The General smiled as he looked at the curious look on the kings face, then he looked back and replied, “Then why do you call yourself Traipse?”
Traipse replied without expression and without hesitation, “That was a nickname given to me the day I made my first kill… since that was a nickname given to a soldier, that what I went by as a soldier, because that is the only life I know.. and the only life I wish to know. Sir!”
The general smiled, “Whose orders do you follow?”
“The king, sir!”
“Would you Die for the king?”
“Yes, Sir!’
“Would you Kill for the king?”
“Yes, Sir!”
“If ordered, would you kill a fellow soldier?”
“Yes, Sir!”
“If ordered would you kill a civilian?”
“Yes Sir!”
“Even if the civilian did nothing wrong?”
“Yes Sir!”
“If ordered… would you kill yourself?”
Like before with no hesitation or expression Traipse replied, “Yes, Sir!”

                The king changed his expression, “You’re a half blood I see, tell me which of your parents was a Crystal pony, your mother or your father?”
Traipse replied, “I don’t know your majesty. I don’t remember them.”
“So… you feel no resentment to me for taking you from your family as a foal?”
“No your Majesty. I don’t.”
The King smiled, “And why is that?”
Traipse replied, “It was your word that had me taken from them… and your word is not only absolute… its law. If you took me from my parents, then it was my fate to be taken from them.”

                King Sombra smiled, “He’ll do… General Leave us, I have a mission for my devoted soldier, here that only he and I should know about.”
The general was disappointed that he wouldn’t hear about the mission but as he was ordered, he nodded his head and left the royal hall leaving both King Sombra and Traipse alone. King Sombra waited before the doors were completely shut before he spoke, “Major… I have a mission for you that is of the upmost importance, this mission will only be known between you and me, and if anypony else finds out about it… then they must be killed before they have a chance to tell more. But if they do tell more, then you will die with them… am I understood?”
“Yes Your majesty”
“And you still want to carry it out?”
“I follow my king’s orders, even if it leads me to my end.”

                Traipse nodded his head but kept his expression as he replied, “Thank you your majesty!”
King Sombra turned around to trot to his throne as he spoke, “You may leave now… remember nopony should ever discover this plan… oh, and by the way… I'm giving you two weeks to complete this task. If you fail to have the object that gives this ponies their hop by Sunday of the final week… then guess what will happen to you. Because I grow tired of repeating myself.”
Traipse replied, “Understood your majesty, death awaits failure. I will not fail you, your majesty. of this I guarantee.”
King Sombra sat on his throne and replied, “See to it you don’t. I would hate to see such loyal blood spilled due to insolence… now be gone!”

                Traipse discovered that what it was that made the festival so famous was an ancient relic Called the Crystal Heart. Traipse knew that if this was truly the source of their hope and happiness then this was what he needed to steal, so he made his decision and decided to wait till the next day to form a plan. That night as he slept, Traipse found himself in an unusual dream that seemed to have him standing in emptiness with nothing around him. Being the well-trained soldier that he is, he looked around without showing any concern or worry in all the questions that were running through his mind, Questions like, “Where am I? What is this place? How did I get here, and how do I get back?”
As Traipse looked around he saw something in the distance so he began trotting towards it. as he got closer and closer, he realized it was the Crystal Heart… the very item that brought hope to the crystal ponies, and the same item that he had to steal.

                Traipse thought the Mare was just another illusion but he studied the reflection very closely, this mare was tall with a dark blue pelt and a mystic flowing blue Mane. he didn’t understand who it was but he did notice that she was an alicorn, and she was wearing the crown of a princess. The mare gave him a disappointed look and spoke, “Are you going to really attempt this?”
Traipse turned and found that the reflection was real, the mare was standing next to him, so he replied, “And who are you to be asking such a question?”
The mare Replied, “My name is Princess Luna of Equestria, I am the ruler of the night… and as ruler I can see into your dreams… You plan to steal the Crystal Heart don’t you?”

                Traipse ignored the princes and replied, “If you are a threat to the king and his plans, then you're my enemy… I suggest you stop giving me dreams of fear, and leave immediately before you get hurt… Princess.”
Luna turned to trot away, “If that is what you wish, then I'll take my leave. However, I'm not the one giving you nightmares… your own subconscious is doing that by itself. Something in your mind and heart is telling you that this is a bad idea, and it’s trying to stop you before you make a terrible Mistake. If I were you I’d listen to it before it’s too late. It could save your life.”
Traipse replied as he turned back to the Crystal Heart, “The king’s orders are law, and I must obey th…”
Traipse stopped talking when he looked at his reflection and saw a skeleton in his place.

