AN: I don't own My Little Pony, the Crystal Empire, the Crystal Ponies, King Sombra, Princess Celestia Princess Luna or Princess Cadence (do I look like Lauren Faust?).
A long time ago, a powerful king ruled the Crystal Empire. This king's name was King Diamond Heart, and he was the fifth king of the Crystal Empire. He ruled alongside his wife, Queen Rin. They had three children, a mare and two stallions. The mare was called Lucida and the stallions were called Pluto and Sombra.
In those days, the only Unicorns, Pegasai and Alicorns there were belonged to the royal family. King Diamond Heart and Lucida were Pegasai, Queen Rin and Sombra were Unicorns and Pluto was an Alicorn.
"I bet I'm going to become king one day!" Pluto boasted one day, when the three young fillies were hanging out in the castle's playroom, "It's so obvious father's going to pick me! I'm both of you combined!"
Lucida rolled her eyes, "We haven't even gotten our cutie marks yet!" She told her brother.
"And I don't think father would choose you." Sombra murmured, turning the page of the book he was reading, "You have a horn, yet you can never be bothered to practice your magic."
"I mean when we get older, silly!" Pluto sighed, "What, did you think that father was going to announce it tomorrow? We haven't even gotten our cutie marks yet!" He twisted around to look at his sparking, pale gray flank.
Lucida's eyes sparkled, "Let's play Kings and Queens!" She squealed, "I'm being the Queen!"
Sombra rolled his eyes, "Of course you'll be the Queen!" He muttered, "You're the only mare here... Unless Pluto wants to be the Queen this time."
"No way!" Pluto exclaimed, "I'm being the King."
"Too bad, I am."
"No!"
"Yes."
"No!"
"Yes."
"No!'
"Yes."
"No-"
Lucida quickly stepped between the two brothers, "You can be King next time, Sombra." She said gently, "Now, you can be the Prince!"
Sombra made a face, "Fine." He growled, "I'll be King some day!"
[A Year Later...]
"Pluto, Sombra!" Lucida came crashing into the room. The playroom had changed dramatically, since the princes and princess had reached that age where you think that everything is too childish for you. The chests of toys had been replaced with shelves of spell books that the two brothers were poring over. Pluto had finally started to take magic seriously in his desire to be King.
"What is it?" The silver Alicorn asked without even looking up.
"Look, look!"
The two gray brothers looked at their sister. She looked the same as always, her pale blue pelt, her mane tied back in a fancy braid, her tiara askew, her wings sticking out and that face that was always either kind and gentle, or grinning crazily from a new idea. On that day, it was the latter.
"What is it?" Sombra asked, "Did you crash into your flying instructor and fall into a prickly bush again?"
"No, look!" Lucida turned sideways to reveal a newly gained cutie mark. It was of a tiara made from rose stems.
Sombra stared at it, "How did you get it?" He asked, mystified.
"Like what you said, I fell into a prickly bush!"
Pluto stared at her, "What, so it's that easy?" He asked, "All you have to do is go around jumping into prickly rose bushes and you'll get your cutie mark?"
Sombra nudged him, "I think it takes a certain skill to do it." He joked, "Lucida does it so much, I think it had just become her special talent."
Lucida shrugged and continued to admire her cutie mark, "At least no one will guess that's how I got it." She said, "I'm going to show Mum and Dad." She turned and galloped at full speed out of the room.
[Two Months Later...]
"Just keep concentrating." Sombra told his brother, "Empty your mind of everything except that spell."
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" Pluto muttered, his horn glowing softly with a silver aura. It had been two weeks since he had gotten his cutie mark. It depicted a rock with several green crystals growing out of it, each glowing with a powerful aura.
"No you're not, stop talking and just concentrate."
"I am-"
"Shut up and concentrate!"
Pluto didn't say anything after that.
The three young ponies were in Pluto's chambers, practicing the sort of magic that if their father found out that they were using it, he'd have them thrown out of the Empire in less than a second. The whole thing had been Sombra's idea after Pluto had found an interesting book about Shadow Magic in the Palace Library. Although she couldn't do any magic, Lucida was with her brothers to watch their backs in case a guard got a little suspicious and came to look at what they were doing.
"Relax, you're being too tense." Sombra continued.
"Shut up, I can do th-"
"Guard coming!" Lucida hissed, darting into the room, "Hide the spell book!"
Sombra hastily shoved the heavy, leather-bound book under Pluto's bed and the three ponies jumped onto the bed and tried to look as innocent as possible as a guard opened the door and stuck his head inside, "Are you ok in there?" He asked.
"Yep, never better!" Said Pluto, "We're just um…"
"We're just hanging out and doing what we usually do!" Sombra said quickly.
"Yes, yes, we're having a great time!" Lucida added enthusiastically, shoving the guard away, "Why don't you just continue your rounds? We're er, good, responsible ponies who will never, ever even think of doing something like practising Shadow Magic! All is fine in here and you don't have any reason to report us to our father for illegal use of magic!"
The guard gave her a funny look and left.
"That was close." Sombra sighed, "Should we call it a day? I bet all those spells in here were made up by some crazy Earth Pony who just wanted to appear to be wise."
"I'm just going to try one more time." Pluto said, dragging one of the books out from under his bed and flipping through it. He stopped and stared at one page, "Hey, look at this!" He exclaimed, beckoning for his siblings to join him. When they did, he pointed with his hoof at a spell at the bottom of the page, "This allows you to turn into some sort of shadowy vapour!" Pluto exclaimed, "That's got to be cool!"
Sombra leaned over and looked down at the spell, "It looks pretty difficult." He warned.
"Who cares?" Pluto asked, "I'm trying it out!" He took a few steps back and lowered his head in concentration.
"Dark as night,
I fill my heart with blackness,
With all my might,
And I shall move, trackless."
He stiffened for half a second, and then a shadow engulfed him.
Sombra and Lucida jumped back in shock, "He did it!" Sombra exclaimed, "He actually did it!"
