Back in Equestria, in the middle of the sandy region of Somnambula, at a quaint little hotel, two ponies watched the falling rain. Such weather was rare in the arid land. A pink alicorn reclined on the bed, restful and relaxed, even reflective, while her consort, the ivory unicorn stallion with a blue mane, paced nervously by the window, watching the storm. At his chest, just over his heart, a gemstone was embedded in his flesh, a magenta star-shaped crystal. It flared briefly, and he paused his pacing to clutch at his chest with a hoof.

"Shiny?" asked Cadence, the pink alicorn. She trotted over to him from the bed. "Are you alright?"

He nodded, his expression still deeply troubled. "It's as if it's speaking to me..."

"What's it saying? What do you hear?"

"... I'm not sure," he admitted with a grimace. "It's like... trying to speak 43 different languages in one night. It's more a... feeling than anything else. The tone more than the words."

She gently laid her hoof over his the element, and concurrently where his heart would be if he'd been a true flesh and blood pony like her. "Then what do you feel?"

"What do you feel?" he replied, laying his hoof over hers.

Smiling at his cheesy (if romantic) gesture, she did concentrate. Focusing her considerable psychic and mental powers on Shining Armor, and the Element of Magic embedded in his chest. After a moment, her eyes opened, and she smiled beatifically.

"I only sense you, and you already have more than enough magic in your heart," Cadence said with a smile. One he returned freely, leaning forward, rubbing the tips of their horns against one another in a loving fashion.

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They spent the remainder of the evening together, most of it in bed, enjoying room service and having no desire to do anything except share in one another's company. These fleeting moments were all too far and few between. With Shining Armor a registered member of the Avengers, and Cadence technically a criminal member of Rainbow Dash's group, by the Pillar Accords, he was legally obliged to arrest her on sight. Lock her up, throw away the key. Or banish her then lock her up, then throw away the key. But even if directly ordered to do so, right here and now, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The next morning, they were checked out of their hotel and on their way. Their romantic rendered was coming to an end, and Shining Armor had to make his way back to Dash's Tower and rejoin the remaining Avengers. A short while from the train station, Shining seemed to slow his trot, glancing over at Cadence thoughtfully.

"What if I missed the train?" he mused aloud.

"We could get an early lunch," Cadence thought aloud. "There's another train..."

"What if I missed all of them? What if... this time... I didn't go back at all?" he asked, gently turning to face her, for once completely serious. "What if I just stayed... with you?"

Flattered by the romance in his tone, Cadence none the less stuck to the practical reply. "You gave Rainbow Dash your word you'd return," she reminded him. While Shining Armor was like family to her, considering his origins, technically she was his boss when it came to all things Avenger.

"I'd rather give it to you," he said. And again, somehow made that cheesy line sound earnest and romantic with seemingly no effort at all. "I love her like a family but...I also love you."

She was flattered (what mare wouldn't be?) but again, she had practical concerns. "I have ponies expecting me too," she reminded him. "I can't just up and vanish. We both made promises."

"Cadence... I know we don't talk about it... the future frightens me too. The uncertainty. The unknowing. Whenever we've come together these past two years... we've focused on the now. The time we have together. But now... now I want more than that. I want a future. And whatever future it is, I want to spend it... with you."

She wanted to say yes. So desperately, so insistently, yet... she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Because at that moment, a dusky gray pony passed by, pulling out an article of the latest newspaper from a stand just beside where the two of them stood. As he pulled away, she saw the article on the next page: Iron Mare Missing. World on Fire. Is this the End?

Shining Armor saw it too. And knew.

"Dash...so this is what the Element was warning me about," he realized. "A warning of danger." He took her hoof in his and kissed it. "I have to go."

"No," she protested, squeezing his hooves in hers, preventing him from leaving. "Shining Armor..."

"I have to," he said. "Ponies are depending on me. Rainbow Dash might be in trouble."

"I don't want you to go. If this is true, maybe going isn't the best idea. Especially alone."

"Cadence, I..."

Whatever he was going to say got cut off as a sharp glaive pierced clear through his body, only narrowly missing the Element of Magic (and his heart) as the wicked sharp blade erupted out of his chest. He gave an anguished cry as a hideous creature rose up behind him, dragging Shining Armor off of his hooves and into the air, crying in agony. There was a fluctuation of magical energy along with his coat as it shimmered, nearly losing cohesion.

