snow slid away easily, but not without sending more chills through the mare. She only managed to reveal one line:

"And so we must part,"

It was too cold for Twilight to even think about everything that had happened. It was done, and that was all. After a moment, she did remember her crown. Was it still on my head?

Twilight placed a hoof above her snow-covered head. She felt the cool touch of metal resting on her head. With a sigh of relief, she continued on. "I don't know what use it will be, though." She said out loud. As she walked away, the snow began to cover Durango's tombstone again to be lost to the world.

She made it to the outskirts of the empire when she was halted. A pony guard stood watch on top of a tall tower. "Halt! In the name of Princess Cadence, who goes there!?"He called down to Twilight.

"Twilight....Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Twilight yelled back. It was snowing, which clouded the skies with a dull grayness. She waited for a few minutes as the guard disappeared. Growing frustrated, Twilight decided to pace back and forth in order to stay warm. After what seemed like forever, the guard returned.

"You may enter." He called. Twilight trotted past the tower and onto the green grass that was the Crystal Empire. You could have let me wait on this side... she thought to herself as she trekked to the castle.

The Crystal Empire looked the same as it did when she left. Any traces of the changeling battle were gone, and the empire looked like its old self...well, most of it did, at least. There were royal guards posted around every corner and on most rooftops. Twilight passed a giant arena where the Equestria Games were supposed to be held. It was the only run-down area in the entire empire. How long has it been since the end? A few weeks?

Twilight extended her wings as she reached the central square, which was filled with dozens of ponies. Her blood warmed up, giving her wings feeling once again. It hurt, but soon felt great afterwards. One guard stood on a platform in the center of the crowd.

"...Anypony who is able-bodied can enlist today! We need as many as we can to serve the Crystal Empire, and all of Equestria! We will take it back from those monsters and we will restore harmony!"

That was our job...and we failed. How can they do it? Twilight began to doubt everything the princesses had told her about the elements of harmony. It was true that they did work every time they were used, but she just couldn't understand why they failed to work this last time. And now Rainbow Dash is...and we're all scattered. If we're not together, who knows what'll happen?

The crowd gasped in awe as Princess Cadence flew down from the high balcony. She extended her wings as everypony bowed. She blinked a few times before noticing Twilight among the crowd.

"Twilight!" Cadence cried as she beckoned the purple princess to come to the platform. Twilight flew up, landing gracefully. The crowd cheered.

"Princess Twilight! Princess Cadence!"

"Our only hope!"

Twilight frowned slightly upon hearing how supportive the crowd was, but she focused her attention on Cadence.

"It's good to see you are all right! We heard about what happened in Canterlot and...well, we are trying to do all we can to protect ourselves." Cadence looked tired, just like the last time Twilight was here. "We have reason to believe that the Crystal Empire is the only true safe haven for ponies in Equestria."

"Do you think they will come up here and attack?" Twilight asked. Cadence smiled.

"We can talk of that later. Come now, you look very tired. Perhaps a good rest will get you ready?"

The castle was as large as ever. Twilight felt weird being here without any of her friends. She decided to write a letter to Spike that night, if he were...No, he's still alive. They all are. I know it. Upon reaching the grand hall, Twilight saw a familiar face. In the center, the filly known as Berry Bunches was playing with one of the guards. When Twilight approached, Berry immediately recognized her.

"Twilight!" She cried as she ran into the princess's arms. "Where's Fluttershy?"

The princess began to cry. "I'm not sure right now, but I know she's okay. She will be here soon, I promise you that. How's your wing?"

Berry Bunches stepped back and tried moving her injured wing, to no avail. She began to frown, but smiled again as she spoke. "I learned how to sing! Want to hear?"

Twlight nodded. Berry smiled and began humming a tune that Twilight was unfamiliar with. Perhaps a song would be best to relax...

Wait...Something's wrong.

Twilight looked around the room for Princess Cadence, who finally walked in. She approached in a hurry as Berry followed behind.

