Malicious Gift

by theSilentInventor401

We've seen Fluttershy push over boulders and sing while being smothered in a bear hug that would leave others struggling to breathe. The reason why remained a secret to even her until an attack from an odd duo. After, she finds herself with new abilities, new enemies, and more questions than answers. Is she a pony? Who is Limbo? And can she escape? Rated M for injury descriptions.

8. Chapter 8: Surfacing Secrets

Fluttershy had seemed to memorize the unmoving section of her vision. The door fastened in its hinge along the left side. The plain wooden textures giving her only so much entertainment as she followed its lines. Some would give her a rollercoaster ride as it would weave up and down among slight variants of color. Though the ride was only good so many times. So, she again turned her attention to a part of the shelves on the right side of her vision. She couldn't see the whole section, only a few shelves. On it was several bars of metal. What type? She wasn't sure. Yet, she did know they were metal from their shiny appearance. One type did strike her as curious though. An unmistakable yellow taking some of the bars.

Gold. Several bars of pure gold seemed to be on the shelf.

Though covered in other sorts of wires and small green gizmos, the color was unmistakable. Her curiousness was spiking again. This time she wanted to go over and hold it in her hooves. Though that curiosity had come and gone quite a while ago.

She idly stared, again finding herself looking at the cracked pieces of green on some of the shelves. Small boxes of black and tan tubes broke the color as they seemed to almost cover the surface. Whatever these things were, they were plentiful. Wires were the same case as she spied them along every shelf she could see. Though, towards the bottom of one that she could see, was a pile of tangled colors.

In any other situation, she wouldn't want to spend the time untangling the mess. Yet, in her current state she would be happy to; if she could only do something but stand and stare!

Her request was not answered for a length of time. She attempted to sigh. Time had lost all meaning in her mind at the moment. With nothing to keep track of it, it just slipped away. From a single circular window, that was just barely bigger than she was, filtered in light, but it was dispersed so well that she couldn't get a time off of it. She could only tell if it was day and night at that point.

The door in front of her suddenly opened. Fluttershy perked up but mentally frowned as Noah walked right past her to the monitors on her left. Her frown stayed as he did who knows what on the monitors. Her only clue was quiet clicking which gave her nothing.

New program received from external device: Mimic.

Mimic has been activated.

A small, but noticeable green rectangle was in her vision now. It's new home taking up the top right corner of her vision. Though it was too small to affect her too much.

Undocking…

She was confused but felt joy after the harness released her and she took a few steps away from the device that had kept her still for so long. She expected to feel stiffness in her legs and joints or along her back. Yet, she didn't feel any of it. Whatever her body had become, it seemed to not care about the limits of a pony. Nor did she think it had the limits of a pony anyway. She frowned with memories about her with her friends, seemingly nothing wrong.

It was then she realized that she was frowning. She blinked and felt her eyelids close and open at a familiar speed. She looked towards Noah, suspicion in her now controllable eyes.

Noah gave her an exasperated look, "Looks like you've noticed. Yes, you are able to control your frame but I can resume control in a single word. Remember that well…"

Fluttershy's frown deepened and she resisted the urge to take a step back.

"Do you see the green square in your vision?" Noah asked plainly, clearly not caring for the pegasus's shy actions.

Fluttershy nodded.

"That is a warning of sorts. We must go and retrieve some magic." Noah said, in a matter-of-fact voice, "Though I lack the programming expertise to simulate your behavior."

"My behavior?" Fluttershy asked meekly. She was seeing where this was going.

Noah nodded impatiently, "Yes. Unlike Glyph, programming is not my strong suit. Regardless, you will behave the way you normally do. Interact with ponies the way you do. Yet, I do not want you giving away any knowledge you learned about your frame to any creature besides the ones in this settlement. Do you understand?"

Fluttershy nodded, accepting what Noah was saying. She wanted to turn and run. Or barge past him and fly away. Though she was smart enough to know that she couldn't outrun sound. Even with all the different changes to her body.

"Good. The square will warn you when ponies are suspicious of you. Yellow is the warning and you must try to settle that suspicion before it turns red."

"What happens next?" Fluttershy asked, scared of the color alone.

"If it turns red, a single strand of hair will pierce their chest and impale the heart, causing a heart attack. Quick, simple, and effective. The pony will die in a matter of hours."

Fluttershy nervously swallowed but nodded.

"Alright with that out of the way I need to tell you a few things about the folks who live in this settlement. They see you as an idol."

Fluttershy's surprised face was tinged with fear and confusion, "What?! Why?"

"Everypony here has an artificial part of them. Some are prosthetics, artificial organs, or simply devices that assist other organs in functioning. You," He paused, looking the mare dead in the eye, "Have every single one of those artificial parts."

Fluttershy could only take in the words with shock. So, she was probably all metal then. No pegasus left?

Noah continued despite Fluttershy's expression, "They were told that they were testing the devices for you to take on. To bridge the gap between those with artificial parts and not. Each one of the ponies had received discrimination because their bodies failed to grow a certain part, or malfunctioned in a socially degrading way. I helped them, and you are the perfect version of them all. They know that and embrace it. They hope that you will be able to show how far prosthetics can go and finally end the persecution they've suffered through for years."

Fluttershy was getting mixed feelings. On one hoof she was still upset at Noah for changing her against her will. He could have asked! She still might have said no, but seeing as it was for a good cause may have swayed her. The memory of her being changed flashed through her mind again.

Maybe not.

Noah was still speaking, still oblivious to her discomfort, "You must keep up the charade. I do not what you to kill any of them because you let them in on a forbidden secret."

"You'd make me do this to your people?" Fluttershy asked in horror.

Noah shrugged, "Have you ever played Chess?"

Fluttershy frowned, understanding the words, "You surround yourself with mere pawns huh? Can you take control of them as well?" She found her thoughts bitter but didn't want to change them.

"What piece am I?" Fluttershy said quietly her face clearly displaying her emotions.

Noah chuckled, "You, are the king in this chess game."

Fluttershy paused, not expecting the answer.

Noah smiled, and responded to her reaction, "Yes. You are the most important piece of this game of chess and without you, the entire game will fall to the ground in chaotic destruction."

Fluttershy frowned. That meant that he'd probably go to extreme lengths to keep her under his control. Which only made it harder for her friends to set her free…

Noah cleared his throat and spoke, "Well, you and I will be going under the guise of a friendship mission. Though only outside of this settlement are you to say that. To any pony inside this settlement, we are going on a retrieval mission."

"How will I be able to tell the difference?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. She really didn't want to accidentally, red square somepony.

Noah nodded, "The system will be able to tell you."

Fluttershy wanted to ask more, but was cut off by Noah talking.

"I'm Todd to every pony outside this settlement. In this friendship mission, I know the place we are going and am helping guide you to the problem in question."

"And where are we going?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly.

"I do not share my plans with anypony unless it's in that moment."

Fluttershy frowned, not quite understanding why he wouldn't share to somepony he had complete control over. Though she didn't comment. Her shy side not wanting to start any sort of contention. She merely nodded instead.

"Good. Let us go." Noah said and walked out of the room. Fluttershy made sure to keep close behind him, and when the hallway would permit, to the side. She figured it would be more natural. This time she passed a few ponies who all gave her smiles and enthusiastic nods of approval. Fluttershy smiled and returned the nods with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, however pitiful in comparison.

The hallways were all made up of the interlocking stone bricks but changed to wooden walls with comfortable paintings as they went up several staircases. She remembered that she could look around this time and looked at the hallway with interest. Paintings were of lakes, forests, and even rustic medieval times. It filled her with comforting memories. Though she couldn't stare at them long as the two continued walking. Eventually, she reached a large, well-furnished room.

Two large doors led to the outside. Though the doors were carved with incredible designs that seemed to catch her eye. Looking at the rest of the room rewarded her with a dark color experience. Dark reds, greens, and tans made up the room. Walls of red, dark brown couches and chairs, and bright lamps. Above her head was a crystal chandelier that filled the room with even greater light. The room led into four different paths. Two hallways like the one she had just come out of, and just to sides of those hallways were similar staircases. More paintings and a clock or two decorated the walls.

Though her inspection of the room was brought to a halt when a mare burst through the doors in front of her. On her back was a small colt.

"Noah," the mare said, seemingly in a worried tone, "I need your help."

The mare was a dark shade of purple while her load was an equally dark shade of green. The colt bore no cutie mark but the mare's was a large light purple flower with a bright shade of yellow in the center. Though on her right side it was partially glossy due to the metal leg she was sporting. Plain steel with rivets that fastened plates of steel to an unseen frame. The leg seemed to move smoothly with the mare's movements, the noticeable hoof making a click on the wood. She doubted that she'd be able to tell if one of her legs were fake from sound alone.

Fluttershy gave her a smile, which was returned with dividends. Noah however, looked unimpressed.

"He broke the leg again, did he?" Noah asked in a monotone voice.

Fluttershy took a closer look at the colt on the mare's back and found that the colt's front leg was bent at an awkward angle. Yet, the bent metal didn't put an expression of pain on the colt's face. There was only a guilty frown.

The mare looked a bit sheepish, "Yes."

Noah shook his head with a sigh, "Unfortunately I am not in the position to help your son. I and Fluttershy are off to a retrieval mission and can not delay further." He walked out with the two mares following him.

The mare gave Fluttershy a desperate look, "Can you fix it? With your abilities, you'll be able to do it really fast?! Right?!" The mare's desperate voice dug into her ears.

Fluttershy backpedaled slightly, pondering the question for a second as the group was nearing the wagon she had seen earlier. How much did the group know of her abilities? She opened her mouth to respond but Noah beat her to it.

"She doesn't have the time either. The time is short for this mission and like I told you, we mustn't delay." Noah said flatly. They had reached the wagon that was parked near the front of the doors. Fluttershy took a look back to see a large mansion behind her. She felt her eyes widen at the sight but blinked to hide her surprise.

"But my son can't walk without the prosthetic!" The mare pleaded, then seemed to take a different course of action after seeing the unicorn's face. She sighed, then asked, "Do you know when you'll be back?"

Noah didn't reply immediately but climbed into the wagon motioning Fluttershy to follow, "I am not sure. There are quite a few variables…"

The mare frowned in defeat, "So not before mid-day?"

Noah shook his head, "Definitely not. It'll take us that long just to reach the mission."

Fluttershy took a look at the unicorn and noticed that he was saying his words carefully. She then climbed into the wagon after Noah and sat down next to him. The cushions were quite comfortable.

"Oh. Well, I'll wait for you to get back then." The mare said, her head drooping in disappointment and defeat.

Noah nodded. The stallion at the front then put his hooves to the rectangular device and the wagon jumped forward with a small whine. She looked around casually and saw the home of the ponies in this settlement. They were large homes, if similar to each other. Though there were many different colors between each house. Further than them, were the crystal mountains. They were partially blocked by the large walls that seemed to surround the entire collection of homes and shops. Though a large gate parted for them as they approached and exited outside. Now she could see the crystal mountains in more detail. It was still quite close, walkable range even. Provided you wanted to walk for a few hours. Though this didn't seem it was going to take a few hours as the wagon sped along. Her mind began to slow as the wagon seemed to glide across the ground rather than roll. Though the illusion broke when she noticed the wheels were in fact rolling. She stared at them and after a bit, she felt her eyes get heavy. She allowed her eyes to close, then opened them with a sharp cry. She still couldn't fall asleep it seemed. Though the other two ponies didn't seem to hear her timid cry at all, much to her relief.

She then frowned, not sure how to keep her mind awake. There was no pony to talk to, or at least she would want to talk to. The pony in front of her was controlling the wagon, so she wasn't sure if she'd be bothering him and she didn't want to talk to Noah. She sighed and set her eyes on sightseeing. Then noticed in front of the pony controlling her, was a plane of glass surrounded with a black edge of metal. From her earlier perspective, she wasn't able to see that detail. She smiled and looked at the rest of the wagon, hoping to find some sort of hidden detail to keep her mind going.

Twilight was now in the throne room along with her friends. The two sisters were at the base of the thrones with the rest of the group with a foldable table in between them all. Luna yawned as she sat down on a pillow, then turned her tired attention to the rest of the group.

Though it was Celestia that spoke, "Finally," She said, "I've been eager to start all day. I hope that you slept well?" She directed the last bit at Twilight who nodded, blushing a bit.

"Sorry, I guess I really slept in this time." She said nervously fiddling with her hair.

The group chuckled, but Applejack spoke, "It's not a wonder why you're so tired sugar cube. You've been doing magic all day," She paused, "Er, yesterday."

"Indeed," Rarity said, "I'm surprised you were able to block that much magic at all after that incursion with the awful Reception 'ception."

"You fought the Reception 'Ception!" Luna shouted, slamming her forelegs into the makeshift table. Surprisingly though, it held.

Rarity blinked, "Why, yes. Yes, we did."

Celestia gave her sister a look that said, really? It pulled a chuckle out of the other alicorn.

"Forgive me." Luna said withdrawing her legs to the floor, "My mind is not quite my own." She then stifled a yawn by shaking her head. Then continued, "The Reception 'Ception is a group of two that steals ponies and sells them to other races for, unknown purposes. We have been able to recover most of them due to the more friendly connections we have made in recent times."

"Thanks to the efforts of you and your friends," Celestia said beaming.

Luna nodded, gratitude in her eyes as she rubbed her temples with her hooves, "Yes, while they still have been quite a headache in these times. I'm grateful that they are now locked up?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, they are currently at Ponyville I believe. They were going to be transitioned to Canterlot the moment the guards had the chance."

Celestia nodded, "Good. Their case should be pretty open and shut."

Twilight nodded, "Yes, but they seemed to have changed even a little bit. They might be willing to discuss their trade routes."

Celestia and Luna gave her confused looks, "What do you mean?" Celestia asked, mimicking both the alicorn's confusion, "They've been doing their, thing, for years. What happened to make them stop now?"

"Nearly being vaporized by a ball of plasma." Rainbow said bluntly, "Both nearly had their heads wiped clean off! I'm sure that could be a reason."

"Ball of plasma." Luna turned to Twilight, "Your doing?"

Twilight sadly shook her head, "Not mine. Fluttershy's."

Celestia looked at her student with curiosity and concern, "Pardon?"

Twilight nodded and began to recount the experiences from the last day. From the beginning with Cheerilee's class, or at least what she was told of it anyway. She then recounted the part when she had come to her during the meeting. Celestia and Luna nodded at that.

"Yes, I do remember her eye. That was quite," Luna said, looking for the right word. It took her a moment, however, nopony filling in her sentence, "Exotic. I'm not sure that I've been the same way if I had never seen it before."

Celestia nodded, "Agreed. Yet, after we cleaned up the discussion room we left to see that you all had already gone. We couldn't even see your group heading to the train station."

Luna smiled, "We assumed that your determination had driven you to teleport you and your friends to Canterlot. So, we did the same."

"Yet, we didn't find you. Nopony had any recollection of seeing you. So, we waited and told any pony to give us word of your arrival." Celestia continued.

"That's where we met you at the train station. I know of the events that caused you to be delayed. But my sister does not. Will you explain?" Luna said, causing Celestia to give Twilight a curious glance.

Twilight nodded, a small, but sad smile on her face. Her recounting of the capture of Rainbow by the Reception 'Ception was short. But Rarity helped out and recounted what happened when she and Fluttershy fell behind.

"She simply started to tumble and fell. I stayed behind to make sure she was okay. Though you should have seen the amount of air she was taking in!" She remarked, "It was as if she had just run a marathon in record time! Though she recovered quickly and told me about how her mouth had shrunk, letting something down. She didn't know what had happened, and quite frankly, none of us did. Though the darling suddenly had the ability to track the wagon with uncanny accuracy."

Twilight nodded, "That's how you caught up to us."

Rarity nodded.

Celestia put a hoof to her cheek, "In Electromagical terms, there are devices that can transmit its location to other devices. I know that there are several tracking devices in the Electromagical world, though they do not last long since they do not have a proper power source. I wonder if that action was Fluttershy putting a tracker on the wagon."

Twilight found herself thinking about the wagon and regretted not investigating the vehicle.

Rarity frowned, "I'm not sure. I did not see anything." She paused as again she pondered her memories, then again shook her head.

Twilight frowned, "I guess that warrants a check on the wagon later." The group nodded in agreement, "But in the meantime," Several quills and papers appeared around her, all held in a magical purple glow. She turned her gaze to Glyph, who returned the look with a smile, "I've been waiting long enough! I need some answers!" She said in a non-threatening tone. Her friends smiled as Twilight did so, a few wondering why it had taken so long for her to ask in the first place.

"I'm afraid not, Twilight. My sister still has yet to learn about what happened at the clearing with Fluttershy, the Reception 'ception, and Rainbowdash." Luna said, a small smile on her face as well.

Twilight returned the quills and writing paperback to where they came and continued the story with a small frown. She talked about how the group had tried to stop the wagon by jamming large sticks in the wheels, but how it was ultimately Fluttershy's lance that managed to stop the wagon.

"It just came out of her ribs!" Pinkie had said energetically causing the Princess of the sun to wear an uneasy face.

"Did you see her ribs?" Celestia asked warily, clearly hoping that the answer was no.

Thankfully though, Pinkie shook her head, "No, just a bright blue glow when her side opened up."

"Wait," Glyph suddenly asked, quiet until that moment, "A bright blue glow? That seemed to have ridges and kinda looked like an ocean?"

Pinkie gave her a happy look, "Ooh, exactly!"

Glyph took the information in with a frown, but not one of discomfort, but one of thought, "Why would she had a dimensional connector at her side?" She muttered, barely loud enough for the group to hear.

Dimensional connector? Twilight thought but didn't ask. She had already been asked once to hold her questions till Celestia had been caught up, she didn't want to be asked again. Rather, she summoned a scroll and wrote the question on the thin parchment. Then immediately crossed it out as Celestia asked herself.

Glyph nodded and replied, "It's exactly what it sounds. It a connection to a dimension. Though, please, continue. I want to make sure my thoughts are correct."

