Chapter 140: The Crystal Empire Part 3: The Crystal Heart
In the palace, Twilight was running down the spiral staircase while Spyro was just levitating down, making sure nothing bad happened to Twilight, trying to make sense of the riddle that they had seen at the top of the staircase, the riddle going over and over again in his mind. However, as Twilight took another step on the stairs, they ended up cracking and breaking, making her fall off the ledge and down the middle, Twilight screaming as she fell, but Spyro flew down and caught her, holding her in his arms as he floated down the stairs.
"Usually there's a joke about being careful about the first step, but that probably wouldn't work here." Spyro said, making Twilight smile.
"Oh Spyro." Twilight said, wrapping her forelegs around his neck. He gave her a peck on the head, making her giggle a bit before reaching the ground floor, looking around and finding it was an empty space except for a single door right at the end of the stairs. "Look, this must be it."
"I think you're right Twilight." Spyro said.
"Alright, all we gotta do is-" Twilight said, using her magic to try and open the door, but the door suddenly moved, surprising them. "What the-!?"
"Seems like Sombra placed a spell on the door to move every time someone got close to it, making it move to a new location." Spyro said. "Clever and effective. I gotta remember that."
"Stay still!" Twilight shouted, trying to get the door. However, every time she got close to the door, it moved, sometimes going up the stairs case, sometimes it just spun around them, annoying her as she tried to catch the door. "Stop moving!"
"Twilight, calm down." Spyro said. "Anger is not the answer."
However, Twilight was starting to loose her temper, her magic going dark again as her eyes started to turn into Sith Eyes, firing a bolt of dark magic to the door and hitting the crystal, which made it stop and start to open, twilight's eyes returning to normal as it opened.
"Spike, Spyro, I think it's here!" Twilight exclaimed, running into the light.
"Twilight, wait!" Spyro exclaimed.
However, Twilight didn't listen as she ran towards the door and the light, rushing inside and disappearing in the light. A moment later, twilight found herself back at the throne room of Canterlot palace, wondering what she was doing there when she saw her mentor and teacher, Princess Celestia with a scroll, looking very displeased as Twilight was approaching.
"What are you doing here?" Celestia asked her, sounding very displeased.
"I don't know." Twilight replied. "I was opening the door that Sombra hide and-"
"And now you must go." Celestia said, rolling the scroll up.
"It doesn't matter to me." Celestia replied. "You failed the test Twilight!"
"Fail!?" She asked. "But... how!? I was just in the Crystal Empire with Spyro and my friends and-"
"I said it doesn't matter Twilight!" Celestia replied. "Not only did you fail the test, your friends lost their hearts, Spyro is gone forever, Cadence and Shining Armor are gone, EVERYPONY is gone! Not only that, you will not be moving onto the next level of your studies and you'll no longer continue your studies as my pupil!"
"My friends... gone!?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "Spyro... but... you didn't say I'd no longer be your student if I failed! And Spyro... he can't be gone. He was still alive when I was with him!"
"Didn't I?" Celestia asked. "He perished again protecting you from the Inquisitor and this time, his heart is gone for good. And it's all your fault."
Celestia walked away, Twilight not understanding what was going on when she looked up and a stain glass window, revealing it had Sombra over them with Spyro on the ground, his heart shattered with Twilight on her back, loosing the Crystal Heart and her friends falling. The sight alone made her heart break, making tears roll down her face as she heard Sombra's laughter echoing throughout the hall, lying on the ground as she cried, the darkness closing in around her.
"No... I... how could I fail?" Twilight asked. "This can't be true. It can't be true!" Outside in the real world, Twilight was sitting there, her eyes green as she sat there, starring at the door in the wall, leading to nowhere tears rolling down her eyes as she went through the illusion. "Please, this can't be true. This can't be!"
"Twilight, Twilight wake up!" Spyro said, shaking her, but she was lost in the illusion. "Twilight, it's an illusion, it's not real! Twilight, snap out of it!"
"Twilight, Spyro!" Spike called out, running down the stairs. "What happened to her!?"
"The door was booby trapped." Spyro replied. "The door must have some kind of illusionary magic to make her go through her worse nightmare and become helpless."
"Well we got a bigger problem!" Spike exclaimed. "The barrier is about to collapse and there's some kind of pony in black armor approaching, carrying a bunch of crystals with a black blade coming out of it!"
"Black armor?" Spyro asked. "The Inquisitor." He looked to Twilight, watching the tears continue to roll down her face as she continued to go through the illusion, holding her face in his hooves as he turned her to look at him. "Twilight, listen to me, it's not real. None of it is real. It's just an illusion, what you're seeing is fake. You haven't failed, your friends are alive, your brother and sister-in-law are alive, I'm alive, we're all alive."
However, nothing was working, she was still going through the illusion, still mumbling to herself as he tried to get to her, whatever kind of spell it was that had her, it was strong enough to make it impossible for him to reach her.
"What do we do now!?" Spike asked. "We're running out of time and the Inquisitor is fast approaching!"
"There's one thing that might work." Spyro said. "I just hope it'll work." Spyro sat down again, reaching his hoof up again and placing it on her cheek, closing his eyes as he reached out through the Force, reaching out to Twilight. "Twilight, listen to my voice. Trust your instincts, trust your feelings, trust in the Force."
Spyro put his entire focus on helping Twilight, using the Force to reach out to her in her condition, hoping that he can snap her out of it in time before Sombra or the Inquisitor arrived. In Twilight's mind, she was walking along Canterlot, her head hanging low as everyone looked disgusted with her, looking away from her as they continued about their way, Twilight reaching the royal gardens where she found statues of her friends, all smiling down at everyone that passed by, Twilight's eyes tearing up again as she felt her spirit break, the dark shadows reaching out to consume her, feeling her heart breaking.
"I failed." She said, tears rolling down her face. "I wasn't strong enough. And now all of Equestria hates me. My mentor hates me, my parents probably hate me... I'm alone. All alone."
"It's not real." Spyro said, his voice echoing and getting twilight's attention. "None of it is real."
"Spyro!?" Twilight asked, getting up.
"It's just an illusion." Spyro continued. "What you're seeing is fake."
"Fake?" She asked, looking to her right and seeing the shadows approach her.