"Where...is my brother? Where is Shining Armor!?"

There was no response for a long time. Cadence halted as soon as she heard the words. After hesitating, the princess turned around.

"After you left, I tried my best to search for my dear Shining Armor...but, I couldn't find him! I even checked up top where you found the crystal heart, but there was nothing..."

Twilight thought about it long and hard before knowing where her brother was. She handed her crown to Cadence before storming out the doors she had just entered. Twilight stretched her wings out and flew up high, to the very top of the tower where the crystal heart had been hidden by King Sombra. It feels like years since that happened.

Upon reaching the top, Twilight saw that Cadence was right: her brother was not at the top of the tower. It was empty...However, when she looked closer, Twilight could feel some sort of magic coming from the tower. The aura felt familiar, like something she saw in her studies...an illusion spell. This must be why he wasn't found. She approached the "empty" room and charged up her magic, sending a great beam right into the room. The illusion spell fell quickly, revealing what she was looking for: her brother! Even though the spell did a good job of concealing, it was as weak as could be. Shining armor lay on the cold floor in the center of the tower. He was bound by rusty chains on all of his hooves. There was a metal ring on his horn, as well as a muzzle to cover his mouth. He didn't look injured, but rather dehydrated and hungry. When she landed, he stirred. Twilight began to burst into tears.

"Shining Armor!? Are you okay? Here, let me..." Twilight tried yanking the chains off, but when she did, Shining Armor began to scream in pain. If he wasn't awake before, he certainly was now. The rust of the chains dug into his hooves and traces of blood emerged underneath the metal.

"Oh no!" Twilight didn't know what to do. She started by taking off the metal ring and the muzzle. After she did, she could hear her brother groaning.

"Twi...twily." He said faintly.

In tears, Twilight hugged her brother carefully. He was sprawled out so each of his legs were spread wide apart. The chains extended from his hooves in the center of the room to metal rings bolted to the ground in a square. She didn't know how long he was tied up here, but it did not look comfortable at all.

Twilight gave another tug at the chains, this time at the end embedded into the floor. They didn't budge. Twilight didn't know what to do, so in a bit of panic her horn lit up. The chains were all ripped out of the floor with a strong force. As soon as she did this, Shining Armor's legs snapped together like a bear trap. Twilight's horn returned to normal as she went to hold her brother.

"Twilight?"

Princess Cadence's voice was heard from the other side of the broken wall. As soon as she saw her husband, she burst into tears and went right to his side. He was unconscious once again, but at least he was safe.

*********

Twilight exited the chamber that served as Shining Armor's recovery place. Mares went in and out, providing food and water and medicine to the stallion. Cadence hadn't left his side, running her hoof over his own. Outside the room, Twilight ran into Berry Bunches. The princess donned a smile and approached the filly.

"How have you been since staying here? I hope you've been treated well?"

Berry Bunches smiled. "It was most pleasant...but, I'd rather be with Fluttershy." She looked much cleaner than she did in Manehatten. Her injured wing looked healed, although it didn't look usable. Twilight had not interacted with the Filly much beyond talking to her on the train near the city, but she felt she had a duty for the uprooted filly. She turned around before continuing. "I also want to play with those other fillies more. I haven't left the castle much so I haven't played with the other fillies around here."

Cadence's voice could be heard from inside the room. "Twilight?" The princess turned to Berry Bunches and smiled.

"I'm sorry...I'll be right back. I'll take you to see the city today. Would that be fun?"

"Oh, yes!" Berry replied before running off, singing a tune.

Shining Armor was awake. The color returned to his face and he had a faint smile on his face. "Twily..." He said as she ran to hug him. When she did, he let out a small gasp as she backed off. "It's okay..." He said after Twilight turned red.

A few royal guards entered the room. "You called for us?" They said as they stood in a line. There were about twelve in the room. Each one was decorated in armor and carried a spear.