Twilight frowned but did what she was asked, recounting the battle between the two with Fluttershy's new shield, the bucking of the restraints, and when Fluttershy had nearly blasted the Reception 'ception.

"The Reception had just moved and she whipped up pointing her hoof at them. Yet, it expanded into, some sort of plasmatic ejector. It shot balls of plasma that disintegrated anything it touched, leaving black marks as it went. Fluttershy seemed frightened by this, and took off. We tried to catch up, but she was suddenly as fast as Applejack!" Twilight said to the attentive group.

"Faster even!" Applejack added.

Twilight nodded, "Yes, just not at first though. I was able to grab her with my magic and we were able to catch up. Though she suddenly became magic proof and fell through my grasp!" She again looked at the paper and wrote down a question, "I even tried sleeping spells and she still kept running. Her speed boost continued however as she was able to outrun us flying!"

"Really?" Celestia flatly said as she took in the information.

"Yes, but we were in a tight area with hundreds of poisonous thorns so I'm not sure if we were going full speed. Though I was able to teleport to her and reassure her. Though that's when Rainbow got poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Celestia asked, looking at Rainbow.

Rainbow looked sheepish, "Yeah. Must have been a thorn in my wings after flying. When I closed my wing it jabbed me. Not cool."

Twilight nodded and recounted the memory of Fluttershy healing Rainbow much faster than she could.

"So she made an antidote? From what?" Celestia asked, turning to Luna. She shrugged and turned her look towards Glyph.

Glyph responded with a frown, "I can't be certain but several of my, 'Silver birds,' have kits that can generate various types of regenerative concoctions. Medicine and antidotes are some of those things. I wouldn't be surprised if Fluttershy had one. Materials are pulled from storage that the pony has. Not biology but you can boil most products into a base of certain components."

Twilight opened her mouth to ask a question but stopped herself and wrote it on the parchment instead.

"So, Fluttershy took down the Reception 'ception and healed Rainbow? All by herself?"

Twilight nodded, "Mostly yes. After that, you pretty much know. We got to the train station after the Reception 'ception had been placed in custody. On the train, she learned how to control her hair and learned her eyes could look in the near-microscopic level."

"Hmm, it seems our friend has many new abilities both for attack and the nature of healing." She turned to Glyph, "Ready?"

Glyph gave her a confused look, "For what?"

Celestia didn't respond but merely looked at Twilight. She had a crazy grin on her face with her scrolls and quills all floating in her purple glow.

The grin caused the blue pegasus to smile awkwardly along with one of her ears all flat against the back of her head, but that morphed into understanding and she laughed, "Oh, I guess. Ask away."

Twilight turned to her scroll and chose the first one that wasn't crossed out, "You said storage for basic building blocks of products in the medical sense. Where do your," She paused, "Wait, what's a Silver bird?"

Glyph smiled, "They were the first ponies to get my first responder equipment. They were trained as such and wanted a special name. They took inspiration from my cutie mark and called themselves the Silver Birds. So, in any emergency; fires, landslides, or creature attacks, they would be there. Though those storage devices you talked about were large enough to have to be in a small wagon. Not a very big one if you used the smaller versions, but still not small or light enough to carry multiple of them."

Applejack frowned, "Then that can't be. She wasn't carrying nothing."

Twilight nodded looking towards Glyph, "Yes, but you mentioned a dimensional connector earlier. Could one of those storage devices be stored in an accessible dimension?"

Glyph nodded, "Most definitely. Connectors can be quite large, or quite small depending on the need. You could take a tube and split it with a set of connectors. With that, you'd be able to send matter through that tube, effectively in and out of the dimension."

"So, it's like a pocket dimension?" Rarity asked.

Glyph nodded, "That's exactly what it is."

"How does Fluttershy have a pocket dimension? She isn't a unicorn," Celestia paused, "Right?"

Glyph nodded, her face betraying some excitement, "Yes, but you can open a pocket dimension in an electromagical way. It still is contained within the cutie mark magic like a unicorn's is, but it is held open by electricity rather than magic."

Twilight frowned, her mind wandering to her own pocket dimension, "How? The fabric of reality isn't conductive! Well, not to electricity anyway, it's on a whole other plane of existence!"

Glyph's smile widened, "Yes, but you have to use your horn to channel your magic power right? The concept is the same here. I just have a device that uses electricity to channel cuite mark energy to hold open the dimension."

"And if the power runs out?" Luna asked curiously.

"It's just like a unicorn's pocket," Glyph said turning to the princess, "Everything would just spill out of it."

"Alright," Celestia said, "But how do you power it? Alicorns and Unicorns alike use spells to leverage the amount of power required to keep such a pocket open. By this, we use only a fraction of the energy. Is it the same here?"

Glyph shook her head, "No. There is a little bit of leverage but it still takes a tremendous amount of power to run. That's why I built the cutie mark generator. With that, you can produce the amount of power needed and still have quite a bit leftover."

"How does this, 'cutie mark generator,' work? Does it create a cutie mark?"

"Nope. This uses the natural movements of the cutie mark to create a sort of sphere." She paused making a sphere with her hooves, "This sphere can then be manipulated to make it tighter, therefore, making it spin faster. The energy then can be threaded through other devices to transfer that spinning motion. The cutie mark sphere has an extremely strong resistance to other movements so you can hook it to an extreme gear ratio. If you would let it, it could move a mountain!" She smiled, but the smile faded as the group looked at her with expressions of fear, worry, but also awe.

"My goodness. Where did you come up with the idea?" Celestia asked after a few moments of silence.

The pegasus in question looked sheepish, "The Elements of Harmony…"

The curious look turned slightly hostile on the Princess but the pegasus hastily continued.

"Don't take it wrong. I didn't harvest the elements nor take anything from them. It merely inspired me." Glyph's words eased the alicorn's expression, if only slightly, "I saw the power of the elements in stories and legends." Glyph's face went to another world as she recounted, "The amount of power required to revert matter back from its chaotic change must have been huge! Not to mention to send Nightmare Moon away, and further cleanse her of the nightmare that plagued her! Though I did come up with it far before the elements of Harmony chose Twilight and her friends became their new bears. I still took inspiration from their power as I knew that everything needed a power source to move, change, or act on things. So, I read through stories and wondered if Cutie mark magic was the source."

Celestia nodded, "Yes, you would be correct in the sense. Though I myself do not know the full power. They do have a limit however,"

Glyph nodded, "All things do. But the amount of energy behind Cutie mark magic is enormous! My first iteration utilized only the Cutie mark magic to spin generators. Mark three was the first iteration to truly change that concept by having the energy spin crystals. I know the elements are made up of crystals, so I tried hundreds of types and formations to see if any would react to the energy of a cutie mark. After months of trying, I found a crystal combination, that grown from a synthetic chemical, would react to the energy much like unicorns' horn! Which made the energy efficiency between magic and electricity increase tenfold!"

The group was now surprised, "Why did you not tell the public?" Luna asked curiously, "Such a discovery would be a milestone in science!"

Celestia nodded.

Glyph, however, seemed to sink into the table, "Noah. He, well, blackmailed me. A while back there was an organization interested in my prosthetics and energy production. Their leader told me that they were the spearhead of the new age and they wanted me to be the spear's handle. I was cautious however, and looked into their company using private eyes and other resources. Something about them felt off…"

Celestia nodded, "I believe I know the group you are talking about: The Silver Swords?"

Glyph nodded, "Yeah, that's what they called themselves after they figured out some of my inventions. They lead in some of the Silver birds and took their prosthetics to reverse engineer. Though, they didn't have my harness and couldn't manipulate cutie mark energy the way I could."

"Manipulate? Why were you manipulating Cuite mark energy?" Twilight asked concerned.

Glyph lifted her leg, "My prosthetics channel Cutie mark energy the way normal limbs would. In that way, they can be controlled naturally. Cutie mark magic will eventually make its own pathways through pretty much any material given time. Though, the subject needs to believe that the lump of metal is their leg before the magic will grow into it. It's a lot easier for devices that aren't seen to be grown into I've found. Like an artificial liver, or gallbladder. Though the process would still take up to a year to do. So, I created the harness to help in the process of that. It would take the severed ends of the magic and guide it into whatever limb I'm working on. This would be only a guide, built on the hundreds of volunteers who donated scans. The magic then would normalize and personalize itself to the user. Though it was much easier since at that point the pony could move their limbs as if it was always there."

"So the Silver Swords tried to mimic your technology but couldn't mimic your control?" Rarity asked, "Why is that blackmail?"

Glyph's frown returned, "Because they tried to reverse engineer it. They forced ponies to succumb to experiments that often resulted in death. Brain connections were a common practice but it was new in the field. Nearly a hundred subjects died before the group got it right. Though they create new neural pathways to splice into the prosthetics; strong feedback could still kill whoever was using them."

Rarity frowned, "Yes, but you do not dictate other's actions dear."

"Sure, but because I refused to help them, they killed to get to their goals. Was it worth the lives for me to refuse to join their group?!"

"Why did you join their group then?"

"I found out later that they wanted to use my inventions on the military scale. To create a power surge to wipe all non-ponies from the face of the land. I didn't want any part in that."

"Then I doubt the ponies that died would have lived. Creatures of that personality often do not care for the lives below them unless it benefits their ultimate desires." Luna said, "Your choice did not condemn them to death."

"I could have saved them. I could have saved Fluttershy." Was the pony's response.

Twilight was starting to understand why Celestia had told the everypony that the inventor wasn't too popular anymore. She felt as if all her creations were being used for evil. Though there was a question that poked her mind, "You said that Noah blackmailed you, how? Was he a friend?"

Glyph nodded, "Yes, though more of a partner than a friend but me and him did get along pretty well."

"Until?"

"Until he saw that the Princesses trying to create friendly relationships with the other races. He saw them as, 'imperfect,' and wanted nothing to do with them. He suggested that we use my creations and some of his own to augment ourselves to a degree higher than the princesses. Then cast them down and take other their roles. He wanted to squash the other races to make sure pony kind was superior and not oppressed by anything. That's when we drifted apart. Fast. Though one day he came to me and told me about his knowledge of my interactions with the Silver Swords. He threatened to tell everypony that the reason those ponies died, was because I refused to help them. In exchange for his silence, he wanted me to stop all communications with the outside world. He wanted to use my inventions for himself. I gave him my schematics at the time but none more. I still invented things and was able to make the Cuite mark generator mark 3, among other things but thought nothing of what Noah was doing. It had been years since the unicorn had come to me to give his threat. Only now I know what he's been working on."

The group went silent, but Twilight's brain was ablaze. Any hidden doubts of Glyph were gone. She was an honest inventor trying to make inventions to help save the world. Noah was just a leech feeding off the poor pegasus.

"I must ask though," Celestia said, turning to Glyph, "Did you create the DPM?"

"The Defensive Plasma Manipulator? Yes, yes I did." The mare responded.

Twilight's head seemed to hit a speed bump.

"Why?"

"Well," The mare paused, choosing her words, "In the forest or other parts of Equestria, ponies sporting my equipment may have to defend themselves from hostile parties. Changelings, dragons, Ursa Minors, the list goes on and on. I thought while Unicorns have magic, what about the other ponies? Bucking and hoof to hoof don't always cut it. Especially if your opponent is a changeling with long-distance attacks. So I created the DPM as a defensive measure and trained all the ponies I gave it to."

"How did you power it?" Twilight asked curiously, "With a Cutie mark Generator?"

Glyph shook her head, "The Cuite mark Generator would need a large wagon of its own to be mobile. No, DPMs have a battery made up of crystal that can provide the user with a few shots. It can charge on its own through the user's passive cutie mark energy but it wasn't going to charge it in the heat of battle in time for it to be of use."

Pinkie raised her hoof to the air, "PFFFT, Uh, oh…"

"Exactly. Though I'm going to be honest, I did design a few more weapons but never built them."

"Like?" Celestia asked.

"Like the blade Fluttershy used on Applejack…" The sheepness had returned.

"Okay. But you never built it correct?"

"Yes and no. The original purpose was to be a scalpel. Or a blade that could cut through a downed tree." Glyph replied, holding up her fake leg. She focused on it for a second then a small blade appeared from her fetlock, aligning itself with her leg, "With this, you didn't need to carry around a set of surgical tools. Didn't need to worry about sanitation as badly and didn't have to worry about the blade staying sharp."

Twilight disappeared with a pop and reappeared next to the half mechanical pony, "May I take a look?"

Glyph nodded, "Sure, but do not touch the sides," she said sternly, "It slice through you like water."

"Is the top okay?" Twilight asked, staring at the light blue blade in curiosity.

Glyph nodded and held out her artificial leg.

Twilight sat down next to her and accepted the outstretched leg. The blade was slightly transparent and was the same shade of color as Fluttershy's blade. Just a lot smaller.

She looked up at the pony's face, "Can you change its appearance? Fluttershy's was much larger."

Glyph nodded, "Yes you can. I can't because of a power restriction. On command? Not really."

Twilight nodded and warped back to her spot at the table, she wrote on the scrolls a bit. She was starting to get a good picture of her friend's abilities.

"Did you create anymore?" Celestia asked, her stare was friendly and piercing at the same time.

Glyph nodded, "Yes, I did. Though none were put into any sort of production without my knowledge. Though the only ones who had any sort of access were me and Noah." She sighed then continued, "You've seen star pulse. That was part of a series of devices I call Dying star. This lineup was designed to use the full potential of the Cutie mark generator."

Twilight stared at the pony, "The ability to push mountains?"

Glyph nodded, "Yes. Though they are only plans on paper. Untested and I'm only able to prove their viability through mathematics."

Twilight smiled at the word. She would be very happy to look at those equations.

Though Glyph continued, "I also created a set of blasters that could fire at high rates by spinning. It couldn't create balls of plasma but tiny shots that pelted the target with tiny bits of energy."

Spike lit up, "Just like the gatling guns from issue 40?"

Glyph smiled and nodded, "Yes actually. I got direct inspiration from those things. Though the older version, not the newer one. The one with floating parts?"

Spike just seemed to grin, "I'm going to have to show you my collection later."

"As long as I can show you mine." Glyph said with a smile.

"Before I lose you both to the lure of comics," Luna said, closing her eyes, "I have a small test for you."

There was a pop and a medium-sized rock appeared on the table. It was not a special rock. Simple grey interrupted with tiny specks of darker shades.

"Can you cut this in half?" Luna asked, her challenge one of friendly intentions.

Glyph reached over with her normal leg and lifted up the rock. Then she pulled her other leg up and put the blade into the rock. The rock rotated with the pegasus's hoof magic and after a complete circle, lost its top. The blade on the pony's leg disappeared as she placed the severed rock on the table. The smile of pride was on the pony's face as the group was stunned to silence.

The rock's color did not change, yet, it was perfectly smooth on its top. The light shimmering off its not reflective surface.

It glowed blue as Rarity's magic gingerly picked it up and brought it close, "My word…" The pony started staring at the now smooth edge, "You'd make a fortune in the gem refining business."

Glyph smiled, "I was hesitant to give out this technology since its possible application to military technology," She frowned, "You saw what it did you Applejack."

Rarity nodded and saw Pinkie reaching out her hooves in a notion for the rock. Rarity nodded and placed the rock in her hooves for her to examine, "Wow. It's almost like you polished it!" She exclaimed, then passed the rock on.

Twilight was confused, and now realized that she wasn't restricted on her questions, "But cutting that requires energy! A lot! Not to mention the equal energy that you'd feel! How does that handle that?"

Glyph smiled, "It's super strong, and super thin. It has enough leverage to cut through the bonds with ease. The, 'kickback,' from the cut is absorbed by the blade itself and dissipated. If it were used to cut a lot, then it may fizzle a bit before returning to normal. But that depends on the energy put into it."

Twilight took in that knowledge and her brain found a connection, "Is that the same material that Fluttershy's shield is made out of?"

Glyph nodded, smiling, "Yes. That is probably one of my finest creations. It's quite a power hog that only uses power at an exponential level. The bigger it gets, the more power it needs."

"Okay, but what is it made of? It's incredibly tough. Not even a combined effort of me and Luna could dent it. Now I see it cutting through stone like it wasn't even there…"

"Not even my power form could shift it even a little bit," Luna stated, keeping her gaze on Glyph.

Twilight gave her mentor an inquisitive look, but she returned it with a smile, "Later Twilight. Let's let our friend answer."

Glyph paused, and Twilight could see the strive for information that she could feel. Though she bit her tongue and listened to Glyph.

"You know when you layer fabric together it can become stronger; harder to puncture with a needle?" Glyph asked, receiving a nod from the group.

"Indeed darling. One must be careful not poke their hoof when they stack too much." Rarity replied with a smile. Though her eyes seemed to be in a small memory of her own.

Glyph smiled, "Indeed. Benefits of a metal hoof though. Anyway," She continued, "My shield works the same way. Only it folds up the fabric of space so dense that solid objects can no longer go through it."

"Wouldn't that weaken the fabric of space around the shield?" Twilight asked in concern.

"It does," was the reply, "Though after the shield is released, the fabric will snap back into position. I stumbled onto this concept when I was trying to make a teleporter to help non-magic first responders get to a location quickly."

"Impressive," Luna said quietly, "Though did you succeed in your effort on making that teleporter?"

Glyph nodded with pride, "Yes in fact. Though it was a power hog. I quickly found that mimicking unicorn spells was possible. Though quite expensive in the power requirements. To put it into some perspective, I had to use the power of 20 lightning bolts to successfully teleport."

"20?!" Rainbow said, breaking her spell of silence as talk of the nerds had continued.

Glyph nodded, "Yes, but with a Cuite mark generator that wasn't a problem."

Twilight nodded, and made another note in her scrolls, "Okay. Do you know any weaknesses of that shield? Something that we can use to get around to Noah?"

Glyph frowned and paused in thought, "Yes," she said after a few moments, "The shield can only be broken by things that would normally break or tear the fabric of space. A strong enough teleportation spell could break it, though that would depend on the availability of power, and how many layers the shield has."