"You haven't failed." Spyro said. "Your friends are alive, your brother and sister-in-law are alive, I'm alive, we're all alive." Before she could reply, the shadows reached her and started to pull her beneath the surface, the shadows making waves of purple energy as they attempted to pull her into the darkness, Twilight struggling to get out as she screamed, using her energy to get free. "Listen to my voice. Trust your instincts, trust your feelings, trust the Force."
Twilight continued to struggle, the darkness continuing to devour her as she was pulled down to her neck, looking up to keep breathing, fear overtaking her, but then she remembered her friends, the time she spent with them, the adventures they have been on, even the time she spent with Spyro, her feelings blazing as she found the strength to fight back, pulling herself out, straining every bit of her own will to fight back as she pulled herself out of the dark shadows, looking to the sky and seeing a pair of green eyes, looking down at her, looking surprised.
"Get out of my head." Twilight said.
As she said it, her horn started to glow white instead of her usual hot pink, a strong force of energy blasting outward and destroying the illusion Sombra made, making his screech as Twilight thrusted her hoof outward, feeling a power she never felt before as she Force pushed him, pushing him away in the real world and into a pillar of ice, collapsing on top of him and making him growl in rage. He then got back up and looked back to the city, approaching the barrier again as his eyes started to glow red, reaching out to the Inquisitor as he entered the palace.
"Henchman, they are at the entrance to the chamber containing the Crystal Heart." Sombra said.
"Don't worry my lord, I'm almost there." The Inquisitor said, walking through a hidden passage.
"Be careful, he's not alone." Sombra replied. "The mare he's with hand powers similar to his."
"Another Jedi?" The inquisitor asked, smiling. "This'll be fun."
Back in the pit, Twilight had collapsed onto the ground, rubbing her head as she felt it throbbing, looking up to see Spyro was standing there, helping her up.
"Twilight, glad you're ok." Spyro said.
"Spyro..." Twilight said.
She then lunged forward and hugged him, tears rolling down her cheeks as she hugged him, which he patted her on the head as he gently massaged her back.
"It's ok Twilight, everything's ok." Spyro said, rubbing her back. "It's alright."
"What the heck were you starring at?" Spike asked, approaching the door.
"Spike wait, don't!" Spyro exclaimed.
"Why, it's just a wall." Spike said. However, when Spike looked into the wall, his eyes turned green and red, making Spyro face smack himself. "Ponyville, how did I get here? What, NO! I don't want to go! Please Twilight, don't make me!"
Spyro then used the Force to close the door, ending the illusion as Spikes eyes returned to normal, though teary eyed.
"King Sombra musty have enchanted this thing to keep intruders out." Spyro said.
"Yes, by making us live our worse fears and nightmares." Twilight said, ending the hug. "Like how the princess said I failed and I lost you all. I saw statues of my friends, loosing you all."
"We were home." Spike said. "You told me you didn't need me anymore Twilight. That you were sending me away."
"That's something that will never happen Spike." Twilight said, hugging the baby dragon. "I'll never send you away."
"And I'm never going to leave you Twilight." Spyro said, wrapping his wing around her. "Nor will the others. We're a team, a herd, a family. And nothing is going to sever those bonds, ever."
Twilight felt like her heart was beating so fast, her body moving on it's own as she reached up and the two of them kissed, both closing their eyes as they allowed everything to happen, but Spike looked disgusted, making a gagging noise as he got out of the hug.
"Oh brother, get a room you two." Spike said.
However, as he said that, Twilight's horn started to glow, first it started out as hot pink as usual, but then Spyro's horns started to glow, a golden light shining as both lights fused together, each one twisting around the other until their horns were glowing white, Spike watching as their combined magic shot out and hit the door, their combined magic purifying the crystal as it made an outline around the door, light shining in and causing Spike to cover his eyes as the light blinded him. When Spyro and Twilight ended their kiss, the two of them looked at each other, their feelings growing stronger than before when they looked over to the door and found that the crystal was now purple, the door opening to reveal another room, breaking the spell.
"Another room." Spyro said.
"Must have appeared when we kissed." Twilight said, looking to Spyro.
"Darkness brings hate and fear, but light brings love and happiness." Spyro said. "Sombra pulled the Reverse Psychology card on us. Thinking that using dark magic would open the door, but instead activates a spell to paralyze intruders using fear."
"Huh, ingenious." Twilight said. "Hope we never run into that again."
"I hope so as well." Spyro said, watching Twilight enter the next room as he activated his bracer, lifting it to talk into it. "Note to self, create a defensive measure using light and dark magic involving a door."
He then slide the cover back over the bracers and walked out, Spike following close behind as they entered the next room.
"Well, what do you two see?" Spike asked.
"More stairs." Twilight said, looking up. "Lots and lots of stairs."
"Great." Spyro said.
Both Spyro and Twilight started walking up the stairs together, leaving Spike alone at the bottom as he leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms, feeling left out when Twilight looked back.
"Maybe you should come with us this time Spike." Twilight said.
"Really!?" Spike asked.
"Of course Spike." Spyro replied. "You're a great help to us. Besides, we might need your help with getting the heart."
"I doubt you'll actually make it though." A voice said.
They looked up to see who it was that said that and saw the Inquisitor walking towards them, using his horns magic to take the saber hilt and ignite it, activating the blade.
"The Inquisitor." Spyro said.
"That's the Inquisitor!?" Twilight asked, feeling her blood go cold. "I thought you took care of him!"
"I did." Spyro said, getting his lightsaber out. "Looks like tall, dark, and gloomy saved him and gave him an upgrade." The Inquisitor got closer and closer, striking his blade on the ground and creating gashes on the ground along with some sparks. Not wanting to risk Twilight's and Spike's safety, he walked to the bottom of the steps and used the Force to pick Spike up and put him on Twilight's back. "I'll take care of our uninvited guest, you get the Crystal Heart and get it to the fair."
Twilight didn't want to leave him behind, but she looked to the Inquisitor and felt her blood run cold, looking back to Spyro.
"Don't take too long, alright?" Twilight asked.
"Don't worry about me, go!" Spyro exclaimed. Twilight nodded her head and started to run up the stairs, leaving Spyro alone with the Inquisitor as he ignited his saber, looking down at the Inquisitor. "I'm not kidding, you got an upgrade, but it doesn't make you any less uglier."