The shadow faded just as he finished speaking and Pluto re-appeared.
"What was that like?" Sombra asked eagerly, "I want to do it!"
Pluto shook his head slowly, "No, you don't." he said, "That was awful."
Sombra blinked at him, "What do you mean?" He asked, surprised. He knew he'd have given anything to be able to turn into a shadow.
Pluto looked down at the spell book that lay open at his hooves, but he looked at it differently than before he used the spell. His eyes glimmered with- wait, was that fear? Sombra was confused, what had happened to his brother that had made him so scared?
"This magic's bad." Pluto told Sombra, "We shouldn't be using it."
Sombra shrugged, "Ok." He said, "I'll return it to the library tomorrow morning." I actually won't. He added in his mind, he wanted to try out that spell, himself…
[Three Days Later…]
Finally, Sombra had gained the right opportunity to test out some of the spells. It was well past midnight and the young unicorn was standing in his room, the old spell book in front of him. The moon was so bright, he didn't even need a candle to read anything.
His green eyes scanned the first page and he chose a simple-looking one about creating Dark Crystals.
Shadow Chrystal, I shall call
You are the darkest crystal of them all.
Nothing.
Sombra stamped his hoof, infuriated, he was supposed to be more powerful at magic than his brother, but while his brother could turn into an awesome shadow, he couldn't even summon a dumb crystal!
He repeated the spell again, his rage seemed to be helping him. He thought about everything that annoyed him most. The only thing he could think of was he not getting his bloody cutie mark yet. That really annoyed him. He was a teenager now, well past the age that most ponies would get their cutie marks. He used to never care, but recently, several young and daring civilians had made fun of him in his face (a lot more behind his back) as if he wasn't their prince.
It infuriated him, who did those ponies think they were? He bet they wouldn't act that way if he put them in their place. He knew there must be some spells in the book in front of him that could make him the most feared pony in Equestria! If he just killed a few of them publicly and murdered his family-
Wait a minute! Sombra thought, snapping out of it. Did I just think what I think I did?
A small, dark crystal lay beside his hoof. It was as black as the night sky and unlike the crystals in the Crystal Empire, it was as if it was lifeless. But Sombra could feel the glow power coming from it.
Sombra picked the crystal in his mouth and made his way over to his window. He opened it and tossed the crystal into the courtyard below and slammed the window shut.
He turned and looked at the open book lying on the ground next to his bed, thinking about what that simple spell had made him think. If that spell had put that thought in his mind, he couldn't help but wonder what it made Pluto think. He suddenly understood what Pluto meant when he said that they shouldn't be using the spells in the book.
All the same, a thought at the back of his mind nagged him; I can learn to control it. It said. I know it, this stuff might not be good magic, but it's powerful and it might be useful in the future. Plus, it's hard to use, so it's guaranteed to make me stronger.
Sombra closed the book and shoved it back under his bed, he had to admit, the little voice was right. What could possibly go wrong?
[Two Weeks Later...]
Lucida had to admit, she was worried about her brother.
Not Pluto. That arrogant Alicorn thoroughly told her over and over that he could look after himself before he flew off and crashed into a crystalline building. No, she was worried about Sombra.
For the past two weeks, her younger brother had been spending all his spare time in his room and he hardly ever came out unless he was going to look something up in the library (which wasn't that often). Lucinda barely ever saw him, she sometimes tried to corner him in the halls, but he always seemed to disappear once he turned a corner.
"Something's wrong with Sombra." Lucida said to Pluto one day when they were flying around the Crystal Palace.
"I bet he's fine." Said Pluto absent-mindedly, but he appeared to be concentrating more on his flying than on what Lucida was saying.
"He's been acting strange." Lucida continued, "He hasn't spoken to us for ages, I don't even think I've seen his face for half a month!"
Pluto rolled his eyes, "He's being Sombra." He assured Lucida, "the same weird blank-flanked Unicorn he's always been."
Lucida landed on a balcony and trotted toward the door, "I'm going to check out what he's up to!" She called to her brother.
"I bet you're just going to be wasting your time!" Pluto called back before crashing into a crystal turret.
Lucida made her way straight to Sombra's room. She knocked on the door, "Hello?" She asked, trying to open the door, but it was locked. "Sombra? Are you ok?"
No answer.
Lucida wished she were a unicorn so she could open the door and find out what in the name of Celestia Sombra was up to. She pressed her ear against the door and heard nothing but the sound of ragged breathing.
"I know you're in there!" She said, "I can hear you, this isn't funny!"
The door opened just a crack and Lucida strained to see what was in the room, but it was pitch black.
"Oh, it you." Came Sombra's voice, "I thought you were guard." There was something weird about the way he spoke, as if he couldn't be bothered to say the smaller words. "You want talk?"
"Um, sure." Said Lucida, "Can I come in?"
Sombra hesitated for a minute before saying, "Ok."
The door opened a bit wider and closed the moment Lucida stepped inside. She couldn't see anything since the room was unnaturally dark. "Hey, can you light this place up a bit?" She called into the blackness.
The was no reply for a few minutes before Lucida heard Sombra say, "Sure." At once, the room lit up.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about Sombra's room. Sunlight streamed in through the stained glass window, which was strange, since the room had been in complete darkness only seconds before. Sombra was standing in front of her, a bit twitchy but otherwise, normal. An old, worn-out book lay open on his bed. A book that looked slightly familiar…
Lucida ignored Sombra and went straight for the book, "Sombra… Is this the book about Shadow Magic we were looking at a few weeks ago?" She asked softly.
Sombra looked at her sheepishly, "Couldn't help it." He mumbled, "Was too curious. Had lots of hard, useful spells-"
"Sombra, you must return this to the library immediately!" Lucida hissed desperately, "Do you know what's going to happen tomorrow?"
"Um… No?"
Lucida shook her head, exasperated, "You've been spending too much time away from us, father's going to announce the new King! He's retiring! We were told last week!"
"Was in my room last week." Said Sombra.