Startled but quick to act, Cadence prepared to blast the monster behind her Shiny with a blast of Kurcana energy, when something bright and green slammed into her. She was knocked to the cold ground just as Shining Armor was thrown from the glaive in the same fashion, sprawled out beside her on the Somnambulan sands.

Their two assailants towered over them. The first was a horrible mismatch of limbs that could have given Discord a run for his money, with an ape-like body, the face of a dog, and a fifth hand on the end of his monkey-like tail. Various sharp instruments of murder dangled from his sides, strapped to his body with leather belts and bandoliers. The one beside him was no less hideous, a tall dark changeling, a good foot and a half taller than either of them, with a spotted, hollow figure and stringy dark blue hair. She bared a pair of vicious fangs and hissed at them, showing a pair of fangs.

Chrysalis and Ahuizoatl, the Children of Grogar.

"Give us the Element," she hissed. "And die."

Shining briefly wondered if they meant to say 'or die' but then realized no, no they really didn't. He staggered to his feet, trying to find the strength to fight, but he felt drained, weakened. The glaive now laying on the ground was stained in his blood, but he realized it must have been magical. No natural weapon created in Equestria would've been able to hurt him quite so severely. Not so similarly hampered, Cadence threw down a barrage of pink energy, blasting back both Chrysalis and Ahuizoatl, sending them crashing through a nearby shop and overturning a fruit cart. Without hesitation, she galloped to Shining Armor's side and helped him to his hooves, and the two of them made to retreat down a nearby alleyway.

"The weapon... I couldn't stop it..." he breathed heavily.

"How is that even possible? Your shield..."

"I don't know-aaaah..." he collapsed, leaning against the wall, hissing in pain. Cadence ran a hoof over his wound, trying to stitch it up with her magic. "I'm beginning to think we should've stayed in bed," he grunted, trying to smile, trying to make light of the situation.

Despite herself, Cadence managed a smile too... which vanished as a shadow fell over them.

Ahuizoatl dropped down from the nearby building rooftop, pushing Cadence away with his fifth limb and grabbing Shining Armor with his upper arms. With a leap of his back legs, he hurled the magical unicorn and himself onto the rooftop of another Somnambulan building, this time very near the central market place. Cadence galloped after them, fanning her wings, preparing to take flight, when an emerald blast of energy knocked her back down to earth, and she barely had time to roll out of the way as Chrysalis stomped the ground where she'd just been. The two locked horns, glaring at one another as they fought one another fiercely.

Pinning Shining Armor against the wall of a building, Ahuizoatl leaned in. "Surrender the Element to us, and she lives..." he taunted.

A hoof smacked across his snout, driving the beast back as Shining Armor declined his offer and fought on. A ray of magenta energy wrapped itself around his horn, and he let loose a massive burst of energy, fueled by the powerful Element in his chest. However, Ahuizoatl had come prepared for this and threw up a hand, some sort of dark wristband there flaring out into a shield. The energy warped against the strange, alien metal, veering off in all directions, tearing through the landscape. Worse, Ahuizoatl positioned himself and the shield thusly as Shining Armor kept up his assault, then flicked his wrist and sent the energy right back at Shining Armor. He slammed into a wall, collapsing.

Blocking another blow from the dark changeling, Cadence glanced up at the rooftops as she heard an anguished cry. 'Shining Armor'

Grabbing Chrysalis by the waist, Cadence does a backflip and threw her into a burning vehicle, she then send another blast that knocked the dark changeling into another building, Cadence flapped her wings and launched herself into the sky, right behind Ahuizoatl as his monkey paw grasped at the Element of Magic, intent to tear the magenta crystal star from Shining Armor's chest.

"Hoofs off!" she declared and hurled a blast of energy at him.

Ahuizoatl caught the blast with his face, smashing through a glass window. Cadence swiftly gathered up Shining, throwing an arm over her shoulders and flaring her wings. She took flight, awkwardly, because she was carrying his weight as well (and if she was being generous, for an artificial being made of magic, he was a little on the heavy side) but she managed to keep in a straight line. Which may have been to her detriment, because Chrysalis exploded out of the nearby store and fired off a beam of emerald energy from her twisted horn, nailing Cadence right through one of her wings, singing her feathers. She and her unicorn lover went crashing down back to earth, narrowly avoiding a near landmark before they came smashing through some glass near a train station platform. Cadence threw out her hooves, using her magic to catch herself and Shining seconds before they impacted the ground. It was a rough landing, but as any pegasus could tell you: any landing you could walk away from was a good landing.