"You may have gotten the best of me last time, but you won't this time." The Inquisitor said. "Last time I wasn't prepared for you, but now I have the power that King Sombra has given me. You won't be able to defeat me this time."
"Yeah, if I had a bit for every time someone said that, I'd be making enough money to retire early." Spyro replied.
"Oh, you're a funny guy." The inquisitor said. "Let';s see how funny you are when I cut your head off!"
The Inquisitor then lunged towards Spyro and their blades locked, Spyro pushing him away as they started to battle one another, the two force warriors exchanging slashes and strikes from their sabers as they bounced off each other, Spyro leaping around and dodging every saber strike from the Sith warrior, both moving with intense speed as they battled. As they fought, Spyro leapt onto the stairs and the Inquisitor pursued, both swinging their sabers and blocking one another's attacks as they moved up the stairs, both striking one another to get a soldi hit in, but Spyro just kept dodging, but so did the Inquisitor, both proving to be equally skilled with a blade, so Spyro smacked his tail against the pillar and making a row of crystal appear, one of them hitting the Inquisitor in the head and making his head shake, the dark warrior grabbing his head and growling as he lunged for Spyro to deal a hit. A little further up the stairs, Twilight was running as fast as she could, but was soon exhausted having climbed so many stairs, panting as she felt her chest ache.
"Why are there so many stairs!?" Twilight asked. "It'll take forever to get to the top!"
As she said that, she heard what sounded like the clashing of lightsabers, looking down the stairs and found Spyro and the Inquisitor were moving up the stairs, exchanging strikes from their sabers before they locked blades, both pushing against one another when Spyro looked back, finding that he was getting closer to Twilight, so he pushed harder against the Inquisitor, but the Inquisitor just smiled, deactivating his saber and making him loose his footing before he was punched in the gut, dropping his saber before being knocked to the ground.
"I have you now Jedi." The Inquisitor said, looking up to Twilight. "Well, what have we here? Oh you are definitely strong with the Force, but your potential is untapped. Oh, you'll make a great addition to the Inquisitors."
"Like heck she will." Spyro said. He got up and unleashed a torrent of fire towards the Inquisitor, catching him completely off guard as he used the Force to push him off the stairs, slamming his tail on the crystal pillar again and thousands of long spikes appeared along the staircase, blocking the way. "That'll keep him at bay for a while."
"Spyro, your lightsaber." Twilight said.
"Don't worry about it, I'll get it back later." Spyro replied. "Come on, we got to get the Crystal Heart."
"But we won't make it in time." Spike said. "There are too many stairs. If only we can slide all the way up."
"Slide." Twilight said, thinking when an idea came to mind. "That's it! Spike, hold on!"
Spike and Spyro were wondering what she was up to and a second later, Twilight's horn glowed and surrounded them in her aura, flipping them over and onto the underside for the stairs, sliding down the stairs while screaming for joy as they rode.
"WOOH!" Spyro exclaimed. "Twilight, you're an absolute genius! This is the best idea you've ever had! When did you learn about gravity spells!?"
"I studied them on our way to Canterlot!" Twilight replied. "I figured they would be apart of my test! Turns out they are!"
They continued to ride up the stairs, reaching the very top of the stairs where she ended the spell, dropping them onto the stairs where they laughed, having a great time sliding up the stairs like that.
"Twilight, when we get back you have got to teach me that spell!" Spyro said, laughing. "That was the most fun I've ever had, ever!" They looked around and Spyro looked out, finding that they were on top of the castle, looking out and finding that the barrier was about o disappear, realizing they were nearly out of time. "Nice view, horrible circumstances."
"Look, there it is!" Twilight said. Spyro turned and saw what she was seeing, the Crystal heart, floating in the center of the room. "The Crystal Heart."
"Go on Twilight." Spyro said. "You found the passage way up here. You take it."
Twilight was filed with joy and happiness, approaching the heart when she stepped on the circle, causing it to go dark and sound an alarm, so Twilight lunged for the heart, knocking it out of the circle before a trap was sprung, trapping her where the Crystal Heart once was.
"Twilight!" Spike and Spyro exclaimed.
"I'm fine." Twilight replied. "The heart! Where's the heart!?"
"It's over here." Spyro replied. "It rolled over to us when you knocked it away. Hold on, I'll try to get you out."
"I doubt that." The Inquisitor replied. Spyro turned to see the Inquisitor was at the top of the stairs, walking over to them, so Spyro reached for his saber, but realized he didn't have it. "Looking for this?"
The Inquisitor held Spyro's Lightsaber up, revealing he picked it up before tossing it out.
"Hang on Twilight, I'll get you out!" Spike said.
"No don't!" Twilight said, more dark crystals appearing as Spike approached. "Don't approach me!"
"Yes, do approach her." The Inquisitor said. "The more you move towards her, the sooner you'll be trapped in the crystals. Without your lightsaber Jedi, you won't be much of a problem."
"You sure about that?" Spyro asked. Spyro reached back and took out the Inquisitors Lightsaber, igniting it as the red blade shot out of the hilt. "I still have this."
"My old lightsaber?" The Inquisitor asked. "You sure you can handle it? That crystal has been through a lot."
"Believe me, I've been through worse." Spyro replied.
He and the Inquisitor then started to fight again, this time they weren't going to give an inch to one another, putting everything they had into their strikes while Spike watched, frozen to the spot as he felt like his feet were glued to the ground, watching the two of them exchange attacks while Twilight tried teleporting out, though the crystals pulled her back in, preventing her from escaping.
"Oh, how could I have been so foolish?" Twilight asked. "All I wanted to do was find the crystal heart. And when I saw what was going on outside and what's happening in here, I..."
"Twilight, you have to get out of there!" Spike said. "You need to deliver the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadence! If you don't you'll fail Celestia's test!"
"No Spike, you need to deliver it." Twilight replied.
"What!?" Spike asked.
"King Sombra is already attacking the Crystal Empire." Twilight replied. "He'll break through and reach the Crystal Ponies at any moment. Princess Cadence, my brother, my friends, there isn't enough time for me to find a way to escape! You need to take the heart to the fair, now!"
"But Twilight!" Spike said, more crystals appearing.
"GO!" Twilight shouted.