"My point is, IF ANYONE FINDS OUT YOU HAVE BEEN USING SPELLS FROM THIS BOOK, YOU WILL BE DRIVEN OUT OF THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE AND YOU'LL NEVER BE KING!"
"Since when you care?" Sombra said coldly, taking slow steps toward Lucida, "You never cared, did you? Pluto no care, either. The Crystals care. They like me." His red horn glowed black and several black, lifeless crystals dropped onto the floor, "They talk to me. Tell me the truth. Everyone laughs at me. I have no cutie mark." He gave a humourless laugh, "I no care. I know my special talent but there no cutie mark for it because no one likes pony with Shadow Magic cutie mark." He was just centimetres away from Lucida's face.
Lucida stumbled back, "You're crazy." She breathed, "The Shadow Magic did it, I bet. It's driven you insane."
Sombra's eyes narrowed into green slits, "I no crazy." He growled.
"You are." Lucida said firmly, "I'm going to get help." She turned and walked toward the door.
"Lucida no go." Sombra snarled, "Lucida tell father what Sombra do. Sombra will not allow it." His horn glowed black again and he fired a spell at Lucida's back.
Lucida screamed and hit the wall. Her wings were pinned to her sides by dark crystals.
"No one can hear Lucida scream." Sombra smirked, "Crystals no allow it. Shadows no allow it."
Lucida stared at her brother's irises turned scarlet and a purple vapour drifted from his eyes.
"Sombra, snap out of it!" She said desperately, "Please! You're not going to kill me, are you?"
Sombra raised his eyebrows and did exactly that.
[A Week Later…]
Lucida's death was a terrible tragedy. She was found on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire, her neck broken. The doctors came to a conclusion that she was out flying, had gotten careless for a moment and had an accident. Her family deeply mourned her death, Diamond Heart and Sombra included. They were the closest to her. Even Pluto was silent for several days.
But all the same, a week later, Diamond Heart still had the ceremony in which he would reveal his heir. He knew Lucida wouldn't want him to delay it.
The ceremony was held in public, by tradition, in front of the Crystal Heart. Almost the whole population of the Crystal Empire had gathered to watch and several of the palace guards had to hold back the crowds. King Diamond Heart and Queen Rin had special sapphire and ruby thrones made for the occasion that were placed by the light blue Crystal Heart that brought love, happiness etcetera, etcetera to the land.
The whole city-empire was decorated heavily and excited conversation buzzed through the crown.
There were several excited shouts as the King and Queen walked through a carefully kept empty aisle, their sons trotting behind them.
A cheer went up as the Diamond Heart and Rin reached their thrones. Diamond Heart raised his hoof for silence.
"It is my great honour to announce my new heir." He announced, "And it is my greatest sorrows that Princess Lucida can't be here today."
Sad murmurs swept through the crowd. Lucida had been very popular.
"Today, we have gathered here to witness a ceremony that has taken place right here at this time for five centuries." King Diamond Heart continued, "I have grown old, and it is time for me to announce the next King of the Crystal Empire." As he said that, excited chatter broke through the crowd. Pluto smirked as he heard his name being called my a vast majority of the ponies.
"They're all saying I'm going to be King." He whispered to Sombra smugly.
Sombra gave a small smile, "Wait what King says." He said softly, adjusting his red cloak. He always wore it in public to hide his blank flank.
Pluto was about to tell his brother to stop talking like a filly when he heard Queen Rin speaking.
"Over the years, these two colts you see before you have grown and learned the ways of the Crystal Ponies. It is time for one to succeed their father and preserve the love and peace the Empire has contained."
Get on with it! Pluto thought irritably, pawing the ground in frustration and earning himself a stern look from his mother.
For the next half hour, Diamond Heart rambled on about how the Crystal Empire was first formed many thousand centuries ago when Discord, the spirit of chaos created a city of crystals just for the hell of it and after he was turned to stone by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, a colony of Earth Ponies settled there. Then all their love and other icky things created the Crystal Heart which gave all the Crystal Ponies their sparky, crystalline look.
Then, Diamond Heart started listing down all the Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses of the past and told all the ponies their life stories. Pluto immediately made up his mind that when he was King, he would skip out on all the boring bits of this ceremony and skip to the part when the next King was announced.
"And now, it is time for a new King to rise." Diamond said at last. "I, King Diamond Heart, call upon the powers of the Crystal Heart to assist me in this decision. There are two Princes in front of me, yet only one can be my successor. Bless him and guide him through his reign." He looked from Pluto to Sombra, "The King of the Crystal Empire, he who shall continue this traditions until it he falls in battle or retires is..."
Pluto held his breath and he could feel Sombra stiffen beside him.
"Prince Pluto will be my heir."
"Yes!" Pluto's cheer was drowned out by the screams and applauding of the Crystal Ponies around him.
"Congratulations." Said Sombra coolly. Pluto swore he say a glint of red in his brother's eyes, but he was too triumphant to care. He flew over to his parents and landed before the King and Queen's thrones. He knelt down before them just like how he was taught when he was a foal.
King Diamond Heart and Queen Rin rose to their hooves, "My son, Prince Pluto." Diamond Heart addressed him, "Do you swear to defend the Crystal Empire with your heart, soul and life?"
"I do!" Pluto replied, trying his best to sound calm when really, he felt like doing a victory dance right there in front of the entire Empire.
"Do you swear to protect the Crystal Heart with everything you have got?" Queen Rin asked.
"I do!"
"Do you swear to let go of all you jealousy, envy, greed and lust for revenge?" Diamond Heart asked.
"I do!"
"Do you swear to treat your siblings as your equals, despite your new rank?"
"I do!" Pluto said. He wasn't even bothering to listen to what his parents were asking him to agree to anymore.
"Do you swear to put the Ponies of the Crystal Empire before you, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do!" Pluto didn't really.
"Do you swear to pass on these ancient rituals on to your heir and to never let go of the traditions of the Crystal Empire?"
"I do!"
