//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Magic Paint Brushes 4 
// by Ugly-Duckling123 
//------------------------------//

Cadence, and Skyla came down into the plaza where they saw Shining Armour and everyone else, Jack and Suzy coming over to her and started to explain what they believed was happening.

"We believe Emma's in danger," was what came out first.

"Danger? From what?" Shining asked.

"Oh not a What, but a Who, young Prince," Discord said correcting him "And we think that Who might be King Sombra."





Inside, Emma had made it back to the throne room and stood in the middle of the room where the voice told her to stand.

One of the guards was just passing the door when he noticed her. He was about to call out to her and check if she was alright since she looked a little funny, when the doors slammed shut and, although he was a Pegasus, he began to feel dark magic begin to work.

After trying and failing to open the doors, Flash Sentry ran towards the plaza to tell Cadence, Shining Armour and the girl's family.


***


Inside a dark aura started to form and glow around Emma and was shot towards the main crystal on top of the throne, the magic making a dark shadow form and a door to open up with a spiral staircase going down into darkness.

'Go down these stairs...' the voice whispered into her ear.

The girl was just about to when the door to the room flew open and Jack and Suzy was in the lead to stop her, but a shadow barrier came up blocking them.

"Emma!" Jack called out to his daughter "Emma snap out of this don't listen to him."

Emma did stop, and blinked a little, but still looked funny and the barrier was still up.

"Papa..." she said turning to him and cocking her head, her eyes red with purple smoke coming out of them "Did you really send Sombra and mummy's people, to Earth and away from their homes here?" she asked.

"How does she know about that?" Sarah asked holding Sophie's hand back at the door.

"I did," Jack said, trying to freeze the barrier "But it was only to keep the people here safe..." 


"You really are a meanie..."  Emma whispered hugging her doll and turning to the stairs, sprouting wings and zooming down into it.

As soon as she was gone the door closed and the barrier went down.

Quickly, Twilight raced over and cast the Dark Magic spell onto the crystal, but nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Eric asked drawing his sword in case it was needed.

"It's a locking spell," Discord said after studying it "Meaning that unless we find another way in there, we can't get there until Emma's out of there..." 

"Gah..." Jack said annoyed snapping up a giant sledge hammer and was about to slam it into the ground when Suzy stopped him.

"Jack! You might hurt Emma!" she said taking the hammer off him.

"Suz, if we don't do this than she'll get hurt anyway..." Jack said trying to keep his emotions under control.

"Can't we just poof down there?" Sarah asked looking mainly to Discord.





While her family were arguing about this back up in the throne room, Emma had made it to the door and reached out a hand to the handle.

The Chrystal above the door sensed it's master's dark power and opened itself up to the Kings old study.

Slowly Emma walked inside, her doll in her arms, making it face forwards so her friend could see what there was.

'Over there...' Sombra said in her head, making the young girl see a case with a dark looking crown and a thick black spell book with three red crystals on the cover. 

Carefully setting her little friend down, Emma went over to the case, put the crown on and pulled out the book.

'Looking good my dear, but for this to work... for me to come back home...' Sombra said building tension 'You need to do one more thing for me... Destroy the Crystal Heart...'

Nodding sleepily, Emma took the book, picked up her doll and left through the door which now lead to a different staircase spiraling up around the tower.