"Yes. We have to keep our defense up in case we are attacked by those Sleipnirs. Or anypony, for that matter. The changelings might try to take this castle again, or the griffons could, or..."

"Wait." Twilight interjected. "I've never read a book on it, but I've seen what the Sleipnir can do. The princesses were powerless, and the Elements of Harmony had no effect, or else they would have reacted when Rainbow Dash...well, if they wanted to, they could destroy this place in an instant." she did not look happy as she said that. "...So, why haven't they yet?"

"She's right." her brother agreed weakly. Cadence looked down to ponder on this.

"Maybe it has to do with magic? We haven't used any ever since the changelings attacked." Cadence offered.

Twilight's eyes widened at hearing this. I used magic to free Shining Armor. She knew the Sleipnir were attracted to magic, but she hoped they didn't notice the power she used to help her brother.

One of the guards spoke up. "Perhaps it is the cold weather?"

"That could be a possibility." Princess Cadence paced the room. "In any case, they are not the only threat. The greatest threat, no doubt, but not the only one. We have to keep prepared for any sort of attack. This kingdom is the only safe place reminiscent of the old Equestria."

Another guard spoke up. "There has to be a way to defeat them, though! If they are indeed afraid of the cold, we should entice them to fight us up here!"

"That could be too dangerous." Cadence replied. "What if that's not the case? All would be lost."

"We know nothing about them..." Twilight said. She wished there was a book somewhere that she could read. A book all about the Sleipnir. In fact, she hadn't read a book in ages. "How can we fight something we know nothing about?"

"Maybe Discord knows." Cadence said with a grimace. Twilight immediately thought of the prophecy...or, what she thought was the prophecy. Was it mis-translated? Luna herself said nopony knows the language well...That would also mean that we have no way to communicate with them. There goes any hope of negotiation.

Shining Armor began to stir. "Maybe we should wait until he feels better to discuss this matter." Princess Cadence said quickly as she rushed back to his side.

"No..." Shining Armor weakly said. "I say...go with the plan...bring them up here."

"But, that would put us all in danger! The crystal ponies..." Cadence said back. Twilight wasn't sure if was a good idea either, but they had to be sure.

Shining Armor laughed. "We have to be sure. If we are affected by the cold, they must be as well."

The guard who offered the idea spoke up once again. "I say we capture one and bring it up!" Twilight almost laughed at this proposition; how could anypony bring one Sleipnir up without causing them all to attack?"

Before Cadence could dismiss the idea, he continued. "If they are truly afraid of the cold, the others won't bother to come to his aid." That made some sense, at least.

"We will consider it. For now, you are all dismissed." Cadence said before looking to her husband again. The guards filed out of the room quickly, leaving Cadence and Twilight alone with Shining Armor. Cadence left her husband's side for the first time to address them.

"What do you think, Princess Twilight?"

Twilight swallowed. Me?

"I..."

"As a princess, you must be able to handle situations like this." Cadence frowned as she said it. "I know it will be tough, but both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are gone."

Is this why Celestia made a princess of me? Did she know this would happen? Twilight suddenly felt all the weight of being a leader come down at once. Until now, it had only been a title. One of happiness and of dignity. Now, it meant being a leader as well. Twilight knew it did, but she never imagined it would feel like this.

"I...I stand by the proposition." She said in as royal a voice as she could. Cadence gave a warm smile.

"Then...I do too. It's just, how do we plan on capturing one of those things? I haven't even seen what they can do."

Twilight thought for a moment. "I have an idea, but it might be extremely dangerous, especially if our assumptions are wrong."

Cadence looked to Shining Armor, who had fallen back asleep. He looked much healthier now than before. "I trust you with this, princess."

*********

The streets of the Crystal Empire were barren. The crystal ponies all stayed inside, fearful of what the world had become. Just like the Sea Ponies, Twilight thought. Berry Bunches traveled right alongside the mare, happily humming the same tune.

