The following takes place between 8:00am and 9:00am

King Sombra appeared in his shadow form. Bright Iris stood down and his colts did the same. One of them, Tough Nut, gazed amazingly. "The actual ruler of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra!"

"You'll face the wrath of my power. Resistance is useless to those who oppose." Sombra gave a booming voice.

"Hear us Sombra. We came for answers," explained Brave Lance.

Sombra wasn't hesitant to hear Brave Lance's words. None of them drew their weapons. He saw the honesty in them. "What is it you want to speak of?"

"We want to know why Sect are using your horn."

"Someone's using my horn?"

"Wait? You don't even know?" Dark Spear asked.

Sand Graphite, one of Bright Iris' agents, came up with a theory. "He remained in that black crystal for years. It's probably the only one he could find after his defeat."

"That crystal pony's right," confirmed Sombra. "After my defeat by that dragon, I became weak."

"Do any of the crystal ponies know you're alive?" Brave Lance asked.

"None have even tried to hunt me. They couldn't risk entering the outskirts without proper gear. Whenever they do try to find me, they have a difficult time finding it during the snowstorms. I cannot reclaim my body unless I'm recharged. Which may take a long time."

The crystal is Sombra's birthplace. He was an orphan with no memory of his past. A crystal pony found him abandoned in the snow. He's adopted by the previous rulers of the Crystal Empire, King White Arrow and Queen Plancheite. He took the throne after their passing. They didn't know he would later become a power-hungry ruler.

Dark Spear need some clarification. "How did you King Sombra would be here anyway?"

"Being a resident of the Crystal Empire, it's likely that his power wouldn't be from a natural born," explained Sand Graphite.

"Doesn't explain how you're the only ponies, that managed to find this crystal," reminded Brave Lance.

"It wasn't a simple task," confessed Sharp Eye. "After reading up on Sombra's life, we decided that the outskirts were the best place to start. One of our unicorns, Driftwood, used a powerful locating spell. He can glide through the storm easily."

"Who found the horn then?"

"A pony named Curio Shopkeeper."

"Why use the postal service?"

"Cause it has less security measures," said Bright Iris.

Fillydelphia is a possible location where Sect could be. They haven't received confirmation on the location. Sect's incredibly good in not giving away their location.

"And my horn?" King Sombra asked.

"Locked away safely. We don't know if Sect will return and try again. In the meantime, we'll send someone to Fillydelphia while we go check on Princess Luna and Princess Celestia."

Sombra heard the princess' names mentioned. He struggled to cope with the time he got defeated by them. He couldn't think whether he should be grateful or fuelled with vengeance.

8:20am

"Any word from them?" Applejack asked.

"Not after locking themselves in." Rarity looked at the magic glow from the door lock.

Jack tried to contact them. Knocking and calling out to them didn't help. He couldn't hear what they're saying. They must have used another spell to isolate sound. He looked through the keyhole. He can see Twilight and Celestia discussing.

"Are they doing OK?" Fluttershy asked.

"They just need privacy," said Jack.

"There must be something we can do." Applejack wanted to help.

The others were on the same page. No matter how much they thought, the prior events kept coming up in their heads. They couldn't think of anything.

"What we can do is try to know what Sect's plan is," said Rainbow Dash.

A thought lingered in Luna's mind. Chrysalis can see it through her. She's curious into knowing what's going on. "Princess Luna? Are you OK? You seem more worried than the other ponies."

"Before my sister chose Twilight to learn the magic of friendship, she had been given the opportunity in becoming queen of Equestria. As it states, the oldest sibling must be named king of queen. It wasn't just our parents' passing that distressed her. The planned coronation got scrapped immediately, just before it even got underway. All of her thoughts spiralled in her head. She didn't think she had what it takes to follow in our parents hoof prints. Although she's still a ruler, she continues to think becoming queen won't be a substitute of what the previous rulers left us."

"There's no reason for her to take the pressure. She can't just leave that opportunity on hold for a long time. It will continue to plant inside her. It's not like me when I'm chosen as the leader of all changelings."

The bedroom door opened. Celestia voiced called to Jack, telling him to enter. None of the Mane 6, Luna or Chrysalis were allowed to enter. The door just closed and locked from the inside.

"You need me?" Jack asked.

"When Princess Celestia becomes queen, will it all change?" worried Twilight.

"You just have to see the inevitable. You became a princess and not much has changed."

Watching Twilight going into a state of panic made Jack worried. He attempted to calm her down.

"Listen Twilight," interrupted Celestia. "This is something I should be thinking about. You don't have to worry about me."

"Why did you bring Jack in?" Twilight asked.

Celestia silenced her. She whispered to Jack, telling him there's a pony spying on them.

A sudden noise alerted Jack. Gamma, Delta and Theta broke in launching an attack. Theta fired a blast at Celestia. Jack blocked it, injuring his chest. He fired a round at Theta's horn. Gamma charged forward, only to get shot by Jack. He fell backwards, plummeting to the ground.

None of the ponies could enter the room due to the magic barricading. Luna and Chrysalis charged forward. They had to use all their magic; a combination of both alicorns' powers. Once they broke down the door, Jack was on the floor with his hand on the wound. Theta's severed horn slowly disintegrated.

Rarity heard Twilight groan. She tried to remove the rubble with her magic. Twilight tried to push Rarity out of the way before collapsing. "You're not going anywhere you need medical help."

"Jack! What happened?" Fluttershy rushed over.

"An ambush from Sect. They captured Celestia."

8:30am

Celestia found herself restrained with chains. She blacked out during her capture. Theta and Delta argued with Sigma.

"That couldn't have gone more wrong," exclaimed Sigma.

"She spotted us," argued Delta. "We had to go in full force."

"Which cost Theta's horn and Gamma's life."

Celestia couldn't stand the argument. She saw their leader coming closer to her. He greeted her like she's a relative. "Hello, Celestia."

"Armada?"