                All of a sudden king Sombra pulled a dagger from behind his back and stabbed Traipse in his chest. With the unbearable pain he felt Traipse fell to the ground and looked up at his king, “Y-your majesty… but… I…”
king Sombra approached him on the ground and held a sword above his head, “You followed your orders well, and you will be rewarded in the next life, but I have no use of you, so there isn’t any reason to keep you under me. Good bye Major.”
Then King Sombra dropped the sword on his neck but as soon as the blade hit his throat Traipse opened his eyes and sat up in his bunk, breathing deeply, and with a cold sweat.

                Traipse decided to forget about it and try to get some sleep. The next morning Traipse still had his dream and doubts in his mind but he put those aside to deal with his planning. As he thought about what he could do he observed the Crystal Heart and the activity around it. it always sat at the heart of the city in the open. Since there was no guard it would be easy to take however its location was too open, it was impossible to just trot up and take it without anypony seeing him. therefore, he thought about what he needed to carry this plan out. First he would need something to distract the surrounding ponies. then there is a chance he would need some help in taking it, though of course he would have to silence them once the heart was stashed away.

                Traipse looked at the elderly mare then he spoke to his soldiers, “Continue with the plan take the heart to the castle and wait for me outside the kings chambers, but whatever you do, don’t let anypony know what’s under the tarp or let anypony remove it. this is an order from the king himself.”
The soldiers replied, “Yes Sir!”
As the soldiers continued their actions, Traipse lead the old mare to an unfinished building that was being built near the plaza, “My dear madam, the king has ordered us to bring the Crystal Heart to a special area where we can have it thoroughly polished by gem casters from Canterlot.”
The mare was suspicious, “Really? Why would Canterlot care about our city when they have a lot more to deal with?”

                Traipse felt a little guilty for his actions and the sneakiness of his alibi but he knew that he was only following his orders. When Traipse approached the king’s chambers he met his soldiers outside the doors as they stood beside a tarp covered wagon. Traipse approached them and spoke, “Is that it?”
one of the soldiers replied “Yes Sir, and as you ordered nopony knows what it is, or saw us come here with it.”
Traipse smiled, “Good then, I believe it’s time we meet with the king… shall we.”
The three ponies opened the doors to the king’s chambers and pulled the cart in, then they approached the front of the king’s throne then bowed as Traipse spoke, “Your majesty I'm here about the mission you gave me… I will give you a full report as soon as I complete it.”

                King Sombra smiled, “So you have… and I'll say you performed exceptionally well. you lead the citizens away from their precious heart with a ruse, that’s cruel. To kill a helpless elderly mare who spotted you, that’s disgraceful to ponykind. But to have two unknown soldiers deliver the heart to me then kill them after they followed your order to your exact specification. That’s just plain heartless. You belong on my council… you’re just the type of stallion who deserves the position. I can’t think of a better soldier for the job.”
Traipse was surprised that the king knew about the elderly mare… but his surprise was overshadowed by the guilt he felt with each detail of his action, but he was able to hide it as he replied, “Thank you your majesty… I will not disappoint you.”

                Traipse took a few steps back in fear as everypony in the plaza looked at him, then two more familiar voices called out, “He is the one responsible!”
“Yea he had us steal it for him, then he killed us and took the credit!”
Traipse turned around to see the two soldiers he killed standing there with the wounds that they died from still on them. Traipse tried to explain, “But… but I…”
The elderly mare yelled again, “Don’t even think about denying it! the blood is still on your hoof!”
Traipse looked down at his hoof to see the blood still there after it rolled down the spear.

                With that said the three corpses disappeared from their sight. Traipse found it hard to look Luna in the eye as he spoke, “If you’re wanting me to thank you for saving me from figments of my own imagination… then you’ve got another thing coming.”
Princess Luna gave Traipse a look of pity, “You feel even more guilty than you’re letting on to be. You subconscious isn’t playing fair anymore. From this moment on your dreams will get worse and worse until you atone for your crime.”
Traipse was in deep denial, “I’ve committed no crime. I’ve nothing to atone for.”
Princess Luna gave him a blank stare, “So you say… but as a merciful princess… I'll give you a chance to prove your pride wrong. In three days’ time, one of my most trusted soldiers will arrive in the Crystal Empire. His name is Captain Mist he will be accompanied by a Cadet Dust. They will not be wearing any armor of any king since they are posing as a newlywed couple but they will be observing the empire and its subjects while preparing for me and my sisters arrival.”