"You'll have to show that song to Fluttershy next time you see her." Twilight said as she passed the library. Berry Bunches giggled. "I hope I see her soon!"

Twilight stopped for a moment. Berry Bunches stopped ahead of the princess. "What's wrong, Twilight?"

"Nothing." The purple princess responded. "I just need to check out the library. Would you like to come with me?"

"Sure!" The filly said. "There's nopony else out anyway..."

The library was filled with books on many topics, dating back to the founding of the Elements, to Discord's rule of Equestria, and even to the founding of Equestria itself....but nothing on before that. Twilight got to looking as Berry Bunches browsed the books meant for fillies. The librarian was nowhere to be found. She probably went to hide too.

"How come nopony took note of it?" Twilight asked out loud as she looked through every book. She used her magic freely now, as it may bring a wandering Sleipnir to the empire and test out the theory. That sounded like a safer idea than what Twilight planned on doing.

"Not even Star Swirl's private journals contain anything..." Twilight said in frustration before remembering how she found important books in the past, when the world was a happier place. She remembered one book hidden in a secret compartment, and tried to look for one here.

In the back of the library lay books on ancient magic. Nothing in the actual collection was relevant, but Twilight started looking for something there first. After looking at another of Star Swirl's journals, she tossed it aside. It hit the ground and scattered dust all over the place. As Twilight looked at the dust settle, she saw something on the back cover of the book. It looked like a pattern of lines slightly etched into the cover. They were in an intricate detail, but trailed off the edges of the book. A map?

Twilight returned to the other journals Star Swirl had written. After dusting the covers off, Twilight found more patterns. From what she gathered, she found six books that made up some sort of clue. It didn't take long to arrange them in the correct pattern. Berry Bunches, meanwhile, finished her book and met with Twilight.

"Hey Twilight..."

"Not now, Berry...I'm trying to..."

The pattern didn't have much meaning at first, but after looking at it for a minute, Twilight found the meaning.

"It's a map of Equestria! And the surrounding lands."

Indeed, it was a map. The six books were arranged in 2 columns and 3 rows. The middle two books contained the actual Equestria. The bottom two held the dragon lands, the desert, and an unknown land even further south. The top two books contained land that Twilight guessed would be even colder than the Crystal Empire. That was the basic message; when Twilight looked closer, she saw three red dots on three different books: One far in the north, one in Canterlot, and a last one where the Crystal Empire would be.

"Twilight..." Berry said again. Twilight ignored her.

"These three dots...they must be something important." Twilight deduced so after trying to remove the dots, proving that they were not unwanted marks. "...but, what?" The dots were all on a separate book. When Twilight looked at the titles, she had her answer. The Canterlot dot was a book on Equestria history and folklore. The dot of the north was on Discord's rule over Equestria. The Crystal Empire Dot was...a book about the very library she was in. When she opened it, she found a map of the library on the back cover. After comparing the location of the dot to the location on the map, Twilight found her target.

The books for fillies was a small area in the center of the library. There were books about all sorts of pony-tales and things fillies would find amusing. Twilight approached one bookshelf. There was one section where the books were all removed from the shelf - the place Berry Bunches had been browsing, most likely. As she looked at the back of the shelf, she saw a faint mark etched in the wooden shelf.

"Berry?"

"I've been trying to tell you!" Berry Bunches said, laughing. The mark looked like something carved into the wood, something nopony would pay any attention to. However, when Twilight touched it, it felt soft. The princess knocked it away to reveal a button.

A loud clang could be heard as the middle of the library opened up. A hidden staircase revealed itself, leading down into a basement. Twilight made her way down with Berry following closely behind.

The bottom emptied out into another collection of books. It was much smaller than even the fillies section, containing very old and dusty books. The air was stiff, as if the room wasn't opened in centuries. Twilight made her way to the first book she saw. Upon removing the dust, she smiled at what she saw:

"The Rise and Fall of the Sleipnir"