Spike was uncertain of what to do, looking at the ground and then to Spyro as he battled the Inquisitor, watching the two of them exchange attacks from their sabers, both moving incredibly fast with their blades, Spike unable to keep up with them, so he grabbed the heart and made a run for it, diving out the side and landing on the edge of the balcony he was on, the crystals growing and trapping Twilight, Spyro, and the Inquisitor inside. Inside of the makeshift arena, Spyro and the Inquisitor were ducking it out, both sides trying to destroy one another, but they always blocked and slashed, only hitting the lightsabers and backing off, sometimes using the Force to throw a crystal or two at the other, continuing their barrage of saber strikes and Force attacks until Spyro was thrown against the wall holding Twilight, the saber deactivating as he fell to the ground.
"This power..." The Inquisitor said. "I can kill a hundred Jedi with this power!"
"You won't live to use it though." Spyro replied, getting back up.
"You don't understand, do you?" The Inquisitor asked. "You can't defeat this much power! The darkness is unstoppable, indestructible, I... AM... INVINCIBLE! Even that Crystal is nothing but pure darkness and evil, you can't defeat us! Once Sombra breaks through that shield, he'll have the city and you will be no more!"
"Spyro, you need to go!" Twilight exclaimed. "You need to protect Spike and get the heart to the fair, now!"
"No, I won't abandon you!" Spyro replied. "Besides, Darkness is not invincible. And this crystal is not truly evil. Just like Sombra isn't completely evil."
"Say again?" The Inquisitor asked.
"The princess gave me a task, an impossible task, to save Sombra from the darkness." Spyro said. "The task may seem impossible, but nothing is truly impossible, nor is it everything truly evil. Not even the Inquisitor's crystals." He looked down at the hilt, feeling the rage inside of the hilt, looking to the Inquisitor. "There is always good, a light within the darkness that always shines in the heart of everything, even these crystals. So long as i draw breath, I will always look for that light, helping and guiding others out of the darkness that threatens to swallow them, no matter what! And I will save these crystal ponies, no matter what!"
He then ignited the blade, but the lightsaber started to flicker, showing that it wasn't working properly as the blade deactivated, Spyro feeling his heart stop as he tried to reactivate the blade, however, the hilt wasn't working as the Inquisitor was laughing, slowly approaching them.
"A nice little speech, but pointless." The Inquisitor said, Spyro trying to get the weapon to work. "In the end, this light you fight for cannot save you. Only the path of darkness can help you in your time of need. Give into the darkness, allow it to grant you strength, and let it make you invincible!"
"Never!" Spyro replied, still holding the weapon. "Darkness is never the answer, for it only leads to pain, hatred, and fear! I will never fall into darkness, like I won't let my friends down, and will not let anything happen to those that I cherish, I care for, and love!"
Spyro lunged forward to bring the Inquisitor down, ready to rip him apart if need be, which the inquisitor reared back to strike him down when Spyro pressed the button again, reigniting the lightsaber at last and cutting him in half, the Inquisitor gasping in surprise as he looked back, seeing Spyro was standing there, a serious look on his face as he lifted up the saber, however, the sabers color wasn't red anymore, but instead it was a golden lightsaber, the blade itself humming with power as the Inquisitor fell to the ground, his helmet coming off as the dark flames dissipated, the darkness leaving his body as Spyro took in some deep breaths, collapsing to the ground as exhaustion took over, looking to Twilight as the crystals continued to grow.
"Spyro, are you ok?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Spyro replied. "Hold on, I'll get you out of there!"
"No, help Spike needs your help!" Twilight replied. "Sombra is about to destroy the barrier! Go help Spike!"
"I won't leave you here!" Spyro said, reactivating the saber to cut his way through. "Besides, you have a test you need to pass!"
"The test doesn't matter at this point." Twilight said, surprising Spyro. "The Crystal Ponies need somepony to protect them, and you're the only pony I know that's powerful enough to stop Sombra."
"But what about you?" Spyro asked.
"I'll be fine here." Twilight replied. "Hurry, we're out of time!"
Spyro did not feel comfortable with leaving Twilight alone in the room with a bunch of dark magic crystals, but he knew that she was right and the Crystal Empire was in imminent danger, so he Force pushed all the crystals blocking the openings, destroying them and making an exit for himself, jumping out and onto the ledge, looking down before looking to Twilight.
"I'll come back for you." Spyro said, feeling his heart beat against his chest. "I promise."
"Go!" Twilight exclaimed.
Spyro then kept off the side of the building, going into free fall to go and help Spike and his friends, looking up and seeing the barrier starting to collapse.
"I hope the girls are keeping the crystal ponies calm." Spyro said to himself, diving through the sky towards the ground.
On the ground, everyone was looking to the barrier and hearing the roars, seeing the barrier finally collapse as Sombra laughed, walking out of the darkness with a massive scythe in his dark aura.
"It's Sombra!" One of the mares screamed.
They all then ran for the center of the palace court yard where the fake heart was at, still covered by a tarp as the ponies all crowded the heart while Applejack and Rarity did their best to stop them when the statue got knocked over, revealing the heart wasn't real.
"Wait, this isn't the heart." One of the ponies said. "Where's the real one?"
"It's , uh, it's on its way!" Applejack said, trying to keep a straight face.
"I thought we were going to tell them it was being polished?" Rarity asked.
The ponies were starting to panic, fear taking over as their crystal coats were disappearing when they heard Spike, looking up to see him tumble down the side of the palace before falling, screaming in fear when Spyro flew down and caught him, the baby dragon landing on his back while he used his magic to grab the heart.
"Spyro!" Applejack exclaimed. "Yer timin' couldn't have been any better!"
"I concur." Sombra said, Spyro landing in front of the dark king. "You're just in time to watch me conquer this city and all of Equestria!"
Spike knelt down and allowed Spike to hop off, glaring at Sombra as he stood back up again.
"Spike, get the heart to the fair now." Spyro said. "Leave the thousand year old goth to me."
Spike didn't wait to be told a second time, turning and running to the fair right as Sombra approached, stopped a small distance from Spyro as the two of them starred at one another, both sizing up the opponent.
"So, you're the sixteenth prince." Sombra said. "I was expecting someone stronger."
"And I was expecting someone bigger for being over one thousand years old." Spyro retorted.
"Heh, you're more amusing than the last Prince." Sombra said. "And you do possess incredible power to defeat my servant."
"You mean the Inquisitor?" Spyro asked. "I admit, your upgrade was powerful, but even the mightiest foe will fall."