Twilight frowned, wondering if she'd be able to summon enough power to break the shield with said spell. Then found herself wondering if she would have better luck teleporting something else than her. She didn't want to find herself halfway in the shield.

"Though if you had another shield of the same type, it would just pass right through." Glyph said, disrupting her thoughts, "Say you were able to surround yourself in a shield bubble. Then you'd be able to pass through the shield but probably would lose your shield to the existing shield."

"So, I'd be inside the shield but unprotected?"

Glyph nodded, "Yes. Though if you had a bigger shield than her and walked towards her, I think that she'd lose her shield as she entered yours."

"Kinda like Endocytosis?"

Glyph paused at the comparison, "Yes. I suppose so."

Twilight took another note on her scroll. She'd probably also be trapped in the shield as well, since losing her shield probably meant she couldn't create a new one inside. The air grew quiet as the only sound was Twilight scribbling on her paper. Then she spoke, "Okay, I have a few more questions. First one. Did you know what Noah did to Fluttershy?"

Glyph frowned, "No. Though from seeing her prosthetics in action I'd assume he attached certain prosthetics to her. Mainly her front legs and maybe her wings. Then he added several dimension connections to a storage medium and the ability to change legs on a whim. And her hair was probably changed as well. Eyes most definitely, and possibly changes to her head? Add that to some sort of controlling mechanism and I think that's what he did to her."

Twilight nodded, "Okay. But when we were fixing Fluttershy's eye at Noah's place she got stuck in a painful memory. It took me to dive in a pull her out to release her from its grip. The memory was, gruesome." Twilight shuddered as her forelegs tingled in response.

"What happened?"

"Not much, but she was suspended in the air." She paused, "Come to think of it I think she was in the Harness. Though I'm not sure. She was crying at the time and I don't blame her. From her memory, I couldn't feel her front legs, nor a patch of the back of her head. Her tears made it impossible to see, but I vividly remember something pulling on her eye as if to pull it out."

Glyph's anger seemed to return, "So she was a perfectly healthy pony when she was changed? Is that safe to assume?"

Twilight nodded, "I would say so. Though this probably happened before we all met her, so we don't know."

"We may want to question her parents," Luna said to the group.

"Not right away. She normally lives alone so it would not impact them too much." Celestia replied, "I want a plan of action to help soothe any emotional distress that may occur. But I do agree with you sister."

Luna merely nodded.

Glyph sighed, but it carried an angry tone, "Though that emotional distress may be anger. According to what Twilight said, Fluttershy was changed while she was fully awake. So, she probably lived the experience of getting her limbs taken off, and replaced with metal ones. Anything that was changed on her insides were done while she was awake as well. You can't change massive amounts of a pony while they are asleep. The cutie mark magic simply won't seep in as fast."

The room seemed to heat up as the group collectively got angry.

"So, she was ripped apart slowly and put back together?" Rainbow asked, voice carefully controlled.

"If I have to assume, yes." Glyph replied with equal control in her voice.

"That little…" Applejack muttered.

"Meanie. No," Pinkie finished then said, "What's a stronger word for meanie?"

"There are many darling," Rarity responded, "Though they should not be said with others around."

Pinkie nodded but said nothing more.

Twilight reeled in her own anger and spoke, "Okay." She had to take another breath, "What about the containment protocol and the administrative processes?"

Glyph's anger dropped a bit, morphing to pride, "The containment protocol is a system of transporting ponies to a safe location without the need of so many wagons or caravans. It uses the cutie mark energy to compress the body into a tight sphere of energy, effectively shrinking them and halting any processes the body may be having. Poisoned? The containment would put a pause on the poison's effects till you'd be able to get care. It was also useful to get ponies out of say, a collapsed cave. Or a ruined building."

"Hmm, interesting. Though I was able to talk directly to Fluttershy." Celestia said, gaze again resting on Glyph.

The pegasus nodded, "I did make a system to be able to communicate with the ponies in the containment but it was limited to only words."

"Odd. I was able to see her. Interact with her as if she was in front of me."

Glyph's head tilted to the side, expression showing curiosity, "Really? What did it look like?"

"Well, it was as if we were placed in a large room. More of a cube really. Just a really long one with the sides missing. The walls seemed to twitch and bounced in partitioned sections as colors ran through the walls at random. Though when they turned red, I was imprisoned further by a ring of spikes. Fluttershy attempted to help, but she was blocked by a wall of fire. Then, a ball of energy zapped me. When it did," She paused, shuddering. Her forelegs and wings wrapping around her in a hug, "It felt as if something was pulling my insides out. Even now I'm still recovering from whatever happened. I feel rested, yet some part of me is still regenerating. What part? I'm not entirely sure but I believe part of my magic was stolen from me. Was that an intended feature?"

Glyph shook her head, "No. Not at all. Sure, your cutie mark magic could interact with Fluttershy's and they may have mixed slightly, causing the discomfort."

Celestia chuckled, "It wasn't discomfort. It was quite painful. Though when the bolt of energy hit Fluttershy, she didn't react at all. Though that was all she was able to do before she healed Applejack."

Luna looked at her sister, "How do you know that? You weren't able to see the outside world to see that, how are you able to sequence it so well?"

"Fluttershy was able to show me what she saw in a large, rectangle. Much like the Record and show spell."

Twilight smiled. She knew that spell. She used it to help Applejack's friend with her boss who was a jerk to her fans.

"That's interesting," Glyph said, "I didn't program that kind of thing into the MMO. Nor does it sound like Noah would do such a thing either."

"Really?"

Glyph nodded.

"Hmm, that's a bit odd since she said I was in her head," Celestia remarked.

"I guess that Noah has connected the prosthetics directly to her brain. That would make sense since he is able to control her."

"Hmm," Celestia didn't respond but thoughtfully hummed for a moment.

Twilight broke the silence, "Okay, that's the containment protocol. What about the administrative functions? That word is generally used for work hierarchy."

Glyph nodded, "Yes. Though the computer is like the building where the 'programs,' work and are run. Certain programs have higher needs and fewer restrictions when talking to other programs and devices. Those that control and essentially command the system are administrative programs. While looking at Fluttershy's computer there are two: my MMO and something called, ."

"Which one is more," She paused, "Powerful?"

Glyph frowned, "I'm not sure if that's what you're asking. I assume that my MMO is more powerful because I'm better at coding than Noah. He's always struggled with connecting programming to biological actions. Though in this case, it seems was in more control than my MMO. But it seems that the critical patient protocol can partly override it, judging on how Fluttershy was able to heal Applejack."

Applejack gently touched the patch on her chest, "Yeah, that was an interesting experience…"

Glyph smiled, "I hope it didn't hurt too bad."

The earth pony shook her head, "Not at all. It was a little uncomfortable, but bearable."

Glyph smiled in response.

Twilight however was thinking to herself, "It seems the MMO is something we can trust. Whatever is, I don't think Glyph trusts it. It sounds like it's the thing that is controlling her. Though, why now? Why out of the blue? Is there a way to shut it down?"

Would that be the way to save her friend?

Her thoughts dissolved as Rarity spoke, "Spike dear, do you mind explaining your experience?"

Spike frowned, "Well, after I was caught by the claw she had. I was taken through some sort of blue, thing. It felt like the mirror to Canterlot high."

Twilight nodded, "Sounds like the dimension connector…"

Glyph nodded.

Spike continued, "Yes, after I was on the other side though, I was surprised. I was taken into a much larger room. The claw I was in was, in a sort of merry-go-round. It was rotated to the top and was picked up by another claw."

"Did you get a look around?" Twilight asked, trying to create a mental picture.

Spike nodded, "Yeah. It was a very big room. No lights, except for blinking dots. And a large glowing blue tube in the center of the room. Behind that was another tube with several glowing circles with a plate of sorts on the front. Besides that, I didn't see much before I was in another room of sorts. The claw released me and I was deposited into another tube. From there a mask was put on me." The dragon paused, shivering. Rarity reached over and put a hoof around the dragon's shoulder.

The dragon shivered as if he was cold, "Then it felt like the fire was being ripped out of me."

Twilight frowned, that's exactly what had happened. Her wandering gaze then rested on Glyph. Though her expression was that of confusion and annoyance, "That is not something I created. From the code, you were placed in a containment cell. That I did make. That was made to quarantine things, ponies, or creatures. Though, it confuses me since that is also a system the size of a wagon, often bigger."

"So this pocket dimension, is huge." Twilight thought. Calculations of energy were running automatically through her mind. It was a staggering amount of energy… She watched Rarity embrace Spike in a hug, to which the dragon smiled.

"Okay, last thing." She looked back at Glyph, "Fluttershy said that her lance had bits of Dark stone in it to make it immune to magic. Do you know about that?"

Glyph frowned, "Yeah. Not in that exact way but yes. It's a similar concept to how the harness can manipulate cuite mark energy. Though that process is through special crystals that are similar to the elements. It would make sense for Dark stone to fulfill that role as well. Was it immune to all magic?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, though it seemed to be able to be controlled."

"Controlled? Like turned on and off?"

Twilight nodded.

"Hmmm. Then I guess that it was wired through some sort of cutie mark tunnel. If the stone was forced to accept cutie mark energy then it may be possible to control its effects through changing energy levels. That or Dark stone has that natural ability to block certain frequencies of magic depending on how energized it is. It's unenergized state blocking all frequencies."

Twilight smiled, enjoying the answer. She would very much like to pick Glyph's mind. She might be able to do that when she asked her about her cutie mark generator. Though for the moment, she returned to her scrolls. She had touched all the points she wanted to. She looked through her scrolls and took a breath, "Okay," She said drawing the attention of the room to her, "So Fluttershy has prosthetics that were repurposed from search and rescue for some sort of military use. She has two programs in her head that are arguing for power, which depends on the situation our friend finds herself in. She has to have the Cutie Mark generator since she uses devices that consume a ton of power. Furthermore, she has a massive pocket dimension in which she can store organic and non-organic materials. Anything else I missed?"

Rainbow nodded, "She also has the crazy ability to heal and has a near-impenetrable shield that she can summon seemingly out of nowhere. She's also immune to magic."

Twilight nodded.

"She also has had some close calls in killing, some, of us…" The party pony added but the sentence fell halfway through.

"That doesn't sound right ta say." Applejack said plainly.

Twilight nodded with the rest of the group, "Well, since there is technically another Fluttershy, why don't we give it a name? That way we can say that the other her is doing all those bad things." She said, avoiding certain words.

Pinkie nodded, "Oooh! A naming game… Um, what about Flutterbot? Robotic Flutters? Robotto of Kindness! ROK for short. Uh, Future flutter? Oh, wait! Shyborg!" Her pose held among the other poses she made when suggesting every name.

The group nodded, liking the name but she continued.

"Oh wait, no. I feel that name is taken." Pinkie's pose fell as she put a hoof to her cheek, "Yeah. Definitely taken. Though I'm getting dark vibes from the me in that dimension." She shivered, emphasizing her point further.

Twilight smiled as the group gave her a knowing smile. Though they waited for her to continue. Yet, it was Glyph who spoke, "What about Flutterbyte?"

"Flutterbite? She doesn't bite ponies, does she?" Pinkie said, turning to the pegasus.

Glyph smiled and shook her head, "Not that I know of. No, I'm referring to the byte in computers. It stands for either on, or off; one or zero. It's spelled with a y."

"Ooh, I like it!" Pinkie raising her hoof to the air, "All in favor for Flutterbyte raise your hoof!"

The group raised their hooves, not able to offer another name, not only that but it stuck.

Twilight then spoke, "Okay, so how do we stop Flutterbyte from controlling Fluttershy? Glyph? Thoughts?"

"Hold on Twilight," Celestia said, "We need to know of her captor's plans first. That may give us an idea of exactly what we are up against."

Luna nodded, "Agreed, but I feel it is time I told you about my dream walk last night."

"Did you talk to Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked eagerly, asking the question on everypony's mind.

Luna nodded, "Yes, if only for a time. Yet, her dream worries me. It's not something I've ever seen before." She paused and closed her eyes, "I entered her dream to see a forest, draped in almost perfect shadow. Visibility was low, though, the trees were clearly visible." Her eyes opened, "They were made up of condensed ash, with internal workings of metal, and gears. Their movements seemed to move the grey earth around as they went. I was able to find her by her shouting but I found her trapped in claws of shadow. The ground crumbled beneath her and she fell into darkness. I was able to follow her, and with some dream magic, was able to save her. Though, ethereal beings seemed to speak to us even as I protected her with my shield of dreams…"

"What did they say?" Twilight asked in a whisper.

Luna closed her eyes again, "Power, limbo, alicorn, gems, element, host. That's what they said, in that order."

"Anything else?"

Luna shook her head, "No. I forced the dream into another more calming shape so I could talk to her. From her, I gather she is at a place with medieval-style brick layouts, same style torches, and that she got the Cutie Mark Generator mark 3. Though she didn't know what that meant." She said, ending to look at Glyph.

The pegasus was visibly confused however, "How? I came up with that after I closed off contact with Noah…" She looked down towards the exit of the throne room, "Did he bug my computer?"

"Bug your computer?" Twilight asked.

Glyph nodded, but her voice sounded distant, "Yeah. Basically, it allows him to access my computer from another platform. Have I been this stupid this whole time?"

"You said the mark three was an upgrade from your previous models, correct?" Celestia asked gently.

Glyph nodded, "Yes, it can make it seem the devices connected use only a tenth of the power. Yet, in reality, it just has that much more power to give. Though there is a weakness in this model, along with my other models."

Twilight perked her ears and brought a scroll close to write.

"It can only handle one cutie mark magic at a time. If you were to have two types of cutie mark energy in the same generator, it would generate way more than any system could handle. Effectively, frying the system till it did an emergency lockdown. This would continue to drain energy until it was viable to restart the generator."

Twilight paused her quill, "So if we were to somehow infect her with our cutie mark energy then it would cause the generator to overload? Rendering her prosthetics useless?"

Glyph nodded, "Yes. But it's like the lightning bolt I used earlier. It won't be comfortable at all. This even more so as her cutie mark magic pulled and twisted into tight shapes. It would be very painful…"

Twilight looked at the pegasus and put a line through that idea on her paper. She then pondered what the dream had said to Luna and Fluttershy, "Maybe he's trying to banish the alicorns to Limbo? So, he can gain control of the Elements of Harmony?"

"No Twilight, you are a Bearer. That and the elements choose their bearers." Celestia said thoughtfully, "Though I think he is trying to harness the power of alicorns. He might have stolen some magic from me through our friend. Though I'm unsure."

Luna nodded, "He seemed to be set of capturing Twilight and me," She added.

The group nodded but Rarity spoke, "Then why take Spike?"

Celestia pondered that for a moment, "Spike has a portion of Twilight's magic and may be attached to his fire. Noah may be after that."

"Though why would he be after Alicorn magic?" Rainbow asked, thoughtful then added, "Actually don't answer that…"

Pinkie smiled, "Yeah, it's not like the magic can move the sun, the moon, and create its own rainbows of harmony."

Rainbow chuckled.

Though Twilight's face went pale, her ears falling back on the back of her skull, "What about Cadence?"

Celestia's face also went pale, the back of Twilight's mind remarked on that fact, but she forced it away.

Cadence felt her wings like lifeless pieces of paper draped along her sides and part of them rested on the floor. The rest of her form was flopped on the floor as she filled her ever seemingly empty lungs. She looked up at Starlight Glimmer, who wasn't as worn out as she was. Her smile was broken only by her medium breathing.

"I'm really bad, aren't I?" Cadence said in between breaths.

Starlight chuckled, "No. Honestly, you are doing better than me!" She said gesturing around the room they were in. It was a simple square room in the castle. The walls were made up of a cool blue crystal. Though these walls were covered in blue crystal spires that erupted in random points. Splinters of blue crystals littered the ground in a fine powder.

"Really?" Cadence said lifting herself up to the window. It magically opened at her command and she stuck her head out of the window.

Starlight nodded with a laugh, "Yes!" She cleared a small area with her magic and sat down, "Honestly you can control this stuff much better than I can!"

Cadence smiled seeing her words. But she was trying to stall, "Wasn't Twilight going to be here?" Her lungs protested at her words. She frowned and focused on filling her lungs.

Starlight smiled, "What? Am I not good enough?"

Cadence laughed, "You know what I mean. It's just not normal for her to be late." She looked out the window. It wasn't normal for her to not tell her either.

Starlight frowned, "Yes, I do suppose you're right. Though with the map sending them off to friendship missions I'm not too surprised."

Cadence nodded, "Though I'd thought she'd have more time since her school is off for the week."

Starlight's face followed her frown, "Hmm, yeah. That's right."

Cadence shook her head. Ponyville was quite exotic. She wasn't too worried, her fellow alicorn had seen quite a bit. She was sure if anything happened her friend would be able to take care of it.

She watched as Starlight lit her horn and the crystal shards again rose up and formed into a life-sized dummy. Its glossy eyes staring her in the face. Instead of fear though, she merely groaned.

Starlight gave her an understanding smile, "I know but if you rest for too long your magic won't be pushed hard enough to grow!"

"Bleh," was the only response the alicorn could muster. Though she lifted herself up from the window and faced the dummy, "What am I doing?"

Starlight gave her a thoughtful look, "Let's try a crystal sword."

Cadence nodded and took a step with only one of her hoofs. She lit her horn and focused her magic into the ground below. She pulled on it and it stretched as if it was taffy. Slowly, but surely, it formed into a light blue sword. The hilt remained stuck in the ground, however. She took in a heavy breath and collapsed on the floor. She sucked in air as fast as she let it out. Starlight took a step forward to help but she shook her head. Slowly she got her hooves under her. Then with the same pace, she grasped the hilt with her teeth. Channeling a bit more magic, she separated the hilt from the floor and fully extended her legs. She emptied her lungs and spun forward with an attack that some of the guards had shown her. The result was a decapitated dummy.