                The next day was spent being processed into the Crystal Empire’s counsel, then Traipse and the rest of the council members joined the king as he made a royal announcement to his subjects, “To all my… loyal subjects! I have recently discovered that rather than putting your devotion and hope in your king who so selflessly watches over you… you have placed it upon an ancient relic that seems to glow brightly in the sun. So to keep your devotion, I have taken the Crystal Heart away and placed it in a secret location so that your loyalty can turn to me from this moment on. If you so wish to see your precious Crystal Heart again… then I'm afraid you’re wasting your time and life. The heart is in a place where nopony will ever find it. thank you… and long live your king!”
An uproar of gasps, and crying came from the crowd as the king turned to enter the castle. As the king trotted past Traipse he looked at him and spoke, “I think that went well… don’t you… Colonel.”

                With each passing pony, Traipse became more and more unhappy with his actions, now not only was he thinking about Princess Luna’s offer, he was guaranteeing his participation in her plan. That night on his way back to his barracks he noticed that everypony he passed seemed depressed. It was as if the energy was completely drained from their bodies. He even had one pony recognize his uniform and asked, “Why?... why would the king do something so cruel. What did we ever do to deserve this?”
Traipse couldn’t bear to look at him, he couldn’t even answer, he just lowered his head and trotted around the poor tormented pony. It appeared that not only did the Crystal Heart give them hope… but it completed them in some way.

                The night passed without a dream or nightmare. The next morning he decided to be there early and wait for Princess Luna’s soldiers to arrive rather than meet them after words. As he sat there he closely observed the ponies in the café, each one was moping around as they have been doing since the Crystal Heart was taken. But then a noisy couple entered the café, the mare looked over at the stallion, “Come on honey, this looks like a nice place to eat. Then you can take me sightseeing. I’ve always wanted to see the Crystal Empire in the summer, it’s just so beautiful.”
The stallion sighed, “Dust  yo…”
“MRS. MIST!... honey…”
The stallion sighed again, “Amber… you’re taking this whole marriage thing way too seriously. You know we are just undercover right?”

                As entertaining as the couple seemed Traipse knew that these ponies where his contacts, so he approached them before the stallion was to dig his own grave with his answer to the mare’s question, “Good afternoon? My name is Colonel Traipse of the Crystal Empire. Am I to understand you’re from Canterlot?”
The stallion replied, “Yes we are, my name is Chrome Mist and this is my comp…”
“Wife… Mrs. Amber Mist. We are on our honeymoon, isn’t that right dear?”
Captain Mist looked at His associate and sighed, “Celestia strike me down now while I'm still young…”
“HEY!”
Captain Mist continued, “This eccentric little firecracker is Cadet Dust… don’t mind her, this is her first mission.”
Traipse smiled, “Ok well, since you are here now, let’s find a quiet place to talk.

                Captain Mist replied, “Don’t worry about a thing. Both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia are in on this. Neither one will hold back when they begin the assault.”
Traipse nodded his head, “Alright then when will they be here?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Why so soon?”
Cadet Dust answered, “Well they were going to be here next week, but with the condition the crystal ponies are in, we can’t wait another day. This has to be taken care of now.”
Traipse agreed, “Very well then I'll mix up the guard schedule so that there is major misunderstanding, this will allow you  small opening in the time table. But I think I can only give you an hour tops. Do you think you can get in in that time?”

                Both Captain Mist and Cadet Dust were confused, “Crystal Princess?”
Traipse explained, “Yes, a number of years ago the Empire was ruled by a princess. However, one day she left to travel the world, and hasn’t been heard from since. We all presumed her dead. But its compactly unknown what happened to her. Till then I guess one of the equestrians princesses can take over. Either way I intend to keep my position as Colonel, I'll gladly give up the council though. There is just too much work in it.”
Captain Mist nodded his head and replied, “That sounds like a simple plan to me. but it’s time we get going. Tomorrow around two o’clock we will be waiting for you at the city border. From there we hope you will escort us into the city safely.”
Traipse smiled, “Don’t worry about a thing, I'll do my part… but I expect to meet your princess face to face… not that I don’t trust you… but I'm still confused as to how Princess Luna was able to get into my dreams.”