Stumbling back to her feet, Cadence gingerly inspected her wing. The inner feathers were blackened, though the bones and musculature had been spared a direct blow. She would recover, but the Pink Witch wouldn't be flying for a bit.

"We have to go," she said, trying to push Shining to his feet. He stumbled, unable to support his weight, slumping down against a nearby railing on the platform. "Shining, come on."

He shook his head, his breathing shallow. "Cadence, no... you have to go. They'll kill you."

"I am not leaving you," she replied firmly.

"Please," he begged her.

"Get up," pleaded Cadence, just as desperately.

"I can't," he replied, clutching at his chest. The wound may well have been mortal.

There was another shattering of glass as Ahuizoatl and Chrysalis dropped down through the ceiling. The dark changeling padded towards them with a wicked leer, while the freakish mismatch of limbs loped beside her, drawing a knife with his tail-hand, waving it back and forth ominously.

Glaring, Cadence drew herself up, flaring her wings. Her eyes glowed with pink energy as power surged through her. The power of Magic, the power of love. A train whooshed past her, stirring up her purple and blonde mane, but something, someone, was behind the passing train. The unknown shadow drew the two Children of Grogar to a halt. Chrysalis, in particular, watched in some trepidation. And she wasn't worried about Cadence.

Risking a glance over her shoulder, Cadence saw someone new had entered the fray. A shadowy silhouette on the opposite platform.

Growling, Ahuizoatl threw his knife...!

... and the other pony caught it between her two bare hooves, sharp tip inches from her muzzle. Holding the weapon, she trotted into the light, stepping into view. The familiar face and form of Captain Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, formerly of the Avengers. But still, beyond question or doubt, a hero.

Cadence breathed a sigh of relief. Her friends were here.

As if to punctuate that thought, Cheese Sandwich came swooping from on high, smashing into Chrysalis and sending her sprawling on the ground. Though an ordinary yellow earth pony, he wore a flight harness that simulated the movement of pegasus wings, almost as good (if not better) than most Pegasus themselves. And while he dealt with the dark changeling, Rarity came galloping across the platform to intercept Ahuizoatl, knocking him across his face with a hoofjitsu move that left him speechless. Chrysalis snarled, knocking Cheese aside, and charged forward to impale Rarity on her horn, but Twilight was already in motion, vaulting over the platform and slamming her hind hooves into the dark changeling, knocking off her blow and letting her horn drive deep into Ahuizoatl's stomach instead. He roared in anguish as Cheese smashed into both of them, bowling the two brutes over. Ahuizoatl collapsed onto his side, breathing heavily, while Chrysalis gave a hideous hiss and skittered over towards him protectively.

"Get up," growled Chrysalis, trying not to look back and take her eyes off her enemy.

"I can't," Ahuizoatl replied, clutching at his chest. The wound may well have been mortal.

Rarity stepped forward, all grace and charm but with a vicious streak just underneath the surface. She spelled it out for them: "We don't want to kill you both. But we will"

Chrysalis snarled. "You will never get the chance again," she said, tapping a talisman hanging from her neck. A bright beam of energy shot down from the skies above, wrapping both of the monsters, and teleported them away. It also yanked Ahuizoatl's knife out of Twilight's grip.

"What the-?" she muttered.

With their enemy defeated and the threat is gone, Twilight and her ragtag team turned to the Shining Armor.
Cheese got to his side and asked: "can you stand?" He got a nodded from the white unicorn.
He glanced to Cadence by his side and to the purple mare in front of him

"Thank you, Captain," he said, truly grateful.

She just nodded. "Let's get you to the Zeppelin"

_______________________________________

The Zeppelin, one of the most advanced Jets created by Rainbow Dash. Capable of reaching a higher altitude, faster and more powerful than ever.

Loading them all into the stolen zeppelin didn't take too long, even with Cadence fussing about Shining Armor, lying on a cot in the back of the vessel. Rarity was with them, alternately fussing just as much over the stallion or else chewing out Cadence for having missed their rendezvous check-in. Demurely, of course. A true romantic at heart,
if anyone could understand a desire to skip away with a loved one for an evening or two truly alone, it was Rarity.

"So where to now, Cap?" asked Cheese, taking the wheel.

Twilight didn't reply for a long moment. She considered her options, strategizing. Given the attack, coupled with the incursion in Ponyville, and the loss of Iron Mare, they didn't have an abundance of options. What they needed now was intel, resources, and a base of operations. Being fugitives on the run, they wouldn't find that hiding out in Somnambula. Really, there was only one place they really could go:

"Home," she finally said.