She smiled with the blade in her mouth and looked at Starlight. She returned the smile and lit her own horn. The floor under her shimmered as it also extended upwards. Though it formed into a small dagger. Starlight released her magic with a huff, the small dagger failing to the ground like a singular domino. It levitated upwards in the unicorn's magical grasp and was launched into the flank of the crystal dummy.

"See?" She said with a huff, "Even in your tired state you are able to form a large sword! I can only summon a dagger and I'm not so tired!"

Cadence smiled and let the sword drop from her mouth, letting it clatter to the ground, "What's next?"

"How about the simple blockades?"

"Waves?"

Starlight shrugged and lit her horn, "Sure!" She launched a sparkling projectile at the alicorn. It landed on her shoulder, sending an electrical jolt through her pink coat and a yelp through her mouth.

"Eek! Hey!" The alicorn shrieked. Though she gave the unicorn a competitive smile, "Oh it's on now!"

Starlight frowned, not expecting this but sent another sparkling bolt her direction.

"No pony hits me with a cheap shot and gets away with it," Cadence thought as she went for her magic again. The ground in front of her jumped upward as if it was made of a liquid. It jumped from her two o'clock and went to her 11 o'clock as a wave would. Yet, it didn't splash on her left side but became part of the floor again. Starlight sent another, but Cadence summoned another wave to block it.

She smiled, determination filling her soul. Starlight's face was incredulous. Though she continued to fire her sparkling projectiles, taking a few steps back as she did so.

"I thought you were tired!" Her exclamation fell on deaf ears as Cadence was focusing on something else.

Cadence slowly advanced towards the unicorn, blocking as she went. Though she felt the floor with her magic just around Starlight. She made it rise around her friend's legs and made it wrap around her fetlocks. Once in place, she made it solidify and the unicorn's steps stopped.

"Cadence?" Starlight asked warily.

Though Cadence was right next to Starlight at this point. Her horn was already was lit, so she summoned a sparkling projectile of her own. She guided it into Starlight's shoulder where it disappeared with a small pop.

"Eeek!" Starlight shrieked as a small charge traveled through her coat.

Cadence smiled triumphantly, "That was a cheap shot." Her voice wasn't filled with anger, but playful competition.

Starlight's face filled with relief, "Oh good. I thought you were mad at me."

Cadence smiled and focused on Starlight's hooves and again commanded the floor to release her. Though she noticed that it took more energy the longer it took. Though she was able to release her before she again noticed her lungs demanded air.

Starlight watched her heavy breathing and gave her a confused glance, "You blocked like, 15 shots. Then did a small crystal prison on me. You didn't show any sign of tiredness till now. What happened? Is it harder to release the prison?"

Cadence responded when her lungs allowed her to, "No, I don't think so. I just, forgot I was tired…"

"Huh? How do you forget you're tired?"

Cadence chuckled, "I don't know. But I was so determined to shock you that, it just, well, became irrelevant."

Starlight laughed, "Goodness, Celestia was right! This magic really did come naturally to you. You started out—"

"Sounding constipated?"

Any other words Starlight had died in her laughter.

Cadence chuckled herself, thinking back to when she started out. She had been just staring at the floor grunting. Starlight was the first to make the floor move. She frowned, remembering combing through the books Shining had found. No, the ones Flurry had found.

She had been playing in the throne room when she destroyed a portion of the wall. In the crater was a small space of black crystal. Celestia had helped remove the dark crystal, only to find books describing the magic to make the crystal.

It was a long-lost art that very few ponies were able to master. When Sombra had come to power, it seemed he got rid of the rest of the Crystal users. Somehow, Celestia suggested that she try to learn it. Twilight had been beside herself, but was stuck in a planning meeting that had been planned months in advance.

She looked at Starlight who was trying to do the, "wave block," the book had called it. The ground jumped a bit, rising a few centimeters off the ground. It was puny in comparison to her own waves. Though the experience had made her smile.

Starlight was first, but it seemed that it was easier for herself to manipulate the crystal. Though her magical stores were not like the unicorns. Hers was much smaller and took a bit longer to regenerate. Only if she had exercised her magic more, she might have been able to hold it longer. Though, why did she forget she was tired?

"Okay. I think it's time for lunch." Starlight said, letting out her held breath.

Cadence smiled, "Agreed. Do you want to join me, Shining, and Flurry? We should have plenty."

Starlight smiled, "As good as that sounds, I do want to taste the culture if you will. I don't get to go to the Crystal Empire often so I would love to see what's out there!"

Cadence chuckled, "It's quite different that's for sure." She walked to the window and motioned for her to follow, "See that building over there?" She said, pointing to a large blue building in the distance, "That's Growling Crystal. They've got quite an option of delicacies that do have a decent kick. Over there," She pointed to another building, this one flat, "That's Flattened Growths. While the name sounds odd, they've got some hay burgers that Twilight is very fond of."

Starlight nodded, "Awesome. I'll definitely check those out. Though, I'm just going to follow my nose."

"It's one of the best ways!" Cadence said with a smile, "When do you want to meet back together?"

"How about, a half hour or so after mid-day?"

Cadence nodded, "Sounds good. Have fun out there! Also, beware of the crystalized treats. Those are meant for dragons. Spike to be specific."

"Really? That's really cool!" Starlight said, and the two headed out of the room gently closing the door behind them.

Cadence turned back and made sure the sign was still up.

Do not enter! Ancient magic is being practiced. Please knock first!

She then said her goodbyes to Starlight and joined Flurry and Shining in the mess hall to catch up and enjoy some lunch. She surprised the two by making crystal silverware.

"Wow! That's incredible! A day and a half and you already can craft like the ancient times!" Shining said, watching their foal move the objects around, seemingly mesmerized.

Cadence chuckled, "Yes. Though it's quite tiring at the moment but I hope to improve."

Shining nodded, "Things take time to master. Though I'm sure it won't take too much time."

"Thanks hun, though I think it's time to eat." She said with a smile.

"Ha, alright," He turned to the foal, who was now parading her new fork through the air, "What do you want to eat?"

The words perked her attention, and she materialized next to her mother still clutching the light blue fork.

Fluttershy felt another bump go through her as she sat on the train. Their ride in the black wagon ended at Rainbow falls to which they had transferred to the train.

A few ponies had asked her about Noah and why they were here. Though they didn't ask too many questions when she told them she was on a friendship mission. The little square had gone yellow when a foal had asked where she was going. Though she had just responded with, "Wherever the map needs me to."

That seemed to satisfy the foal without her telling her destination, which she still didn't know where she was going. Though the foal had kept her mind busy by asking all sorts of questions.

What was her favorite animal?

Do lots of things happen in Ponyville?

What's the scariest moment you've ever had?

The list seemed to go on and on. Though that really didn't bother her. She was willing to open up and talk since she was able to move on her own. That and the further the conversation stayed away from the purpose of her travels the better.

Eventually, the foal and her mother got off at a station. Though the destination wasn't truly known to her, a small town was within view.

The train ride continued in silence however, only a few more ponies on the train.

The weather outside began to become snowy and it was as if some pony had forgotten some snow one day and was trying to make up for it. Though, it seemed to get worse the further the train continued.

Eventually, the train stopped, shortly after the speaker spoke its tired words, "Crystal empire. If this is your exit, please disembark now. Also, please be wary of the snow. The empire has expanded its reach to the station, but some snow and ice can still get through this far out."

The Crystal Empire? What were they doing here? Her thoughts were mixing around in her head as she followed Noah off the train, formulating ideas of why they were there. She watched him talk to some of the ponies that also got off at this stop. His pleasant conversations seemed to hide any of his true personality. He even helped steady the elderly pony with his magic when they hit an ice patch. She too helped a little foal who was uncomfortable on the slippery object. His mother too loaded with bags and such to offer a hoof. As the group reached the empire and passed through some guards they separated into differing groups. The mother and foal heading to the hotels, the elderly pony to the market, but Noah seemed to be heading right for the castle.

Starlight was enjoying herself. A bit too much in fact. She had already had a decent-sized lunch and had a sweet delicacy floating next to her. A bite-sized chunk was missing from it while she was deciding whether she liked it.

Her tongue immediately said yes, though the texture took a moment for equal effect. She guessed it was the sugar crystals that hadn't dissolved quite yet. Though when it did, she took another bite and waited for another moment in heaven.

She passed another shop and couldn't resist buying another sweet, this one of a frozen kind. It was blocky in nature but had spiraling colors that seemed to move towards the top. She took a bite and was hit with a sensation of colors and tastes. All in a decent harmony that prodded her to take another bite.

She mixed the two sweets and found the combination wasn't as good as them separately, so she focused on her popsicle first. Or was it an ice cream bar? She didn't know nor care.

She continued to walk down the market and noticed the time. She'd better start heading back. It would be a decent ten minutes before she'd reach the castle again. She frowned as she found her cold treat to be gone. Though she found small writing on the stick.

Edible stick! Please do not throw away!

She gave the stick a wary glance, remembering Cadence's warning. She shrugged and gently bit down. It snapped and she was left with a sugary chunk of blue raspberry flavored crystal. She let it dissolve in her mouth and found the stick to be gone quite quickly.

She turned back to her floating pastry and was surprised to see a familiar pegasus almost hidden by her treat. She lowered it and saw indeed a pink-haired pegasus walking with a much darker unicorn. His suit-like attire followed a strict black and red palette.

"Hey Fluttershy!" She called out but regretted it when she saw the pony nearly jump out of her skin.

She teleported over and when the pegasus saw who had called her, she calmed down.

"Goodness Starlight. You scared me." The timid pegasus said gently.

"Sorry!" The unicorn said, "I completely forgot about your timidness. Not that there is anything wrong with that."

Fluttershy merely smiled, "It's alright. Though, how are you doing with Cadence and the crystal magic?"

"Crystal magic?" The unicorn following Fluttershy asked curiously. His voice was mellow and was comfortable to listen to.

She turned to him, "Yep. Cadence found an ancient text that teaches ponies about a nearly forgotten magic that is natural to the Empire."

"Yeah, I'm familiar with it," The pony said, "Though the technique was lost when Sombra took over."

Starlight gave him an impressed look, "Wow! You're quite informed!"

Noah gave her a smile, "Knowledge is power right?"

"You got that right," She turned to Fluttershy, "Who's your friend?"

She paused for a moment, "His name is Todd. He's here to help out with a friendship mission."

"What? A friendship mission here at the Crystal Empire? Ooh, I'm jealous!"

"Why?"

"Look!" She said, floating her pastry near, "This food is amazing! The crystal ponies' culture is awesome and don't get me started on the trinkets!" The unicorn had added some pep in her step which made it look like she was almost bouncing. "I'd be overjoyed to be sent here! It sounds like fun!" Now the pony was bouncing similarly to the pink party pony, though after a few bounces she instantly regretted it. She paused groaning.

"You okay?" Fluttershy asked walking back to her.

"Ugh, I don't know how Pinkie does it," Starlight muttered feeling her insides twitch, "Yeah, I'm good." She gently started to walk again as the nausea passed.

"Too much to eat?" The pegasus asked in her normally quiet voice.

Starlight laughed, "Yeah. I guess I couldn't choose just one place to eat at." Then she paused, "Wait, how did you know?"

The pegasus gave her a confused look, "It happens to my critter friends all the time. They eat way too much and then get sick when they run around. I try to portion out their food but they sometimes find more in the forest."

"Oh, that makes sense." Starlight said, feeling very transparent, "Well, where are you heading?"

Fluttershy paused, then gave her another confused look, "Uh, Starlight? The map summoned you and me to the mission. Twilight said that she sent a letter ahead, did you not get it?"

Starlight shook her head, "No. I haven't gotten a letter from her at all." She looked at her Cutie mark, "I also didn't feel the map's summons but if it's me and you, then let's do it!" She looked at Todd, "What's he here to help with?"

"He knows a place that has a bit of contention. It might be a good place to look for the problem."

"Where?"

Fluttershy pointed to the castle ahead with her wing, "The castle, right?"

Todd nodded, "Yes, last I was there, there was a heated contention in the kitchen. It seemed to grow to the point where Cadence had to be called to fix it."

Starlight nodded, "Okay, why did the map call us then? Was it a pet problem that magically got pulled into the kitchen to destroy the pots?"

"I'm not sure why the map called you two." The other unicorn said flatly behind her.

"I know! That's the fun part! You have no idea what's going to happen till it hits you right in the face!" She dramatically motioned her pastry in a sort of sword slicing action, then took another bite.

Then a low grumble accompanied them walking. Starlight turned to her friend and saw she was blushing bright red.

"Sorry, I didn't get much to eat when I got called." She apologized in her special quiet way.

Starlight smiled and summoned another pastry she had been saving in her pocket dimension. She floated it over to Fluttershy who looked at her with concern.

"No problem! I've got a spare. Though I'd let it melt in your mouth before you swallow." Starlight said with a big smile.

The pegasus left it as she looked at Todd, "Go ahead. I was able to eat plenty."

Fluttershy gave Starlight a warm smile and accepted the pastry with her wing. She continued walking while looking at it but didn't quite take a bite.

"Well?" Starlight asked, before taking another bite.

"What is it?" Fluttershy gently asked, curiosity in her voice matching her volume.

Starlight paused, then shrugged. She swallowed then said, "I'm not sure but it's delicious."

Fluttershy smiled, slowly took a bite, and took Starlight's advice. Though after a few seconds her face lit up.

"See? Delicious."

Fluttershy merely nodded and took another bite.

Cadence was back in the room she and Starlight had been practicing. Her stomach was now satisfied, and she felt much better after an hour's nap. Though, she had been waiting for Starlight for about fifteen minutes.

Though she wasn't worried. Outsiders found the culture and treats quite a spectacle. She was sure the pony had lost track of time. She also didn't mind pushing the practice a bit. Her mind groaned with the thoughts of moving crystal again.

Though it stopped when she felt a tug on her magic. She went to the window and pushed it open. She scanned the air for the source.

"Ah, there it is," She thought as a little green whisp of magic came into view. She took a step back and allowed the wisp to enter the window. She felt her magic swell as the wisp curled together in a ball. Then, with a small pop, it turned into a scroll. She caught it with her magic and paused. In front of the scroll was Twilight's wax seal. A dark purple background with her cutie mark stamped out in its colors. It was a magic trick she wanted to mimic though crystal traditions had stopped her.

Though now she was staring at the words on either side of the seal.

Open immediately!

It was in hastily written font with a bright red color.

She blinked and opened the scroll. It was Twilight's horn writing for sure, but it was written with great haste.

Dear Princess Cadence,

The past day has revealed quite a few events and details to me and my friends. I will go into detail with the second page. Though it is imperative that you know about Fluttershy.

She's been corrupted.

She apparently has been an electromagical creation by the hooves of Noah. He's a tan unicorn that had a black and red attire. He was last seen with a black amulet with a small red gem inside. The gem was shattered last I saw him but he may have replaced it. He used Fluttershy to steal magic from Celestia and tried to do the same with Luna, Spike, and me. Though we are unsure why he did so.

We conclude that he is after Alicorn magic since he attacked us mainly. Which leads me to you. We don't know if he will be after your magic since you are an Alicorn. Though it's only been about a day since we've found out, he used a portal to escape and could be anywhere in Equestria. We don't know if he will come or not but better safe than sorry.

If he or Fluttershy shows up, be wary of her hair. Yes, her hair. It seems to be able to move and extend far past her scalp. If it catches you, it will glow blue and the process to steal your magic will occur. It's a little more complicated than that but it is described in more detail on the second page.

Do not let that happen! We do not know what his end game is.

Please reply to this letter to know he hasn't already gotten you. If you do not reply I will come myself with my friends.

The letter ended without a signature though she could tell from the writing it was Twilight. She felt her face scrunch up in a frown. Though she fished the other page and read through it carefully.

Her thoughts only became more befuddled.

Fluttershy. A timid and shy pegasus was able to best three Alicorns almost at the same time? She had shields, swords, hoof blades, moving hair, was able to capture ponies with something called containment protocol, had strength that could rival Applejack, and had speed that could rival Rainbow Dash.

Was this the same pony she was accustomed to? The nature-loving pegasus that got terrified if her shadow was in front of her?

She again read through the pages and saw something else.

She was magic-proof! The alicorn frowned in annoyance and frustration. How the hay was she going to defend herself?

She took a deep breath, "Okay. Relax. You've got to think straight."

Starlight was here with her and was sure to have some good ideas. That and she had her new crystal magic to try. The pegasus may be immune to magic, but she could probably grow crystal around her, right?

She nodded and hoped that she wouldn't have the opportunity to try. She found herself though still trying to think of a way to stop her corrupted friend without actually hurting her. Not that she probably could anyway.

She could go for Noah. While a powerful unicorn, she and Starlight might be able to overpower him. Though she'd have to remove Fluttershy for that to work. Twilight had mentioned the machine within her seemed to protect him at powerful efficiency.

The crystal prison! That technique was able to envelop its opponents in a crystal and seal them from outside magical attacks and could take quite the beating before it let its victim out. It also kept them alive, unlike the crystal coffin. Cadence felt herself reviewing the spell in her mind. She had studied it in great detail in hopes to master it.

She found that there was a spell similar to it that likely stemmed off from this technique but this wasn't just a bolt of magic. This was actively using magic to form a prison. She hoped that it would be able to work even with the mare's new magic immunity.

Okay, she had a plan. A barebones one that Starlight could help her with. She closed her eyes and summoned a scroll from her pocket. She hastily wrote a reply and walked to the window to send it, but the scroll didn't ignite as she completely lost focus on her spell.

With Twilight's warning, she was now super aware of the color pink and yellow. She now saw them everywhere. Buildings, different ponies, and various shops. Though approaching her castle was a group of three ponies.

Starlight was one of them, seemingly oblivious to the situation.

A tan unicorn, matching Twilight's description to the letter, accompanied them.

The Element of Kindness was also approaching the castle. She seemingly looked normal and if she didn't receive Twilight's warning, she wouldn't have known nothing was amiss.

She found herself staring but snapped back her head when she saw the pegasus look up.

Her reply fell to the ground now forgotten. The crystal shards in her flank, however, were not.