"And that includes you." Sombra said.
"Well, you won't get the chance." Spyro said. "In a matter of moments, Spike will place the Crystal Heart in the middle of the fair, and you'll be destroyed."
"But wouldn't that go against the orders you were given?" Sombra asked, making Spyro growl. "Yes, I heard all about the princesses request to save me. So she still has feelings for me, does she?"
"For you, no." Spyro replied, calling his Keyblade. "For the real Sombra, yes."
"Amusing." Sombra said. "However, I'm afraid your little friend won't be making it to the fair. He stole something from me, and stealing is a naughty thing to do, so I'm putting him in timeout!"
Sombra then slammed his hoof into the ground and dark crystals shot out, rushing towards Spike as a wall made out of dark magic crystals surrounded him, causing him to stop and yell in terror while dropping the heart, but Spyro spun around, feeling something telling him to do that and slashed the air towards Spike, creating an arc of light energy hitting the dark crystals and destroying them, Spike turning to Spyro in confusion.
"Go, now!" Spyro shouted.
Spike picked the heart up and ran again, running as fast as his little legs would allow while Spyro faced Sombra again, who lunged forward and tried to strike him with the scythe, but Spyro blocked the attack, pushing him back.
"That was an interesting move there young prince." Sombra said.
"You'll find I'm full of surprises." Spyro said, holding his Keyblade up.
"You're not the only one with surprises." Sombra said.
He swung his scythe around, purposefully missing him and slamming it to the ground, causing the ground to shake and knock Spike down when he was surrounded by the Heartless, a couple of circles Soldiers and a few Big Bodies appeared, causing the baby dragon to freeze.
"Heartless!?" Spyro asked, looking to Sombra. "Since when did you have time to get the Heartless!?"
"They came to me a long time ago." Sombra replied, the darkness glowing in his eyes. "I won't let the Crystal Heart return and I will not allow you to defeat me."
"Heh, you really think the Heartless will be of help to you?" Spyro asked, smiling. "My friends and I have dealt with them many times before facing you." To prove his point, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie appeared out of nowhere, slashing through one of the Big Bodies before Applejack and Rarity came running up, cutting through a couple of Soldiers and surrounding Spike while Fluttershy flew in, using the Thunder and Blizzard spells to support her friends, surprising Sombra. "My friends are always there for me as I am there for them. Send whatever you want, you cannot defeat them, nor extinguish the light!"
"No, no I will not allow this!" Sombra shouted.
As Sombra growled in rage, he raised his Scythe to attack his friends when Spyro appeared right in front of him, taking Sombra off guard as Spyro plunged his blade into Sombra's chest, taking him completely off guard as the Keyhole appeared in it, turning the blade to the right as a light shined out, covering them both while his friends fought the Heartless. In Sombra's Heart, Spyro was gliding down towards the flickering light, taking a nose dive towards it it and passing through, but when he got to where there was usually a stain glass pillar, there wasn't one, shocking him as he looked around.
"Where's the pillar?" Spyro asked. "Where's the door?"
"There isn't one." A voice replied. "Not anymore."
Spyro looked around and to his right, he saw Sombra, standing on a single piece of stain glass and fading quickly, his horn still red with a curve, his eyes red with the purple flames coming out of them and black crystals all over him, looking completely miserable as he looked at Spyro.
"Sombra." Spyro said, flying over to him. "You are the real Sombra, right?"
"I am." Sombra replied. "I am Sombra. Ex captain of the royal Crystal Guard, the tyrant king of the Crystal Empire. And I take it you're the Prince of Light and Darkness, right?"
"I am." Spyro replied. "Princess Celestia sent me to help you."
"Celestia." Sombra said, his eyes lighting up, smiling as he heard her name. "So, she still loves me, even after all this time."
"She wants you to be brought back." Spyro said. "She asked me to cleanse you of the darkness infesting your heart."
"It's impossible." Sombra said. "You can see that from where you are right now. There's nothing left to save. There's only darkness now."
"There is never just Darkness." Spyro replied, flying over to him. "There is always a spark of light within the darkness. You still have some light left in you, how else are you here?"
They both then heard what sounded like laughter, looking around and finding a pair of red and green eyes coming towards them, tendrils of darkness reaching out to them, attempting to engulf them as Spyro called his blade.
"You must leave, now!" Sombra said. "Otherwise my darkness will engulf you too!"
"No, I'm not abandoning you!" Spyro replied, slashing at the tendrils as they reached out to them. "I made a promise to save you Sombra, and I'm going to keep it!"
"But we both know it's impossible." Sombra said, watching Spyro fight. "The darkness in me is too strong." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a case, looking at it before Spyro flew backwards, flying right in front of Sombra when he reached out, grabbing Spyro's foreleg and giving it to him. "Give this to Celestia. And tell her... tell her I love her."
Spyro looked down at the case, wondering what it was when a tendril wrapped around his leg, taking him by surprise when he slashed it off, growling at it.
"Keep your tentacles to yourself Hentia!" Spyro exclaimed. "Seen enough anime to know where that goes!"
He looked back to Sombra, which the dark tendrils were wrapping around him, engulfing him in darkness when Spyro dove straight in, grabbing hold of Sombra and pulling as hard as he could, pulling him out partially, but the tendrils still held onto him.
"Forget about me." Sombra said. "Get out of here, save the Crystal Empire."
"I will, after I get you out of here!" Spyro replied, yanking on him. "I made a promise to save you, and I'm going to! Don't give up on yourself Sombra, there is always a chance for any and everything! Only those who don't take the chance fail! You have a chance for a second life, to be with Celestia and be happy, so take it!"
Sombra looked to Spyro, seeing how determined he was to rescue him as he continued to pull on his foreleg, making the corrupted unicorn smile as a light shined in between them as it engulfed them both. Outside in the real world, the light was shining from Sombra's chest, sending out waves of light, bit then Spyro was shot backwards, away from Sombra and yelling as he flew through the air, Rainbow Dash looking to Spyro as he ended up tackling her by accident, throwing them to the ground next to Spike as he looked for a way out, jumping when they landed next to him.
"Rainbow Dash, Spyro!" Spike said, the two of them getting up. "What happened?"
"I... I failed." Spyro said, looking to Sombra and seeing him get back up, laughing as he rose on a dark crystal. "I failed to purify him."