Diamond Heart raised his muzzle and spread out his gleaming white wings, "Then I, King Diamond Heart the Swift..."
"... And I, Queen Rin, the Merciful." Rin added. Her horn glowed with a blue aura and she levitated a silver and emerald crystalline crown into the air between her and Pluto.
"Proclaim you King Pluto the Proud." Diamond Heart finished as his wife placed the crown onto Pluto's head.
The crowed roared and applause and Pluto flew up into the air and set of a hundred fireworks all around the Empire, that added to the noise.
No one noticed Sombra slink away through the crowd.
[That Night...]
"Speak with you?"
King Pluto jumped at the sound of Sombra's voice and he turned to see his brother standing right beside him.
"How did you do that?" Pluto asked in amazement, looking from the door to where Sombra was standing. He had just moved to the King's Chambers. His new room was twice the size of his old one, decorated with crystals of every kind.
Sombra shrugged, "Am a Unicorn." He said, his baby-talk irritating Pluto even more, "Wanted to say congratulations properly."
"Thanks." Pluto said, observing his brother closely, "Are you feeling ok?"
"Yes, why?"
Pluto shrugged, "You're just speaking funny, that's all." He said.
"Lucida's death sad." Sombra said absentmindedly, "But necessary."
Pluto stared at his gray brother in astonishment, "What?" He exclaimed, "Her death was necessary?"
"Yes." Sombra said calmly, "Knew too much. Knew Sombra's relationship with Shadow Crystals."
Pluto shook his head, "I'm sorry." He said, "But I don't get any of this. By the sounds of it, you're a lunatic who uses Shadow Magic and you killed your own sister."
Sombra nodded, "Sombra did that exactly." He said, "Hit nail on head."
Pluto took several steps back, "Then you're here to kill me, too. Aren't you?" He asked, panic in his voice, "You want to be king, right?"
"Crystals want me King, too." Sombra said calmly.
"In that case, you're not getting out of here alive." Pluto growled, "I can't have a pony like you on the loose, threatening my Empire." His silver horn glowed and he shot the most powerful combat spell he knew at the pony he had once called his brother.
Sombra lowered his head and a shield made from black crystals appeared in front of him, blocking the spell and not even cracking. The shield disappeared and Sombra trotted up to his shocked brother. His irises had turned red and his eyes began to emit a purple vapour.
"How... How did that do nothing?" Pluto chocked.
"Crystals don't want a weak King." Sombra answered, "Crystals want strong one who is not scared to learn Shadow Magic." A spell flashed from his glowing red horn. Pluto was too close to dodge it and absorbed the full attack and was thrown across the room, his horn and wings sabotaged by tiny black crystals.
"Goodbye, Pluto the Proud." Sombra said without any emotion, "New King of Crystals will rise." His eyes flickered to an open window near his brother, "You will fall not only from power." And before Pluto knew what he meant, Sombra shoved him and watched as his brother fell seven stories down into the courtyard below.
[Next day...]
"It saddens me deeply to announce that the new King, King Pluto was found dead this morning." Diamond Heart said. He was standing beside Rin, their pelts pressed against each other. The two of them were standing atop a large balcony overlooking the whole city-empire. Many shining Crystal Ponies had gathered below and they exchanged shocked whispers among each other. A prince and princess dead in the same month couldn't have been a good omen.
"I have decided to come out of my retirement until I find a new successor." Diamond Heart continued, "As well as that, I have something to warn you about. The palace doctors thoroughly examined King Pluto's body to find that he had shards of Shadow Crystals in his wings and horn." The old king's words made more ponies gasp, "We cannot be certain who the murder is, but it must be either a Unicorn or n Alicorn." There were murmurs in the crowd, "So let us warn you not to trust any strange Unicorns or any hooded figures that might be hiding a horn. That is all." The King and Queen turned and walked back into the castle.
In the crowd, there was a young Crystal Pony called Cadenza was with her friends, Sparkle Shine and Aphrodite.
Sparkle Shine shuddered, "King Diamond Heart has just made me paranoid." She said, "Now I am scared of a killer on the loose!"
Aphrodite snorted, "It's obvious to who the murderer is!" She said loudly for everyone around to hear, "Isn't it a little convenient that both Princess Lucinda and Prince Pluto died around the same time as the Heir Ceremony? Pluto died right after he was crowned King, so the murderer is obviously Prince Sombra!"
The group gasped.
"Aphrodite!" Cadenza exclaimed, "That's very extreme, blaming a Prince for killing his siblings just for power!"
"And maybe for revenge." Aphrodite continued, "No one likes him because he's still a Blank Flank. Maybe he has just gotten sick of it all and wants to punish us all!"
"Should we report him to the King?" A nervous-looking filly asked.
Cadenza shook her head, "The security in the Palace is strong." She said reasonably, "Why should we worry? I do not think the King and Queen are stupid, maybe they have already suspected Sombra, but have not announced it yet because they do not want to alert him. Or maybe because they do not want to believe that their own son is a murderer."
Sparkle Shine blinked at her, "So... All we shall do is wait?"
"They've got to get to the bottom of this soon enough." Cadenza told her friends, "Really, what could go wrong in this short wait? If anything gets out of hand, we can secretly tell Princesses Celestia and Luna and they could sort it out. Everything will be fine."
She could not have been more wrong.
[That Night...]
Sombra didn't even bother to knock on his father's door, he simply turned to shadow and slipped underneath. King Diamond Heart was facing away from him, looking out the window at the starlit sky.
Easy. Sombra thought, Very easy... Empire of Crystals... Him not worthy...
"I knew you would come." Diamond Heart said sadly and Sombra turned back to a Unicorn in surprise.
Diamond Heart turned away from the window and looked Sombra in the eye, "Don't think I'm stupid." He said, "Rin and I know what you did to your siblings. We know about your Shadow Magic. It's hard to miss a giant book missing from the library." He shook his head, "We should have destroyed it as soon as we could."