"Ow…" She muttered as she pulled them off with her magic. She guessed that Noah would use Starlight to lead them right to her. Then she'd be a sitting duck.

What if she went to them instead? She could use her new magic to melt through the castle, appearing above them. That might give her an advantage since she doubted that anypony would suspect she would do such a thing.

She took a nervous breath, "Okay. Just melt through the floor and trap Fluttershy. Then, send her a good distance away. Then I can fight Noah. If I can take him down Fluttershy may not be an issue anymore. I hope."

Wait, what about Starlight? She would surely be upset with her friend being trapped. Her eyes fell on Twilight's letter. She scooped it up in her magic and rushed out the door. She hoped that Starlight was a fast reader.

"Well, I was supposed to be with the Princess about a half-hour ago." Starlight replied to Fluttershy's question, "I could probably take you to her. We were going to meet to continue the magic."

Fluttershy nodded with a smile, "That's okay. I don't want to come over and not say hello! But if she is busy, I'd understand."

"Nah it'll be okay. We've been really doing well with the magic so a little—"

Starlight stopped when she saw Fluttershy's head snap upwards. She looked upwards at the bottom of the castle. There was a hole forming in the roof.

"Wha?" Was all she was able to say before the pink Princess fell through the hole. She was holding a scroll with a very determined look on her face. Her face tightened more as Starlight felt familiar magic emit from the pink alicorn. Her horn beginning to spark with power.

It was crystal magic! What was she doing? She watched the Princess drop, her form in a full dive. Her hair fluttering wildly in the process.

Starlight jumped as a sharp crack shattered the air. She looked at Fluttershy only to find her with crystals growing on her hooves. The crack had happened because the pony had pulled one of her trapped legs with enough force to break the blue material. Though even as she watched, tendrils of crystal wrapped themselves around her. Eventually, the entire floor rose up as a sentient blob encasing her in what looked to be a Crystal prison. She read about the spell in the books Cadence had found and was surprised to see it in action. Though her marvel was overshadowed by anger and confusion. She whipped her head upwards in time to see Cadence flare her wings. Her velocity slowed but she landed close with enough force to make the ground crack. The force also cracked the base of the prison, causing it to go up a few inches. Cadence then took the opportunity to spin around buck the prison. Her glowing hooves collided and with a sharp, ping, Fluttershy was sent outside the boundaries of the castle. Starlight didn't watch the chunk fall to the ground though. She knew her friend would be alright due to the nature of the spell. Though she wasn't very happy.

"What the hay is wrong with you?!" She shouted at the Alicorn mere hoof lengths from her, "That was my friend you know!" She took a step forward, careful to balance on the cracks around her.

"Read this," Cadence said in reply, shoving the now unfurled scroll in her face.

She growled and pushed it away, "No! Yo—"

"Read it!" Cadence shouted, her alicorn voice tinting her voice with the powerful command. She didn't use the full voice but didn't need to. Starlight grumbled and lifted the scroll. She would like to keep her hearing.

Cadence on the other hoof turned towards Todd, "Drop your façade, Noah. You want my magic so bad? Come and get it!" Her words were accompanied by a bolt of magic, "I won't let you get away with what you did to the Element of Kindness!"

The bolt was easily deflected by a black shield, however, though the alicorn charged forward. The other unicorn sent other bolts of magic but were blocked by Cadence's waves of crystal. She summoned a crystal blade from the ground and got close enough to Noah to swing at him. The unicorn dodged, then summoned a magical blade to block another strike.

By this time Starlight had read Twilight's warning and skimmed through the rest of the letter. She chuckled and sent the paper into her pocket dimension. She turned towards Todd with an evil glare, "So, You're Noah huh?" She summoned her magic and let it thread into the surrounding area, giving off an eerie glow. Small pebbles and crystal splinters also began to float in this field of magic, "Let's see what you're made of!" She let a powerful beam of magic loose at Noah. Cadence ducked out of the way, allowing a clear path to the unicorn. Though it was blocked by a black shield. She frowned, feeling the magic barrier, and began to attune her magic to the shield. It began to turn blue as she felt it thread through. Though she felt the connection disappear as something blocked her magic. She let it fade and saw a yellow pegasus standing in the way, seemingly unharmed.

Her eyes were naturally wide and seemed to stare through her soul, exposing everything that she had ever done. She watched the pony take a defensive stance and stare at her.

Was this really Fluttershy?

Cadence growled at the appearance of the Element. Normally she'd be happy to talk to the timid pony. Yet, this time she was not able to talk back. She took in a breath and channeled energy into the crystal. It ate it and began to grow according to her will. She shaped it into a circle around the yellow pony and snapped it upwards to create a dome. The shimmering dome appearing in a few seconds. Once that was done, she charged forward.

She had made the walls of the dome several inches thick hoping it would hold to the pegasus's increased strength. She waved her sword again, following tedious lessons from Shining that she was now grateful for. Lessons seemed to play themselves as she ducked and weaved around attacks, pushing her sword through any opening she could. Though she was reaching for her magic this time, pulling again at the magical spells she had just recently learned.

Small tendrils of crystal began to grow around Noah's hooves and Cadence directed them to wrap around the unicorn's legs. If he couldn't move this would be an easy fight. Though her attempts resulted in the crystals fragmenting upon touching the unicorn. The pieces showing a black change in color, if slight.

"You're not the only one to know crystal manipulation," Noah said flatly and swung his sword. She blocked it and retaliated, only to have to step back to avoid another hit. Light blue energy whizzed by her ear, racing towards Noah. Though it was blocked with a shield, she took the opportunity to stab at his shoulder. The shield still blocked her sword, however, and she again dodged another blow. Her flank hit the dome she had made, and she had to dive to the left to avoid another swipe from Noah.

She glanced towards the dome she had made, seeing Fluttershy smash against the dome's walls. She frowned, realizing she might not have a lot of time. So, she stomped her hoof down and summoned a shield of her own. It was a simple shield that resembled her husband's cutie mark.

Though her attention was diverted to the dome again, as Fluttershy smashed the wall to bits, filling the air with sharp splinters. Luckily, she didn't break out towards her and Noah, but rather towards the heart. The pieces bouncing harmlessly off the crystal object.

Cadence growled and quickened her attacks, wanting to get in as much as she could before Fluttershy could cover him. Though she faltered when Noah started to glow blue and red. She turned to Starlight, who seemed to have him in a magical grasp. In her mouth was a crystal weapon of her own, a small crystal dagger. She was taking slow steps towards Noah, seemingly putting much of her focus into holding Noah. Cadence quickly turned back to Noah and swung again, only for Noah's blade to defend him. Though she spun her shield around her and smacked the magic sword as hard as she could. It shattered to bits and she quickly swung her blue sword. It was intercepted by a small crystal dagger that Noah pulled from the ground, narrowly saving his neck. She growled and accepted the stalemate as the two blades locked together. She pushed on the blade, feeling the unicorn's strength waiver.

She smiled, "I have you now…"

Noah returned the smile, "Do you?"

The question caught her off guard since she was obviously stronger, well, at least physically. Her alicorn strength akin to an Earth pony's. She braced her hooves against her sword and began to win the tug of war. Why was he so confident? Then it hit her.

Where was Fluttershy?

"The heart!" Starlight cried, and the blue glow surrounding Noah vanished. Cadence dared a looked behind her to see Fluttershy rushing towards the heart. Though Starlight disappeared with a small pop. Fluttershy slid to the left evading the appearing Starlight. Her attempt to tackle the pony catching air. She disappeared with another pop and appeared near the heart. She reached for the relic, presumably to take it away for safekeeping, but was yanked backward by Fluttershy's pink hair that had already been next to her.

"Na! No!" Starlight said, again disappearing. She appeared a little bit away to the left, charged, and magically threw her dagger at Fluttershy. She jumped and disappeared.

Her dagger flew so close to Fluttershy that it narrowly missed her eye making the pegasus, pause as she was reaching for the relic. Though the blade was caught in her hair and redirected at the Crystal heart. Starlight appeared in that same area, grabbed the heart, and disappeared again taking the blade with her.

Fluttershy paused and looked around, then her vision seemed to lock as she stared off into the distance. A ring around her middle opened up to reveal another ring that was made up of several different types of boxes. Wires and other tiny boxes accompanied the bigger ones. Though visibility was removed as they began to spin, and then with a whirling pop, her form shrunk into nothing. The only thing that was left was a very familiar flash of light.

"She can teleport?!" Cadence thought before a sharp crack returned her attention to the unicorn she was facing. Her blade was beginning to crack as it turned to a black crystal. She frowned as it shattered, but she pushed herself out of harm's way with her wings. She lifted her shield as a torrent of spells were sent her way. Each leaving a thud on her shield. Though she realized what the spells were for as her shield cracked and began to change color.

It shattered leaving her with chunks of blue and black crystal. She threw them at Noah and summoned another blade. She jumped into the air as Noah deflected the projectiles and tried to slam down on the pony. Though the unicorn hastily teleported at the last second, leaving the ground in his place. Her sword sunk right into the ground leaving only the hilt visible. She growled and left it, summoning a new one in its place. She turned back towards the now visible unicorn and charged forward, using her wings to give her speed.

Her attack was parried but she moved it faster than it could be corrupted and attacked again. She reached out to the floor and summoned another blade, allowing her attacks to be simultaneous. She summoned more, standing a safe distance away. She remained wary though, she didn't want a spell to end their battle. Yet, the unicorn seemed able to deflect all the attacks and even managed to destroy a few. Though she was rewarded when a sword nicked his ear.

She smiled but frowned when she saw multiple floating blades start to deflect her attacks.

"Finally." He said and looked behind her.

She paused and looked behind her, allowing her magic to maintain the attack.

Starlight was tangled in a mess of pink hair and left to struggle in the air. Her previously summoned dagger was now in her leg, skimming the star's corner a bit. The entrance wound left a trail of blood that dripped to the floor. Cadence also saw her face, revealing exactly how much pain she was in.

Though what worried her the most, was the crystal heart that was on Fluttershy's back. It was held in place by four prongs that seemed to come from her back. Despite it seemingly coming out of her leg's attachment points, they moved just fine. She was in a battle stance with her wings flared outwards.

Noah's smile only widened, "Now. One wrong move and the Crystal heart shatters."

Cadence froze, "You'd condemn a civilization to ice and snow?" The blades froze in their paths.

Noah shrugged, "I do not care if it is covered in a hundred feet of solid ice. It will not affect the thing I'm after."

"Halt!" Cadence heard her husband shout. At that cue, she saw the royal guard land around the castle's perimeter. They hoisted spears and aimed them in their direction.

"No! Wait!" She shouted, her alicorn voice coming out. She looked at Shining and pointed towards the Crystal heart, now in the grip of Fluttershy, "If we don't listen, he'll destroy the heart!"

The guards all shot the mare angry looks. Though it was Shining who spoke, "Fluttershy? Why do you threaten the safety of this Empire?"

Cadence sharply shook her head, "Not Fluttershy. Flutterbyte. He corrupted her and is in control." She said, pointing an accusing hoof at the unicorn, not in front of her.

"I do not care what you call her but yes. She is correct. Now, if you do not give me what I want then you'll have to worry about your precious Empire buried." Noah said threateningly.

Cadence frowned. Could Fluttershy muster the strength to shatter the heart? Her foal had done it, though that was a case of crazy baby magic. She looked towards the dome that had trapped Fluttershy in. Its hole show casing the strength of Flutterbyte, Fluttershy's evil twin.

"Okay. I yield. What do you want me to do?" Cadence asked, allowing her blades to melt into the floor.

"We are going to the throne room." Came the short reply, "Though, if any pony tries anything. She will shatter the heart. She does not have to worry about the cold like you all do."

"I promise to follow your wishes as long as you replace the heart. We can't have it removed from the pedestal for long." Cadence pledged, watching the blades return to Fluttershy's wings. If it was uncomfortable, the staring eyes did not show it.

"There will be no need for that," Noah said.

Fluttershy, as if on a silent cue, reached over and put a few hairs on the pedestal. One on the top, one on the bottom. The heart on her back began to glow while the whole apparatus followed suit.

Cadence frowned at the sight. How had she been able to interface with the Heart's home? Enough to still have it in her grasp yet still do its job. She turned back towards Noah and gave him a wary glare. He was obviously a well-educated opponent. She would have to be incredibly careful.

"Lead the way, Princess. Just know that she doesn't have to hear me to break the heart." Noah said with an evil grin as he tapped the gem in his necklace.

Cadence gave him a dark look, then looked at her husband, "Keep this area sanctioned off, I don't want any more surprises." He gave her a quick nod.

Cadence then led the alicorn through the crystal hallways and to the throne room. It was a spacious if straightforward room. It was decorated with large windows but had most of the decoration at the throne. A nest of crystals protected the back of the chair with a few large crystals stealing most of the spotlight. The simple, yet comfortable chair was a simple black with an embroidered white edge.

"Here we are," Cadence said flatly, not caring to give her voice emotion. Noah nodded and stepped forward. His horn glowed but changed to a black glow as she watched. Green auras popped around the unicorn's horn as he focused. Black aura seemed to leak from his eyes before her own.

Dark alicorn magic? How?!

Cadence watched the black bolt fly to the tallest crystal behind the throne. Cadence frowned as the shadow revealed the underground staircase draped in shadow.

She looked down, then at the unicorn, "Are you going to the bottom?"

Noah nodded and walked to the staircase.

"May I?" She asked, extending her wings and lighting her horn.

Noah shook his head and began to walk down the stairs, "No."

"Okay? Then what am I doing?"

"Following," Noah said which caused the alicorn to frown, her facial features seemingly becoming more affected by gravity. Though she jumped to the stairs, landing next to the unicorn, and followed him down.

Starlight was crying, though not audibly. Simple tears were running down her hair-covered cheeks as waves of pain swept through her. It being caused by the crystal dagger embedded into her back leg, going right through her muscles and going a decent way into the bone beneath.

She swallowed, her sense of touch concentrated on the injured leg as her blood leaked from the wound. It wasn't bleeding as badly as before as it had started to heal. Though it wasn't healing as well as it needed to. That and she needed some medical attention.

Though her attempts to light her horn were blocked by the hair wrapped around the projection from her forehead. She twitched as a fresh wave of pain flowed through her. She blinked as more tears came to her eyes. She had tried to get away from Fluttershy's hair but moving only caused her pain beyond anything she had felt. She could only hold her position in the air. Thankfully there was something holding her up so she just went limp. This helped the pain a bit but didn't make it go away.

She frowned thinking about what exactly had happened. She had thrown her blade then teleported to the heart. She grabbed it and teleported away. She knew that the heart could be removed for about two minutes before the shield went down. She didn't know that her knife had been aboard the teleport. She just warped out with all thoughts evaporated. She grimaced and managed to get the heart in her grip and found the melee weapon in her leg. She then heard a pop behind her and Fluttershy was there! Right next to her!

Her shock was able to give her power over her pain and managed to teleport again. This time she teleported to Cadence's bedroom. She tried to get her breath but Fluttershy appeared with a pop again! This time her horn was entangled with the magic-proof hair. Her pain was only escalated as she was trapped. She then felt the pegasus teleport and she was at the base of the castle again. Noah took Cadence away and now she could only wait for Noah before anything could be done about her wound.

She twitched again. Though this pain wave lasted longer as she was lowered. She instantly began to complain, her pain causing her to try to stop her movements. She tried to say words but they disappeared in garbled grunts and gasps.

"Stop! You're going to hurt yourself more!"

Fluttershy's voice?

"Fluttershy?" Starlight asked, looking up at the pegasus as she was now on the floor. Bright green eyes met hers. Her eyes were bleary with tears of pain.

She nodded, "Yes. I think I can patch you up. It let me heal Applejack and I think it's letting me heal you now."

"What?"

"Just hold still." She said slowly, her words conveying an uncertain command, "Please don't teleport away. I really don't want to have this, thing, chase you down to kill you…"

"Okay…" She said. What was the thing she was talking about? She let the thought fade as she felt something attach to the back of her neck, just at the base of her skull. Immediately, she felt something touch her magic, then, her pain vanished. She sighed in relief and felt her body relax.

"That's better…" Starlight said, craning her neck to look at her flank. Though she was surprised to see Fluttershy with two navy blue legs. They were covered in small little boxes that shifted around in an unknown pattern. Hairs from her head seemed to clean up the wound, pulling away clotted blood while pulsing blue. The boxes stopped moving, and three prongs extended from her leg. They went to the blade stuck in her side and held the wound open with gentle pressure. Starlight could now see the pink flesh underneath, but it was immediately covered by flowing blood. More hairs came down somehow stopped the bleeding with pulsing energy and a puff of smoke.

Cauterization maybe? Shouldn't she feel that? Then again there was a blade in her leg which should be causing her great pain. Though, it had stopped.

The blade was then gripped by the hair and was pulled out. That she did feel, but didn't feel the pain she was expecting. She just felt the blade resist the motion since it was stuck in her bone, though it gave after a moment or two. It was placed on the floor and Starlight was able to see a triangular indent in a white material that she assumed was her bone. How was she so relaxed? She felt her curiosity rise about the device on the back of her neck. She was definitely interested but she did not dare even touch it.

She instead watched the box extend along another prong and fill the dent with a white fluid. It hardened and remained a slightly different color. The prong retracted to let more hair and prongs in. With a whirr they moved around the wound in pre-planned paths, each object not hitting another. She watched as a thin transparent layer was created below the prongs covering the base of the wound. Her amazement only grew as she watched her muscles be reknitted together. Tiny little bundles seemed to be created by the moving devices. Nerves came next rebuilt while tiny little tubes were created from the leg and connected blood vessels together. Her sense of touch was fascinated as she could feel the layers build and grow. She couldn't move them it seemed but wasn't disappointed. The wound's depth shrunk as the prongs finished the muscles and remaining vessels. Over the top came a thin layer of lilac-colored skin.