                There was a brief moment of silence were everypony in the conversation knew it wasn’t the best strategy, until finally Traipse shrugged his shoulders, “Ok, well then let’s get moving, am I to assume your soldiers will join us?”
Princess Luna Replied, “Yes they will split off into the streets to keep the citizens calm, while Captain Mist, Cadet Dust, sister and I will go in and meet the king.”
Traipse could only assume that the Mare standing with Luna was her sister Princess Celestia so he replied, “I never thought I would attempt anything like this… but I completely agree with your choice, He must be stopped. But don’t you have a commander too?”
Princess Celestia replied, “He is watching over Canterlot while we are here. Luna and I will have no trouble taking care of king Sombra on our own.”
Traipse nodded his head, “Ok then let’s go before the guards notice there isn’t anypony on duty.”

                As Traipse opened the large doors into the throne room, he entered with no hesitation or yielding to the king when the king and his two guards looked his way, “Colonel? May I ask why you have entered my presence with not one, but two Equestrian Princesses?”
Traipse kept his expression of confidence as Princess Celestia spoke, “King Sombra! Your reign of terror has come to an end. Surrender now and your punishment will be minimal.”
The King began to laugh as he replied, “You continue to amaze me Colonel… after everything I’ve done to make you strong, your heart is even black enough to betray me… very well… KILL THE TRAITOR!!!”
The two guards charged forward as Traipse charged at them.

                King Sombra’s horn started to glow brightly as Princess Celestia yelled, “Now sister! He is about to cast some kind of spell!”
Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna put their horns together and generated a spell using both their magic to fire some kind of beam at King Sombra, just before the Princesses’ beam hit the king, he stomped the ground causing it to shake the entire castle… but that’s all it seemed to do. slowly he start to evaporate into a black smoke. As the smoke slowly made its way up his body, the last thing Traipse could see of the king was his face evaporating with a menacingly evil smile on it.

                The entire Crystal Empire was gone… and in its place was a frozen wasteland. All the soldiers that entered the city with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were still here, but everything else was gone. Traipse was stunned, “Where… where is… the castle? Where are the streets? The buildings? The crystal ponies? Where is the empire?”
Captain Mist trotted up to Traipse,” I guess… the spell he used took the kingdom with it.”
Traipse looked at Captain Mist, “Y-you guess? YOU GUESS! What do you mean you guess?! Where is everypony!?! Where is the Empire! What happened to them!?!”
Captain Mist replied, “The spell he used before he was turned into shadows. He decided to take the kingdom with him. this is completely unexpected.”
“UNEXPECTED!?! You said you were here to help the Crystal Ponies!”

                Traipse yelled to the group, “ENOUGH! You’re no better than king Sombra! I should have known better than to trust ponies from Equestria! You claim you care about the crystal ponies, you claim that you are here to help them! Well answer me this? WHERE ARE THEY!!! Give me proof that you meant to help them! Show me a pony that you have helped through all this!”
As Cadet Dust helped Captain Mist up from the ground, they all lowered their heads in shame, as Princess Luna replied, Traipse… we meant well. we wanted nothing more than to help them… but this was completely unex…”
“…pected? Yea… I’ve heard that excuse already… just answer me this, why am I still here?”
Princess Celestia replied, “Since you’re only a half blood… maybe the spell was directed toward full blooded crystal ponies, that would explain why my soldiers are still here too.”
“And the king… what happened to him?”
“He was turned to shadow and banished to the Ice of the arctic north…”

                Traipse turned around to trot away, “Very well… Good bye.”
As Traipse trotted by Princess Luna he stopped and looked her in the eye, “And you… if you appear in anymore of my dreams from this moment on… I'll hunt you down, and kill every subject I have to, until I find, and kill you… am I understood… Princess?”
Princess Luna lowered her head in shame, “You won’t see me again Traipse… I promise.”
Traipse continued trotting away as he replied, “Good.”
As Traipse trotted away, Captain Mist spoke to Princess Celestia, “Are you going to let him disrespect you in such a manner? He should be pun…”
Princess Luna interrupted him, “No… it’s us that should be punished… what we did to him… it’s as if we banished him from his home for no reason… we literally destroyed his life”
“Yea, but…”
Princess Celestia added, “Think of it like this captain… say somepony killed both me and Princess Luna, then destroyed Equestria… what would you do then?... You don’t know because that’s exactly what he is trying to figure out for himself.”