"Diamond Heart knew?" Sombra growled, "Then why did not Diamond Heart stop Sombra?"
Diamond Heart looked at him, a hint of sadness and hope in his purple eyes, "I may be just a Pegasai and know not much of Unicorn magic, but I can tell that the Shadow Crystals have not taken full control of you. You can still fight the darkness and become yourself again."
Sombra stiffened, "What if Sombra not want fight darkness?" He asked, "What if Sombra accepts he is better with it?"
Diamond Heart shook his head, "You don't really think that." He said, "That's just the Shadow Magic. It doesn't want to leave it's host. But there's a part inside you that is fighting for freedom. Find it, and you will be saved. I am sorry I cannot help you, my son. This is your battle, and I have no magic to help assist you."
Sombra closed his eyes and was silent for a minute. He gave a small sigh and opened his eyes. The irises were read and the purple vapour began to drift from them. "Sombra will not fight Shadow Crystals." He growled. He shot a spell at his father who easily dodged it. He was about to try again when a spell hit him from behind and he tumbled into a wall, winded.
"I did not think I would ever have to do this." Came a soft voice. Queen Rin was standing in the doorway, her horn glowing blue, "But it is too late to save you. Goodbye, my son." She lowered her head and fired a deadly spell at Sombra.
"Sombra will not die!" The dark gray and black Unicorn spat, summoning a shield made from black crystals which absorbed the spell easily. He rose to his hooves and said:
"With dark crystals I bind your powers,
Day and night. Through countless hours."
Dark crystals flew from him and attached themselves to Diamond Heart's wings and Rin's horn.
"You not leave this room until tomorrow." Sombra told them, walking past teh shocked Rin and shoving her inside the room, "Crystals will stop you if you try." As he said that, dark crystals grew over the window, covering it entirely and as he left the room, more black crystals grew, covering the door up. "Got a lot of things to do now."
[Four Years Later...]
Prince Sombra revealed himself as the murderer of Princess Lucida and King Pluto without any shame. On top of that, he executed both his parents in front of all the ponies of the Crystal Empire and crowned himself king. He made no effort to conceal neither his physical changes (although he still wore a cape to hide his blank flank) nor his skill in Shadow Magic, which he not only used on ponies who disobeyed him, but also on every single one of the palace guards, transforming them into dark ponies who seemed to be made entirely out of black crystals.
On the third day of his rule, King Sombra gathered the Crystal Ponies to hear what he had to say.
"You unworthy!" He spat at them, "You useless, too! Stupid Earth Ponies, you get everything handed to you, you do no work! You sit on your lazy asses all day and sparkle like gay vampires! Shadow Crystals say you need change! Since you like crystals so much, you go find them yourselves! You go mine them or you be punished!"
"He's barking mad!" Aphrodite whispered to Cadenza, "He thinks that these crystals are talking to him, does he really expect us to believe him?"
A brave colt pushed his way through the crowd until he was standing in front of all the ponies, "You can not do this!" He shouted up, "You may be a Unicorn and our King, but you can not just change everything the noble Kings in front of you did! Have you forgotten about the Heir Ceremony? A new Queen or King is supposed to swear to put the ponies of the Crystal Empire before him, even at the cost of his or her life! Do you remember none of that?"
King Sombra looked calmly down at the colt and casually sent a black crystal through his heart, killing him, "King Sombra not swear to any of that." He said coolly, "Last King did not do ceremony with King Sombra, so rules do not apply. King Sombra did not swear to anything."
Someone smart enough not to attract attention to herself then shouted up, "You may enslave us, but you will never take what matters to us the most! We will still continue to love and care for each other, that is something a tyrant like you will never understand!"
King Sombra raised his eyebrows, "You talk about Crystal Heart?" He asked, "Should not have reminded me about it. I will make sure you will never see it again." And with that, he turned and walked back into his palace, "You start working tomorrow." He called over his shoulder, "Crystal Mines will be found just outside Empire. Do not try to escape work, or Dark Crystal Soldiers will kill you." And he was gone.
Cadenza stared in stunned silence at the dead colt's body. I'm an idiot. She thought, Why didn't I agree it was a good idea to inform the Princesses? Now King Sombra the Dark is king and many ponies are dead...
"I'm scared." Said Sparkle Shine, her eyes wide, "He's going to take away the Crystal Heart!"
Aphrodite rolled her eyes, "You really believe that?" She asked, "I bet that was just an empty threat, he's just trying to scare us into being being his slaves!" She turned and trotted through the crowd, "Who wants to come over to my place for some Crystal Pop Tarts?"
[Two Years Later...]
"Cadenza! Are you awake?" Sparkle Shine hissed.
Cadenza moaned and rolled over. She was still so sore from another day working nonstop in the Crystal Mines and she was so happy her weekly day off was coming up.
"Cadenza!" Came Aphrodite's voice, "Wake up! We are going to escape tonight!"
Cadenza sat bolt upright, hitting her head on the ceiling of their house. A year and a half ago, King Sombra declared that the Crystal Ponies were unworthy of living in crystalline houses, and made them all sleep in tiny, low-roofed sheds while his Dark Soldiers lived in the crystalline city.
"What?" She hissed, careful to keep her voice down. The sheds weren't very soundproof and the Dark Soldiers patrolled the streets frequently each night.
Aphrodite and Sparkle Shine's eyes were shining with excitement, "We have been planning it for about a month or so now and we think we have got a foolproof plan!" Sparkle Shine whispered excitedly.
Cadenza rubbed her bruised head, "What is it?" She whispered back.
Aphrodite explained it, "There has to be a gap in the Dark Soldier's defenses somewhere, most likely near the Crystal Mines because they think that no pony will ever want to go there during the night. We shall sneak there tonight, being as quiet as possible so that no Dark Soldier will hear us. We then walk until we pass the border, find a way to earn a bit of money and take the train to Canterlot."
Cadenza frowned, "Why Canterlot?" She asked.
"The Princesses are there!" Sparkle Shine said a little too loudly and the three mares held their breaths, expecting a Shadow Guard to burst in.