The prongs were retracted back into the leg and a large rectangular device was deployed from the leg. It reminded her of an envelope. This envelope emitted a blue glow as Fluttershy put the device close to her now closed wound. The device began to hum as she slowly moved the device down. She shivered as she felt tiny little snowflakes stick to her skin. Or, at least she thought it was snowflakes. When she looked at the wound it was covered in a clear crystalline patch.

"Okay, so that's a Precautionary wound patch. It'll protect your injury for a while, but it will come off on its own. Just so you know, it may be a bit uncomfortable since it's on a primary moving part. Though that will only last for a few days. Aside from that, movement should be normal." She paused, "Any questions?"

Starlight paused admiring the patch. Though she could see her skin through the patch. It was whole. The only issue was the missing part of her cutie mark and fur but she was sure that would grow back, "Yeah, how did you do that?"

The pony put her navy-colored hooves together, "I'm not sure. I just let the MMO do its thing. Though something about printing new muscles, reconnecting blood vessels with temporary templates, reconnecting nerves, and cutie mark energy. Though again, I'm really not sure…"

"Printing?" Starlight gave the mare a smile, "You can, 'print,' muscles?"

"I guess?" The pegasus responded, her face unsure.

"Hmm, I meant that more of a joke. Printing is usually a spell to copy writing to a scroll but you can actually print muscles?"

The pegasus looked shy, "I don't know Starlight. It just told me it was, 'printing new muscles.' I don't know what that means."

Starlight looked at her flank again, "Well whatever it is, I thank you. Though are you okay? With this change and all?"

Fluttershy frowned, "I'm really not sure. I think I'm okay? I've just been this way for as long as I can remember." She paused, "I just didn't know it."

Starlight kept the silence for a moment, pondering what it would feel like to suddenly find out you're made up of metal and other foreign parts. What would she say? Act? Think?

"Any other questions?" Fluttershy asked, though her voice sounded hopeful…

Starlight frowned, taking the hint, "What's Noah's plan? Do you know?"

Fluttershy frowned, "I don't know. All I know is I'm the King in his game of chess."

"The King? Not the Queen?"

The pegasus chuckled, "Weird, I know." She paused, looking into space. Then her eyes widened, "Wait! Something to do with the al—" She stopped short, seemingly choking on air, "co—" was all she got out as she stiffened, and half fell to the floor.

"Wait! What? Al-what?"

Though she did not answer. Instead, she looked up, her eyes now red, and stared blankly at Starlight. They blinked yellow twice and her head swiveled around to look at the castle above her. Then, without a word, removed the heart from her back and placed it on the pedestal. Its glow not being interrupted.

Then, Starlight felt the pegasus's hair recede and return to her head. Starlight watched the pony as she headed to the castle's entrance and thought about chasing her. Though she decided against it, and let the pony disappear into the castle. The guards around them unsure of what they should do.

Once she was sure the pony couldn't see her, she immediately pulled a scroll from her pocket and hastily wrote.

She's here. Come to the castle's base as soon as you can!

With that, she rolled it up and sent it to Spike. He'd get it to Twilight and she hoped the group would be able to help take care of Noah and his strings on Fluttershy. She herself then sat down and lit her horn. If she and Twilight could connect teleporting energies then they could teleport the whole group here. She extended her energy out, careful to avoid the castle. Twilight would feel it. She just had to wait.

Cadence's legs felt very much like gelatin when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked upwards and hoped that the unicorn would allow her to fly back up.

She did not want to walk back up to them.

Though at the bottom was a small room with a small door. She saw it move to the other side of their location, taunting them to try and open it. Twilight had told her of her adventures down in the depths of the castle. She knew she needed to use pure magic to get the door to open correctly but did Noah know that?

She lit her horn and reached for the dark magic Celestia had taught her. She had given her a strong warning as the magic was quite corruptive. Though since she lived in the Empire, she could find remnants of the dark king. So, she was shallowly versed in the magic. Though when it came to larger objects, she normally called on Celestia to help shatter the black crystals.

"No. That won't be necessary." Noah said, staring at the floor at the bottom of the stairs, "Do not use your magic without my permission. You know what will happen if you do."

Cadence swallowed and banished the magic from her mind, "Sorry." She stated.

Though Noah didn't seem to take her words, rather, he lit his own horn in the same magic she was told not to use. Though instead of the door, he directed it at the floor.

With a crack, the floor cracked and slid away, revealing more stairs; much to Cadence's dismay. Though she was delighted to see the stairs only went one floor down into a similar room as above.

Though unlike the room above it tapered at one side and morphed into a long hallway. The dark crystal seemed to stretch on forever till it was too small for her to fit into. Cadence gave it a wary look.

Noah however lit his horn, red this time, and directed some of his energy towards the gaping tunnel. The air shimmered and seemed to fluctuate till the hallway looked how it should. This time she could actually see the end.

"The problem with dark magic is it's easy to detect its use if you are versed in its ways." Celestia's voice echoed in her mind, "Though at that point it will corrupt your mind if you aren't equally balanced with lighter forms of magic." Cadence had received that answer when she asked Celestia for some dark magic lessons. She had wanted to make sure that any hidden dark magic could be erased. Though Celestia only taught her a little, just enough to recognize it sent at her.

She followed Noah as he walked into the hallway. Was he experienced enough in the dark arts to see the effects Celestia was talking about? She looked about the taller hallway. It was lined along the walls with half-hidden pillars with plain tops anchored into the ceiling. Though they were hidden, they still ate up most of the hallway, barely letting the ponies walk through side by side.

"Get in cover," Noah said sternly and ducked behind a pillar to his right. She mimicked his motions and dove left.

She gave Noah a look, trying to understand what exactly they were doing. Though the thoughts only became more urgent as she heard the clinking of several hundred crystals, light tapping against one another. The air furthermore reverberated with growling.

She felt her skin go pale with her mind wandering. What exactly was making that noise? She scanned her mind for anything, but it could be anything from the crystal empire. Many creatures had crystal growths on them that could make the sound filling her ears. She started to inch forward to get a glimpse when she saw Noah vigorously shake his head. She retreated with a frown. She then looked at the ceiling, an idea forming in her head.

She again looked at Noah and pointed at her horn. Noah frowned and didn't respond immediately. Then he nodded, giving her a stern look and pointing at his necklace.

She nodded. She wasn't going to attack him anyway. The pony had shown some prowess and it was with the assistance of Starlight she was able to get the upper hoof. She instead directed her crystal magic to the ceiling, and carefully molded it into a mirror. Then, ever so slowly, pushed it downwards and gave it a slight tilt. Then, the mirror suddenly turned a dark purple as whatever was guarding the way forward reflected in its surface.

It was two wolf-like creatures. It heavily reminded her of a Timber wolf, only this one was made up of pure crystal. Lines of tiny toothpick-like crystals made up the creature's cloak and hung limply. Though it moved with every movement the creature made. Which in turn created the sound that she was so used to. Her eyes fell on the creature's maw and found it was filled with razor-sharp crystal appendages. She wouldn't call the jagged edges teeth, but rather, daggers. She very dearly did not want to alert the creatures of their presence.

The familiar sound of sniffing filled the air. She watched tensely as the wolves slowly advanced towards their position.

Noah caught her attention and made an imaginary sphere with his hooves. He gave her a questioning glance.

Cadence frowned and looked at the mirror again. They were frighteningly close. She raised both her forelegs and gave a glance at each of them before resting her gaze on the unicorn. He looked at the mirror and gave his left leg a bounce.

She again lit her horn and turned to the mirror. She assumed that the unicorn wanted her to trap one of the creatures using a Crystal prison. She gently filled her lungs and focused her magic on the left wolf in the mirror. She gently summoned the crystal vines to wrap around the back legs. Though, before the crystal was even able to grow, the wolves barked and jumped forward with a growl. She abandoned all stealth and quickly ensnarled the creature in the blue crystal. The concentration made her eyes close, however, and she opened them to see the other creature mid lunge. She could see into the creature's maw and gently moved her head away from the spikes that had narrowly missed her. She gave the creature an inquisitive look before looking at Noah. The creature was hovering in the air, suspended by the unicorn's magic. Then, with a sharp, crack, the wolf fragmented then shattered. The pieces reduced to sugar-like portions.

A snarl made her tense into a battle stance. The wolf she had captured was wiggling through the prison-like it was made up of hardened gelatin. Though Noah shattered it with his magic before it could get free.

What was that spell? It was familiar, very familiar for some reason.

"What was that spell?" She asked, pushing some of the crystal dust around.

Noah shrugged, "It did not have a name in the transcripts I found but it disassembles magical crystal dolls."

Cadence paused, "Wait. Like the crystal magic dolls? Those were dolls?"

Noah nodded, "Yes. They are masked a bit with dark magic but they are still just dolls."

Cadence nodded, "Alright. Then I should be able to help if any more come. I'm familiar with that spell."

Noah nodded and continued down the hallway.

Cadence followed and was tempted to try a technique that allowed her senses to travel along crystal. Though she thought about the wolves' reaction to her magic. The creature had immediately rushed her. So, it was safe to assume to the creatures could feel her crystal magic. Is that why Noah told her not to use her magic?

Noah again slid behind a pillar. Cadence followed suit, narrowly avoiding a dozen crystal spines that were sent her way. She pulled one out of her hair and admired the dark semi-translucent object. So, they were dealing with wolves that had the skins of porcupines. Great.

"I think they know we are here," Noah said as the pillars were pelted with dozens of spines.

Cadence nodded, and created another mirror in the ceiling. Three wolves were attacking this time.

Two were in the back, continuing to send volleys of crystals while one was slinking forward.

"Can you make a wall and separate them?" Noah asked carelessly.

Cadence frowned and reached for her magic again. She was half tempted to just surround herself with the crystal and leave Noah to the wolves. But she knew that even if he was overwhelmed, he could have Flutterbyte destroy the heart. And that's if he couldn't take on the three attackers all on his own. Was Noah's defeat worth the potential lives of the Crystal Empire? She frowned, she just couldn't gamble her subjects like that. She just didn't know what he could do.

So she focused her magic behind the advancing wolf and ripped up a flat wall behind it. It was immediately covered with cracks as the spines covered its surface. It held though.

"Done!" She said with difficulty. She was feeling the effects of manipulating the crystal magic.

Noah nodded and peeked out with a glowing horn. The wolf froze, then after a few moments, was reduced to sugar cubes.

Cadence looked at what remained of the doll. Thinking back to what the transcripts had talked about them. They were essentially sculptures that were given the ability to move through crystal magic. Though it was only possible with physical touch to dismantle or create them. It seemed that unicorns were able to extend that manipulation through their magic, if they were able to master the manipulation at all.

Her thoughts shattered as the wall she had created also shattered. Two wolves leaped through the mist and debris at the two ponies. The one going for Noah froze in its place, enveloped in a red glow.

Cadence, however, stared into the unblinking eyes. It seemed death stared her in the face as she was able to admire the razor-sharp teeth. Her entire body tensed, and she felt a surge of energy come from her being. Her face tightened as she felt her body move on its own.

She didn't let the wolf land from its charge but rather charged herself. With a war cry leaving her, she planted her horn in the wolf's chest, lifting the two several meters into the air. It didn't make a sound of pain nor make any indication that it could in fact feel pain. Rather, it swung a paw at her as she let magic flow through her horn. The wolf doll began to crack even as the paw hit her neck. Though it shattered on contact, the wolf following suit moments later. She landed on the ground, her face a determined look. She then sneezed as some of the dust fell off of her horn and entered her lungs.

She shook her head and frowned, "Great. Got magical doll bits up my nose…"

Noah didn't say anything but rather continued. Cadence followed as well. Her curiosity peaked when she saw the hallway continue. Every now and again Noah would stop her to use dark magic on the floor. She assumed that he was disarming traps or such. Though she was getting curious about exactly how large the castle actually was. Or were they below the castle in unknown halls and such? Perhaps another dimension? She watched the hallway become wider only to shrink again further down. She felt her insides squirm. Something did not feel right. Why would the hallway widen only to shrink again?

She gazed around the room as the two ponies walked into it. There were no adjacent hallways. No crystal wolves, or any other sort of magical doll. The floor was solid, and it didn't give beneath her hooves. So, it wasn't a pressure plate. Cadence frowned as her body screamed at her in fear.

Her fears were suddenly revealed as she felt the floor shake. She felt instinct take hold and she lifted Noah with her magic and jumped back. The motion narrowly allowing her to avoid the spires growing out of the floor. She released the unicorn and looked towards the floor, she could feel something moving beneath the surface.

"Below us!" She shouted and flared her wings. Her magic was unsettled, it felt odd and different. Yet, it felt more connected to her being, filling her with renewed energy.

Noah gave the alicorn an angry look, but it faded when the floor shattered just ahead of the spires. Then, with a low thud, a large golem jumped from the shattered floor. It was like the wolves they had previously encountered, it was a deep shade of purple. Though it was holding an immense black club that seemed to have more spikes than quills on a porcupine. Its crystalline depths swallowing all light it touched. The golem wasn't much different, its purple depths also pulling in light. This material was more transparent, yet the black crystal walls not giving it much effect. It landed next to the two ponies, causing large cracks to scatter along the surface.

The golem was silent. Its etched face was unmoving as it turned its whole head to face the two intruders. Its arm lifting the club in an obvious motion. Cadence frowned and felt her magic weaving into the doll dispersion spell that Noah had used earlier.

The two ponies jumped back as the club hit the spot they were moments ago. The spines on the club shattering and causing a wave of crystal shards to head in their direction. It was blocked by magical shields while the shards bounced harmlessly off the golem.

"Don't waste your magic. It's way too big. Head back into the hallway." Noah said tapping twice on his necklace.

Cadence felt the magic protesting its sudden stop, but her horror was in the forefront of her mind, "What did I do? Why would—"

"Your kingdom will be fine. I'm just calling her here," He paused as the golem again brought its weapon down onto the floor. It shattered, leaving a large chunk of the floor devastated. He continued, "Though just because she is here, doesn't mean I can't destroy the heart."

Cadence pulled the building spell back into her body, much to her body's protest, then followed the unicorn. She wanted to fight the unicorn's words but there was so much that she didn't know about Electromagical devices. She saw a pegasus teleport, moving hair, and a strength to shatter crystal. From a formally shy pony. She had heard that the pony originally had great strength from Twilight. Though, whatever had happened to the pony was not natural. So how could she counter Noah's words?

She dodged a blow from the sentient statue and followed Noah into the much smaller hallway. The golem was not able to follow, its size much too large for the hallway. Rather, it tried to bash in the supporting walls. Its efforts slowly widening the hallway.

The two ponies retreated further into the hallway, hiding behind the pillars as they did before. Cadence merely watched as she waited for Fluttershy to come. She was curious about what the pegasus was going to do, especially against such an opponent. Though her hopes or expectations were not high as she watched a large chunk of the ceiling come loose and clatter to the ground. The golem stopped its pounding and attempted to grab the piece of the fallen roof. It did so with little difficulty. Then it pulled it out and sent it back in as if it was bowling. Which was kind of true she recognized as she watched the chunk bounce off the pillars. It stopped a little bit down the hallway, creating little clouds of shattered crystal as it went.

She returned her attention to golem as it had stopped its attempts at getting into the hallway. Rather, it returned to its hole and smashed the ground. It shattered into large, jagged chunks of crystal. It then grabbed a few and returned to the hallway. Cadence and Noah had to make them as small as possible behind the pillars to avoid the bouncing projectiles. Cadence made the mistake of leaning on the pillar when it was struck. It had sent a shockwave through her that made her insides jolt. It was a mistake she would not make again.

Though amid the sound of crystal on crystal she heard the familiar sound of flapping wings. It was quite fast. She turned to the entrance and saw the yellow pegasus come into view. Noah caught her attention with fast, sharp signals, but they were not aimed at her.

Rather, Fluttershy was the recipient. Cadence watched the pony make a, "X," with his legs and then pointed at the golem still throwing projectiles. Cadence watched the pony's eyes turn red in response. Then, her side opened. She watched a whole section of the pony's side slid away to reveal a glowing blue aura that had tiny ridges. From those tiny ridges came a tiny little spear, just the length of the pony's supposed ribcage. It then extended with a small twang to form into a very familiar lance.

Though she didn't get a chance to look at it as it was sent the golem's way. In a blink of an eye, the golem's head shattered as the lance went through it. Though it didn't seem to deter the creature at all. It didn't even pause throwing another chunk of crystal. Cadence hastily withdrew behind the pillar. But heard the crash sounding much, much farther than she expected. She popped back out to see the pegasus's wings with glowing green crystals embedded in between the feathers. The shield Twilight had mentioned blossomed into existence.

The golem dropped its ammunition and another club grew from its hand, its previous one forgotten. It raised it as Fluttershy charged forward, her face showing a blank expression devoid of fear. Something the Princess was not accustomed to.

Though she heard another crack, and watched the golem's arm fall off in a myriad of cracks and splinters. The club it had been holding clattering to the ground as well, sending parts of its spiny nature in many directions. Though she wasn't worried about the shards, she was more curious of Fluttershy's actions. Her charge ended with a jump that landed her on the golem's chest. She then crouched and leapt off, completing a backflip before landing on all fours.

From where the pegasus had landed, were four little circles, all pink in color. They seemed to be made of crystal as well. The shield bubbled forward and extended over Fluttershy. Then, quite suddenly, the golem disappeared in a flash of light as the little circles seemed to explode. The shockwave and debris bouncing harmlessly off the translucent shield. Though she noticed that the sound had been sorely muffled. She mainly felt the explosion from her hooves as the shockwave traveled beneath them.

She watched the shield dissipate, letting a multitude of smells and heat wash over her. The hallway didn't have much in it, so the debris cloud settled quickly. What remained of the golem was an artistic design of spikes and chunks in the opposing wall and hallway. Some parts were massive, others the width of a hair. It gave the walls a sort of organic appearance and she cursed her mind as she subconsciously tried to find a face in the uneven wreckage.

"Beautiful," Noah said, and continued down the hallway.