"Wait what?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You tried to purify him? Why?"
"Princess Celestia asked me." Spyro replied. "She loves Sombra, she asked he to try and purify him of his darkness. But... I... I failed. His darkness was too strong, his light... it's gone."
They all looked to Sombra as he rose up, laughing maniacally as he towered over everyone, the girls doing their best to keep the Heartless back as Sombra approached.
"Spyro, snap out of it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You can't save them all, Sombra's pure evil now! Right now, we need to get the Crystal Heart to the fair before it's too late!"
"Agreed." Spyro replied. "We need to get the Crystal Heart to the castle! That's where it'll be at its strongest!"
"But the path is blocked!" Applejack exclaimed, striking down another Soldier. "There are too many Heartless between us and the castle!"
Spyro looked to the path, seeing there were a lot of Heartless between them and the castle, noting that more of them were popping up to replace the ones that had been destroyed. He looked around, trying to figure out a way to get the heart to the castle while also making sure his friends were safe, looking until he spotted Shining Armor and Cadence, the stallion supporting his wife as they looked over the fight, getting an idea as he looked to Spike.
"Hey Spike, get ready for a ride!" Spyro said, getting his attention as he looked confused, Spyro using the Force to throw him over the Heartless. "Alleyoop!" Spike screamed as he flew, the Heartless's attention on the baby dragon. "Shining Armor, Cadence, go long!"
Shining Armor didn't understand what he meant when he saw Spike, then understanding what to do as he picked his wife up, the princess opening her eyes and looking at Spike and the heart. She then found the strength she needed and Shining Armor picked her up, using his forelegs to hold her as she extended her wings as he threw her, the princess flapping her wings as hard as she could as Sombra looked up, noticing Spike and he lunged for the baby dragon, using the same dark crystal pillar he was on to shoot towards Spike, the baby dragon looking very scared as Sombra quickly approached, but the Crystal Hearts light shined out, blinding Sombra and giving cadence enough time to catch Spike and get the Crystal Heart, flying over the Heartless as they tried to attack her, but the hearts light shined out and any Heartless that got too close was instantly destroyed, allowing Cadence to land on the ground in the crowd of the crystal ponies, all of them regaining their colors.
"Everypony, the crystal heart has returned." Cadence said. "Our friends are using their light and love to fight off King Sombra and his minions, use your light and your love to ensure he never returns again!"
She then tossed the heart towards the courtyard of the castle, two crystal spikes shooting out and holding the heart in place as it's magic started to charge up, the crystal ponies putting their love and light into the heart to make it's power grow, but Sombra growled in rage, looking down at the heart and the ponies.
"NO!" Sombra shouted. "I shall not be defeated again! NOT IN MY OWN KINGDOM!"
He charged all of his dark magic into the scythe and slashed the air, creating a wave of darkness that was shooting straight for the ponies and the heart, which Spyro and Cadence both noticed. Cadence tried to summon another shield, but her magic was still too weak and her magic failed, bracing for impact, but Spyro flew in front of the wave, covering his body as the wave of darkness hit him, causing a massive explosion that everyone saw, the members of the Mane six freezing as they heard the explosion while Cadence looked up, both her and Shining Armor petrified at what he did.
"Spyro!" They all shouted.
"Ha, the fool!" Sombra exclaimed. "Sacrificing himself for others!? How noble."
King Sombra laughed at the development, all of the ponies eyes wide with horror as they looked to the cloud of dark smoke, half expecting the prince to be alright.
"No, not again." Cadence said. "Please not again."
"Spyro." Shining Armor said, both of them looking into the cloud.
In the cloud, Spyro half expected to have lost his heart, keeping his eyes shut as he waited for it to happen, but nothing did happen, opening his eyes slightly but then opening them wider as he looked out and saw that he was in a red dome, red crystals forming over it as it turned gold, confusing him until he saw Sombra again, his back to him, but when he looked back, his eyes weren't red and green anymore, but just regular emerald green, his horn shattering as the dark crystals disappeared, the red curved horn restoring itself to a regular grey colored horn, smiling at Spyro as he turned to face him.
"Need a hoof?" Sombra asked.
Spyro was surprised to see Sombra was standing in front of them, the golden dome spinning faster and faster as the light inside engulfed them both, shining so bright that even Spyro had to close his eyes for it. Outside of the cloud, everyone was cowering as Dark Sombra was approaching the castle, ready to claim it when a light shined out of the clouds above them, everyone looking up to see the golden sphere, but with the red crystals creating a spherical cage around it, surprising them.
"What is that!?" Dark Sombra asked.
"It can't be." Rarity said, looking at everyone. "Who's he fusing with?"
"Not with me." Rainbow Dash said.
"Not me either." Applejack said.
"Me neither!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly.
"Then who's he fusing with?" Fluttershy asked.
Her question was answered when both Cadence and Shining Armor were both engulfed in the golden dome before they both shattered, an ethereal unicorn and alicorn galloping to the sphere and circling it as it too shattered, the ethereal purple dragon shooting upward, the unicorn and alicorn circling the dragon as if flew into the air, everyone cheering as they saw them rise into the air.
"Alright!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "It's going to be the same fusion as used on Chrysalis!"
"Yippee, we're going to win!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We're going to win!" However, from the same sphere, a black and grey light shot out, turning into a grey unicorn that followed them. "Or maybe not."
"Who the heck is that?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I don't know anypony, besides Derpy, who's grey."
The grey pony tried to follow the others, but it started to flicker, not looking so good when the dragon looked back, noticing how it was struggling, so the dragon turned back, flying straight for the ethereal unicorn that was flickering, the unicorn looking to the dragon as it lowered itself down, perking it up as they started to glow, the other two looking at one another before circling them both as the third ethereal pony circled the dragon as well, going faster and faster as a light shined until they entered the dragon, the light shining out.
[Mystery Chorus]
Rhyming, Rising, Risen!
All hail the King,
Of light and darkness!
King Dragon,
MA-JE-STY~!