Cadenza felt something flutter in her chest: hope. She hadn't felt anything like it since King Sombra had taken away the Crystal Heart and hidden it Celestia knows where.
"When are we leaving?" She breathed, barely able to contain her excitement.
"Now!" Aphrodite answered, "Come on!" She peeked out of the doorway (because King Sombra couldn't be bothered to install doors to his slave's houses) and turned back to her friends, "The coast's clear!" She told them and the three of them snuck out, keeping to the shadows. For once, Cadenza was happy that King Sombra stole the Crystal Heart. Their pelts were now dull instead of sparkling, so they were a bit less likely to be seen (except for the fact that the three of them had light pelts).
They saw the first Dark Soldier after about five minutes of sneaking through the maze of wooden sheds. They all dived behind one of the sheds and didn't dare to even breathe as he walked silently by, his black armour not making a sound as he seemed to blend into the shadows.
Once he passed, Sparkle Shine sighed, "That was close." She murmured before Aphrodite hit her on the head and snapped at her to be quiet.
As the first signs of dawn appeared in the sky, the three mares reached the East Crystal Mines. Much to their joy, there was no pony to be seen.
"We made it!" Sparkle Shine squealed happily.
"Still, be on your guard." Cadenza told her, glancing around warily, "Who knows, there might be guards here."
Aphrodite nodded in agreement and the three of them slowly made their was toward the border of the city.
"Once we get out of this city, run." Aphrodite murmured, "Just get away from here. We'll meet tomorrow evening in the Opal Valley."
"Right." Sparkle Shine and Cadenza said in unison and they all charged.
They had just passed the mines when they suddenly stopped. It was weird, they were running but they were barely getting anywhere, just moving a few inches at a time.
"What in the name of-"
"It's a magical barrier!" Cadenza gasped, "We can still move! Run faster, we're nearly through!"
Sparkle Shine gave a frightened squeak, "Whatever you do, DON'T LOOK BEHIND US!" She screeched, charging faster than anyone would have though possible.
"What is it?" Asked Aphrodite, turning her head and freezing in shock. About a hundred Dark Soldiers had gathered at the mines.
"No, keep running!" Cadenza screamed. She and Sparkle Shine were nearly through the barrier.
A Dark Soldier darted forward and grabbed a mouthful of Aphrodite's tail hair and pulled her backwards, away from the barrier. In less than a second, all the Dark Soldiers surged forward and charged at the barrier, and she was lost in the crowd.
"NO!" Sparkle Shine screamed, slowing down a little.
"Keep going!" Cadenza shouted, "We're nearly through! Aphrodite wouldn't have wanted us both to die when we're so close!" Just as she said that, they were free from the barrier and galloping away from the city-empire at top speed.
When Cadenza risked a peek behind her, she noticed that the Dark Soldiers were having the same difficulty the mares had at getting through the barrier.
She and Sparkle Shine then took off in random directions and ran. Cadenza was for the first time grateful for all the time she spent working in those mines. The long days had strengthened her a lot.
"Remember, tomorrow evening in the Opal Valley!" Cadenza called to her friend.
"Got it!" Sparkle Shine shouted just as she disappeared over some hills.
[Next Evening...]
Sparkle Shine never came.
Cadenza got to the Opal valley in the afternoon and hid in some bushes until sunset. When she gathered the courage to do it, she started to softly call Sparkle Shine's name. When she was confident that there were no Dark Soldiers lurking around, she began to pace around in the open, calling for her friend. But she didn't dare leave the valley, in case Sparkle Shine was just a bit delayed or lost.
Around midnight, Cadenza gave up and curled up among the roots of a tree. When she woke up around midday, Sparkle Shine still hadn't appeared. Cadenza waited another day, grazing on the valley's grass, but had to leave around dusk when she saw a search party nearby.
Cadenza was glad it was still Summer, for in the Winter, the place she was walking on would be completely frozen over and she would barely have a chance to survive.
She still couldn't get over the fact that Aphrodite and maybe Sparkle Shine were both dead. It didn't seem possible the three mares had been close friends since they were fillies, despite not being very much like each other. Perfect Aphrodite, nervous Sparkle Shine and responsible Cadenza. She almost laughed. Yeah, she had just been really responsible.
Thinking of her friends made Cadenza realize how much they had changed before their deaths. Aphrodite had stopped being so self-conscious and Sparkle Shine had learned to stand up to her fears.
Despite how much she clearly wanted to, Cadenza knew her friends would have wanted her not to wallow in self-pity and get on with her journey. The Crystal Empire was depending on her.
[Four Months Later...]
The only thing that was stopping the white Unicorn guard from ditching his guard post and sneaking off to get something to eat was the fact that he would lose both his job and his emotionless, I-do-not-give-a-damn-what-is-going-on-unless-it-involves-bashing persona.
But until midday, his job was to just stand at the Palace Gates beside another white unicorn guard clad in golden armour.
"I'm bored." He muttered.
"I can tell that." The other guard answered.
"Entertain me."
The other guard looked looked at him funny, "Excuse me?"
"We've been standing here all day and nothing has happened. I need more action in my life!"\
The other guard sighed and cast a spell on a passing pony, transforming her hat into a massive banana.
The white guard chuckled, "Okay, that's good enough." He said, quickly wiping his face of any emotion before any pony could see him laughing, "Quick, look serious before anypony sees!"
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Somepony shouted and a dull-pelted, pink Earth Pony came galloping through the streets. It was clear that she wasn't from Canterlot. Her pelt was too dirty and her long, ragged mane was unkempt.
"I've got this." The other guard muttered, stepping in front of the gates, "Who goes-"
Before he could finish, the pink mare shot right past him. The look on his face made the first Unicorn guard want to roll around, laughing his horn off.
"Get back here!" The half-shocked shouted, spinning around and sprinting after the mare.
The other guard couldn't contain himself. For the first time in history, the public witnessed a Canterlot guard rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter.