Cadence couldn't find her voice box as she followed the unicorn. Though she couldn't help but jump as the lance from earlier flew back to Fluttershy of its own accord. She noticed that the lance had been in the remnants of the golem's arm. It was probably the reason the arm exploded earlier. The floating lance then shrunk and was accepted back into the pegasus's ribcage. Once whole again, the pony jumped forward and lead the group through the wreaked hallway. Cadence followed meekly, admiring the massive chunks the golem had been reduced to. Some were spears the length of her body. Others were merely haphazard cubes of crystal bigger than her.

Though the remnants quickly cleared as they continued down the hallway. Though, the hallway was again filled with clicking crystal as crystal snakes fell from the pillars above, just in front of them. They were huge dolls, seemingly able to snack on a pony only to want more.

Though they only got to move for a moment as Fluttershy raised a hoof towards them. Her whole leg seemed to emit a ghostly blue aura, then sent it forward. Almost immediately the green shield was placed in front of them, blocking their path further. Though, for a good reason.

The snakes suddenly shot backward, hit by a light blue aura traveling at intense speeds. The crystal snakes simply shattered on the spot, their remains shot into adjacent walls. Some pieces managed to stick into the walls but most shattered further as they couldn't handle the speed of impact. The shield dissipated after a few moments, the attackers now thoroughly gone.

Cadence felt her mouth go dry. What was that? She gave the pegasus another look. What had Noah done to Fluttershy? Would she be able to see the gentle pony again?

"Not much farther I believe," Noah said, stepping forward. Fluttershy followed suit and Cadence noticed that the heart was no longer on the pony's back.

She hesitantly followed, tempted to turn tail and run back the way they came. Though she remembered the unicorn's warning. Even if she were to run, she would most defiantly be caught. Starlight's experience told her that. After that, her kingdom would suffer. She was sure everypony could evacuate before the kingdom was buried but only more problems would spawn. Ponies would lose almost everything they had and knew. Where would they go?

She just couldn't risk it.

She instead continued down the hallway, though stopped as Noah paused. He looked to the right side of the continuing hallway and lit his horn in the dark magic. The wall fizzled and revealed more stairs. Cadence merely frowned. Though these stairs were only a single set, leading into a small, circular room.

In the wall opposite of the stairs was a floating crystal.

It was small, just big enough to fit in an amulet of some kind. It was red but the light seemed to get lost in the gem's depths. Making it seem much more ominous than it really should. Though it was also in several hundred bits, floating in the air. Yet, even broken, it still made her uneasy.

"Yes! I was correct in my research!" Noah said, stepping forward. Though he paused and again lit his horn in the evil magic. He closed his eyes and the floor seemed to glow with a black aura, black lightning dancing in certain areas. After a few moments, the floor returned to a normal black brilliance she was used to. It was then he stepped off the stairs and got close to the gem. After a few moments of gawking the unicorn summoned a magic chalk and started to scribbled rings of magical signs and runes. Cadence was lost after the first ring but it looked like a funnel for magic. She could see hints of an amplifying array, but the rest made little to no sense to her eyes.

She was hesitant to ask and was content to remain silent in case she said something that offended her captor. She instead watched with interest, giving Fluttershy an occasional glance. Though she thought about the injured unicorn way above them. Was she okay? Fluttershy was down here so she was sure that her husband and the guards could help.

While she was pondering, Noah finished the major rings around the gem. Each set of rings seemed intrinsically connected to two smaller circles. They were just the distance apart for a pony to place both their hooves in without any strain. Cadence frowned as she suppressed her question and watched Noah start another ring. Though this was much simpler. Just a single ring with a little bit of mystic writing along the inner side. A large M was drawn that was it. She looked at this one with renewed interest. What was that for? She'd never seen anything like it.

"Come on down you two. We will have a guest shortly." Noah said, making the two ponies come off the staircase. Cadence did so with no hurry, her curiosity, fear, and anger growing. She stood next to the yellow pegasus who was still staring into lands unknown. But she looked at Noah as he spoke.

"Be ready. He may come kicking and screaming. He can not escape this room, understand?"

Fluttershy nodded and took a fighting stance. Cadence also took a stance of her own, ready to summon a crystal blade at a moment's notice.

"Stand down Princess, you will need to save your strength. Fluttershy will be plenty." Noah said, then drew a line across the letter in the simple ring.

Cadence did what she was told, for the sake of her kingdom. Though, she watched the unicorn draw a horizontal line through the ring. It began to glow with a familiar magical glow. Then, where the line and the center of the letter connected, grew a familiar black crystal. It rose from the ground, growing in size and stature. Her expression tightened; what was Noah doing?

The crystal emitted a vortex of black shadow, seemingly real enough to touch. It solidified together till it was just above the crystal. Then, a single green eye opened in the cloud of another worldly essence. The eye was leaking a purple aura and was accompanied by a very familiar red horn that filled her with dread.

The cloud melted away to reveal the evil King. Though the dark unicorn was not facing her, she could still see the side of him. His cloak covered his cutie mark with flowing red silk that sported a fluffy white trim. The pure white was only broken by specks of black along the whole thing. A metal neck piece covered almost the bottom portion of his neck, leaving only a small section remaining. Around his head was a simple crown with symmetric horns on either side and a winged spike that followed the orientation of his horn. His mane was like a shadow, flowing to and fro in a random pattern. His short tail followed the same patterns, but her attention was on his teeth.

Sharp fangs filled the smile as the ancient king spoke, "Did you summon me with ignorance? Or perhaps, foolishness?"

Noah chuckled, "Purpose actually. One doesn't fall upon your spell by chance. It took me years to find it and more to understand it."

"Oh? And you are sure you know the purpose of this spell?" Sombra said, his voice flowing like a dark miasma, but also a like a thick blanket. Though that was broken when the king realized where he was.

"How dare you break into my castle and attempt to steal my things." The king said, his dark voice somehow getting darker with anger.

Noah laughed, however, completely at ease around the powerful king, "The castle is not yours anymore. It belongs to her." He pointed a hoof at Cadence who frowned in disapproval.

"You brought him back?! Why?!" Cadence demanded, staring at Noah, "He's a bigger problem than the frozen North!" She wanted to ask how the unicorn had brought him back but bit her tongue. She had more important matters to attend to. She looked at Fluttershy's defensive position but remembered what Noah had told her. Would she really be able to stop King Sombra? The golem was one thing. Though Sombra seemed to be a whole other level.

The King also looked at the pegasus, "Do you want to fight me, little bird?" Fluttershy did not respond, but rather stood as still as a statue.

Noah spoke, breaking the silence, "Contain Sombra please."

"It's King—" Sombra said, in retaliation, but was stopped short by Fluttershy's hair whirling into motion. It was able to wrap around his horn before the unicorn could react thanks to Noah's words. The hair then slammed him against the wall as it began to completely entangle him.

"What's this?" The king muttered, attempting to get free. Though his movements jerked when the hair began to glow with a blue energy. The king grunted and began to move around more furiously. Though after a few minutes, the king was enveloped in a pure black energy and Cadence thought he had turned to shadow. Though she watched the pony shrink into the same kind of orb that Twilight had described.

"So that's containment protocol…" She thought, watching Fluttershy's chest open to reveal pipes twisting in unknown patterns. Part of the patterns was adorned with a simple plate. The center had a glowing white circle and she could see indents along the rim of it. The orb was placed in one of the indents, the chest was closed, and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

Cadence gulped, hoping that she didn't have to be contained. She doubted she'd last long, since the powerful dark unicorn had only lasted a few minutes. She found herself staring at Fluttershy, who was now staring off into the distance again, oblivious to her looks. Though she sprung into motion when Noah spoke.

"Now, please contain Cadence."

"Hey—wait!" She said, even as the hairs wrapped around her. She was way too close to do any avoidance, "What did I do wrong?" She reached for her crystal magic but felt the connection cut from her as the hair wrapped around her horn.

"Nothing. Your kingdom will be fine as you've behaved. I just need your magic." Noah replied, watching the process.

Cadence stiffened her magic according to Twilight's directions and felt the forewarned pull. She gasped after the first tug and spoke rapidly, "Can't I just use my magic for you?" She grimaced as her magic was tugged on again.

"You can not use the magic I need."

"Then why do you need my magic?" Another tug, causing her sentence to end abruptly.

"Because your magic can do the magic I need it to."

That confused her. It was her magic, right? Shouldn't she be able to use her magic in any way Noah needed to?

"I really do not want to wait around," Noah said carelessly, "So please do relax or I will do good on my threats."

"But Fluttershy is down here. How can you harm them?"

"Electromagical devices are new to this kingdom, new to you. How do you know the safety of the heart when you have no idea what Fluttershy can do?"

She frowned, resisting yet another tug on her magic. This time it almost got her and she had to reel it in. Was the heart indeed in danger? Noah had confirmed her fears of her ignorance. She had very little idea of what the yellow pegasus could do.

"Fine." She muttered and loosened her magic. Her anxious feelings seemingly slowing time down before the next pull. She almost became impatient.

When the tug came, it pulled her magic out of its little bubble. She instinctively tried to pull it back but found the resistance to be too strong. Though it wasn't ripped out of her, rather, it was wrapped around her. Her vision suddenly went an unbreaking blue as if somepony had put a blue floodlamp in her face. The color continued, but her sense of touch seemed to shrink as she lost the feeling in her limbs. She could still feel that she was floating, and now moving in the air.

She felt something wrap partly around her and suddenly she felt her limbs return. She was still floating though this time she could still feel her legs and wings. She was also able to look around even if all she could see was darkness. Despite this, she knew she was in a tube of some kind. It was as if she could feel the walls around her without being able to see them.

She did hear voices though, but they were too far off for her to make out any words. She continued along the tube and slowly heard the sounds form into words.

"Where. Is. My, magic!" King Sombra roared from somewhere in front of her. She tensed, feeling that she was going right towards him. Light suddenly filled her vision as a hole opened up in front of her. She gently floated through and was placed gently on her hooves. The floor was black but if she looked closer she could see tiny squares making up the surface. A blue square of light flew by her along the floor. Catching her curiosity as it traveled along random, but straight paths. She also saw more colors dancing around and found that she was in a massive room that was a pure cube.

"Where is it!"

Cadence turned towards the sound and saw Sombra cornering the yellow pegasus against the wall. She saw her mouth move but wasn't able to discern any words. She wasn't surprised though, Fluttershy's voice did not carry very far. So, she flared her wings and flew over. She landed next to the King and shoved him back, stepping protectively over the quivering pegasus. She did notice a few blue lines hovering around her leg but dismissed it when Sombra growled.

"You're here too?" He scoffed, "Did she take your magic as well?"

Cadence frowned and reached for her magic. She felt it, but it was just barely out of reach.

"I guess," She looked back at the still quivering pegasus. Though she was hiding her head at the moment, "Though that doesn't matter right now. She's being controlled by Noah. I don't blame her for her actions as they are not her own."

"Not her own? You expect me to believe that she is not of her own will? When she has no such magic infecting her?!"

"A lot has happened since you've been around," Cadence said letting the venom into her voice, "She's under control by electromagical devices." She paused. She wished Twilight had said more about that in her letter. She had simply said the devices used electricity to mimic magical powers. She didn't know much else.

"Ha!" The King's voice carried exasperation, "I've been gone for far too long. You've come and taken my empire! My empire! A puny little bird!"

"Puny?!"

"Yes," The King confirmed with hostility, "A puny little bird allowed herself to be subjugated by a rat! Which led to where we are!"

"Oh please!" Cadence retorted, "This Kingdom has flourished under my rule. Ponies are happy! Not slaves!"

"Exactly my point! This Empire was supposed to be the beginning! Now it is wasted on such pathetic pursuits."

"Pathetic?! You call ponies being happy being pathetic?"

"The feelings of others do not matter in my eyes. They are nothing more than tools to get what I want."

"Why you!" Cadence shouted and jumped forward fully intending to nail the unicorn's horn into his skull.

Sombra jumped back though, and smiled, "Ha! Even without your magic, you are pathetic. Pathetic!" He shouted, taunting her even more.

Her eyes twitched, "Oh really! You have to use the strength of others to get what you want. That's pathetic!" She was still shouting and quite frankly didn't care.

"Ha! To get those to—" Sombra said but was cut off.

"Enough!" Fluttershy's voice echoed through the cube. Her shout seemed to permeate the walls and cause them to shudder, once.

Then several chains snapped up from the floor. It wrapped around Cadence's middle and formed into a large restraint. Surprise barely had time to register on her face as more chains sprung up from the floor and restrained every one of her limbs. Where the chains coiled together, appeared whole restraints rather than chains. Her wings, legs, and body were simply unable to move as the chains were pulled taut. All she could do was swish her tail and blink. Sombra was similarly restrained and had eyes wide in shock.

"Oh my gosh…" Fluttershy's voice seemed to recede into her mouth, becoming even quieter, "I'm so sorry!" Her exclamation came out as a simple whisper. The chains and restraints changed color as they vaporized. She looked at the floor, watching the powder fade into the ground. Cadence then turned to Fluttershy as she curled into a tighter ball and hid her head. She frowned when she saw the pony quivering.

"Pathetic," Sombra stated, "So much power and such a fragile heart."

Cadence gave him an angry snort and trotted over to the crying pegasus. She laid down next to her and stroked her hair, "Don't worry. Twilight told me what happened, so I don't blame any of this on you."

"But I—" Fluttershy coughed, "Made those restraints! Made them somehow! What else can I do? Who else will I hurt…" She receded back into her ball.

Cadence smiled, "Starlight is a strong unicorn. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"She is."

"Hmm?"

"The MMO let me heal her." Her voice was quieter than usual and had had very little emotion.

"The MMO?" Cadence asked, recalling something vague Twilight had said.

Fluttershy merely shrugged and didn't respond.

Cadence frowned. Fluttershy's predicament was something she had never seen before. How could she respond?

"Well, you healed her, did you not?"

The pony nodded so slightly that she barely moved. Cadence was only aware of the movement because of her bouncing hair.

"Well, that means you helped her! Saved her even!"

"I'm the one who put the blade in her leg in the first place! Right when she grabbed the heart I—" Fluttershy's dulled voice choked off as she continued to cry in a tight ball.

She frowned, gently stroking the pink hair, "No."

Fluttershy jumped upwards, exposing a tear-stained face, "Yes! I felt each—"

"No," Cadence said again, placing a hoof on the pony's mouth, "It was Flutterbyte."

Confusion filled the face, "Flutter, bite?"

Cadence nodded, "Your friends didn't like saying that you were hurting them, hurting others, or doing things that were bad. They knew something was controlling you, so they named that something Flutterbyte." She paused with a small smile, "With a y, not an I."

Fluttershy didn't respond.

"So it wasn't you that hurt Starlight. It was Flutterbyte. While it was you that healed her."

Fluttershy chuckled, "That was Pinkie's idea huh?"

Cadence chuckled, "Probably." She watched the pony's expression lift, "Now, where are we?"

Fluttershy frowned, "I'm not sure…" She looked around, "I think you guys are in my head."

Cadence gave the pony an incredulous look, "Your head?"

Fluttershy nodded, "Yeah. Right now I can talk with you and interact with you. Though, when I hit this," She pointed to the lines around her leg. Now Cadence saw words hovering around the pegasus's leg. She was pointing at, Share view.

"When Celestia was in here, I tapped that. After I felt my body like I, normally, do and I was able to talk to Celestia with my internal voice," she paused, "If you can call me normal…"

Cadence frowned, "I'm sure we'll be able to return you to normal!"

Fluttershy's demeanor drooped, "I don't know… I've been this way for a long time. Since I was a philly I guess."

Cadence frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Just that," Fluttershy said dully.

Cadence frowned, seeing that her friend was kept in the dark as much as she was. She took in a breath and tried to imagine what it would feel like to be in her hooves. Though, try as she could she simply couldn't. Trapping ponies in your mind? Sentient hair? Crazy healing abilities to counter other equally deadly abilities? How could she imagine?

"As much as I would love to let this, 'therapy,' session continue," Sombra said dully, "I need my magic back. I intend to wipe that smile off that rat's face."

Cadence shot him a dark look, "Stop. I do not want to deal with you." Though she expected a response, she didn't get one. Though she knew why.

The floor beneath her and Sombra was glowing. It was bright enough to send red rays of light out and into the surrounding space.

"Oh no! Not again!" Fluttershy cried, voice saturated with concern.

Cadence jumped up and attempted to avoid the glowing floor but found that she could not. It remained under her, wherever she went. She tried to fly upwards but spikes shot up from the floor and surrounded her. She felt an invisible force halt her movements and was brought down to the floor. Though not into the floor, just hovering a meter above it. She tried to use her wings to move her body but she wasn't able to. She merely looked around her prison and saw a similar cage surrounding Sombra. Each set of spikes in perfect symmetry.

Though there was a bright glowing orb above Sombra. It crackled with a mysterious energy. Cadence's mind ran in her skull. Twilight had warned her about the containment protocol's ability to steal magic. Wasn't this the process?

She watched Fluttershy run over to her and push her hooves against the spikes. Though, red fire blocked her and she disappeared behind it. It started to turn pink, but her attention was ripped from her as she heard Sombra scream. He was thrashing around in the air and she shivered, hoping that she could escape before it was her turn.

"Cadence!" She heard Fluttershy's voice and turned to it. Through the fire was Fluttershy's form. Around her were pink flames, that parted for her. Her hoof was extended out but it seemed that she couldn't pass the spikes.

Cadence reached out and found she was able to reach her hoof easily and she tried to pull herself to the pegasus. Though, she saw on her hoof lines of blue appearing. They took sharp turns and ended in dots. It spread upwards till it was just above her fetlock. She felt Fluttershy also pull her away but their combined efforts did nothing to move her from her spiky prison.

Her attention was brought upwards as the glowing orb moved above her in a blink of an eye. She gave it a wary glance and tried to pull harder. Though it crackled with energy and shot a bolt into her.