The lights died down to reveal Spyro again, pink on the right with white on the left, but this time there was black going down the center, Spyro's wings turning into Alicorn wings, a shield appearing on his left foreleg, a horn appearing on his forehead, same colors as the jacket. His mane then grew long and colored the same as last time he fused with Cadence and Shining Armor, except this time there was a hint of black in the end, two pony shaped shoulder guards appearing, one of which went onto he right shoulder while the other went onto him left, but a third appeared, molded to be like a helmet, going over his head. A second later, two combined keyblades and the blades he gets from Shining Armor and Cadence appeared around him, but this time a fifth blade appeared, the blade looked to be an actual sword itself, but with red crystals as the teeth, covering the entire blade and for the guard of the weapon, the guards shape similar to that of Sora's Keyblade, but with large columns of crystal sticking upward while the keychain being a red crystal crystal in the shape of a shield similar to that of Shining Armor's, but there wasn't a star.
He floated down as the five Keyblades spinning around behind him as levitated in midair, everyone smiling as he looked down at the darker half of Sombra.
"What is this power!?" Dark Sombra asked. "I've never seen anything like it!"
"This is the power I get from my friends." Spyro replied, his voice mixed with Shining Armor's, Cadence's, and good Sombra's voices. "When I'm with my friends, we are united, standing against the darkness. And you 'King Sombra,' are pure darkness."
Dark Sombra lunged forward, his Scythe ready for the kill, but the red crystal covered Keyblade shot out from behind, Spyro taking it into his aura and blocking the attack and locking their blades together and starring at one another, Spyro's eyes turning green.
"So, you've finally decided to fight back, my weaker half." Dark Sombra said.
"There is no way I'm letting you go near the Crystal Heart or these ponies again!" Sombra replied, the crystal ponies surprised to hear his voice from Spyro. "You killed the princess and her heir, heck, you even killed the last Prince."
"Wait, he did what now!?" Spyro asked, his eyes tuning purple. "Oh buddy, you just earned yourself a premium pass aboard the pain train!"
Spyro broke the lock and unleashed a massive gust of wind, combining that wind with the dark crystals that were shattered from the gust and cutting Dark Sombra, though his armor protected him from a majority of the shards, Spyro suddenly appeared out of no where, punching him in the gut and causing the corrupted pony to gasp in surprise, falling to the ground. He got back up and wiped some blood up and summoned his crystals again, launching them at Spyro, but he just tapped his chest and his Beskar armor activated, covering his body as the crystals hit the metal shell, shattering upon impact, but Dark Sombra smiled, the crystals unleashing a storm of dark lightning shot straight at him, Sombra thinking he had him right where he wanted him, but Shining Armor's mark started to glow, a shield appearing around him and blocking the energy and absorbing it. Dark Sombra was left confused and shocked as the dark lightning turned to regular lightning and shot out, hitting him and sending him further away from the city/
Dark Sombra got back up again, this time roaring in rage as he lunged for the fused warrior, swinging his Scythe around to land a hit, but Spyro just dodged and side stepped the attacks, making it impossible for him to be hit, but the rare chance he was hit, the Beskar armor bounced the attack off himself and staggered Dark Sombra, granting Spyro a momentary opportunity to strike and slash at him, each strike causing severe damage and massive gash marks on the dark king. As Dark Sombra was brought o the ground, red crystals shot out, one of them nailing the kind in the shoulder as Spyro spun around and kicked it, plunging the crystal deeper into the king as he gasped in agony, collapsing to the ground as he cough up a bit more blood, glarring at Spyro as he got up, shaking as he used his own weapon to support him.
"Dang Spyro, didn't know you had a vicious side." Shining Armor said, Spyro's eyes changing to blue.
"You think this is vicious?" Spyro asked. "Wait until you see what I do to the Heartless."
"Spyro, Cadence, Shining Armor, everypony!" Spike shouted, getting their attention. "The Crystal Heart is reacting to something! I think it's ready!"
"Perfect, we can finish this!" Shining Armor said. "We can blast this guy and Equestria will be saved."
"But what about Sombra?" Cadence asked, Spyro's eyes changing to light purple. "Celestia asked Spyro if he can save him, maybe the Heart can help purify him."
"Y-you think... that dumb crystal will save him?" Sombra asked, smiling at Spyro. "You destroy me, you destroy Sombra, the real Sombra. His body is consumed by darkness, lived in darkness! There's hardly anything left of it."
"So if we use the heart, we destroy his body." Spyro said, understanding what he was getting at. "And his heart won't return."
"Exactly." Dark Sombra said, smiling. "You aren't as dumb as you look, so I have a suggestion. You let me go, I'll leave Sombra his body, and I will not bother the Crystal Empire again, and everyone can have their happily ever after."
"You know he's not going to keep his word, right?" Shining Armor asked, talking in Spyro's head.
"Wait, how did you do that?" Spyro asked.
"I got no idea, but we can't seriously be thinking of doing this right?" Shining Armor asked. "I mean, he might not attack the empire again, but that doesn't mean he won't attack the rest of Equestria!"
"But if we do use the heart, then Sombra can't be saved." Cadence said. "Aunt Tia will be devastated."
"I agree." Spyro said. "There has to be another way."
"There isn't." Sombra replied. "Between me returning to this word or the fate of Equestria, I'd rather watch my own body get destroyed than see it destroy somepony else's life. Even if he keeps his word, he'll just cause trouble elsewhere as Captain Armor said.
"I, guess you're right." Cadence said. "What about you Spyro?"
"I think we have no choice." Spyro said. He called upon the power from the heart, opening his eyes as they started to glow cyan. "No deal pal."
The crystal heart then spun faster and faster until it started emitting a powerful aura, a beam of energy shooting out and hitting Spyro in the back, granting him power he never felt before as he dashed forward and plunged the Keyblades into Dark Sombra's chest, making him gasp in pain as the light from the heart started to emit pulses, turning everyone in the empire into Crystal as the same energy entered into Dark Sombra, the dark monster yelling in agony as he shattered into thousands of pieces, his horn falling onto the ground as the dark energy tried to to infect the ground, but Spyro stabbed it, shattering it further as it turned into dust. A second later, the energy from the heart shit into the tip of the castle and fired straight into the air and into the sky, the energy from the heart expanding outward and destroying the darkness and the Heartless, northern lights appearing and expanding outward all across Equestria, everyone seeing them and knowing that the Crystal Empire has returned and love and unity was returning.