[In The Palace...]
Cadenza was running as fast as she could through the Palace, a Unicorn guard hot on her heels.
It seemed like centuries since she had seen a city like Canterlot, with well-dressed ponies and stores and fillies playing in the streets. Had the Crystal Empire really been like that once?
The moment she had gotten into Canterlot, she was the odd pony out. That didn't matter much to Cadenza, though. She just ran as fast as she could toward the Palace, hardly believing that she had come this far. That she was still alive. She would not let anyone stop her from getting to the Princesses.
She veered right into a long hall, and hoping to lose the guard, darted into the first room she saw. She let out a long sigh of relief when she heard the guard run right past the room she was hiding in. She waited a few minutes before creeping out and running as quietly as possible through the maze of corridors and rooms.
Whenever Cadenza heard hoofsteps, she immediately dived through the the closest doorway and hid there until she heard the pony pass. After at least an hour of running aimlessly through the Palace she found herself back in the corridor where she first hid from the pursuing Unicorn guard.
"What?" She actually said aloud, staring in dismay at the corridor and glancing behind her. All this time, and she had just been going around in circles?
"Are you lost?" Cadenza jumped at the voice and nearly fell over in shock. The speaker was a tall, young, dark blue mare with a long, flowing mane. She was obviously someone important.
"Oh!" Cadenza said, trying desperately to find the right words to say, "Um, I'm err... I ant to- I mean, I must speak to the Princesses- I mean, only if I am allowed to, but I really must because I is um, really important and I..." She broke off and just said, "Can I please talk to the Princesses?"
The dark blue mare gave her a warm smile, "Thou already is." She said. "I am Princess Luna."
"Gah!" Cadenza gasped, hurriedly bowing low, "Sorry for my disrespect-"
"No need to apologize." Said Princess Luna, "I take you are not from around here?"
"No, I am not, I- um... Can I tell my story to both of you, I mean, if you allow me to!"
"Of course." Said Princess Luna, "Thee may rise, follow me." She turned to see a panting white Unicorn guard standing at the end of the hall, "What troubles thee?" She called to him.
"That mare, she- Um, er, broke in and entered, ah... Never mind." He mumbled, glancing down at the ground, "I see you have got it all under control."
"Indeed I have." Said Princess Luna and the guard hurried off. "I wonder what he had been up to." She muttered.
"Um, it's a long story." Cadenza told her.
[An Hour Later...]
It turned out that the throne room was simply at the end of the corridor Cadenza met Luna in.
Princess Luna's sister, Princess Celestia was in the room when they entered, and Cadenza told the two Princesses all about King Sombra's rule and how he had changed the Empire.
Princess Celestia was silent for a while after listening to Cadenza's story before saying, "If King Sombra has been doing these things for years without us noticing, who knows what else he might be hiding."
Princess Luna turned to Cadenza, "We thanks thee for coming to us and sharing this news." She said, "When we rid the Crystal Empire of darkness, it needs a new ruler."
Princess Celestia gave her sister a nod, "Yes, you are right." She said, turning to Cadenza, "You have shown great courage and strength, traveling from the Crystal Empire to here to save your home."
Cadenza looked down at the ground, her face feeling hot, "Thank you." She murmured, "But I could not have done it if it were not for my friends, Sparkle Sine and Aphrodite. They gave me confidence and I would not be here if it were not for them."
"Than we shall honour them forever." Celestia told her, "You may live in Canterlot from now on, if you wish. But right now, my sister and I have a task to perform."
Princess Luna gave a nod, "We shall set out at once." She said, "If we are not back by tomorrow, every guard in Canterlot will leave for the Crystal Empire automatically."
Then the two princesses turned and dramatically jumped out the window. Then they remembered that they had forgotten their secret weapon, so they flew back inside, quickly got it and used the door.
[A Few Hours Later...]
The only reason the two sisters had gotten to the Crystal Empire so quickly was because they used their magic to go faster. They didn't want to take a day to get to the Empire, defeat King Sombra and suddenly have all their guards charging over to the Empire for no reason.
The two princesses were flying up above the thick clouds to stay out of sight of any ponies below them. After a while of flying, Luna said, "We are close, I can feel it."
Celestia nodded, "I do, too." She said, "There's an unusual magic pattern coming from it..." The two of them flew downwards, "What the Tartarus?" She muttered.
The Crystal Empire was barely recognizable. The tall, grand crystalline buildings were dull and black. Moving shadows seemed to writhe in every corner and the only ponies around were dark ponies made from crystal that were clad in black armour.
Celestia and Luna hovered above the city-empire for a few moments before Luna said, "I am glad we brought the Elements of Harmony."
Celestia's horn glowed pink and six silver spheres appeared in the air in front of them. Celestia took the Elements of Magic, Laughter and Loyalty. Luna took the Elements of Kindness, Generosity and Honesty.
"Is thou ready?" Asked Luna, her elements glowing blue and slowly revolving around her.
"I was born ready, sister." Celestia told her and the two of them swooped down toward the Crystal Empire. Several Dark Soldiers looked up at the princesses in surprise, but lost interest once they saw that they weren't attacking. Celestia had a feeling that the Dark Soldiers were just mindless drones, created to perform one task. Apparently, defending the Empire was not that task.
They got to the Crystal Palace without being stopped and they landed on the large balcony that the Kings and Queens would use to perform speeches or to announce the beginning of the Crystal Fair. But now, it was empty and black crystals studded the ground like broken teeth.
There were no guard ponies inside, which was odd. In Canterlot, the Palace was filled with guards, servants and nobles running around, doing their daily work (and sometimes, slacking off when they thought no one was looking). But in the Crystal Palace, it was as quiet as a graveyard.
"There is something going on around here." Luna muttered, "Be on thine guard."
The two princesses spent the next few hours walking through empty room, corridors and walking up and down staircases (Celestia wondered what was with King Sombra and stairs, because every time they turned corner, there was a staircase) until they finished walking up yet another staircase, they found themselves at the very top of the Crystal Palace, overlooking the Crystal Empire.