Her magical energy shattered. Her physical body screamed in pain as shards of her magical energy were pulled out of her, tearing metaphysical holes in her body. She shivered as her lungs recovered from her screams. She found herself on the floor, the spikes gone and the flat ground back in place.

She watched the orb hover over to Fluttershy, who had been separated from her. She weakly tried to speak but her words died in her throat as the orb shot two bolts into her friend.

Though she didn't even flinch.

"Huh?" Was all she could muster. Though the pegasus didn't pause in her movements. Rather, she rushed over, and helped the Princess into a sitting position.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice louder now with concern.

Cadence shrugged, "Not sure. I think I will be?"

Fluttershy frowned, "I'm sorry. I tried to help but I was blocked by something."

"Fire?"

She shook her head in response, "No. I mean, I don't think so. It didn't feel like fire."

"It looked like it."

Fluttershy nodded but her response was cut off by another pony.

"What did you do?" King Sombra's voice was thin, covering a dark anger that threatened to engulf even Cadence.

Fluttershy took a step back, though she seemed frozen in response.

Cadence groaned and forced herself to her hooves. She stood as defiantly as she could though her limbs complained.

"It wasn't her," She said, pulling force into her words, "As I said before. She is under control."

"I do not care. She stole a part of my magic! I will take it back even if I have to go through you." The King replied, eyeing the yellow mare behind her.

Cadence frowned. King Sombra was powerful even if he was weakened like she was. She wasn't sure she'd be able to fight him. Without magic would be even more of a problem since she was poor with hoof-to-hoof. That and she wasn't sure the timid pegasus would find the will to fight. She was on her own. And she was only left with words.

"Look, we can't just force the magic out of her," Cadence said, keeping a small amount of force in her voice, "We're in her head remember?"

Sombra frowned, "How do you know?"

"I don't. We only have to go off Fluttershy's words."

"And you expect me to believe her?" Sombra said, taking a defiant step forward.

She frowned. She couldn't fight him and he knew it, "She's not my enemy. Noah is. He's controlling her!"

"Really? I did not sense any mind control magic. Nor do I sense it here, in her mind. Do you really think I would fall for this ruse?" Sombra growled and spoke more darkly, "Now move. Unless you want to face me." His threat stood aloof like an executioner's axe as he started to walk towards her.

She shook her head, "Fine, if it's proof you want. Proof you'll get. Noah wouldn't want us to know his plans right?"

Sombra paused.

Cadence smiled, "Gotcha. Please Fluttershy know his plan!"

She turned her head ever so slightly to Fluttershy, "Can you tell us his plan?"

Fluttershy whimpered, "I don't know it!"

"Then that clears it," Sombra said and continued his steps.

"Wa-wait! He has the Alicorn Amulet. Well, I do but he made me take it!" Fluttershy sputtered desperately.

Sombra's movements stopped cold, "The Alicorn Amulet?"

Fluttershy nodded quickly.

Cadence's legs were screaming at her to sit down but she ignored their complaints. She wasn't going to let her guard down. Though, she continued to watch Sombra who stood pondering unknown thoughts.

"Fortunately, for you that does make sense why he raided my castle," Sombra said, most of the anger out of his voice.

Cadence bit her tongue. She wanted to say it was hers and Shinning's castle. Though that wasn't the time. She did not want to provoke the evil unicorn. She also wanted to ask why the Alicorn amulet was connected to the Crystal Empire's castle. Was it made there a thousand years ago?

Sombra looked up, "Fine. I will hold my attack on the pegasus. Despite her stealing part of my magic… What is it you want to do then?"

Cadence folded her wings and sat down. Her limbs screamed with relief as she adopted a pose of neutrality. One of discussion and not one of battle. She was relieved Sombra did the same.

"Well, I say that Noah is the main target. Without him, I'm sure that Fluttershy would be released." She wasn't positive about that but it made sense in her mind.

"A truce then?"

Cadence nodded, feeling Fluttershy sit down next to her. She gave her a glance and extended her wing over her.

Sombra adopted a thinking pose, "Fine. I can agree with this only until Noah is dead or under my control. Then, I will reclaim my throne."

Cadence nodded expecting the answer, "That's fine."

Sombra nodded with content, "Alright, you seem to understand the situation better than I do. What should I know?"

"Well, I'm mostly in the dark as well but I'll tell you what I know," Cadence said, then launched into an explanation of what Twilight had told her. Or at least what she could remember. She did leave out the group was the Elements of Harmony. His defeat had happened before he could find out about the elements, or at least she believed so.

Sombra nodded at the information, "Alright, what about the natural power I sense in her? It's strong and makes the shadows want to flee."

"I'm not sure what you are talking about, though she does have the ability to power up when her friends are nearby."

Sombra nodded, "Then it will not be useful at this time."

Cadence nodded. She would love to have the power of the Elements of Harmony. Though she doubted that her fellow alicorn could call on their power when one of the bearers were corrupted.

"Then I do suppose that I will be the stronger power and shall spear the head of the attack. Do you know of any way to trap your pegasus friend?"

Cadence looked at Fluttershy and nodded, "Yes. Though it won't hold for very long. A minute at best. Seconds at worst."

"What is it?"

Cadence frowned, "I assume that you're familiar with the Crystal Prison?"

Sombra's eyes widened, "You found the transcripts?"

Cadence merely nodded, "It's been a long time since you last attacked." She wasn't going to dare reveal that she had a foal.

Sombra gave her a knowing glance but didn't pursue the subject, "Yes, I'm familiar with the technique. If you trap Fluttershy then I can dispose of Noah quite easily."

"He was able to dispel my crystal magic pretty well so it may not be as easy as you'd think."

Sombra nodded, "The warning is welcome, though, crystals aren't my only attack option."

Cadence nodded, "Yes, but I've just learned the technique and am not that fast. It may be a second before I can fully trap her."

"It does not matter. Trap her legs and that's all I'll need."

"Her hair?"

Sombra frowned, giving the pegasus an annoyed glance, "Ah, yes. Then you'll have to charge the prison then release it. Are you familiar with that concept?"

Cadence nodded. She'd just store enough energy to create the prison, then feed it all at once. The crystal then will snap into position. She just couldn't get distracted otherwise the technique wouldn't work.

"Yes, though you'll need to distract Noah. He's going to notice me charging my magic." Cadence replied, looking at her horn.

Sombra nodded, "I don't think that will be a problem."

"Alright. I'll trap Fluttershy and that will be your cue to attack."

"Understood," Sombra said, her expression unreadable, "Then we have a plan. Just remember, when Noah is defeated, it will be your turn."

Cadence nodded, "I look forward to the challenge."

Sombra laughed, "It will not be a challenge for me to take my castle back from this puny bird."

Cadence frowned and was about to retort when she felt Fluttershy slowly sink to the floor. She looked at her and found she was clutching her temples as if to ward a headache away.

"Fluttershy? What's wrong?" Cadence asked gently. Though she stopped when she saw lines appearing around the pony's face. Fluttershy shuddered and used one hoof to tap the Share view floating around her foreleg. She then suddenly went limp with her eyes being partly covered by a box of blue lines that looked like glasses. Only the lens was a single brick. She could still see the seeing orbs, yet they seemed to be looking into a world of their own.

She was about to ask again when she saw a line draw out a rectangle in the air just behind Sombra. Even as the unicorn turned to look at what the Princess was looking at, it filled with color. In the rectangle, she was able to see Noah and the spell he had made on the floor.

"Fluttershy? What happened?"

She didn't respond.

She tried again, "Fluttershy?"

This time she responded, "I'm here. Though I'm talking in my head now."

"Your head?" Sombra asked, a small inkling of incredulousness creeping into his dark voice.

"Yes. I think."

"Are we seeing through your eyes?" Cadence asked, looking at the floating colors.

"Charge, here, and here with Containment sections two and three." Noah's voice also came from the rectangle.

"I think so?" Fluttershy said. Though she could see the pony's lips moving to form the words. Though she was supposedly talking in her head. Were they really in the pegasus's mind?

"What is he doing?" Sombra suddenly demanded.

Fluttershy's reply was timid, "I don't, know."

Cadence didn't respond, but rather, studied Fluttershy's view. She saw the pegasus seem to take a few steps then place her hooves in two circles. The screen showed her placement of hooves in the direct center of the circles. Then, the left leg gained a swirling blue energy and the left gained a similar black energy.

"Oh, my…" Fluttershy said gently, "I have a horn."

Cadence didn't respond, she was too busy feeling her magic swell. It was still out of her reach, yet, it felt as if she was using it.

"She's using my magic…" Sombra said darkly.

"No. It's Noah using her to use your magic. Mine as well." Cadence corrected, allowing her voice to gain a few levels of volume.

"It does not matter." Came the curt reply.

Cadence didn't answer back but again focused on the image. It was now showing the gem from earlier. Every single line that Noah had created was glowing with blue and black auras. Though it looked like the lines couldn't contain the power and energy. Misty versions of the energies floating around the lines, obscuring them a bit. Though the lines suddenly floated upwards and into the broken gem. It glowed with a dull white and the pieces started to come together.

"Impossible…" Sombra said in utter disbelief.

"What?" Cadence asked, but didn't get a reply. So, she watched the gem become whole. Its dark, never-ending appearance now not as strong. Though it was still not see-through, despite it looking like it might. She felt her body shudder, still feeling the uneasiness shaking her soul.

"How?" Sombra asked no one in particular, his dark façade replaced with incredulousness.

Cadence's mind made a sudden link, "Don't come out talking about the gem. We can't let him know that we were planning anything. If you have knowledge of the gem's repair, then he may know we were able to talk."

Sombra was about to reply but was interrupted by the words from the screen.

"Release Containment sections two and three," Noah said through the floating rectangle.

Cadence suddenly felt the floor behind her disappear and felt gravity pull her down. She glimpsed a similar hole swallow up Sombra. She also noted, with some sense of incredulousness, that Fluttershy was floating; unaffected by the sudden pit. Though her sight was blocked by a pure black. Her body's feelings suddenly shrunk back into oblivion. She did feel that she was floating again, then her magic was pulled from her like a comfy blanket and returned to her mind. She blinked, feeling her senses coming back to her.

She was back in the room with Noah and Fluttershy. She blinked again as Noah took a few steps forward.

"How did you reassemble the gem?" Sombra asked, surprising Cadence by sounding impressed. She was suddenly worried about their plan.

Noah chuckled, holding the now completed gem in his magical grasp, "You weren't very good at working with others now, were you? All you needed was another to perform the crystal magic. Then you would've been able to complete your goals."

"And what do you think my goals are?" Sombra said, getting close to his face. Though the unicorn did not even flinch nor back down.

Cadence got the hint and began to charge her magic. Fluttershy slowly turned her head to the to alicorn to make her magic barely stutter.

Fluttershy had a blue crystal horn on her head. She could see into this crystal appendage. Wires and other tiny boxes were in the center. The wires then shed their outer skins to become silver rods embedded in the inside of the crystal. Though it did not breach the outside.

Cadence swallowed, remembering what Fluttershy had said. What exactly had happened to her?

Though she let her magic build while Noah spoke.

"What your goals were. It does not matter what they are now."

"What do you mean?" Sombra asked warily.

Noah just gave him a look.

Cadence frowned and felt her magic reach to where it was needed. She immediately let it loose, causing the crystal under Fluttershy to shoot upwards. When it stopped moving, the pegasus was encased in a semi-transparent crystal. Her movements froze as if she was gently lifted in the air and frozen. Though her expression did not show any emotion.

"I mean your demise," Sombra said, lighting his horn.

Though, the dark unicorn faltered when the other began to laugh.

A sudden crash filled the small room as Fluttershy's prison shattered. Cadence started to shield herself but found the prison had broken into large chunks rather than deadly projectiles.

Fluttershy bounded over the mess and charged Sombra. Though she didn't get far.

Sombra snarled and spun to face the threat, not to be taken off guard a second time. This time he stomped his hoof and a spire of black crystal erupted from the floor, directly below the pegasus.

The spire pierced the underside of Fluttershy's left shoulder, tearing the whole limbs upwards. The spire force was enough to break the joint and nearly tear off the leg. The other side holding together if barely. Though, aside from the occasional zap and pop, there was no noise from the pegasus. Cadence could only see her leg more than 90 degrees in a direction that it was not meant to go.

Sombra, eyes wide, took a step back, "What, are you?"

Fluttershy did not respond, yet her hair rushed in his direction. Sombra conjured a magic shield in an attempt to block it but found the hair going right through. It rammed him and again sent him into the wall.

"You see? I do not care what you try to do. You will fail." Noah said, looking at Sombra peeling himself off the wall.

"Ugh, then an alliance?" Sombra said, "I'm sure you would be able to use my power."

Cadence gritted her teeth, that little traitor! Though her words were cut off before she could even speak.

"No. You do not have a habit of working well with others." Noah replied simply.

"So be it," Sombra said as he turned to shadow. The cloud then rushed to the stairs and suddenly shifted back into a pony. With a cry of complaint, the pony hit the stairs at the speed the cloud had been moving.

"What's this?" Sombra asked, examining his hoof in disbelief.

"Hmm, I guess I could explain. Simply, I have control of your magic. You can try to morph into your shadow form but I can pull you right out."

"You do not control my magic," Sombra said defiantly.

"Is that so?" He turned to the yellow pegasus, "Trap one of his hooves with his crystal magic. Not much."

Fluttershy didn't move, but Cadence saw the blue crystal on her head glow with a dark gruesome black. Then, Sombra's characteristic crystals began to grow around the King's left hoof. He didn't try to stop it, but was entranced by the growth.

"See? You are outmatched in every way. So, you have no more use to me. And since you may wreak havoc that may get in my way, you are more than worthless. Fluttershy, eliminate Sombra."

Sombra's eyes tightened as the crystals surrounding his hoof melted back into the floor. Fluttershy's head swiveled to the King and she jumped forward, tearing her broken leg clean off. It remained stuck on the crystal, sparking and popping. Small boxes and other electrical devices visible, as well as a thick golden band. Though her movements seemed to be unaffected as she closed the gap between her and Sombra.

Sombra quickly morphed into his shadow and jumped away from the stairs. When he was forced out of it, he was on all fours, but reared up and slammed the ground. It rumbled in response and a wall of black crystal separated him and the pegasus. He turned towards Noah with a hateful expression but looked back at the wall as it shattered. Fluttershy's hair had shattered the wall, letting her get close. Despite missing one of her legs, she placed a front leg on Sombra's chest. There was a thud and Sombra was again sent into the wall. Though, this time the wall shattered with the impact. A spider web of cracks surrounding the King as he fell from the wall with a shallow grunt.

"You think that will kill me? You do not have the power necessary to do so." Sombra said with a weakness that did not match his words. Cadence saw that several crystal shards had pierced the King's skin. Though, they did not bleed.

"Fluttershy could finish you in an instant. Though, that would also kill me and Cadence."

Cadence frowned and turned to Noah. She launched a bolt of energy at him, but a pink wave of hair blocked it. She turned to the pegasus with surprise. She was looking at her as well, though red eyes stared back at her. Two triangles surrounded her pupil. Barely offset on a vertical sense.

They were not eyes to Cadence. Regardless of their position on the face.

"Strike two Cadence. I would not make another move if you care for your subjects." Noah said casually.

Cadence frowned and extinguished her horn.

"Coward," Sombra muttered. Though his attention was back on Fluttershy in a second. She had begun to advance again, taking slow steps towards the injured unicorn.

Though the pony easily got up and growled. Lines of crystals appeared on the ground, sprouting little spires as they did so. Fluttershy began to jump and weave as the lines sprouted much larger spires. Her missing leg did not seem to affect her in the slightest. Cadence watched with fascination, curious about how the pegasus was keeping her balance so well.

Other spires erupted from the ground, not following the lines. Regardless of where they came from, the pegasus avoided every single one. She tucked into a roll next to Sombra to avoid a spire, then came out of it with a mighty buck. Sombra was sent into the wall once more. Though this time, he stayed in the wall since the hole could now support him.

With an unnatural motion, Fluttershy swiveled up from her back hooves and sprouted a blue blade from her remaining leg. With a single, swift motion, she planted it into Sombra's forehead. His crown was split into two pieces and fell to the floor with a small clatter. Silence followed for a few seconds as Sombra's form when limp. Fluttershy pulled her leg back, the blade gone, and settled back onto her legs, again staring into another world.

Sombra's form fell to the ground with a thud. Though Cadence saw what she wasn't expecting. From the wound came nothing. She wasn't too well versed in biology, but she was certain the skull contained a very important organ. Not a pure blackness that she now saw. The eyes suddenly faded into dark black orbs that reminded her of rabbit eyes. It looked very odd on a pony.

"Tying yourself to shadow for immortality," Noah scoffed, "Such an inefficient method. A fool would have to give you a second chance to continue your twisted reality." He turned to Fluttershy who was again staring off into some other world, "Repair mode."

Fluttershy blinked and her eyes turned into a light blue octagon surrounding her pupils. She then stepped back to her missing leg. With a cracking sound, she separated it from the crystal trapping it. Then, her hair lifted it to the gaping hole in her shoulder.

It was surrounding by jagged metal plates that were yellow on one side and the metal grey on the other. Various wires and tubes were revealed along with several supporting beams. Various boxes and other curious-looking devices disappeared as the leg was brought close. A multitude of hairs entered the gap and seemed to shift as the ends did some unknown tasks. The hairs then withdrew and the broken yellow plates began to glow a light blue. Without a sound, it shifted, as if it was made of clay, connecting itself to its severed edges. When the glow disappeared, the yellow was unbroken once more.

Cadence was dumbstruck. She had just seen what appeared to be the Element of Kindness kick the King Sombra's flank. Then just reattach a severed leg as if it was nothing. How was she made of metal, yet still able to move so organically? She had been around her and her friends. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Yet, even after Twilight's letter, she wasn't prepared to accept Fluttershy was made of metal!

"Let's go back up," Noah said and started for the stairs as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Cadence didn't say a word as she followed the unicorn. Fluttershy quietly followed as well, the extra set hoof steps the only clue of her presence.