As Spyro touched the ground again, he started to glow and separate, only it was just him, Shining Armor and cadence standing in the middle of the road, all three of them crystallized and admiring themselves, but Spyro just looked disappointed, looking down at the ground as he felt miserable, failing to do what was asked of him. At the edge of the empire, everyone was walking to the station, leaving the Crystal Empire and having turned back to normal.
"Aw, I wish the Crystallization would last forever." Rarity said. "Did you see how my mane absolutely sparkled?
"But good things happen when they're a 'Rarity.'" Applejack replied, making Rarity happy again.
"Well, looks like everything is going to be just fine." Shining Armor said, looking to his sister. "But you really got to stop saving my rump like this. It's starting to get embarrassing."
However, instead of a snicker or laughter from either Twilight or Spyro.
"But it wasn't me who saved you in the end." Twilight pointed out. "It was Spike."
"And I failed to save Sombra." Spyro said, looking down. "The darkness was too strong. He didn't have a chance."
"Hey, don't sweat it, it was just a test." Shining Armor said. "I'm sure the princess will let you retake it."
"I don't think she will." Twilight said, walking onto the train.
As she boarded, Spyro started to approach, the elven words following him all the way to the train, being stopped by Cadence.
"You sure you don't want to stay Spyro?" Cadence asked. "I mean, the Crystal Empire is basically your kingdom. One of the previous Prince's ruled here."
"No Cadence, this isn't my kingdom." Spyro replied, looking to the empire. "This was the kingdom of the fifteenth prince, not the sixteenth. The Crystal Empire needs somepony with a pure and kind heart to guide and protect the crystal ponies from harm. And that is you, Princess Cadence, for the Crystal Empire is now yours. Keep it safe and always remember, rule with love, not with hate."
"I will." Cadence said, smiling at him. "Thank you for helping."
"Oh, before I forget." Shining Armor said. He reached into his pouch and with his magic, took out Spyro's lightsaber and the saber the Inquisitor used, levitating them over to him. "I think these are yours."
"My lightsaber." Spyro said, taking his and the corrupted saber in his aura. "And the Inquisitors saber as well."
"Figured I return your lightsaber to you." Shining Armor said. "Plus, didn't want somepony to end up picking up the Inquisitors saber either."
"Thanks Shining Armor." Spyro said. "Well, guess we'll see you again sometime."
"See you around Spyro." Shining Armor said. "Don't forget to come and visit."
Spyro smiled at the princess and at the captain of the guard, getting onto the train and leaving with the others, heading back to Canterlot as they watched the light show as they made their journey home. When they reached Canterlot, Spyro and twilight had just entered the castle while their friends waited outside, anxiously waiting for their friends to come out of the castle. In the throne room, Spyro and Twilight were both standing in the throne room with Princess Celestia, who was looking out the window and seeing the lights.
"It is beautiful." Celestia said. "I am proud of both of you."
"Thank you princess." Twilight replied. "I wish it was me that had delivered the heart though. I failed your test."
"Oh Twilight, you didn't fail the test." Celestia said, surprising her. "You told Spike to bring the Crystal heart to cadence because you weren't sure of how quickly you could get out of the tower."
"And you sent me to go protect Spike." Spyro said, wrapping his wing around her. "I could have easily gotten you out of the trap, but you wanted to keep others safe rather than think about yourself."
"He's right Twilight." Celestia said, walking over to them. "You weren't willing to risk the lives of the citizens of the Crystal Empire in an effort to guarantee your own."
"Like I wasn't;t willing to make a deal with Sombra's darkness in fear of others." Spyro said, looking down.
"It's far better that I have a student who understands self sacrifice than one who only thinks about their own self interests." Celestia said, making Twilight smile.
"Does that mean...?" Twilight asked, feeling excited.
"Yes Twilight, you've passed." Celestia said, Twilight cheering as she leapt into the air, bouncing around. "Now, why don;t you go be with your friends. I need to speak with Spyro."
Twilight looked to Spyro, sensing his feelings of fear and unhappiness, but he nodded for Twilight to leave, the lavender unicorn leaving the room and leaving Spyro alone with the princess.
"I'm sorry princess." Spyro said. "There was nothing I could do."
"You did the right thing Spyro." Celestia said, Spyro sensing her feelings of hurt. "It's what Sombra would have wanted."
"I wish I could have found out what caused him to turn to darkness." Spyro said. "If I did, maybe there might have been a chance he could have been saved." He then remembered the box Spyro was given, levitating it out of his bag and passing it to the princess. "Here, this is for you."
"What is it?" Celestia asked. Without waiting for an answer, she opened the box and her expression changed from calm and collective to one of shock and surprise, finding there was a ring inside with a golden band and several diamonds in the shape of a sun, Celestia's heart breaking at the sight. "Spyro... what is... is this..."
"Sombra wanted you to have it." Spyro replied. "I had a look at it on the train. I think he wanted to marry you, but... I guess fate had something else in mind. I wish I could have-"
"Thank you." Celestia said, surprising Spyro as she smiled. "Thank you Spyro. I always knew Sombra was hiding something before darkness took him, I just didn't know what it was. Until now."
Spyro could feel how happy she was, but also how sad she was at the same time, walking to the door way into the throne room, stopping himself before he rounded the corner and looking to the princess, seeing her levitate the ring form the box and put it on her horn. As Spyro was watching her, the iris's of his eyes turned emerald green, watching as a tear rolled down her face and hit the floor, sensing she had lost someone important to her and understanding the feeling himself. Without him knowing, Sombra appeared right next to Spyro, looking like a ghost as he was barely visible as he looked to Celestia, smiling at his love as he got to see her one last time.
"Be safe, my love." Sombra said.
"Did you say something Spyro?" Celestia asked, Spyro's eyes returning to purple.
"Huh, what?" Spyro asked. "I didn't say anything."
"Oh, i thought you did." Celestia said, looking out the window. "Apologies about the mistake."
"No princess, it's alright." Spyro said. "If... if you need someone to talk to, just let me know. I know what it means to loose someone close to you."
"Thank you Spyro." Celestia said. "You're a good friend."
Spyro smiled, nodding his head as he walked down the hall, leaving the Princess alone as she looked out the window, Sombra still looking to the mare he loved as he then disappeared, leaving Celestia alone as she smiled to herself, leaving the throne room so she can have some time alone, away from the politics and from nobles to have time to remember the good times she had with Sombra as the sun descended, ending the day and allowing everyone a peaceful night of rest.