They spent quite a while admiring the view until they could be bothered to turn around and notice that King Sombra was standing behind them the whole time.
Not that he saw them, either. His back was to them and he was crouching in front of the Crystal Heart which was coated in Shadow Crystals and lying lifelessly on the ground at his hooves.
"Crystal... Heart... Stairs... Shadows... Gak..." King Sombra muttered. From the sounds of it, his sanity had gone completely out the window.
"Yes, it was a pain to walk up all of thine stairs." Luna growled, "And what is this 'Gak' thou speaks of?"
If Sombra heard her, he didn't make any reaction at all.
Celestia raised her eyebrows, "Fine, now would be the perfect time to destroy him."
King Sombra laughed, "Princess speak like tyrant."
"Finally, I was thing you had gone deaf." Celestia muttered.
King Sombra turned around to face them, "Too late to stop Sombra." He said, "Too late to stop Crystal Heart."
"We shall see about that." Celestia growled, her and Luna's elements glowed brightly, "A simple Unicorn like you will never be able to defeat the Elements of Harmony in your state."
The six elements disappeared in a glow of light and each one emitted a different colour, creating a rainbow. The rainbow, grew, getting brighter and brighter. Raw magic pulsed from it and then, like a massive, multi-coloured tsunami, it crashed down on top of the King of the Crystal Empire.
The princess closed their eyes to block out the glare of light, but when they opened them, they saw King Sombra crouched on the ground, a shield of Shadow Crystals in front of him.
Celestia's mouth fell open, how could he have blocked an attack from the Elements of Harmony? She had always thought of the Elements as the most powerful objects in all of Equestria, but this crazy Unicorn had just blocked it by instinct.
King Sombra rose to his hooves, even he looked a bit surprised at how strong his magic was, then his confused expression cleared and he started laughing like crazy, "Princesses not stronger than Shadow Magic!" He laughed, "Sombra is invincible!"
"You're a loony." Celestia corrected him.
Sombra turned to look at the Crystal Heart, "Sombra almost done." He said, "When Heart is fully possessed, it charge Sombra's magic and Sombra will rule Equestria with Shadow Magic!"
Luna shifted closer to Celestia and whispered, "Get rid of the Elements." She hissed, "Sombra's shield will only work against physical attacks."
Celestia frowned, "How would you know?" She asked, "You do not practice Shadow Magic, do you?"
Luna glanced away, looking sheepish, "One or twice." She admitted, "But that does not matter now. We need to get this done with right now. Partly because it will be very bad if King Sombra takes over Equestria, and partly because I am very hungry and I want to have a snack as soon as possible."
"Right." Celestia murmured, casting a spell to make the Elements disappear, "What shall we do now?"
"Curse him." Luna whispered, "Cursing is not a physical attack, it is a mental one."
"Sombra did just hear all that." Sombra called, turning around with a smirk on his face, "Try it, Sombra dares you."
Luna shrugged, "Thou asked for it." She muttered, lowering her horn and casting a spell at the King.
"That is not a curse!" Celestia exclaimed as King Sombra simply turned into a shadow.
"I know." Said Luna, "This is!" Her horn glowed and... Nothing happened.
Celestia frowned, "What did you do?" She asked.
Luna smirked, "Since he likes shadows so much, he now is one... Permanently!"
Celestia had I idea, "Do you think he can still use the shield when he is a shadow?" She asked.
Luna frowned, "I do not think so." She said.
"Then the Elements might still work, quick!"
Sombra seemed incapable of speaking properly as a shadow. He spat something, but it was ineligible and tried to slip away, but the two princesses had summoned their Elements and used them to blast him out of the Crystal Empire with a massive double rainbow that went all the way across the sky.
"It is so intense!" Luna murmured, squinting against the harsh light.
"We would not have been able to defeat him if it were not for you." Said Celestia, "But you should not study Shadow Magic. You saw what it did to Sombra, and I do not what it to happen to you."
"All right, I will not." Said Luna, but if she had fingers, she would have been crossing them. She glanced back at where the Crystal Heart was lying and gasped, "Celestia, look!"
The Shadow Crystals were falling one by one off the heart, like petals of a flower, exposing the brilliant blue underneath.
"I think Sombra's spell over the Empire is break-" Luna began when the ground shuddered and everything began to fade, "I think Sombra has still some magic left!" She gasped, "Quickly, sister! We must escape!" She spread her wings and the two of them flew straight upwards as the dark crystals continued to rain down from everything and the kingdom continued to fade. They flew a mile or so away to turn around and see the Crystal Empire, brilliant and shining once more, disappear into nothing.
[A Thousand Years Later...]
Empire return, but with it, Sombra will return, too. Shadow Magic come with them and they will take back Empire and the crystal slaves... Pink Alicorn and white Unicorn will try to stop Sombra with Purple Unicorn and pathetic friends. Sombra not let them. Sombra will make Empire great again.
[Return of the Crystal Heart]
What? No, impossible! Baby Purple Dragon not defeat Sombra! It not be possible, Sombra too powerful! Sombra enslaved Empire!
Pathetic Pink Alicorn appears, she has Crystal Heart... No, Crystal Slaves are not helping, they cannot be! This is not happening!
Pain, so much pain... Falling apart, everything is palling apart, Sombra burning, Sombra sees everything, life literally flashes before eyes. Murder, magic, King, crystals, shadows, darkness, wings...
I am so sorry.
AN: … And so, Luna continued her studies in Shadow Magic, which fueled her hate for Celestia, making her turn into Nightmare Moon.
I have nothing against crazy people, I AM ONE! :D
Sparkle Shine's name was first Sparkle Wish, but then I remembered that I had a minor MLP OC called Night Wish, so I changed her name to Sparkle Shine. So if you find any parts where I refer to Sparkle Shine as Sparkle Wish, that's just a mistake.
Virtual cookies for those who spotted the Monty Python and Double Rainbow song references!